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<DATE>2012-11-01</DATE>
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<NAME>Louis Goldberg</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P><HI>THE Grand Concernments OF ENGLAND</HI> ENS&V;RED: Viz.
<LIST>
<ITEM>Liberty of Con&s;cience,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Extirpation of Popery,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Defence of Property,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ea&s;ing of Taxes,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Advance of Trade,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Soveraign Powers of Parliaments,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Reformation of Religion,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Lawes and Liberties,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Indempnity,</ITEM>
<ITEM>Settlement,</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P><HI>By a con&s;tant Succe&s;&s;ion of</HI> Free Parliaments, <HI>the only</HI> po&s;sible Expedient <HI>to pre&s;erve us from</HI> Ruine <HI>or</HI> Slavery. <HI>The</HI> Objections, An&s;wered; <HI>But more largely,</HI> that of a SENATE.</P>
<P><HI>With a Sad</HI> EXPOST&V;LATION, <HI>and &s;ome</HI> &s;mart Rebukes <HI>to the ARMY.</HI></P>
<Q>Quae Rerum nunc geritur in Anglia?</Q>
<P>LONDON, <HI>Printed, 1659.</HI></P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
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<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>READER,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_IF thou art <HI>prejudicate,</HI> &s;ave thy <HI>pur&s;e</HI> and thy <HI>paines;</HI> 'tis the <HI>con&s;iderate man,</HI> he that <HI>ponders his wayes,</HI> I had rather deal with: I promi&s;e thee thus much, <HI>I have no de&s;ign to &s;educe thee, but what|&s;oever I have written, is my very thought:</HI> it may be thou art per&s;waded thou mai&s;t better employ thy time in Reading; I believe no le&s;&s;e, however thou &s;halt finde &s;ome things here, not altogether unworthy of <HI>Con&s;ide|ration.</HI> I am well a&s;&s;ured, <HI>I can never
<PB REF="3"> plea&s;e all;</HI> nor hath it been my &s;tudy, <HI>to plea&s;e any,</HI> and yet willingly <HI>I di&s;plea&s;e none.</HI> It may be, the fir&s;t &s;heet may go for wa&s;te paper, but I hope the re&s;t will make &s;ome part of amendes: I had &s;ome thoughts of wholly omitting that part of the Di&s;cour&s;e, but am per&s;waded not to conceal the <HI>grounds of my adventure;</HI> the work hath been under my hands too long, but at fir&s;t was mo&s;tly de&s;igned in An&s;wer to a Paper, Entituled, <HI>The Intere&s;t of</HI> England <HI>Stated;</HI> and was well nigh fini&s;hed &s;o much of it as I then in|tended; but finding my &s;elf ca&s;t behind by a &s;wifter pen, which did not run in vain, I laid it a&s;ide, being overpre&s;&s;ed by much bu&s;i|ne&s;&s;e; but after a while finding &s;ome little lea&s;ure, and my thoughts multiplying upon me, it hath &s;weld under me beyond my intention. I have cut &s;hort that work I fir&s;t began, that thou maye&s;t be &s;taid but little from what &s;ince fell in; which I make publique not expecting it &s;hould yield me much credit, but hoping it may turn to &s;ome <HI>publique benefit</HI> If I am counted be&s;ides my &s;elf to walk in Print,
<PB REF="3"> it is for my Countreys &s;ake. This I am bold to &s;ay, <HI>If &s;ome Pens had the Managing of many matters herein contained, and would do their be&s;t, the Nation could not think the pains ill be&s;towed.</HI> For the Errata's of the Pre&s;se I pa&s;&s;e not much, if I &s;cape thy la&s;h for what I have written, I will &s;tand to thy courte&s;ie for what the Printer hath mi&s;taken; only de&s;ire thee to take notice, that the four fir&s;t &s;heets were Printed before this our mad change. <HI>Farewell.</HI></P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="essay">
<PB REF="4">
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>THE Grand Concernments OF ENGLAND ENSURED.</HEAD>
<P>_A While &s;ince there came to my hands Two &s;heets of Paper, under this In&s;cription, <HI>The Intere&s;t of</HI> England <HI>Stated</HI>&mdash; Promi&s;ing a faithful account of the Aims of all Parties, now pretending; with their Effects in re&s;pect of them&s;elves, of one another, and the Publique: offering an Expedient for the compo&s;ure of the re&s;pective Differences, to the Security, and Advantage, not only of every &s;ingle intere&s;t, but to the bringing &s;olid la&s;ting Peace unto the Nation &mdash; Matters that I am very &s;olicitous about; which ea&s;ily per&s;waded me to look into it. In the peru&s;al, I found <HI>the hand was the hand of E&s;au,</HI> though <HI>the voice</HI> (or Title Page) <HI>was the voice of Jacob:</HI> and though here and there, he &s;alutes all parties with &mdash; <HI>All haile Sirs</HI>&mdash;and <HI>fals on their necks, and ki&s;&s;eth them;</HI> yet tis but to get the clo&s;er advantage of &s;ome, that he may &s;trike them to the heart, or at lea&s;t may &s;mite them in their hinder parts: and he layeth about &s;o furiou&s;ly, that none e&s;cape his
<PB N="2" REF="5"> Vengeance but the <HI>Cavaliers,</HI> his only <HI>white boyes;</HI> which makes me believe, the man hath &s;ome wit in his anger, and knows what he doth when he drinks; el&s;e I &s;hould have concluded the man had been mad, to make him&s;elf the Umpire of our Differences; while he conjures all Parties, to put their necks under their feet, who will &s;hew their teeth, when they cannot bite: one would think he &s;hould have given better words, if he would have led us into a fools Paradi&s;e; Is it not a great piece of confidence, to per&s;wade men to come under their yoak, the mo&s;t courteous of whom (for &s;uch no doubt this Reconciler would be thought) though they be yet upon their good behaviour, by the clemency of the Conquerors, think it their virtue, to &s;pit their venome in our very faces? we &s;hall gue&s;&s;e what quarter is to be expected, when you become our Lords. Tis (no doubt) a mo&s;t plau&s;ible way to provoke the&s;e Parties, to an over|ture for agreement as is pretended; while you be&s;peak them in &s;uch friendly language as this: <HI>Tis the aim of the Army to Govern the Nation: To keep them&s;elves from being Disbanded, or engaged in War. Tis the wi&s;h of the Parliament to continue them&s;elves in ab&s;olute Power, by the &s;pecious name of a Popular Government; to new model and divide, and at la&s;t take down the Army: and under pretence of a Councel of State to &s;et up an Oligarchy re&s;embling the Thirty Tyrants of</HI> Athens: <HI>That it is and alwayes will be their intere&s;t to pull down the Army: That the primary end of the Parliament, is to de&s;troy and over|throw, the very Con&s;titution of Parliaments: That the mutual ruine of the Parliament and Army mu&s;t needs be nece&s;&s;ary for the &s;upport of either. That the Anabapti&s;ts de&s;igns are, to ruine all other Profe&s;&s;ions of Religion: to de&s;troy Property, founding it in Grace and Saint&s;hip. That the late Protector was of no worth nor credit, of whom only this comparative commendation can be given, That he is not &s;o very a brute as his Brother</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lieut. Gen. <HI>Fleet|wood.</HI></NOTE>. <HI>That the pretentions of his intere&s;t are low, odious, and ridiculous; that they have been fal&s;e to one another, and their be&s;t friends. That from under Presbytery have grown up &s;uch, as utterly oppo&s;e all government in the Church, the being and &s;upport of the Mini&s;terial Function, and that the rigid yoak of the Presbyterians is &s;uch, as this Nation will not endure; which his late Maje&s;ty was well aware of, when he conceded for &s;etting it up for three years, being fully &s;atisfyed how effectual an argument the experience of that &s;hort time would be to per&s;wade the Nation, to endure that galling and heavy yoak no longer.</HI> The premi&s;es con&s;idered, tis not hard to conclude how the&s;e Parties &s;tand in his e&s;teem; (yea it being manife&s;tly his intere&s;t at this time, to conceal his malignity, and di&s;&s;emble a good will to|wards them, and yet in &s;pire of his guts his malice gets out) I &s;ay there is little doubt, but this moderate Gentleman him&s;elf (as mo&s;t of his party) account them Bea&s;ts of Prey, and not of Game, &s;uch
<PB N="3" REF="5"> as &s;hould have no Law given them, or kept with them; but any one may knock on the head, and de&s;troy by any method: and what ever terms are offered to draw them in, &s;erve only as Traps baited with Chickens, to catch <HI>Wee&s;els</HI> and <HI>Polcats:</HI> That killing them is no Murther; that they ought to be driven out of their hou&s;es and Synagogues, and who&s;oever kils them doth God good &s;ervice. Tis ea&s;ie to &s;ee into the my&s;tery of this Pamphleter, under the &s;pecious pretext of a Moderator, to render all parties that ever oppo&s;ed his Ma&s;ter, as odious as po&s;&s;ible to the Nation, and to one another; and thereby involve them into as good an e&s;teem of one another, as he hath of them, <HI>viz.</HI> into a mortal hatred of one another, and &s;o oblige them to do that for the <HI>Cavaliers,</HI> which him&s;elf confe&s;&s;eth impo&s;&s;ible they &s;hould do for them&s;elves; which wrought with a powder of late, and had di&s;patcht his bu&s;ine&s;s, but that a de&s;perate or violent remedy was timely applyed, which &s;poyled the &s;port: But I &s;hall take a more particular account of this Reconciler (though not &s;o largely as I had prepared it, finding my &s;elf prevented by another pen, knowing men care but little to read the &s;ame thing twice over) and &s;hall ob&s;erve whether he de&s;erve to be &s;o well received as he pretends, that there &s;hould need no Rhetorical inducements to it; which I &s;hould not think much worth my labour, but that men, yea very hone&s;t men, are too too apt to be &s;urpri&s;ed with every Overture for &s;etling this di&s;tracted State, and I fear many have unwarily &s;ucked in the poy&s;on of this Pamphlet (the Pre&s;s having gone twice upon it) who of late years were no very ill willers to the Parliaments cau&s;e; who had they certain knowledge (as it is unhappily pre&s;umed) that <HI>Mercurius Aulicus</HI> the old <HI>Oxford</HI> Gazetteer was the Father of this Brat; would go near upon &s;econd thoughts, as much to &s;u&s;pect his expedient of a Cheat, as formerly they were confirmed of the fal&s;hood of his Intelligence; and a little patience will give you as good a&s;&s;urance of the one, as your experi|ance hath given you certainty of the other. But his old friend <HI>M. Politicus</HI> is fallen upon his jacket though under a di&s;gui&s;e, I &s;hall &s;pare him therefore many a knock, that I had lifted up my hand to reach un|to him. He begins with telling what he e&s;teems the de&s;igns of all par|ties pretending: <HI>The Roman Catholicks de&s;ign,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>is to introduce the Papacy, and utterly to eradicate all he cals Here&s;ie</HI> &mdash; Very good. <HI>That tis the Royali&s;ts de&s;ire to bring in the King a Conquerour, to re|cover their lo&s;&s;es in the late War, and to have the former Government of the Church</HI> &mdash; (as if this man were no Royali&s;t) we make no doubt of what he &s;ayes, it were &s;trange they &s;hould belie them&s;elves. He goes on, and tels the <HI>de&s;ire</HI> of the <HI>Presbyterian, Baptized Churches, Army,</HI> and <HI>Parliament, is to &s;et up them&s;elves, and to exclude all others:</HI> It &s;eems then they are all alike peccant; and no marvel, for without peradventure they are much at one dear and precious to him; for if
<PB N="4" REF="6"> any of them are more then other the objects of his fury, it is becau&s;e they &s;tand more in his way. After he hath told us what he thinks to be the intere&s;t of the Nation, he goes on and affirmes, <HI>That the de|&s;igns of the Papi&s;ts are not feazible: That the Royalli&s;ts aim is not attainable;</HI> and the like he &s;aith, one after another, of all the re&s;t: &s;o rai&s;ing up to him&s;elf a man of Clouts, he knocks him down in the &s;ame breath; when &s;tating their Intere&s;ts and De&s;igns, as he hath done (wherein he hath only dealt fairly with the two formo&s;t) it is mine, as no doubt it is every hone&s;t mans Prayer, as well as this good mans Prophe&s;ie, that they may be without effect: but we believe not the more, what he &s;aith, becau&s;e he &s;aith it, of tho&s;e that he mo&s;t malignes: He re&s;olves at length, <HI>That the pretentions of no party now on foot are attainable,</HI> ('tis &s;trange there &s;hould want pretenders of his own kidney) <HI>or if attained are con&s;i&s;tent with the good of the Nation, or of other parties, and that the ruine of the Publick is inevitable, there being no door of hope open</HI> (but that to which he is turn-key) <HI>no method vi&s;ible to unite &s;o di&s;tant and incompatible ends:</HI> and pre&s;ently through this great croud of Pretenders, with no little circum|&s;tance, he makes room for a contrivance that &s;hall do the work; again&s;t which but one Objection in all the World can be rai&s;ed, and that as ea&s;ily razed; and this he introduceth as if him&s;elf were the Father of tho&s;e that handle this Harp and Organ, as if all the forementioned in|tere&s;ts had never dreamt on't: to which I think &s;ome that are menti|oned before, may claim a right by virtue of fir&s;t di&s;covery, but he thinks fit to forget it in their Character, not meaning to advance their merit above the re&s;t, which I mu&s;t needs &s;ay is not fair dealing that he &s;hould &s;poil them of that, he him&s;elf produceth as the only infal|lible means of Settlement (when 'tis apparent as the Sun at noon who&s;e was the invention) and give them nothing in their de&s;cription but what him&s;elf impre&s;&s;eth the marks of Folly and Tyranny upon. His Propo&s;ition he makes no doubt to pronounce in the&s;e plain termes, &mdash;<HI>The calling in the King is the certain and only means for the pre&s;er|vation of the Kingdom, and al&s;o of the Rights and Intere&s;ts of all &s;ingle per&s;ons in it.</HI> I hope the Reader will expect this be well proved: To drive this Nail to the head; having before u&s;ed his be&s;t wits, to per&s;wade of the indi&s;pen&s;ible nece&s;&s;ity of this expedient, by rendring any other endevours for a Settlement fruitle&s;s, and &s;o unavoidable ruine con&s;equent: and having &s;tated the pretentions of all parties, &s;o as might mo&s;t render them at his mercy, he makes no bones as occa&s;ion &s;erves to calumniate and traduce, &s;ay and un&s;ay, fawn and di&s;&s;emble; one while he tels you of the gallantry of the Army, and their excellent di&s;cipline; that they have &s;till owned a Publique Spirit; that every Common Soldier knows how to direct as well as to obey, to judge no le&s;&s;e then execute. El&s;ewhere, <HI>That it is their de&s;ign to Govern the Na|tion
<PB N="5" REF="6"> them&s;elves, to keep from being disbanded,</HI> &amp;c. One while, <HI>That the differences between the Epi&s;copal and Presbyterian, are ea&s;ily atoned t</HI> and in the &s;ame breath, <HI>That from under them have grown up tho&s;e tha utterly oppo&s;e all Government in the Church,</HI> &amp;c. And el&s;ewhere, <HI>That Presbytery is intolerable, a galling and heavy yoak,</HI> &amp;c. Now he tels us, <HI>That the Parliament de&s;igns to &s;et up an Oligarchy, re&s;embling the Thirty Tyrants of</HI> Athens. And by and by tels us, <HI>That the Petition of</HI> Julii <HI>the</HI> 6. <HI>was penned by them&s;elves, and after by them&s;elves addre&s;|&s;ed to them&s;elves, for which they them&s;elves give them&s;elves hearty thanks.</HI> And yet this Petition in expre&s;s Terms as directly contrary to an Oli|garchy, or the continuance of any men in Power, as it is po&s;&s;ible to be Worded: &s;urely the man is wondrous forgetful, or very malicious: But a Lyar had need have a good memory. I doubt a little, Whe|ther we are under &s;uch nece&s;&s;ity as he pretends, &s;ince he u&s;eth &s;uch Artifices to reduce us to other extremities? It is not for nothing that he turns Mutineer, and would create jealo&s;ies between the Parlia|ment and Army; not doubting if he could effect that, he might bring in his King upon what tearms he plea&s;ed: tis therefore that they mu&s;t believe that the &s;ecurity of the one, is founded in the ruine of the other. 'Tis for no other rea&s;on that he tels the Army, <HI>They have been ill requited for their good &s;ervices, by being &s;topt in Pay, defea|ted of their Arrears, in danger of Disbanding, not &s;uffered to com|municate Councels, or meet at a General Randezvous. That their re|compence for their greate&s;t merits, have been only expo&s;ing to new, and greater dangers: That their certaine&s;t pay hath been &s;u&s;picion, af|fronts, and injuries.</HI> Let any &s;ober and impartial man judge at the drift of this Gentleman; e&s;pecially let not the Army mi&s;under&s;tand him, who while he is per&s;wading might and main for an agree|ment, doth what in him lies to break us to pieces, and render us un|capable of defending our lives. Having then di&s;patched a great part of his work, <HI>viz.</HI> Shewn our undone condition, which he hath Prophe|&s;ied, not Proved, and u&s;hered in his expedient as you have &s;een, his next work is to apply his Pla&s;ter to the Wounds he had made: He begins with the common National intere&s;t, and pretends to accom|modate his expedient to all its di&s;tempers, wherein he thinks a bare a&s;&s;ertion, to be &s;ufficient Demon&s;tration; goes on like an Emperick, or States Mountebanck, telling this it is good for, that it is good for, wherein if I &s;hould follow him, I &s;hould lo&s;e my &s;elf and my Reader too; but I &s;hall give him a turn by and by: however this is very ob&s;ervable, that he layes much &s;tre&s;&s;e upon the merits of his King, being it &s;eems the be&s;t rea&s;on in his Budget to commend him to the Nation; but <HI>Needham</HI> hath galled him &s;o &s;everely on this wing, that I &s;hall make no &s;tay here, but put on full &s;peed to the main Battel, taking only a &s;light view of &s;ome incon&s;iderable forces that
<PB N="6" REF="7"> way-lay me, which I &s;hall &s;oon breake thorough.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t he tels, <HI>It is the intere&s;t of the Roman Catholick to bring in the King; for,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>by this means the heavy payments now on their E&s;tates, with other burdens, will be taken off; and as to the pre&s;|&s;ures of Penal Laws, they cannot but remember how far from grievous they were in the late Kings time, the Catholicks living here notwith|&s;tanding them, in more flowri&s;hing condition then they of</HI> Italy, France <HI>or</HI> Spain, <HI>under their re&s;pective Princes; and would do infinitely more under their natural King, then if any forainer &s;hould acquire the power by conque&s;t: Be&s;ides having generally adhered to the late King in his Wars, have no rea&s;on to di&s;tru&s;t, finding favorable treatment from his Son, and to &s;hare that indulgence, he is ready to afford even his grea|te&s;t enemies.</HI> And yet the&s;e are the men, that our Author tels us before would re&s;tore the Pope his ancient Revenue and Juri&s;diction in <HI>Eng|land;</HI> and to the Church all that was alienated in <HI>Hen.</HI> 8. time, and would utterly eradicate all he cals Here&s;ie: &s;o far you are right; we doubt not they will get better terms then the poor Presbyters.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>It is the Intere&s;t of the Royali&s;ts,</HI> &amp;c. Yea it is &s;o, al|though he have no reparation for his lo&s;&s;es: I cannot pa&s;&s;e this without a &s;mile, our Author tels us before, <HI>That it is the de&s;ign of the Royali&s;t to bring in the King a Conqueror, and to recover his lo&s;&s;es in the late War;</HI> and in the very next leaf he tels us, <HI>That he is confi|dent the Cavaliers expect no &s;atisfaction at all:</HI> It &s;eems then tis their intere&s;t though they have no &s;atisfaction, I leave them this as a bone to pick; in the mean time I want an Interpreter of this my&s;tery, <HI>The de&s;ign of the Royali&s;t is to recover his lo&s;&s;es in the late War,&mdash; I am confident the Cavaliers expect no &s;atisfaction at all</HI>&mdash; Very well bowled in good earne&s;t, they will and they won't, <HI>Anglice</HI>-good skill why, all the craft is in catching.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>The Presbyterians are concerned al&s;o.</HI> As how? for example, to leap out of the Fryingpan into the fire; for fear of tho&s;e le&s;&s;er par|ties, to pro&s;trate them&s;elves unto the revenge of a <HI>Pontifical zeal:</HI> what courte&s;ie is to be expected at their Graces hands, Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> is yet a memorable example of, but the Presbyterians do not con&s;ult him as their Oracle (for all your ha&s;t) he having borne his witne&s;s with &s;ufficient bitterne&s;s again&s;t them, enough almo&s;t to unchri&s;tian any man but him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>It is the intere&s;t of the Baptized Churches&mdash; as al&s;o to acquie&s;ce in a Moderate Epi&s;copacy, enjoying the liberty of their con|&s;ciences.</HI> I wonder how this &s;hall become practicable, or &s;ort with the <HI>honour of Epi&s;copacy</HI> (which he throws in the di&s;h of <HI>Presbytery</HI>) to &s;uffer tho&s;e le&s;&s;er parties (as he cals them) to grow up with it, who utterly oppo&s;e all government in the Church, and being of the Mi|ni&s;tery. No doubt your knowledge of the practices of the <HI>Anabapti&s;ts</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="7"> in <HI>Germany,</HI> their cruelty and all manner of di&s;order, their taking away all property of E&s;tates, founding it in Grace and Saint&s;hip; with the hard treatment the Papi&s;ts in <HI>Ireland</HI> have found from them (the&s;e are his own words) will in&s;truct you into &s;ome pre|tences, why you ought to be more partial in your affections towards them, and your better Sons of the Church, then why a Father &s;hould be fond of one Son, and di&s;courage another, upon pretence of their divers hairs or complexions, which our Author would willingly skrew into their belief; but it will not be.</P>
<P>Fiftly, <HI>It is</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>the interest of the Army.</HI> Under this head he grows out of mea&s;ure copious; but the wonder is not &s;o much, &s;ince here lies his work, to bring the Army into di&s;order: <HI>Tis their concernment to be under a &s;ingle per&s;on,</HI> and con&s;equently to be under his King: he proves it thus, <HI>Becau&s;e there is &s;carce a Common Soldier who is not &s;en&s;ible of it:</HI> Verily this is notable Demon&s;tration; the whole Ar|my is &s;en&s;ible that they are concerned to be under a Single Per&s;on, therefore not long &s;ince they re&s;tored our Common-wealth, and de|clared unanimou&s;ly again&s;t a Single per&s;on, without &s;o much as any muttering among the Common Soldiers to the contrary; and &s;ince all their Commanders have given up their old Commi&s;&s;ions, and received new from the Parliament. Our Author is in very deed a notable Sophi&s;ter, he goes on and tels, <HI>By this means</HI> (the Army putting them&s;elves under the Standard of his King) <HI>they &s;hall be out of danger of being Disbanded, and without fear of Wars:</HI> Very good arguments to Soldiers to be afraid of enemies; but better to Chri&s;tians, that when the danger is over, they &s;hould refu&s;e to disband: &s;hall we know our friends from our foes Gentlemen? What are they who kill our honours and good names, while they court our friend&s;hip? But in the progre&s;s take notice, how much the calling in his King will an&s;wer the expectations of &s;ome, while he promi&s;eth to keep the Army up, notwith&s;tanding the dangers will be over; and for this end the King is the only per&s;on to rai&s;e Taxes and Contributions; they are his own words. He goes on to tell, <HI>this only can &s;ecure their Pay, and &s;a|tisfie their Arrears;</HI> very good Sir, but I hope you will make no &s;cruple to pay us in our own coyn. He proceeds &mdash; <HI>No body el&s;e dare tru&s;t you as a &s;tanding body;</HI> and endevours to exa&s;perate the Army from the treat|ment they received from the old Protector &mdash; but I conceive he was a &s;ingle per&s;on: Ay but his King <HI>being &s;upported by his ju&s;t title, hath no &s;uch grounds of &s;u&s;picion, but may repo&s;e him&s;elf upon the loyalty of his people, which U&s;urpers dare not do.</HI> How now Sir? this is &s;trange forgetfulne&s;s, remember the late King, I hope you deem him no U&s;urper; and would you per&s;wade that the Son would repo&s;e him&s;elf upon that Army that hath oppo&s;ed him and his Father unto bloud; when the Father put &s;o little confidence in his Parliament? me|thinks
<PB N="8" REF="8"> his King &s;hould con him little thankes, for this unhappy di&s;tin|ction between a Prince with a ju&s;t title, and a U&s;urper. More yet, &mdash; His King <HI>hath a particular re&s;pect for the Army, yea in &s;pite of all their Rebellions.</HI> A &s;trong argument in good &s;ooth. Oh &s;trange! that they &s;hould not envy any other the honour of being commanded by &s;uch a Prince; who is the only expedient upon earth, to render them and their po&s;terity happy; I &s;hall end this by inverting the force of his own conclu&s;ion, and turning its point upon him&s;elf: Were this directed to the <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> or <HI>French</HI> infantry, tho&s;e Venal &s;ouls that under&s;tand nothing but pay and plunder; the&s;e arguments of Pay, and keeping them&s;elves from being disbanded, would pa&s;&s;e their Pikes and be well received; but the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Army that have &s;till owned a Publique Spirit, where every common man knows how to judge as well as execute, will not fail to &s;teer them&s;elves as prudence &s;hall in&s;truct: who ever hath conver&s;ed with my Author will finde I ob&s;erve his own phra&s;es, and I a&s;&s;ure you I am not a little delighted in his &s;tyle.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>It is the intere&s;t of the Protectors party and the Parliament to call in</HI> his <HI>King.</HI> He is in great ha&s;t I &s;ee, his wildefire being nigh &s;pent, el&s;e he would &s;till have maintained the di&s;tance he had been fomenting between the&s;e two before, which he had twice treated of di&s;tinctly, and not have joyned them together at la&s;t, but he cannot part them; I will leave them (as he hath brought them) together, to think whether they are &s;o nearly concerned to jump in this Gentlemans judgement as he would have them imagine.</P>
<P>I have been forced to mi&s;pend &s;ome time in picquering with &s;mall Forces that were ambu&s;hed to intercept me, but have moved with as much &s;peed as I could, &s;ecuring &s;uch pa&s;&s;es as might &s;eem of any advantage to the enemy, that I might not be &s;urpri&s;ed in the rear: I &s;hall burn no more day light, but fall in with him pell mell, and as plainly deny what he hath as peremptorily a&s;&s;erted, and do &s;ay,</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>That the calling in the late Kings Son, is neither a certain, nor yet probable means, much le&s;&s;e the only means, for pre&s;erva|tion of the Nation, and the Rights and Intere&s;ts thereof.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall think I have well acquitted my &s;elf of this undertaking, when I have done two things.</P>
</FLOATEXT>
<PB N="9" REF="8">
<P>Fir&s;t, Evidenced it, <HI>That the calling in the late Kings Son is di|rectly again&s;t the common National intere&s;t,</HI> in &s;everal particulars, whereby it will al&s;o appear to be <HI>again&s;t the Rights und Intere&s;ts of mo&s;t &s;ingle per&s;ons in it.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, When I have exhibited another expedient that &s;hall do the work.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, <HI>The common National Interests</HI> (for I own no parti|cular intere&s;t at variance herewith) that I &s;hall mention are &s;uch as the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Liberty of con&s;cience.</HI> It is the common intere&s;t of the Nation to be &s;ecure, that they may without di&s;turbance, wor&s;hip God ac|cording to their con&s;ciences, while they de&s;troy not the Doctrines or life of Chri&s;tianity, and live peaceably in the State: this our Au|thor concedes with a greater latitude then I propound it, whether in je&s;t, or in earne&s;t, or between both, matters not much; &s;aying, So all agree in Loyalty, though they differ in other matters; There is no rea&s;on why they &s;hould not all be alike dear unto their Prince, their differences being of no more con&s;ideration, then the complexion of Children to their Father. The Epi&s;copal party claim this as their right, and think it hard u&s;age if at any time they are forbidden pub|lique a&s;&s;emblies upon <HI>Chri&s;tmas</HI> day, and other good times; or are forbidden to read the Common Prayer book in their Churches; and really if no body were wi&s;er then I, they &s;hould have no cau&s;e given them to be angry at it, &s;o they would neither directly, nor in|directly promote Sedition again&s;t the Government. The Presby|terians would cry out of Oppre&s;&s;ion, if they &s;hould be bound to Sur|ple&s;&s;es and &s;uch like Crotchets; to read Common Prayer, or be Lorded over by Metropolitan Bi&s;hops; to do reverence to Altars, or bow at the name of Je&s;us; to ob&s;erve Saints Holy-dayes, to keep <HI>Lent;</HI> in a word, to have any thing impo&s;ed on their con&s;ciences. The In|dependent mu&s;t not be confined to his Pari&s;h Church, or be determi|ned by the judgements of neighbour Churches; nor have the liberty of expounding Scripture by a Lay-brother be denied. The&s;e, and &s;ome others (every one for them&s;elves) claim this priviledge of a Free-born man, accounting it &s;lavi&s;h to be impo&s;ed upon in matters of Religion; and if I would be indulged my &s;elf, and hold it my right as a man, and a Chri&s;tian, to be at liberty to &s;erve God, ac|cording to what I know of his Will in his Word; Why &s;hould we &s;et at naught our Brother? Why &s;hould we grudge that to him, that we claim for our &s;elves? That every one claims this as his right and intere&s;t is out of doubt; yea that they who would deny it to others, think them&s;elves wronged to be without it them&s;elves, and would di&s;pute it with the hazard of their lives, rather then this Liberty &s;hould be infringed, is evident to every mans experience. That hence
<PB N="10" REF="9"> it is become (though no other rea&s;on could be a&s;&s;igned for it) the com|mon intere&s;t of the Nation, without which no quietne&s;s can be thought of, that &s;o many as fear God, and are &s;ound in the &s;ub&s;tantials of Chri|&s;tianity, how&s;oever they may differ in tho&s;e things that the Scriptures are not &s;o expre&s;&s;e and clear in, and in modes and forms of Wor&s;hip and Di&s;cipline; that &s;uch &s;hould be &s;uffered without any di&s;countenance or di&s;turbance, is as little to be had in que&s;tion. Whether the calling in the late Kings Son be a probable means for the &s;alving this difficulty, is not hard to re&s;olve; that his affection, if not his intere&s;t, is &s;o linked with the <HI>Epi&s;copal</HI> and <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> party, as to give &s;mall encouragement to any other of Tolleration, is &s;o much to be pre&s;umed, that few words are wanting to a&s;&s;ure it: Tis not the Solemn League and Covenant, nor all the markes of Conver&s;ion, which he manife&s;ted to his Subjects of the Blew bonnet, that can wa&s;h him clean. Pray who are his Chap|lains and Confe&s;&s;ors now? Who are they that have a&s;&s;i&s;ted his Father and him, that have blown their Trumpets for him, prayed, preached, plotted, been undone for him? Who are they that have lo&s;t Bi&s;hop|ricks, Deanaries, and half a dozen fat Par&s;onages for him? who &s;corn to back&s;lide, but continue fa&s;t friends and eager zealots for him, who told his Father formerly what it would come to; the&s;e whining Pu|ritans will undo all; the&s;e he mu&s;t needs con&s;ult as his Oracle, and be governed by their coun&s;el in all affairs: is it probable he &s;hould &s;ettle any other Government in the Church but <HI>Epi&s;copacy,</HI> or &s;uffer any Nonconformi&s;ts but the <HI>Papi&s;ts;</HI> yes, but the <HI>Presbyterians</HI> have expiated their &s;in, they &s;hall have what they plea&s;e indulged to them, it may be &s;ome may be &s;o good natured men as to believe this, but I know many of that judgement that differ from this per&s;wa&s;ion. Who doubts but <HI>Epi&s;copacy</HI> and <HI>Presbytery</HI> will agree better together when there happens a Settlement, and <HI>Epi&s;copacy</HI> returns unto its for|mer glory; tis well conjectured, they that can hardly give one another a good word now, will be honorably treated by each other, when either &s;hall get the Chair: and no doubt the <HI>Royali&s;t</HI> did lately hope well for the return, of the Lawn &s;leeves; which when it &s;hall happen, if an hone&s;t <HI>Presbyter</HI> dare deny the body and bloud of Chri&s;t to any one that would be counted a Chri&s;tian, he may in requi|tall deny him his Tithes; ask Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> if this be not Law. Yes, but his King being &s;upported by &s;o good a title, need not Cajol and fool any one Faction. Oh rare! pray who have been the favorites all along? No Bi&s;hop, no King; good rea&s;on it &s;eems to curry favour with them. Yes, but his Maje&s;ty knows it to be his intere&s;t to grant <HI>Liberty of Con|&s;cience:</HI> Well, be it &s;o, by this means the greate&s;t &s;inners will e&s;cape be&s;t; &s;uch a Liberty as was formerly connived at, when a <HI>Pelagian,</HI> or an <HI>Anti&s;abatarian,</HI> might get to the top of preferment, and be able to confront a poor <HI>Puritan.</HI> To &s;ay the truth of them, if a man could
<PB N="11" REF="9"> do as they did, he might believe what he plea&s;ed: It was not &s;o much an error in the Fundamentals of Religion, as a &s;crupulou&s;ne&s;s about the Mint and Cummin of their Traditions that dubb'd a man an He|retick. Yea, but to kill all at a blow, His Maje&s;ty will &s;ettle <HI>Presbytery,</HI> and re&s;erve liberty for the re&s;t, and there is very good a&s;&s;urance of it. This is more indeed then my Author promi&s;eth, who yet offers more then he can ever make good: but can he do this with honour, and with|out regret, leave his old friends to be glad of being pittiful poor Par|&s;ons or Country Vicars, when every one of them have de&s;erved at lea&s;t a Bi&s;hoprick; can any body &s;u&s;pect his affections of &s;o great abatement towards Epi&s;copacy, as to put their necks under the feet of Presbytery; this were an ill requital of their Loyalty, who de&s;erve to be head and not the tail. Yea, but &s;uppo&s;e all that can be &s;uppo&s;ed, which we may chu&s;e whether we will believe or not, that the Epi&s;copal &s;hould &s;o much deny them&s;elves, as to take up this Cro&s;&s;e to follow his Maje&s;ties intere&s;t, and be content to be any thing or nothing, &s;o he may come to Rule who&s;e right it is, as &s;ome have ill applyed it, and his Maje&s;ty &s;hould &s;o far forget him&s;elf as to &s;uffer it to be &s;o for a while, yet I know what I know; hark what &s;aith our Author, and then gue&s;&s;e at the &s;ecurity: <HI>Be&s;ides that, Presbytery mu&s;t be the overthrow of all other parties</HI> (which is as true of Epi&s;copacy, &s;aving alwayes the intere&s;t of the Papi&s;t) <HI>which are more con&s;iderable in the Nation then them&s;elves, that rigid Government no wayes complyes with the genius of this Nation, or the frame of our Municipal Laws, which the late King was well aware of, when he conceded to the &s;etting it up for three years, being fully &s;atisfied how effectual an argument the experience of that &s;hort time would be, to per&s;wade the Nation to en|dure that galling and heavy yoak no longer.</HI> The application is ea&s;ie. Three years would fini&s;h the cour&s;e of Presbytery, and for tho&s;e le&s;&s;er parties that have grown up under it, the ri&s;e of Presbytery mu&s;t needs overthrow them. And &s;o much for <HI>Liberty of Con&s;cience.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Tis the common National intere&s;t to di&s;countenance, and if po&s;&s;ible to extirpate Popery.</HI> Whether my Antagoni&s;t ownes this as a National intere&s;t, is clear in the Negative, however, mo&s;t of us, e&s;pe|cially tho&s;e that adhered to the Parliament, have mi&s;erably forgot our &s;elves if we renounce it. Tis almo&s;t in every mouth, <HI>the Papi&s;t, the Je&s;uit undo us;</HI> the&s;e cannot claim the benefit of toleration, being the bane of any Prote&s;tant Nation; the Vipers that gnaw out the guts of their dam; that requite their protection, with endevouring the de&s;truction of their Benefactors: of the&s;e that &s;aying is mo&s;t true, <HI>Save a Thief from the Gallows, and he will cut your throat;</HI> and no wonder, &s;ince their Religion teacheth them, <HI>they that kill an Heretick do God good &s;ervice:</HI> To this purpo&s;e they u&s;e all artifices immagi|nable to di&s;tract and di&s;quiet a Nation, when they cannot cope
<PB N="12" REF="10"> with it by force, and dare not break out into Rebellion, or attempt a general Ma&s;&s;acre, which they make no more bones of, then cutting off a dogs head; witne&s;s the mi&s;erable Prote&s;tants of <HI>Ireland,</HI> which our Author hath &s;o much forgot, that he laments the hard treatment the Papi&s;ts in <HI>Ireland</HI> have found. A re&s;tle&s;s generation they are, and will be alwayes endevouring to introduce their Religion, and &s;ubject us to the bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome,</HI> and utterly to extirpate all that they call Hore|&s;ie. This de&s;ign is going now among&s;t us (as in other Nations) by creating and fomenting differences among all that are called Pro|te&s;tant, hoping &s;till to engage us one again&s;t another, till they ri&s;e upon our ruines: To them Epi&s;copacy, Presbytery, and Independency, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> are one and the &s;ame thing; between whom they believe not &s;o dreadful a difference, as we are made to think among our &s;elves: we may be wi&s;er one day. It is then become our National intere&s;t to &s;up|pre&s;&s;e, and if po&s;&s;ible to extirpate Popery, thereby to &s;ecure the Nati|on from threatned and impending ruine: Whether the calling in the late Kings Son be a probable redre&s;s of this grievance, de&s;erves to be &s;o little a matter of di&s;cour&s;e, that I &s;hall re&s;olve it in the very words of my Author, <HI>It is the intere&s;t of the Roman Catholick to call in the King; for by that means the heavy payments now on their E&s;tates, with other burdens, will be taken off; and as to the pre&s;|&s;ures of Penal Laws, they cannot but remember how far from grievous they were in the late Kings time, the Catholicks living here notwith|&s;tanding them, in more flouri&s;hing condition then they of</HI> Italy, France <HI>or</HI> Spain, <HI>under their re&s;pective Princes; and would do infinitely more under their natural King, then if any forainer &s;hould acquire the power by conque&s;t: Be&s;ides having generally adhered to the late King in his Wars, have no rea&s;on to di&s;tru&s;t, the finding favorable treatment from his Son, and to &s;hare in that indulgence, he is ready to afford even his grea|te&s;t enemies &mdash; i. e.</HI> &s;uch are Presbyterians and Independents &mdash; this is Authentick: Yea and be&s;ides all this, who can tell he hath not &s;ucked in &s;ome of his Mothers milk.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>The defence of Property is the common intere&s;t of the Nation.</HI> I will not mi&s;pend a word to prove this, lea&s;t I &s;hould reproach my Countreymen of &s;o much ea&s;ine&s;s, as ignorance of &s;uch a foundamen|tall in rea&s;on as this, <HI>Whether Properly be in danger of being invaded by the calling in the late Kings Son,</HI> is more worthy of our enquiry: How many purcha&s;ors are there, of Bi&s;hops Lands, Dean and Chapters Lands, Delinquents Lands, and Crown Lands, who&s;e Fee-&s;imple would be no very wi&s;e title, but much wor&s;e then Tenure in Villenage; let any man of rea&s;on imagine: this will not only concern Roundheads, but many who in other matters are at no great di&s;tance with Epi&s;copacy have their hands full of them, they being bought and &s;old over and over, many to who&s;e hands this will come, will no doubt be &s;ufficiently
<PB N="13" REF="10"> &s;en&s;ible hereof: that the&s;e are alienated upon as good (if no better) rea&s;on, then were the Abby Lands, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> in <HI>Hen.</HI> 8. time, none that were the fir&s;t buyers had I believe any jealou&s;ie to the contrary, nor hath any man any thing material to object again&s;t it: King and Delinquents Lands were ju&s;tly forfeited for rai&s;ing and levying War upon the Par|liament: the Bi&s;hops Lands, becau&s;e tho&s;e men involved us into tho&s;e Di&s;tractions, and abetted and adhered unto that party, and drove the Chariot of the Church &s;o furiou&s;ly, that they were like to overthrow all, wherefore the State found it good prudence to take down their mettle, by making better u&s;e of their Lands to &s;atisfie publick debts, and &s;o to leave them di&s;abled for the future to di&s;turbe our peace, which if their Lands had been re&s;erved, they would have been alwayes attem|pting to recover, and therewith the Government of Church and State too: the other Church lands went in company to help pay debts, being expo&s;ed to forfeiture by the general malignancy of the incumbents, be&s;ides were of no other &s;ignification then to maintain a company of lazy Lubbers: the Nation is hereby generally concerned to &s;ecure them their purcha&s;es, as tho&s;e were &s;ecured and untouched in <HI>Hen.</HI> 8. time: that Qeen <HI>Mary</HI> could do the Pope no courte&s;ie in the former, my Author denies not, that if any &s;hould go about to attempt the latter it would co&s;t him hot water, I do mo&s;t willingly believe; however as the one was attempted, &s;o mo&s;t certainly would the other, and with much more violence, the temptation being now far greater, &s;ince he mu&s;t be a &s;orry King that hath lo&s;t his E&s;tate, Queen <HI>Mary</HI> was not altogether &s;o nearly concerned: Is it imaginable when he &s;hall return King of the&s;e Nations, he will endure to &s;ee the Crown Lands fallen into the fingers of <HI>John an Oakes,</HI> and <HI>John a Stiles,</HI> him&s;elf King of <HI>England</HI> and not a foot of Land, could he &s;ay, <HI>&s;oul take thine ea&s;e,</HI> while tho&s;e Loyal hearts that followed him through thick and thin, <HI>in peril at Land, in peril at Sea,</HI> remain fleeced of thou&s;ands, and &s;ome it may be of ten thou&s;ands <HI>per annum,</HI> all the Church Lands gone, and nothing left to oblige tho&s;e props of Prerogative, would this give his Maje&s;ty a competent &s;atisfacti|on to &s;it down and let it re&s;t thus? I trow not: How can he look upon him&s;elf as other then a burden to his Countrey, if he mu&s;t live upon the Charity of well di&s;po&s;ed people, &s;uch too would be the ca&s;e of his Se|que&s;tered adherents, and could this comport with the honour of his Maje&s;ty? could he &s;ee his Bi&s;hops, Deans and Chapters thus brought to de&s;olation, &s;o far from having their k<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ngdom in this world, that they &s;hould have &s;carce a hole to put their head in, and would not this be a hard Chapter? Could he look upon him&s;elf under the fir&s;t con&s;ideration, and believe he were <HI>The high and mighty Prince</HI> CHARLES <HI>King of</HI> England, Scotland, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> or under the &s;econd, and not think <HI>he had lo&s;t the Crown of his Crown:</HI> could he believe him&s;elf <HI>Defender of the Faith.</HI> It is come to this i&s;&s;ue, <HI>Either Purcha&s;ers mu&s;t be robbed of their E&s;tates,</HI>
<PB N="14" REF="11"> for which &s;ome of them have paid dear enough, and ready money: or, <HI>he must live upon a general Contribution:</HI> which latter I have &s;o honora|ble thoughts of him, as to believe he would not endure: the former would be di&s;hone&s;t, the latter ignoble: the former would be an oppre&s;|&s;ion, the ruine of many; the latter an intolerable burden upon all. How well then they will befriend him, that &s;hall put him upon this Dilemma, let our adver&s;aries them&s;elves be the judges. Be&s;ides no body knowes how many new Delinquents mu&s;t be made; it would be no ea&s;ie mat|ter to per&s;wade every man that hath adhered to the Parliament, that their E&s;tates &s;hould be &s;o much their own, as at the plea&s;ure of Prero|gative; yea, &s;hould the &s;tronge&s;t obligations immaginable be fa&s;tned on him, to bind up his hands from doing the&s;e Roundheads, and Puritans harme; yet would they hardly bind Him and his Heirs for ever. Whence mu&s;t come tho&s;e rewards that our Author promi&s;eth they &s;hall be &s;ure to finde that have &s;erved him in any kinde, e&s;peci|ally they that are in&s;trumental in his re&s;titution. Certainly want of money, which he mu&s;t needs be reduced unto, to gratifie them, being abundance, almo&s;t innumerable &s;warmes of crawling, croaking, creeping things that helped to undo his Father and him in the late Wars, will make invincible nece&s;&s;ity good rea&s;on of State for &s;ome arbitrary proceedings; and then this decayed threedbare Courtier will beg that Roundheaded dog for a Ward, and that beggarly Cavalier will beg this Puritan, that Presbyterian, the other Independent, or Ana|bapti&s;t for a fool; and veryly I would have them beg us all for fools when we have no more wit. And however he may be engaged to forgive us, yet can hardly be obliged to forget us, we &s;hall be as bad as bound to our good behaviour: it mu&s;t needs be enough (being added to our for|mer tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion) to entitle us to beggery, if not to the Gallows to pi&s;&s;e again&s;t a Church wall. The Cavaliers that cannot contain them|&s;elves from looking us through and through, and cur&s;ing us to our faces, while they are &s;carce yet in &s;o good condition as to call it a State Militant, will make no great trouble of it when they arrive at their State Triumphant, to pick a hole in our Coats, that they may pick our pockets, and it is wonderful if they do not pick out our eyes. We &s;hould &s;oon be reduced to no better condition then that of <HI>Shimei, Go dwell in yonder place, and &s;tir not thence, and if it &s;hall be told, &s;aying, He is gone to bring back a run-away &s;ervant, or to &s;eek an Ox or an A&s;&s;e that was gone a&s;tray</HI> (yea it may be though it were but a &s;ay &s;o, yet) <HI>his bloud mu&s;t be upon his head, and it would be rounded in our ears, Thou knowe&s;t all the wickedne&s;s thy heart is privie to, that thou did&s;t to my Father; therefore the Lord doth return thy wickedne&s;s upon thine own head.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Tis the common intere&s;t of the Nation to be ea&s;ed of Taxes.</HI> To this I think no body will &s;ay nay. That the bringing in the late Kings Son is a hopeful remedy for the disburdening us of that heavy
<PB N="15" REF="11"> load of Taxes that have almo&s;t bowed us together, is demon&s;trable from the deep arrear he is in to the Commanders and Soldiers of his and his Fathers Armies, every body knows how pitifully they were paid from time to time, whereby they were nece&s;&s;itated to make Plunder their help at a dead lift; and if where it cannot be had, the King mu&s;t loo&s;e his right, &s;o mu&s;t his Servants too, he could pay no farther then it would go; and a poor pittance it was he could rai&s;e, and much of that bor|rowed of his creatures, for which he remains their debtor; this would go but a little way, to &s;top &s;o many mouthes as he retained in his &s;ervice: the Parliament having the pur&s;e of <HI>England</HI> at their girdle let it then be con&s;idered, what a va&s;t charge the pay of his Army amounts unto, during tho&s;e many years they were engaged again&s;t us, if our Arith|metick will reach it, and then let it be thought upon how little money they have fingered, and by the affaires of the Parliaments party, who notwith&s;tanding Crown Lands, Delinquents Lands, Bi&s;hops, Dean and Chapters Lands, are mo&s;t &s;old to &s;atisfie the Arrears of our Armies, who were yet three to one better paid then the Kings, through the help of Exci&s;e, and Contributions to a far greater value then the King could po&s;&s;ibly command; notwith&s;tanding which, many of the Parliaments old Soldiers cannot much brag of being overpaid to this day, and thereby it may be &s;hrewdly gue&s;&s;ed, <HI>Whether it be not likely to prove a very notable expedient to ea&s;e us of our Taxes to pay the&s;e old &s;cores, which though we &s;hould think fit to di&s;pute, I doubt we &s;hould not know how to refu&s;e, when they &s;hall bring in their King, who mu&s;t pay them their Arrears if he will keep them his friends, whom in all appearance he &s;hould not do well to di&s;oblige, being more tru&s;ty to his intere&s;t then to be laid a&s;ide upon ea&s;ie terms; and verily he mu&s;t be guilty of an im|plicit faith (for all the confidence of my Gentleman) that dare believe the Cavaliers will remit his Maje&s;ty, and the Nation their debts, if ever they &s;hall have opportunity to put their Debenters or Royal &s;aith bils in &s;uit:</HI> neither do I know, <HI>how the Ma&s;ter hath more right to the Government, then his Servants to their wages, and they that are &s;o con&s;cientious of the one, will in rea&s;on finde as little &s;cruple for the other, unle&s;s there be &s;ome prety fine di&s;tinctions that every one is not aware of.</HI> Be&s;ides what hath been &s;aid, it mu&s;t not be forgotten, <HI>how long he hath been upon the ram|ble, at meer expence in Holland, France, Flanders, and Germany, and mi|&s;take if you can, who are like to pay the reckoning.</HI></P>
<P>Fiftly, <HI>Advance of Trade is the common intere&s;t of the Nation.</HI> But mo&s;t probably it is not &s;o obvious to every under&s;tanding, <HI>how Trade &s;hould &s;uffer a di&s;couragement by the return of our old Monarchy;</HI> that it &s;hould be taken for granted upon a bare Propo&s;ition; and I the rather &s;u&s;pect it, becau&s;e the calling him in would not finde &s;o ma|ny Advocates and Votaries but upon a mi&s;taken belief, <HI>that Trade would thereby lift up its head:</HI> however, &s;ome there are very conver|&s;ant
<PB N="16" REF="12"> in Trade, and mo&s;t &s;tudious for its promotion, who are not in doubt to conclude, <HI>That it mu&s;t needs be a great di&s;turbance to Trade for a while, becau&s;e there must nece&s;&s;arily attend it a general expectation and &s;ilence, till the i&s;&s;ue of &s;uch an adventure, which ever makes Trade as &s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ll as the times; yea and when this cloud &s;hall be blown over, which cannot be in ha&s;t, yet &s;hall Trade receive no benefit thereby;</HI> for be&s;ides, <HI>that the &s;ame oppre&s;&s;ions, that are the now de&s;troyers of Trade, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be continued (notwith&s;tanding there &s;hould be peace) for the rai&s;ing of monies to &s;upply the nece&s;&s;ities that would occur.</HI> I &s;ay, be|&s;ides this, <HI>Trade would <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e a &s;ufferer by the return of our Monarchy:</HI> What have the be&s;t of all their Maje&s;ties that ever Reigned in <HI>Eng|land</HI> done <HI>for the encouragement of Trade?</HI> If they had done any thing Material, <HI>England</HI> had been more bound to thank them then it is. Something it may be hath been done for the benefit of particular Trades, but Trade in general hath been little befriended. Trade and Trade&s;|men all along have been the very &s;corn and envie of the Court: not fit to keep a Gentleman company, but at his di&s;tance, though ten times better then him&s;elf in e&s;tate; mu&s;t be looked upon as &s;orry Mechannick fellows, notwith&s;tanding in other Nations or Common-wealths, their be&s;t Gentry, Lords, Earls, Dukes hold it no di&s;parage|ment to Trade: Hereby Trade became of &s;o good e&s;teem, that a Gentlemans Son &s;hould be bread up for the Gallows rather then be di&s;honoured by a Trade: Hence a man might play the good husband, Cart, Plow, buy and &s;ell Hogs, Sheep, Hor&s;es, Cowes, Oxen, Hens, Gee&s;e, and yet be a tolerable Countrey Squire, but a Trades-man, no by no means, the time was when the&s;e were not fit to be num|bred with the dogs of their flock: It was a noble knack to encou|rage Trade and Trade&s;men, that care mu&s;t be had lea&s;t they &s;hould be too fine, and be mi&s;taken for Gentry, and by all means their wives mu&s;t be dre&s;&s;ed according to Court directions, lea&s;t they &s;hould vye gallantry with the Madams of Prerogative; by all means they mu&s;t know them&s;elves, and tis pity &s;ome cour&s;e is not taken now, that we may know a Trade&s; man from his betters; and however this may rather provoke &s;ome to laughter, then a &s;erious thought about it, yet <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t is not of &s;o light con&s;ideration; for who&s;oever is concerned to keep Trade under, he hath two things to do that will effect it. One is, Set Trade into a condition of contempt, and this will keep a people of high Spirits (where the Gentry are highly honoured) it will keep them off from Trades, and make them &s;eek their fortunes &s;ome other way, and if this prevail, then &s;ome rea&s;onable boones may be granted to tho&s;e few that maintain the Trade; for &s;ome Trade doth well under the greate&s;t Tyranny; but if men will be content to be any thing or nothing, to be ba&s;e, and di&s;honourable, to get rich s in a way of Trade, and &s;o begin to over&s;tock a Monarchy, with Traders and Trade, then follows
<PB N="17" REF="12"> all manner of Gabels and Impo&s;itions, that if they will be doing, they &s;hall be &s;ure to have no more then their labour for their pains: How much the flouri&s;hing of this City hath been envyed, &s;ome do yet very well remember; and how it was feared <HI>London</HI> &s;hould grow too big for <HI>England.</HI> It hath alwayes been a maxime with Monarkes to keep the unruly <HI>Plebeans</HI> from being over pur&s;ey, lea&s;t their wits &s;hould increa&s;e with their wealth, and they &s;hould begin to contend for their Prive|ledges; and therefore to make the Conque&s;t compleat, tho&s;e Projectors and Pattentees, were encouraged with their Monopolies, to eat out the heart of Trade, and keep the Merchant as bare as my nail: which (with &s;ome other grievances) was the very beginning and ground of our late Quarrel: when although &s;ome did arrive to va&s;t E&s;tates, by rea&s;on of the paucity of Trade&s;-men, &s;carcely any minding a Trade but &s;uch as had very low fortunes to begin, and the&s;e living in times of Peace, and Court jollity. Yet was not this &s;o general a good for the rea&s;ons beforementioned, but &s;o little encouragement was given, that if any Gentleman of a con&s;iderable Reputation had engaged any of his younger children in a Trade, he &s;hould be looked upon to have deba&s;ed his family for ever, and marred the genero&s;ity of his childe; being only in a capacity to be put in Couples with a Hat and a Coif; a convenient match for a pair of Spatterda&s;hes, and Leather Breeches; for &s;uch were generally tho&s;e (&s;aving only &s;ome few more &s;erious then the re&s;t) that occupied any Trade when they fir&s;t began their employment. How well the Citizens of <HI>London</HI> would be rewar|ded (by calling in the <HI>Scotti&s;h</HI> King) for not being like the men of <HI>Izachar,</HI> crouching under their loads in the late Kings time, let tho&s;e threatning letters of his late Maje&s;ty to this City informe tho&s;e who are &s;o &s;ollicitous for the return of <HI>Monarchy.</HI> Who ever would have Trade to flouri&s;h in <HI>England,</HI> mu&s;t di&s;-franchi&s;e two parts in three of tho&s;e that have &s;erved Apprenti&s;hips &s;ince 1640. or mu&s;t think of &s;ome better expedient then our old Monarchy for its advancement; it being abundantly manife&s;t there are too too many Trades-men, and well willers to Trade, to thrive under that Monarchy, and receive that be|nefit by it they expect, who if there were &s;uch rea&s;onable encouragement as might be given, would go near to be every &s;econd man in the Na|tion. Trade is now grown, and growing into &s;o good e&s;teem, which can never &s;ort with the intere&s;t and continuance of Monarchy, nor Monarchy with it.</P>
<P>Sixtly, <HI>Tis the common intere&s;t of the Nation, that the Soveraign powers and authority of Parliament be vindicated and maintained, and their freedom and priviledges &s;ecured.</HI> This is indeed <HI>Salus populi,</HI> all that we have to &s;hew for the &s;ecuring of what&s;oever we can call ours: Let Parliaments be rendred u&s;ele&s;s and unable to &s;erve us, and all is cancelled that we hold by, we mu&s;t become the mo&s;t perfect &s;laves and
<PB N="18" REF="13"> villains that can be How well our Parliaments have been treated by our Monarkes, our Hi&s;tories are not &s;ilent, having ever been looked upon with an evill eye, <HI>as the bane of their Prerogative,</HI> and therefore were &s;ure never to be Summoned <HI>but upon mo&s;t important and urgent oc|ca&s;ions for money,</HI> when all other <HI>artifices</HI> and <HI>contrivances</HI> failed: And if they dur&s;t be &s;o bold as to meddle with the <HI>general Grievances of the Nation,</HI> and were &s;o &s;turdy as <HI>vigorou&s;ly to pro&s;ecute their Redre&s;s,</HI> &s;hould not fail <HI>to be turned out of &s;ervice.</HI> What ever <HI>boones</HI> they <HI>procured for the people,</HI> were wrung like drops of bloud from the no&s;es of their <HI>mo&s;t exc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">llent Maje&s;ties;</HI> and &s;eldom or never, without venturing at lea&s;t, or <HI>pouring out their own bloud in the purcha&s;e.</HI> All the po&s;&s;ibility they had <HI>to do us good,</HI> was di&s;puted by <HI>inches,</HI> and got <HI>now a little,</HI> and <HI>then a a little</HI> out of the <HI>very fire,</HI> and at a <HI>hard pu&s;h</HI> at la&s;t came to &s;ignifie <HI>ju&s;t nothing; Parliaments</HI> being <HI>utterly di&s;&s;olved and broken up by meer Will and Plea&s;ure,</HI> when&s;oever they <HI>&s;inned again&s;t the good liking of their Driver.</HI> A happy condition no doubt, and well agreeing with the <HI>Liberty of the Subject.</HI> We need look no further back then the late King <HI>Charles</HI> (though whole Volums could not contain what might be written) and we &s;hall finde more then enough to our purpo&s;e: all the Parliaments that ever he called in his life till his la&s;t, being quick|ly broken to pieces by his <HI>arbitrary will, and not &s;uffered to do the Nation any &s;ervice:</HI> This is &s;o <HI>notorious,</HI> that no man will have the face to deny it; and therefore <HI>this Parliament</HI> finding that by no other way they could be made <HI>u&s;eful to the Nation,</HI> made tearms for them&s;elves, <HI>not to be di&s;&s;olved but by their own Con&s;ent and Act.</HI> Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> in his <HI>Narrative</HI> a&s;&s;erts this &s;elf &s;ame thing; <HI>The King being hard put to it for Money, and &s;orely vexed by the irre&s;i&s;tible clamours of the people, was forced to make a virtue of nece&s;&s;ity, and to &s;trike a bargain with them. Having tyed up his hands that he could not di&s;&s;olve them, he mu&s;t needs be pecking at them one by one; but finding him&s;elf prevented, not more by the Act he had pa&s;&s;ed for their continuance, and the priviledges they claimed for their Five Members, then by the hone&s;ty of the City, who would not &s;uffer him to do them harm: He &s;oon di&s;covered how much &s;ecurity his Act for continuance &s;hould have yielded them; for departing the City, he &s;ets up his Standard, and declares them Rebels, and what not, again and again, and fights them to his own ruine. Yea, after he was beat out of the field, and could bear up again&s;t them no longer, he runs in di&s;gui&s;e to the</HI> Scots, <HI>hoping thereby to &s;et us together by the ears, which after fell out to their very little honour.</HI> Wherein had he prevailed upon the <HI>Parliament,</HI> either by his Forces or his la&s;t re&s;erve of Policy, in turning him&s;elf over to the <HI>Scots;</HI> the mo&s;t mi&s;chievous and malicious de&s;ign could be put in practice, and wor&s;e in mine opinion then any of the re&s;t, having been the ground of all our mi&s;chief &s;ince; and verily they mu&s;t pre&s;&s;e the
<PB N="19" REF="13"> Covenant lu&s;tily, that after all this can per&s;wade us we were bound to pre&s;erve his Per&s;on, and Honour, and Authority, and his Heirs for ever: I &s;ay, had he prevailed upon the Parliament, we had been the mo&s;t ab&s;olute Va&s;&s;als of <HI>Europe,</HI> we &s;hould have had amends made us for di&s;&s;olving former Parliaments, and the ruine of this, by never &s;eeing another: But no que&s;tion the Son is otherwi&s;e enlightened, and &s;eeing the Rock upon which his Father &s;plit, will be &s;ure to avoid it, and will think it his happine&s;s and honour to be governed by his Parliaments; and therefore <HI>is willing to agree to us what our mo&s;t wanton wi&s;hes can ask,</HI> as our Author thinks fit to abu&s;e us; but we are not &s;o ea&s;ily moved to believe again&s;t &s;en&s;e, nor can be per|&s;waded, <HI>that the hone&s;ty of his per&s;on, and the &s;amene&s;s of his Intere&s;t with the Nation</HI> (which la&s;t proves a little di&s;putable it &s;hould &s;eem by this di&s;cour&s;e) of both which my Author makes &s;o great brags, would be good &s;ecurity to embolden us to entru&s;t him with di&s;pen&s;ing to us the&s;e unvaluable ble&s;&s;ings that God hath givey us by the medi|ation of our Swords; &s;ince we are of full age, and know how to ma|nage them our &s;elves to our better advantage: but &s;hould we di&s;tru&s;t our &s;elves to be &s;uch infants, as mu&s;t call in a Guardian; it would be no great wi&s;dom to make a bargain, and &s;ale in Tru&s;t, and put the price of our all into his hands in his name, to be kept for us, who believes him&s;elf Heir to his Fathers Prerogatives, and would make no bones to cry all his own, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion being eleven points of the Law, it is &s;omething to &s;ay, <HI>he is Fathers one Son, and must take his revenge upon Parliaments, for the good turns they have done his Father and him:</HI> and the old <HI>Charles</HI> being in rod letters in the Cavaliers Callender as the be&s;t of Kings, we &s;hould wrong his memory to hope better of the Child then the Parent; who hath to an hair trod in his Fathers track, where ever he could &s;et his &s;hooe, and di&s;covered his good affection to our <HI>Par|liaments,</HI> both in his Fathers time, and &s;ince he pretended to be <HI>Charles the Second;</HI> being as perfectly fitted to ri&s;e up in his Fathers &s;tead, as if he had been &s;pit out of his mouth: and they who &s;o vigorou&s;ly advi&s;e, for a treaty with him, hoping to kill him with kindne&s;s, to overcome evil with good; to court him into this Throne by &s;uch &s;mooth language as tho&s;e 1 <HI>King.</HI> 12.4. <HI>Thy Father made our yoke grievous: now there|fore, make thou the grievous &s;ervice of thy Father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will &s;erve thee;</HI> will finde, al|though he ask coun&s;el of the Old men that &s;tood before his Father in his life time, who will advi&s;e him as <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 7. <HI>If thou wilt be a &s;ervant unto this people this day, and wilt &s;erve them, and an&s;wer them, and &s;peak good words to them, then they will be thy &s;ervants, for ever:</HI> Yet notwith|&s;tanding after three dayes (a &s;hort times) breathing, after con&s;ulting with his Young men, he will mo&s;t certainly do, though it may be be|forehand will not &s;o plainly deal with us, as did <HI>Rehoboam</HI> with the
<PB N="20" REF="14"> men of <HI>I&s;rael, ver&s;.</HI> 13. <HI>And the King an&s;wered the people roughly, and for&s;ook the Old mens coun&s;el that they gave him: and &s;pake to them after the coun&s;el of the Young men, &s;aying, My Father made your yoke heavy, and I will adde to your yoke; my Father al&s;o cha&s;ti&s;ed you with Whips, but I will cha&s;ti&s;e you with Scorpions.</HI> Who&s;oever thinks it their benefit to quit the Priviledges of Parliament, for the Prerogatives of an He|reditary Monarchy, &s;hall do well to believe it their intere&s;t to call him in. Yea routing of Parliaments is found &s;o ab&s;olute a requi&s;ite to Prerogative, and &s;o really the intere&s;t and concernment of a Single Per&s;on, that the Old Lord Protector (who &s;wore &s;o &s;olemnly to pre|&s;erve the Laws of the Land) made no &s;tick, but broke tho&s;e Parlia|ments in pieces which he called to &s;erve his turn, if they could not &s;ay the Le&s;&s;on which was taken out for them: and thus it will be to the end of the Chapter, if care be not had; and they &s;ay prevention is the be&s;t phy&s;ick.</P>
<P>Seventhly, <HI>Settlement is the common intere&s;t of the Nation.</HI> This is that every ones wi&s;hes zealou&s;ly pretend unto, but few take the right cour&s;e to procure; and therefore many being wearied out with expe|ctation, fear we &s;hall never &s;ee a Settlement, that no way can be found out, to give a rational content to all parties among us, that can be brought into practice, and therefore have doomed <HI>England</HI> to de&s;truction, becau&s;e <HI>a hou&s;e, or Kingdom divided again&s;t it &s;elf cannot &s;tand:</HI> becau&s;e we have been &s;o many years labouring under di&s;tracti|on, and emptied from Ve&s;&s;el to Ve&s;&s;el, they fear it will never be otherwi&s;e: but the&s;e are their fears, not their de&s;ires. Every one who&s;e bu&s;ine&s;s is not to fi&s;h in troubled waters, heartily wi&s;hing a Settlement in the&s;e Nations; which would be &s;o much the more welcome to us, as the want of it &s;o long hath made us lament after it: It would be a great rejoycing to know where we &s;hould re&s;t, <HI>that we might &s;it un|der our own Vines and Fig-trees, without being alarumed with this In|&s;urrection, and that Change of Government, this Oath, and the other contrary Engagement,</HI> enough to make a wife man mad: but how this may be accommodated will fall in afterward, it &s;hall &s;uffice here to note how unrea&s;onable it is to hope for a Settlement by calling in the late Kings Son: <HI>For where &s;eeds of Di&s;turbance and Di&s;contents are uni|ver&s;ally &s;own (which though now more hidden and underground, yet will &s;oon appear after a little expectation) there no &s;ettlement can be hoped for.</HI> This then is made good by con&s;equence, it having been manife&s;t, how he mu&s;t needs trample upon the con&s;ciences of Reli|gious people, which can but little oblige them; give encourage|ment to Papi&s;ts, who will be continually plotting to di&s;turb our peace: Entrench upon Property, which will create him not a few enemies: Encrea&s;e Taxes, which are the great make bate at this day: Di&s;courage Trade, which will prepare men to rai&s;e their fortunes upon the ruines
<PB N="21" REF="14"> of the publique: and that his Prerogative will cla&s;h with the Pri|viledges of Parliament, which if ever he grant us another Parliament, would mo&s;t probably beget us another 20 years Di&s;traction. If this then produce a Settlement of the&s;e Nations, it mu&s;t be acknowledged a wonder is wrought for us: being a means not only very unlikely, but mo&s;t contrary to its end; which only the hand of Omnipotency can over-rule. So that in all appearance, &s;hould he acquire the Government of the&s;e Nations, it would be too hot to hold, and we &s;hould be farther off from Settlement then now we are. From the whole I conclude,</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>That the Intere&s;t before mentioned under Seven Heads are Indi&s;pen&s;ible.</HI></P>
<P><HI>That the bringing in the late Kings Son is imcompatible therewith.</HI></P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>Both which are &s;ufficiently cleared from any doubt; therefore it is by no means advi&s;eable to call him in. What &s;hould I in&s;tance in <HI>Reformation of Religion: E&s;tabli&s;hing the good and whole&s;ome Laws of the Land, which concern the Community:</HI> or <HI>Indempnifying irregular actions:</HI> Neither of which do require the application of &s;uch a <HI>de&s;perate experi|ment;</HI> although &s;ome mercile&s;s. State Quack&s;alvers make this pre|&s;cription, and thereby keep our wounds &s;till bleeding, and di&s;tort us limb from limb, to practice their skill upon us, and make a triall upon their mi&s;erable patients, till we &s;woon away and die under their clutches: when &s;ome Kitchin phy&s;ick, &s;omething more natural to the body of the Nation, would with much more rea&s;on, in le&s;&s;e time, and with le&s;&s;e hazard, re&s;tore the pale faced Religion of <HI>England,</HI> and confirm the good Laws of the Nation, which nece&s;&s;ity hath &s;omething weakned of later years, and procure a &s;ound indempnity which &s;ome think to be in a langui&s;hing condition; neither of which, for ought I perceive yet, are in &s;uch extremity as to be under nece&s;&s;ity of drinking in the&s;e A&s;&s;es milk. I have done what I fir&s;t promi&s;ed, and made it clear, <HI>That the cal|ling in the late Kings Son, is neither a certain, nor yet probable means, for pre&s;ervation of the Nation, and the Rights and Intere&s;ts thereof.</HI> My next bu&s;ine&s;s is to produce an Expedient that may do what the other only did pretend; which trouble I give my &s;elf and my Reader, not to pre&s;cribe to men in Authority, referring it to their judgements, what form of popular Government will make this Nation mo&s;t happy,
<PB N="22" REF="15"> whereunto my opinion &s;hall &s;ubmit, though it &s;hould not con&s;ent; but becau&s;e our Author put in tho&s;e tearmes <HI>[The Only means of Pre|&s;ervation]</HI> thereby in&s;inuating as if ruine were unavoidable, <HI>if his King could not &s;ave us, we mu&s;t needs peri&s;h.</HI> I think my &s;elf thereby fairly provoked, not by my &s;ilence to con&s;ent, <HI>that the Nation is left in an undone condition;</HI> having rendred his only pre&s;ervative fruitle&s;s and fru&s;trate, but to per&s;wade my Countrymen to cea&s;e from the Speeches and Actions of &s;uch as are de&s;perate, and devoted to ruine, by offe|ring a &s;afe and facile way of recovery, to a better condition and temper of State, then our Nation hath enjoyed in the memory of Man, towards which the pul&s;e of the Nation is felt to beat pretty kindly. Wherein I &s;hall not be &s;o much an Innovator, as &s;ome others, &s;eeing I do not much magnifie &s;uch Propo&s;itions as have been made for new modelling <HI>foundations</HI> and <HI>&s;uper&s;tructures,</HI> till it grows up to a <HI>Fabrick</HI> not unfitly re&s;embling a <HI>Windmill,</HI> which turns round, while it &s;tands fa&s;t: while an <HI>Engli&s;h way of a Common-wealth</HI> is no far|ther to &s;eek, I &s;hould mi&s;like it more then I do, if I took a voyage to <HI>Venice,</HI> of any other part of the world, to bring in a new pattern; &s;ince if my chothes did &s;it as well to my back, they would plea&s;e me no le&s;&s;e, then if they were <HI>alla mode a France.</HI> I &s;ay then,</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>That the Supream Authority of the Nati|on, being fully ve&s;ted in</HI> Parliaments <HI>of</HI> England <HI>&s;ucce&s;sively, and frequently Cho&s;en by the Good People thereof, be|ing free and without check upon them; this is an Infallible means (under God) of pre&s;ervation of the Nation, and the Rights and Intere&s;t thereof.</HI></P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>By <HI>the Supream Authority,</HI> I mean, <HI>the whole Legi&s;lative Power, and whatever Powers of right belonged formerly to Kings, Lords, and Commons joyntly.</HI> I add, <HI>that this be fully ve&s;ted in them;</HI> thereby I under&s;tand, <HI>that they have the &s;ole power of the Militia:</HI> which was claimed by the King, and by the Parliament; but whoever could get fa&s;te&s;t hold would not let go, but would be &s;ure to have and to hold from that day forward; without this they would only be comple|mented,
<PB N="23" REF="15"> <HI>The Supream Authority of the Nation;</HI> as in courte&s;ie we be&s;peak Sir <HI>John</HI> and Sir <HI>Thomas</HI> Knights of the <HI>Lord Protector,</HI> but no &s;uch matter&mdash; <HI>In Parliaments of</HI> England <HI>cho&s;en,</HI> I intend <HI>Knights, Citi|zens,</HI> and <HI>Burge&s;&s;es.</HI> By <HI>the good people of the Nation,</HI> I mean, <HI>&s;uch as have not declared them&s;elves for the King again&s;t the Parliament in the be|ginning of the Wars, or been di&s;covered in Armes, or Plots, upon the &s;ame account as di&s;turbers of the peace &s;ince; being &s;uch as by Law are capable thereof. Succe&s;&s;ively and frequently,</HI> I de&s;ign, <HI>that the people loo&s;e not their benefit of Elections after once chu&s;ing, by Parliaments &s;itting time out of minde, but that all Parliaments be cho&s;en, and often cho&s;en by the people, at lea&s;t once in two years. Being free, and with|out check upon them;</HI> I would have, <HI>that they be not overpowred by force, nor controuled by a Negative voice of Single per&s;on or Peers.</HI> Thus explained I will &s;tand to my tackling,</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>That &s;uch a Parliament is an Infallible means (under God) for pre&s;ervation of the Nation, and the Rights and Intere&s;ts thereof.</HI></P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>I &s;hall take the le&s;&s;e pains to clear the equity of my Propo&s;ition, &s;ince the Malecontents of the Nation that have made &s;o great a noi&s;e lately, &s;eem to make this their only wi&s;h; and profe&s;s to acquie&s;ce in the re&s;olutions of <HI>A Free Parliament,</HI> who&s;e Supremacy they make &s;o little doubt to acknowledge, that they, or &s;ome body for them profe&s;&s;e they will be content to be accounted Traytors if they di&s;pute. I &s;hall only &s;ay this, <HI>That the Knights, Citizens, and Burge&s;&s;es are tho&s;e, and only tho&s;e in whom we repo&s;e our tru&s;t, as tho&s;e from whom we ex|pect our benefits; they are as it were the Covenant Servants of the Nation, are a part, and the be&s;t part of our &s;elves too, if we be not over|ruled in our choice; &s;uch who if they &s;hould harm us mu&s;t wrong them&s;elves, being obliged in every thing they impo&s;e upon us, our in|tere&s;ts being common and in&s;eperable: but that of King and Lords di&s;tinct, yea contrary to our Liberties, and &s;o &s;elvi&s;h, and &s;elf-&s;eekers, and mo&s;t unlike to be our Saviours.</HI> The other are embarqued in the &s;ame bottom with us, and &s;o are concerned to make the be&s;t ad|vantage for us they can: When the&s;e are bound to maintain their Honours and prerogatives, though upon our ruine: who are u&s;ually never the le&s;&s;e Pur&s;ey, and powerful, as we are the more flavi&s;h and indigent. Therefore it concerns us, that the Supream Authority be
<PB N="24" REF="16"> ve&s;ted as I &s;aid. I propo&s;e them the <HI>Militia,</HI> becau&s;e it would be poor Providence to betru&s;t them with con&s;ulting for our welfare, if they have not power to &s;ee their re&s;olutions put in effectual execution: give a Parliament power of declaring Laws, and &s;ome other per&s;on or per&s;ons power to di&s;pute tho&s;e Laws, or to &s;ubvert them, and then you may &s;ave the labour of the fir&s;t, &s;ince the latter &s;hall render the Supremacy of the former Subordinate. I know there can be no <HI>Supream Authority</HI> without the <HI>Militia;</HI> tis the &s;ame thing, but this <HI>(ad homines)</HI> to men that would unwillingly part with the Sword, yet &s;eem very free the <HI>Parliament</HI> &s;hould be <HI>the Supream Authority.</HI> We remember who di&s;puted the Militia with the late King, I would they had it now without di&s;pute.</P>
<P>I propo&s;e <HI>that they be &s;ucce&s;&s;ively and frequently cho&s;en,</HI> becau&s;e it is mo&s;t unrea&s;onable that Parliaments, or what ever we call that we &s;hall chu&s;e, &s;hould continue as long as they plea&s;e; this would make way for corruption, as it is commonly &s;ugge&s;ted again&s;t &s;ome in <HI>this Par|liament,</HI> who&s;e blame is very improvidently laid upon all the re&s;t, for certainly there is no greater temptation upon a Parliament then Continuance, and I would not they &s;hould be lead into this tempta|tion; this would make Parliaments ten thou&s;and times wor&s;e then Monarchy.</P>
<P>I would have them <HI>frequently cho&s;en,</HI> becau&s;e it is better for us, that they be often cho&s;en, then that they do not alwayes continue; that they be quickly in a condition, or in po&s;&s;ibility of being in a condition of &s;ubjection is more for our &s;ecurity, and more likely that they &s;hould provide for us, and them&s;elves, then if they &s;hould con|tinue long in rule.</P>
<P>I would have them <HI>cho&s;en by the good people of the Nation,</HI> as be|fore explained; for it &s;eems to me unrea&s;onable that tho&s;e who in the fir&s;t quarrel took part with the King &s;hould be admitted as yet to elect or be elected; who having waved the Umpirage of Parlia|ment, and referred them&s;elves to the arbitration of the Sword, can|not expect that after a direct judgement given again&s;t them in the ca&s;e; they &s;hould have recour&s;e thither from whence their cau&s;e had been before Super&s;eded; and for the others they are or might be more &s;en&s;ible of their mi&s;carriages then to expect equal benefit with the more tru&s;ty and upright in the Nation; neither of which can with &s;afty pre&s;ently he admitted to chu&s;e or be cho&s;en, lea&s;t their choice and coun&s;els &s;hould lead to involve again the Nation in bloud.</P>
<P>I add, <HI>that they be not controuled by King, Single Per&s;on, nor Peers,</HI> or <HI>forced by Power:</HI> for if they &s;hould be under the Law of the for|mer, or under the force of the latter; as good never a whit, as never the better: <HI>there would be a Law in tho&s;e Members, would war again&s;t
<PB N="25" REF="16"> the law in their minds; and they could not do the things they would;</HI> &s;o that though <HI>to will were pre&s;ent, yet how to perform,</HI> they might truly &s;ay, <HI>they knew not;</HI> they could finde no ability.</P>
<P>In a word, Two things very much commend the nature of my Pro|po&s;ition, <HI>It takes in all intere&s;ts,</HI> and <HI>it doth it by choice.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The whole intere&s;t of the Nation is taken in to con&s;titute this <HI>Supream power,</HI> every County, City, and con&s;iderable Burrough, &s;end or &s;hould &s;end in competent Numbers to &s;ecure and a&s;&s;ert their intere&s;ts, no &s;ort of men but have an intere&s;t going here, the Clergy not excepted, who though they do not &s;it here, lea&s;t it &s;hould hinder their &s;tudies, yet &s;trike a great &s;troak in Elections, and never loo&s;e them&s;elves by a Parliament. The Nobility, if they be not too high in the in&s;tep, and think it below them to &s;erve their Countrey, may &s;erve them&s;elves too in this Coun&s;el; being as like to be cho&s;en as any other if they plea&s;e. A Parliament alwayes takes in, or is taking in all Intere&s;ts, every body hath his &s;tock going here, which can be &s;aid of no other Power; therefore mo&s;t rationally may we expect it &s;hould give &s;atisfa|ction to all, &s;ince it takes care of the intere&s;ts of all.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>It is performed by choice,</HI> which gives the mo&s;t ab&s;olute and undoubted right, and is that under which we are infinitely obliged to &s;it down &s;atisfied: a Woman cannot di&s;pute the right, nor &s;cruple to &s;it down content under the &s;hadow of her husband, e&s;pecially if he be not obtrud d upon her con&s;ent, &s;ince he is the fruit of her own choice; &s;he might have taken another if &s;he would: but &s;he could not &s;o well content her &s;elf under the right and rule of a Ma&s;ter unto whom &s;he was betrayed again&s;t her will; though &s;ince &s;he cannot help it, &s;he complies to make her &s;lavery the more tollerable: but now the Woman that hath cho&s;en her husband, though he prove wor&s;e then &s;he expected, her choice hath obliged her as long as he lives. How undoubted then is their right of Supremacy, and with how abundant content and &s;atisfaction may we give up our &s;elves under their rule whom we chu&s;e our &s;elves, unto whom we plight our troth for &s;o little time; unto whom we do not &s;ay, <HI>Be our &s;ervants to day, and we will be yours for ever after (though I would &s;ay this to Parliaments in general, yet not to particulars) but have a power in our &s;elves after a little pau&s;e to mend our Ma&s;ters, and put them into the &s;ame &s;tate of &s;ubjection with our &s;elves, which is not found in other con&s;titutions; by the late. Other Hou&s;e we may take a &s;urvey and e&s;timate of the beginning and original of the Hou&s;e of Peers.</HI></P>
<P>Tho&s;e that de&s;ire full &s;atisfaction of the Peoples right to chu&s;e their own Government, and Governors, I refer them to Mr. <HI>Har|ringtons Oceana,</HI> where they &s;hall not lo&s;e their labour, if they do not &s;hut their eyes.</P>
<P>I pa&s;&s;e on to commend my expedient, by its nece&s;&s;ary effects, which will mo&s;t certainly pre&s;erve the Nation, and the Rights and
<PB N="26" REF="17"> Intere&s;ts thereof. Let us try it then upon tho&s;e common Intere&s;ts of the Nation mentioned before, and &s;ee how we &s;hall &s;ucceed, which I &s;hall refer to be judged fit to be received or rejected, as it abides the tryal.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then, <HI>for Liberty of Con&s;cience.</HI> What, in the world, can be ima|gined to &s;ecure this better then a Parliament; they are obliged to no one particular party &s;o as to humour them, to the opre&s;&s;ion or &s;uppre&s;&s;ing of the re&s;t, having experiance both of the affection and valour of the Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptized, towards the recovery of their ju&s;t Supremacy; be&s;ides are too va&s;t and too noble a body, to be agitated by &s;o low, &s;o narrow, and &s;uch a contracted &s;oul, as &s;hould &s;trait lace them &s;o clo&s;e, that they &s;hould be inexora|ble, and &s;tiff to all di&s;&s;enters, from the more generally received faith<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I do not mean Fun|damentals.</NOTE> of the Nation, &s;o as they &s;hould not be able to breath the ble&s;&s;ing of their protection upon them. Tis true <HI>Monarchy</HI> hath this Maxime, <HI>No Bi&s;hop no King:</HI> I know no &s;uch Maxime of a <HI>Free-State,</HI> of whom only this is true, <HI>their title is &s;o good, they need fool no party to prop up them&s;elves;</HI> yea, <HI>tis their direct intere&s;t, to indulge to every man, what liberty he can claim as a Man or a Chri&s;tian, which is not repugnant to Rea&s;on or Scripture.</HI> Tis a &s;en&s;e of our ju&s;t rights and our claim of them, that bear up the Pillars of a Parliament, it was this that not long &s;ince brought them out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and tis this that makes them <HI>the delight of our eyes, and the joy of our hearts;</HI> it mu&s;t need then be their intere&s;t, to gratifie us herein. Let us loo&s;e the &s;en&s;e of our ju&s;t rights, or retaining the &s;en&s;e of them, loo&s;e the courage of heart to demand them, and our <HI>Free-&s;tate</HI> will &s;oon degenerate into &s;lavery, and become a prey to &s;ome <HI>Nimrod,</HI> &s;ome <HI>mighty Hunter:</HI> a Common-wealth can never &s;it fa&s;t upon Blind Bayard. Be&s;ides, <HI>that it is their intere&s;t to do every man right,</HI> there can be no party which can pretend to <HI>Liberty of Con&s;cience,</HI> that can want their Advocates in this A&s;&s;embly, every party may tell their tale here, and if they want not rea&s;on on their &s;ide, need not fear of &s;ucceeding to their content; can it be thought to &s;ort with the Wi&s;|dome or Intere&s;t of the Parliament, to carry it on in a way of Faction as &s;ome dream, and thereby to di&s;oblige any con&s;iderable number of their Members and Friends, when they &s;hall urge nothing but what may be with &s;afety conceded? Can they &s;o little under&s;tand them|&s;elves, as to forget, <HI>that to cement; and unite is their intere&s;t,</HI> which cannot be otherwi&s;e performed then by gratifying all Religious pre|tenders, &s;o far as Rea&s;on and Religion will allow, <HI>divide &amp; impera</HI> may not be written among their Politicks. Yea, the <HI>Epi&s;copal</HI> party, who are not ea&s;ie to be per&s;waded, <HI>that the Supremacy of Parliaments can &s;ignifie any good to them,</HI> cannot fail to receive an equal benefit with the re&s;t in matters of Religion, if they will not leave us without
<PB N="27" REF="17"> hope <HI>of their compliance with the Government,</HI> &s;ince they cannot be without many wel-willers to their way of Wor&s;hip in that Coun|cill.</P>
<P>The <HI>Presbyterians</HI> too, mu&s;t needs finde friends there to bear his head above water, notwith&s;tanding that mighty deluge of <HI>Quakers</HI> and others, having taken &s;o deep rooting in the mindes of many, that tho&s;e winds and waves, may do their wor&s;t again&s;t this Hou&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and not finde its fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ndation in the &s;and. So that it is evident a &s;uffi|cient liberty mu&s;t be had by a Parliament, to content any but &s;uch as will be &s;atisfied with nothing le&s;&s;e then being <HI>ab&s;olute Lords over Gods heritage, and having ab&s;olute dominion over our Faith.</HI> There are &s;ome in the world that think it good di&s;cretion to <HI>indent for Liberty of Con&s;cience, as not thinking it fit to tru&s;t our Repre&s;entatives herein, fearing they &s;hould take up a little, and not throw the reigns upon the neck of every opinion as it is this day:</HI> But for mine own part I am free to tru&s;t my all with a Parliament, as not fearing them in the lea&s;t; and for my Religion, I &s;hould not think it much, if it would not engage me freely to obey, or patiently to &s;uffer, in ca&s;e I mu&s;t needs run counter to the unanimous re&s;olutions of the Supream Authority, thinking it expedient that one man &s;hould die for the people; better I &s;hould &s;uffer in my &s;ingle concernment, then they &s;hould di&s;turb the Publique Tranquillity. But put the wor&s;t, think as hardly as can be thought of Parliaments, here is a &s;ufficient cour&s;e to be taken with them, <HI>if we do indent with them at Elections about Liberty of Con&s;cience;</HI> they cannot meddle in what they are not betru&s;ted with. Tho&s;e that are &s;o tender for &s;ecurity in this point, cannot devi&s;e any way to hold if this will not, if they can let us know, which project we will allow in a due latitude rather then loo&s;e our bu&s;ine&s;s, but we &s;hall not el&s;e need it: however this is neither <HI>Epi&s;copal</HI> nor <HI>Presbyte|rian</HI> policy, which makes me wonder that either of the&s;e &s;hould be &s;o much e&s;tranged from the <HI>Supremacy of Parliaments:</HI> and makes me often lament the <HI>hard fate of Parliaments,</HI> that one &s;ort of men dare not tru&s;t them for a <HI>&s;ufficient tolleration;</HI> and the other &s;ort of men are un|willing to credit them, <HI>for an uniformity of wor&s;hip;</HI> laying both together, makes me conclude, <HI>They are mo&s;t like to be our Saviours, being di&s;po&s;ed for middle per&s;ons, to &s;alve tho&s;e extreams among&s;t us, which are not to be reconciled, but by the interpo&s;ition of &s;uch, as will not e&s;pou&s;e the preten&s;ions of either, but endevour to make both yeeld as much as may be to the &s;atisfaction of all; and if Parliaments were more a party with either, they would be move unlike to attone the differences among us, but being a mixt body, and nece&s;&s;arily made up of all parties, mu&s;t needs receive &s;uch an allay thereby, as &s;hall di&s;po&s;e them to &s;o great an indifferency, as may give every man rea&s;on enough to abide their award and judgement, unle&s;s we will re&s;erve to our &s;elves a liberty</HI>
<PB N="28" REF="18"> of making Exceptions (as we may again&s;t &s;ome <HI>Jury-men</HI>) without &s;hewing the lea&s;t rea&s;on in the world for &s;o doing: I conclude with Mr. <HI>Harrington, Either liberty of Con&s;cience can have no &s;ecurity at all, or under a Popular Government mu&s;t have the greate&s;t &s;ecu|rity.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Extirpation of Popery.</HI> Here now I cannot chu&s;e but run &s;ous again&s;t <HI>Portland,</HI> and fall foul upon Mr. <HI>Prin;</HI> how I &s;hall get off, no body knowes: <HI>Ip&s;e dixit:</HI> He tells us in his <HI>True and perfect Narrative,</HI> as he calls it, that it was a Plott laid long agone by the <HI>Je&s;uites,</HI> to reduce us to a <HI>Common-wealth:</HI> That <HI>Richelieu</HI> bequeathed it as a Legacy of his <HI>Politicks</HI> to <HI>Mazarin,</HI> to root out our <HI>Royall Family,</HI> and to per&s;wade us into a <HI>Popular Government:</HI> And that a <HI>Confe&s;&s;or</HI> of the Queens waved his Hat at the Decollation of the <HI>King,</HI> in great triumph; as who &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>The day was their own.</HI> And much more to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, to enforce his Allegation, <HI>That the Government of a Common-wealth is Popi&s;h and Je&s;uitical, and tends to the advance, and encrea&s;e of Popery.</HI> I &s;hall make no doubt, &s;o farre to agree with Mr. <HI>Pryn, That the Papi&s;ts and Je&s;uites great de|&s;ign is, and all along hath been, and will be, To da&s;h us in pieces one again&s;t another:</HI> And it might be no in&s;ignificant Artifice to put us upon laying a&s;ide <HI>King&s;hip;</HI> hoping thereby eternally to engage us in <HI>Parties</HI> and <HI>Factions,</HI> that might in the end be the ruine of each other: And who can tell whether Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> hath not been an un|happy in&s;trument in promoting their &s;ervice. It is not to be doubted but the <HI>Je&s;uites</HI> were well enough plea&s;ed, with the fir&s;t Differences between the Parliament and King, and yet I hope the Parliament were not <HI>Je&s;uited:</HI> I dare &s;ay it did not trouble the <HI>Je&s;uites</HI> that Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> was brought into <HI>London</HI> from his hou&s;e of bondage with &s;o much triumph; for he mu&s;t needs make a good Incendiary: And he tells us, <HI>The plot was laid long before;</HI> no doubt it plea&s;ed them as well that the <HI>Scots</HI> and <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> were engaged one again&s;t another; a hopefull way to &s;ettle our <HI>Common-wealth:</HI> Did it go to their hearts, doth Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> think, that old <HI>Cromwell</HI> thru&s;t this Parliament out of dotes; that he made him&s;elf Protector, that he broke up &s;o many Conventions at his di&s;cretion; that the Protector&s;hip was laid by? and are they not more then ordinarily concerned now to rout this Parliament, before they can lay the foundations of our <HI>Free State?</HI> Doth not Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> think they would cry, <HI>Aha, aha, &s;o we would have it,</HI> if they could by any means &s;et the Parliament and Army at vari|ance? And were not th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s a ble&s;&s;ed project for &s;ettlement of a <HI>Free State:</HI> I will not &s;ay Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> is a <HI>Je&s;uite,</HI> but this I mu&s;t &s;ay, <HI>He hath done more then one mans &s;hare to di&s;tract us, and to lay the founda|tion of this la&s;t Sedition; which &s;mells more of the Je&s;uite then any of the re&s;t, being more cunningly de&s;igned, more &s;ecretly managed, and
<PB N="29" REF="18"> univer&s;ally &s;pread, then any that hath been on foot to this day:</HI> And yet Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> will not &s;ay this was a de&s;ign for a <HI>Free State.</HI> 'Tis the Pa|pi&s;ts de&s;ign out of doubt, to di&s;turb and de&s;troy us; to un&s;ettle us all they can, that they may ruine us. And therefore it was not unlike the Di&s;ciples of <HI>Machiavell,</HI> to drive us from a &s;ettlement, hoping to crumble us to du&s;t, before we could arrive to a better con&s;titution: If it were their plot, as I know no great ground to believe, (and Mr. <HI>Rogers</HI> hath well an&s;wered) more then to di&s;tract us; I &s;uppo&s;e they meant us no good by it, but they are fallen into the pit they digged for us; <HI>the Lord is known by the Judgements he executeth, the wicked are &s;nared in the work of their of their own hands: Higgaion Selah.</HI> We are now in a hopefull way of &s;etling a Common-wealth, and we &s;hall quickly under&s;tand what advantage &s;uch a &s;ettlement would yield to the Papi&s;t: It is not at all to be di&s;puted but another Queen <HI>Mary</HI> would do their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e as well as a Common-wealth; who would hardly be per&s;waded to joyn our Nation to Saint <HI>Peters</HI> Patrimony. I appeal to all the World, whether their de&s;igns be not more ea&s;ily wrought out of a private intere&s;t, then a publique: Whether it &s;hould be harder to make one per&s;on for them, or the whole Nation? We are no &s;trangers to the <HI>genius</HI> of our Native Countrey. If the &s;ingle per&s;on &s;hould deny to plea&s;ure them, it were no hard matter to take their revenge there; by <HI>Poy&s;on, Ponyard,</HI> or <HI>Pi&s;toll:</HI> They could quickly remove out of their way an <HI>Edward</HI> the <HI>Sixth,</HI> or a Prince <HI>Henry,</HI> if they were like to &s;poyl their de&s;igns; Were they not more likely to advantage them&s;elves by matches of our Kings with <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> Women? Doth not Mr. <HI>Pryn</HI> acknowledge the <HI>Je&s;uites</HI> had a great number of Colledges in <HI>England,</HI> in his fore|cited Book? Do we not all know, the Papi&s;ts had as much counte|nance as they can imagine under our <HI>Free State?</HI> Remember what my Author &s;aith, which I mentioned before. Yea, have not our Parliaments been their greate&s;t Enemies? I appeal to Mr. <HI>Pryn, If the Hou&s;e of Commons have been any of their best friends &s;ince our Nation hath been Prote&s;tant?</HI> He tells us him&s;elf, <HI>How angry the</HI> Papi&s;ts <HI>were at the Propo&s;itions of the</HI> I&s;le of Wight, <HI>which the King con&s;ented to again&s;t the</HI> Papi&s;ts: We all know who&s;e was the contrivance. Yea, all the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> of <HI>England</HI> appeared for the King in his warres again&s;t the Parliament; you will judge then whether they be for a <HI>Common-wealth</HI> again&s;t <HI>Monarchy;</HI> or whether they mean us a &s;ettlement of our Common-wealth; e&s;pecially &s;ince <HI>Monarchy</HI> is now cryed up hotter then ever, by that party, and their Agents; or any thing rather then we &s;hould &s;ettle in the way of an equal <HI>Common-wealth:</HI> which certainly if ever they put us in pur&s;uit of, they never meant we &s;hould reach, or overtake.</P>
<P>But let my Expedient be put in practice, the Nation &s;etled upon
<PB N="30" REF="19"> the Foundations of <HI>Parliaments,</HI> and my life for it, the Papi&s;ts &s;hall receive their deadly wound, which &s;hall not be healed; nor &s;hall they have power to vex our Nations any more, for they have been the mortall enemies of Parliaments, engaged in wars again&s;t them all along: and alwayes practi&s;ing &s;edition again&s;t them. In&s;tances are familiar here, and in <HI>Ireland:</HI> whereby they have engaged the Par|liaments their everla&s;ting foes; &s;o that tho&s;e of the Parliament that would have re&s;tored the King, &s;hewed their good will unto the Papi&s;ts, by cau&s;ing the King to agree to their per&s;ecution: Yea Parliaments ever &s;ince Queen <HI>Mary</HI> e&s;pecially, have &s;hewn their teeth at them, and bitten too as often as they have been able to reach them; till they have been rated off by their Ma&s;ters: And it cannot be but their <HI>&s;ins mu&s;t come in remembrance before our Parliaments:</HI> And then falling into their hands whom they have obliged not to befriend them, they may expect what will follow, <HI>even the wages of their iniquities,</HI> which I &s;ee by their bu&s;tling they are well aware of: their <HI>Religion is an enemy to our Peace.</HI> They have done nothing to merit the Par|liaments favour; nor can finde any advocates in that A&s;&s;embly, that dare &s;peak out for them; no <HI>Cottington,</HI> no <HI>Digby:</HI> There &s;hall be <HI>Epi&s;copal, Presbyterian, Independant,</HI> and <HI>Baptized,</HI> all vying their zeal again&s;t them, who &s;hall mo&s;t fervently expre&s;s his anger at them. Yea, and he &s;hall think <HI>he hath &s;ufficiently purged him&s;elf from all Damnable Errors, that &s;hall wou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d the Hairy Scalp of the Scar|let Whore:</HI> The Papi&s;t will have good luck, <HI>if they do not receive at their hand double for all their villanyes;</HI> being more like to <HI>give them bloud to drink, who have drunk bloud in abundance, then to give them any encouragement or toleration among us:</HI> Yea the very <HI>Fift Monarchy-men,</HI> who of late years have been mentioned with as much dete&s;tation and indignation, as if they maintained &s;ome damnable Opinions, or <HI>Doctrines of Devils,</HI> are as forward as any to &s;hew their zeal in this particular.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Defence of Property:</HI> This Parliaments mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily make good for their own credits. 'Tis irrationall to fear that <HI>Property</HI> in generall &s;hould be endangered by a Parliament; but tho&s;e E&s;tates which have been &s;old by former Parliaments, mu&s;t be made good by following Parliaments, el&s;e they crack their reputation, and undo their credit: They who have been faithfull to the Parliament, need not fear, no nor the <HI>Cavaliers,</HI> for having compounded, there will <HI>re|main no more &s;acrifice for their &s;in,</HI> if they live peaceably in the Land. Be&s;ides for <HI>Crown-lands</HI> and <HI>Church-lands,</HI> they can have no tempta|tion to alienate them from the Purcha&s;ors, &s;ince it cannor be, but they will have a Stock going in them them&s;elves; and <HI>Kings, Bi&s;hops, Deans</HI> and <HI>Chapters</HI> being outed the Nation, there will be no oc|ca&s;ion of tho&s;e Lands to maintain their Grandeur: And for Delin|quents
<PB N="31" REF="19"> E&s;tates that are &s;old, there can be no thought of their re&s;ti|tution, for care will be had that their Provender do not prick them to &s;edition again&s;t the State. However, if any of their E&s;tates have been &s;old without due proof of their Delinquency (as it is pretended of &s;ome) God forbid but their e&s;tates be re&s;tored them, the Purcha&s;ors receiving their Money from the State, or &s;atisfaction &s;ome other way: So that without <HI>peradventure, Every man &s;hall enjoy the purcha&s;e of his Penny, under the Supremacy of Parliaments:</HI> And yet would there be no cau&s;e of Conte&s;t, but it would be a matter of <HI>generall content and applau&s;e,</HI> if the <HI>Parliament</HI> &s;hould be &s;o highly ju&s;t as to enquire <HI>in good earne&s;t</HI> into the frauds of the <HI>Common-wealth;</HI> and make them pay the full value of their Purcha&s;es, who have <HI>plaid the Knaves,</HI> and cheated both the <HI>Souldier</HI> and the <HI>State;</HI> and then they too, may enjoy their Purcha&s;es, when they have paid the &s;ame rate for them with other men, who were forced to pay to &s;uch a value, or go without them.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Ea&s;ing of Taxes.</HI> This is &s;o ab&s;olute a benefit that we have had by the <HI>Hou&s;e of Commons</HI> formerly &s;o called, that our Kings looked upon them only as our <HI>Pur&s;ers.</HI> And our la&s;t <HI>Lord Protector</HI> in his Speech to the <HI>other Hou&s;e,</HI> and the <HI>Commons</HI> a&s;&s;embled in the late <HI>Lords Hou&s;e,</HI> directed him&s;elf to the <HI>Commons,</HI> as if &s;o be they had &s;ignified nothing in the world but <HI>to look to the peoples Ca&s;h, and to &s;ee which way their Money went before they parted with it.</HI> And the truth is, they have been alwayes very frugal for us, till the late unhappy differences; which have nece&s;&s;itated &s;o many Charges, as hath forced them to a &s;trange kinde of Prodigality, &s;uch as hath al|mo&s;t made the Nation <HI>Bankrupt:</HI> Which certainly had been repaired long before this time, had not that unparalel'd <HI>U&s;urpation</HI> been practi|&s;ed upon our Government, that <HI>hath put us many hundred thou&s;and pounds in debt,</HI> which mu&s;t be paid; and may ju&s;tly excu&s;e the <HI>Parliament</HI> for having lately made bold with us, to pay a little before hand, and mu&s;t leave them without blame, though they puni&s;h us a little more then ordinarily, till the Nation be in &s;ome mea&s;ure our of debt: No man in his right &s;ences but mu&s;t willingly contribute thereunto as he is able, having no rea&s;on to expect it can yet be otherwi&s;e. But the Debts of the Nation being brought into a narrower room, which a little time may compa&s;&s;e, we may expect, and &s;hall finde, our Taxes will be broght as low as po&s;&s;ible: for 'tis the concernment of them&s;elves to do us what good they can herein; they paying equall Taxes with other men, according to the value of their E&s;tates: Be&s;ides being not of long continuance, and &s;o not likely to advantage them&s;elves by Offices, mu&s;t needs be willing to go off with applau&s;e; every Parliament &s;triving who &s;hall leave lea&s;t bur|den upon the people: There being no greater &s;ervice they can do,
<PB N="32" REF="20"> to commend them&s;elves, to the generall good liking of the Nation: And therefore the <HI>Lord Protector</HI> after once he brought the Tax to <HI>Thirty five thou&s;and</HI> pounds <HI>per men&s;em,</HI> with all his <HI>Rhetorick,</HI> could never per&s;wade any of his <HI>Parliaments</HI> to rai&s;e it a penny, being un|willing to draw the envy of the people upon them&s;elves: And it may be hoped, <HI>That the Parliament now &s;itting, will do &s;omething towards our relief herein;</HI> although perhaps at pre&s;ent they cannot avoyd a greater Tax then hath been upon us the&s;e Four or Five years, for rea&s;ons mentioned before, yet may we not hope in vain, to have amends made us, one way or other: It being a &s;hrewd temptation to gain a general applau&s;e; that <HI>when they have fini&s;hed their cour&s;e, and done their work,</HI> they may have the Nations <HI>Euge, Well done good and faithfull &s;ervants.</HI> Something of this nature they have already under con&s;ideration; I wi&s;h it may &s;ucceed according to their de&s;ires: For I am very &s;ure they are indu&s;triou&s;ly &s;tudious to render us &s;ome &s;uch &s;ervices, as may &s;ignalize the care they have of our welfare: In the mean while (pardon my homely Proverb.) <HI>It is not wi&s;dome to lo&s;e a Hogge for half a penniworth of Tarre:</HI> But when they can, let them give us as much ea&s;e as po&s;&s;ible; &s;ucceeding <HI>Parliaments</HI> will be &s;ure to take off what they may, but will hardly be per&s;wa|ded to lay on more load, as you may well imagine: <HI>And every &s;uc|ceeding Parliament will have advantage of the other, to do us a plea|&s;ure, as we &s;hall grow better quieted, and le&s;&s;e di&s;po&s;ed to &s;edition and disturbance;</HI> which fruit we mu&s;t needs reap by a <HI>Parlia|ments Supremacy,</HI> which cannot but give content to all Par|tyes.</P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>Advance of Trade.</HI> Here I dare &s;ay, I &s;hall little need to be&s;peak attention; every one greedily li&s;tening after this advan|tage. <HI>Trade is the very life and &s;pirits of a Common-wealth; it makes the complexion of a people lively, and plea&s;ant:</HI> When it flouri&s;heth, you may ob&s;erve a general <HI>Jubile. Break the Neck of Trade, and you break the Heart of a Common-wealth, and make it fit to be ridden by every Tyrant and U&s;urper.</HI> When people have more then enough to doe to get their Bread, they will have little lea&s;ure or heart to contend for their Rights and Priviledges: 'Tis when <HI>Riches abound, that men are in a condition to bear up their Priviledges; when Trade flouri&s;heth, then Riches flow in, and then no co&s;t will be &s;pared to pre&s;erve our Rights: Every body knowes the generall benefit of Trade;</HI> I need &s;ay no more to that. But this ob&s;erve, <HI>Where&s;oever you take notice of Rulers giving all po&s;&s;ible encouragement to Trade, you may be confident that people are already arrived under a ju&s;t Government; or that it is really de&s;igned for them:</HI> And whoever they be, <HI>that Curtail Trade, whether &s;ingle per&s;ons, or others, and think it not fit to give it its ju&s;t Priviledges; (although they may do &s;ome common Courte&s;ies for
<PB N="33" REF="20"> it, to pick thanks) never doubt but they intend to make us their Slaves; let their preten&s;ions be bever &s;o &s;pecious for liberty.</HI> The more refined any Government is, the more exactly &s;quared to the line and Plumet of Rea&s;on; &s;till the more of their countenance will be be&s;towed on Trade; knowing, the more wealthy we grow, the more we &s;hall contend for them: It is not to be doubted, <HI>that Government which is mo&s;t rationall, and gives be&s;t &s;atisfaction to the people; that &s;hall be &s;ure to thrive be&s;t, where the people thrive mo&s;t; they grow up together to the greatest height; that Government encourageth Trade, and that Trade &s;upporteth the Government: But U&s;urpations, and Prerogatives being again&s;t common rea&s;on, are be&s;t born up upon the ruines of Trade:</HI> The more Beggars the more Soldiers for your Money: And therefore &s;ome have &s;aid, <HI>If his late Maje&s;ty could have kept this City from getting to &s;uch a head, he had &s;ate fa&s;t in his Throne.</HI> And our old Protector plaid this game pretty well, by <HI>getting the Cu&s;toms and Exci&s;e rai&s;ed much higher then ever; and expo&s;ing them to Farmers, to &s;queeze the Trader to &s;ome purpo&s;e:</HI> which hath cau&s;ed many a man to take San|ctuary in the <HI>Upper Bench;</HI> and made many others forbear Trading to keep what they have; not knowing which way to get more; which brought Trade to &s;uch a pa&s;&s;e, that certainly if he had lived Protector Six years more, he had beggered half the Trade&s;men in the Nation. And whoever he be that &s;hall &s;natch away the power, out of the hands of our Parliaments, be he one man, or a few men, the be&s;t of men, what you plea&s;e to term them; this be &s;ure, they will have &s;uch a witne&s;&s;e in their con&s;ciences that their cau&s;e is not ju&s;t; that they will finde it prudence, to keep the Trade&s;men low enough; being tho&s;e that &s;et all the wheels of the Common-wealth a going, and bring in the wealth of the Nation; and are &s;turdy fellowes them&s;elves, again&s;t Oppre&s;&s;ors: And therefore the de&s;ign of this Parliament, to take off <HI>Cu&s;tomes</HI> and <HI>Exci&s;e,</HI> as it is generally reported; which hath been had in deliberation among them, and which they are very de|&s;irous the project propounded may an&s;wer expectation, of which they were informing them&s;elves by an enquiry throughout the Nation; and therefore have continued the <HI>Cu&s;tomes</HI> and <HI>Exci&s;e</HI> but for three months longer, to &s;ee what may po&s;&s;ibly be done in it: I &s;ay, <HI>this is with me a very important &s;ign, that they did indeed intend us an equal Government: Wherein I heartily wi&s;hed them good &s;ucce&s;&s;e.</HI> It will be a good day in <HI>England</HI> indeed when <HI>Exci&s;e</HI> is taken off, better if both <HI>Cu&s;toms</HI> and <HI>Exci&s;e</HI> could be taken off; but if the <HI>Exci&s;e</HI> were laid by, and the <HI>Cu&s;toms</HI> halved, brought as low as any other Nation, or but half the Rates impo&s;ed that now are paid; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> would be a great ea&s;e and be|nefit; and give infinite content unto the Merchant; and &s;hould ne|verthele&s;&s;e <HI>bring more Sacks to the Mill,</HI> be a greater Revenue thou now it is, as is ea&s;ie to demon&s;trate. Well, had this Parliament given us one lift, and I dare warrant, the next &s;hall not be behind hand;
<PB N="34" REF="21"> for &s;till as Parliaments come to be of &s;horter continuance, and can have no de&s;ign upon us; they will work <HI>while it is called their day;</HI> that they may give all encouragement to Trade; which mu&s;t, and will be unto them in&s;tead of <HI>Walls and Bulwarks:</HI> And &s;hall for ever &s;ecure them, again&s;t <HI>King, or Hou&s;e of Lords.</HI> So that their Intere&s;t con&s;ide|red, there will need in the Parliaments no Advocates for Trade; it will be &s;o generally the Intere&s;t of the whole; but to make the &s;ecurity good beyond po&s;&s;ibility of mi&s;carriage; a con&s;iderable number of <HI>Trade&s;men</HI> cannot fail for Cities, and Boroughs, to make voices for the advantage of Trade: Yea, few Gentlemen of the Parliament, but mu&s;t have younger children, younger Brothers, or very near Relations that are engaged in Trades; who will not be wanting to do them a plea&s;ure; That a more then common advantage to Trade is hoped for from the Supremacy of Parliaments; I have this to adde, <HI>viz. The extraordinary abounding of Trade&s;men, &s;ince this Parliament fir&s;t began to &s;cuffle with the King for the priviledges of the people: It is not to be di&s;&s;embled, how little encouragement hath been given to Trade the&s;e many years; through the extraordinary Impo&s;itions that have been upon it; and yet 'tis no more to be conceated, how Trade&s;men have multiplyed in London; &s;o that if re&s;traints had not been laid upon Buildings, it would not have been farre from</HI> London <HI>to</HI> Brainford. This is that which hath made Rents &s;o unrea&s;onably high in <HI>London;</HI> a &s;trange kinde of wilfull|ne&s;&s;e there hath been, that every body will be Trade&s;men; when all the Trade that hath been going in the Nation the&s;e two years and upwards, hath been too little to afford one third part of them a com|fortable livelyhood: 'Tis certainly a providence they have for future Benefit that mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily accrue after our Hurliburlies are over, and we arrive at a &s;ettlement, under an <HI>equal Common-wealth.</HI> And it is, no doubt&punc; a good piece of di&s;cretion not to be beaten off from engaging in Trade by pre&s;ent di&s;couragements, when the long run promi&s;eth the greate&s;t advantages that men of but competent Fortunes can hope for: Neither doth the multitude of Traders, when Trade is open, and free, at all hinder Trade, <HI>but the more the m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rryer, and the better cheer too:</HI> Though when Trade is &s;hut up, and &s;poyled, every one &s;tands in the others way. I have wondred many times the rea&s;on why mo&s;t of our Gentry have of late affected, to place their &s;ons Apprentic<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and will give any money, rather then fail to di&s;po&s;e of them in Trades: I dur&s;t never think them all, <HI>to be fools and their money &s;oon parted;</HI> yea, the be&s;t Gentry of <HI>England,</HI> are very de&s;irous, and do daily match their Daughters into the City, and give three times the portions that twenty years &s;ince would have been given to a Citizen; when money was much more plentifull then now; &s;o that men are concerned to &s;ee it the better laid out. And yet Trade, &s;o mi&s;erably bad as it hath been of late; I know not how to re&s;olve it otherwi&s;e, then a pre&s;age of future good dayes unto the Trader,
<PB N="35" REF="21"> grounded upon the alterations that have befallen us; and if Trade&s;men have &s;o much encrea&s;ed under &s;o many opre&s;&s;ions, when fed upon &s;tones, and getting what they have out of a flint, living mo&s;t upon hopes; what may we expect, when under a con&s;tant Succe&s;&s;ion of Parliaments, enjoying our peace, trade &s;hall receive all po&s;&s;ible furtherance by Authority, but that we &s;hall grow to an immen&s;e wealth, that &s;hall make us with Gods ble&s;&s;ing, <HI>a wall of bra&s;&s;e,</HI> and a terror to our Neigh|bours round about us. Yea, if Trade already be &s;o well e&s;teemed, <HI>that Trade&s;men to a great number, are acknowledged to be men of very good ingenuity, and of commendable behaviour, &s;o as many of them are hardly di&s;tingui&s;hed from the be&s;t bred men of the Nation, and are re|ceived as companions for them:</HI> to how much greater Reputation will they arrive when the incombrances of Trade being removed, men of the be&s;t literature &s;hall think &s;ome of their time well be&s;towed in canva&s;&s;ing a Trade; and &s;uch curte&s;ies yea &s;uch ju&s;tice mu&s;t needs proceed to Tra|ders from a <HI>Parliamen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s Supremacy.</HI> Some there are, more nice then wi&s;e, the Gallants of the times, who are very jealous if the Trade&s;man have much countenance, he will go cheek by jole with them, and not give them the re&s;pect belongs to them, a meer fancy&mdash; Say they, <HI>who doth the Trade&s;man live by, but the Gentry:</HI> Very good, and &s;o long as they receive a benefit by you, never fear, be not too long in their books, and you will not want their congees; but I tell the&s;e Gentlemen they will reap a benefit hereby, for Trade getting reputation, you will be ea&s;ed of tho&s;e retainers in a great mea&s;ure, tho&s;e bloud&s;uckers that leave you not a peny in your pur&s;es by Quarter day. Younger Bro|thers, and Unkles, and Cozens, that &s;tick as clo&s;e to you as your &s;hirts to your backs, who &s;corn a Trade &s;o much, that they do as it were rather beg their bread in a Gentile fa&s;hion. The&s;e then will be en|gaged in Trades, and be able to live by their own ingenuity, be&s;ides le&s;&s;e portions will &s;erve turn to &s;et them up bravely, then now they draw away from their elder Brothers, which pincheth hard &s;ome|times, and yet after a little roaring &s;pend all, and are turned upon their good Brothers keeping at the la&s;t, who cannot be &s;o little a Gentleman as to &s;hut his dores upon them, and if he leave them open, they will be &s;ure to come in, without crying, <HI>by your leave Sir,</HI> think|ing it high inju&s;tice he &s;hould have &s;o much when all theirs is gone.</P>
<P>Sixtly, <HI>Soverain powers and priviledges of Parliament, a&s;&s;erted and vindicated.</HI> This is &s;o well cared for by this expedient; as if every thing el&s;e were of no comparative con&s;ideration with it; &s;o that tho&s;e who are our Tru&s;tees in Parliament, whom every part of the Nation choo&s;eth to act for them; tho&s;e that the great Patrons of Preroga|tive will tell you, were never known any otherwi&s;e then as Peti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ioners to their Maje&s;ties, <HI>they are &s;tated in the Supream Authority of the Nati|on, without King or Lords to controal them; &s;o that they may then com|mand
<PB N="36" REF="22"> what formerly they might beg, and go without: that thing which we &s;o much complained of, and was indeed a real grievance, that our Commons in Parliament were without power to do us good, by rea&s;on of the Nega|tive Voices over them, is hereby &s;ufficiently redre&s;&s;ed, and we may ex|pect the benefit of it, if we will be &s;o true to our &s;elves, as to chu&s;e the be&s;t de&s;erving Patriots, and mo&s;t publique &s;pirited men to act for us.</HI> I &s;hall in&s;tance in three Particulars more that are the common con|cernments of the Nation, which were only named before, not in&s;i&s;ted on, and ha&s;ten an end.</P>
<P>Seventhly, <HI>Tis the common intere&s;t of the Nation that Religion be re|formed according to the Word of God, and the examples of the be&s;t reformed Churches.</HI> I do not di&s;pute whether this be <HI>State Policy,</HI> but &s;ure I am tis <HI>good Chri&s;tian prudence.</HI> This comes to be our intere&s;t, not only as we have lift up our hands to the mo&s;t high &s;o to do, (which upon no ac|count that I know can be di&s;pen&s;ed) but as we expect God to ble&s;&s;e us, &s;o it becomes our intere&s;t to glorifie him by bearing our witne&s;s to the truth; without which tis mo&s;t high pre&s;umpti|on to expect his ble&s;&s;ing, e&s;pecially &s;ince we profe&s;&s;e our &s;elves Chri&s;tians, it is &s;urely our duty to glorifie God by a publique profe&s;&s;ion of our Religion, atte&s;ted unto by the Supreme Authority, &s;uch as the publique vote of the Nation &s;hall judge to be mo&s;t of Divine Authority: it would be hard mea&s;ure, that the <HI>minor</HI> part of the Nation, by claiming the benefit and right of &s;erving God accor|ding to their con&s;ciences, as tender &s;pirited men, &s;hould deprive the <HI>ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or</HI> part of that tenderne&s;s, their con&s;ciences mu&s;t needs oblige them to expre&s;s to Religion; for if the <HI>minor part</HI> claiming <HI>liberty of Con|&s;cience,</HI> &s;hall debar the <HI>major part</HI> from a <HI>publick profe&s;&s;ion of Religion;</HI> then the <HI>major part</HI> is bereaved of their <HI>liberty of con&s;cience</HI> by the <HI>minor,</HI> which is mo&s;t unequal, as Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> hath excellently well ob&s;er|ved. It is &s;trange to me, how any man &s;hould re&s;olve, <HI>that a publique profe&s;&s;ion, and a Chri&s;tian toleration are incon&s;i&s;tent and unpracticable:</HI> unle&s;&s;e this be in&s;eparable from a publique profe&s;&s;ion, that all di&s;&s;en|ters mu&s;t be per&s;ecuted, which can by no means be admitted; yea, I am bold to ju&s;tifie Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> in his 45 <HI>Aphori&s;m, That there may be Liberty of Con&s;cience, there mu&s;t be a National Religion:</HI> it will then be the intere&s;t of the Nation, <HI>that a publique Mini&s;tery be encouraged and maintained:</HI> I have Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> my friend in this too, <HI>Aphori&s;m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> 46. <HI>That there may be a National Religion, there mu&s;t be an endowed Clergy;</HI> and verily he hath many things to this purpo&s;e of much con|cernment and unan&s;werable. I will repeat &s;ome few.</P>
<P>Aphori&s;me 42. <HI>Where the major part is deprived of the Liberty of Con&s;cience by the minor, there they will deprive the minor of that liberty of Con&s;cience, which they might otherwi&s;e enjoy.</HI></P>
<P>Apoh. 43. <HI>In</HI> I&s;rael <HI>there was an endowed Clergy, or Prie&s;thood, and a National Religion under in&s;pection of the Magi&s;trates; whence the
<PB N="37" REF="22"> Chi&s;tians in Apo&s;tolick times, defraying their own Mini&s;tery, could have Liberty of Con&s;cience; whereas if the Chri&s;tians by going about to take away tithes, and aboli&s;h the National Religion, had endevoured to vio|late the Con&s;ciences of the unconverted Jews, the&s;e being far greater in number, mu&s;t needs have taken away the Liberty of Con&s;cience from the Chri&s;tians.</HI></P>
<P>Aphor. 44. Paul <HI>in</HI> Athens <HI>could freely, and undi&s;turbedly convert</HI> Diony&s;ius <HI>and others, therefore in</HI> Athens <HI>there was liberty of Con&s;cience; but if</HI> Paul <HI>and his Converts, had gone about to drive hirelings, or an en|dowed Prie&s;thood, or Clergy out of that Church, who &s;eeth not that the</HI> Athenians <HI>w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uld have driven</HI> Paul <HI>and his Converts out of</HI> Athens? I do not forget my &s;elf, <HI>there mu&s;t be a pu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lique Mini&s;tery maintained,</HI> without which our publique, yea and our private Chri&s;tian profe&s;&s;ion will be lo&s;t; to which the Parliament by their late memorable Votes, as al&s;o by their very kind receiving of the <HI>Lece&s;ter&s;hire.</HI> Peti|tion, have given their publique te&s;timony, <HI>Gods ble&s;&s;ing on their hearts for it.</HI> However &s;ome in the world taking advantage of the ra&s;h actings of &s;ome few, who ought to have been better di&s;ciplined, yet were overruled by the blinde zeal of their private &s;pirits, have thru&s;t &s;ore at the Mini&s;tery of the Nation, The&s;e are they who receive your Tithes, you &s;ee now how much beholding you are to the Mini&s;tery; what &s;hall they have Tithes &s;till? when will you know your friends from your foes? but the&s;e men know not what &s;pirit they are of; and it appears, <HI>that you have not &s;o learned Chri&s;t:</HI> that for the incon&s;i|derate actings, of &s;ome fiery zealots, you &s;hould call for fire to con|&s;ume them, and &s;tarve all the re&s;t: A Mini&s;tery &s;o learned, &s;o pious, &s;o &s;piritual, as no Nation, no age of the world hath enjoyed, in &s;o great plenty. Yea, tho&s;e very men, again&s;t whom many cannot finde words bad enough to expre&s;&s;e their malice. The <HI>Presbyterian</HI> Mini|&s;ters, of whom I may truly &s;ay, <HI>they come behind in nothing of the chiefe&s;t Apo&s;tles</HI> (tho&s;e that pretend more immediate conver&s;e with the Spirit) having their witne&s;s in the &s;ouls and con&s;ciences of very many, <HI>the &s;eal of who&s;e Mini&s;tery many are in the Lord, who are their crown, and glory, and rejoycing;</HI> of whom thou&s;ands will &s;ay, <HI>though they had ten thou&s;and in&s;tructors, yet the&s;e were their Fathers, for in Chri&s;t Je&s;us they have begotten them, through the Go&s;pel:</HI> and a thou&s;and pitties it were, they &s;hould be expo&s;ed <HI>to the rage of unrea&s;onable men, who would &s;tarve them out of the Pulpit, unle&s;&s;e God &s;hould &s;end them Ravens with food.</HI> In this digre&s;&s;ion I have only betraied my affection, not at all my &s;u&s;piti|on, of <HI>this</HI> or <HI>future Parliaments</HI> neglecting the Mini&s;tery; for I be|lieve it will be owned for a National intere&s;t, <HI>that a godly and able Mini&s;tery be encouraged, that &s;o the Ordinances may be purely di&s;penced among&s;t us,</HI> without this there can be no <HI>Reformation of Religion.</HI> Care too mu&s;t be had concerning <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> and <HI>Bla&s;phemy,</HI> or there can be no publique <HI>Chri&s;tian Religion.</HI> (I am f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">in to huddle things together) Shall
<PB N="38" REF="23"> that Nation be called Heathen or Chri&s;tian, <HI>that &s;uffers men to Preach and Print, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is not God; that he is not Man? that the holy Spirit is not God: that the Scriptures are not the rule of Faith, and life: that the Sabbath day is no more to be taken notice of then every other day?</HI> and many other abominable opinions? I am &s;orry to men|tion it, but &s;ome care mu&s;t be had in it: <HI>there mu&s;t al&s;o be Reformati|on of life,</HI> this is our conce<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">nment no le&s;&s;e then the former, and mu&s;t be as nece&s;&s;arily and carefully in&s;pected, el&s;e there can be no <HI>reall Reformation:</HI> Swearers, Drunkards, Unclean per&s;ons, Sabbath breakers mu&s;t be puni&s;hed, or there can be no <HI>reall Reforma|tion,</HI> otherwi&s;e <HI>Reformation</HI> is a meer gingle: there are good Lawes for the&s;e already, let them be put in practice, but I am too prolix. That <HI>Parliaments</HI> will take care of this, is mo&s;t certain, he is &s;trangly un|acquainted with the temper of the Nation, that fears it in the lea&s;t, yea &s;ome there are, that are &s;o &s;en&s;ible of it, that fearing their <HI>Refor|mation</HI> &s;hould take <HI>cognizance</HI> of their unwarrantable behaviour, u&s;e their be&s;t wits, to argue <HI>the Supremacy of Parliaments to be dangerous to the welfare of</HI> England; of whom I will not &s;peak in the very words of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>They have reigned</HI> (yet this I am bold to &s;ay, they would reign) <HI>as Kings without us; and I would to God they did reign</HI> (over their own di&s;orderly and carnal affections) <HI>that we al&s;o might reign together with them.</HI></P>
<P>Eightly, <HI>Tis the Common intere&s;t of the Nation, That our good Laws be pre&s;erved, and the Liberty of the Subject duely regarded.</HI> This mu&s;t be taken for granted, I think it is no more to be que&s;tioned, but our <HI>Repre&s;entatives in Parliament mu&s;t be the be&s;t &s;ecurity can be taken for performance of the&s;e conditions, e&s;pecially &s;ince they are &s;o nearly con|cerned.</HI> For example, <HI>The Adventurers for</HI> Ireland <HI>have &s;ome things of very great concernment to be done for them, would they not think them|&s;elves highly befriended, and the be&s;t provided for that could be, if they might choo&s;e &s;o many of their own number as were convenient, to &s;ettle their affairs for them; could they doubt of having their dues, &s;ince the Tru&s;tees were them&s;elves Adventurers, and would be &s;ure to con&s;ult their own benefit, which they could not carry on without including the genera|lity of Adventurers.</HI> Tis the very ca&s;e in hand, as to matter of benefit, their ca&s;e and ours as much the &s;ame, as one Adventurers with another; but it holds not as to matter of right, for they are but a party, and might do them&s;elves kindne&s;&s;es right or wrong.</P>
<P>Ninthly, <HI>Indepnity, and a general amne&s;ty, and Oblivion, is the com|mon intere&s;t of the Nation.</HI> And what can be conceived more compleat, then that this be performed, and granted, by tho&s;e that repre&s;ent every County, City, and con&s;iderable Burrough of <HI>England,</HI> and con|&s;equently every individual man. What can be more honourable? What can be more &s;afe? &s;hall we not think our &s;elves &s;ecure, unle&s;&s;e we obtain their forgivene&s;s, who would have &s;corned to have crept to
<PB N="39" REF="23"> us if we had been beaten. I wonder at the degenerate and &s;ordid Spirit of &s;ome people; &s;urely after a generall Indempnity, Amne&s;ty, and Oblivion granted by a full repre&s;entative, every man will be out of the Laws gun&s;hot, for what is pa&s;t: which we have no more rea&s;on to doubt of obtaining from the next that &s;its then of enjoying our lives and e&s;tats under them, it will be their intere&s;t and wi&s;dome to be friends with all they can, that they may have no enemies if it be po&s;&s;ible.</P>
<P>Finally, <HI>Settlement.</HI> When the Supream Power is fallen into &s;uch hands wherein the whole intere&s;t of the Nation is combined, &s;uch as are the fruit of our own choice, who&s;e intere&s;t it mu&s;t needs be to do us all imaginable good; to allow us a <HI>Chri&s;tian Liberty of con&s;cience, To root out Popery: To defend our Property: To ea&s;e us of Taxes: To advance our Trade: To make good the powers and priviledges of the Parlia|ments: To reforme Religion: To &s;ecure the good Lawes of the Land, and Liberty of the Subject: To grant a compleat Indempnity, Amne&s;ty, and Oblivion, and when if it could be imagined one Parliament would wrong us, we are &s;ure it cannot be long lived, having its period, and bounds that it cannot pa&s;&s;e; what &s;hould all us but we &s;hould re&s;t &s;atisfied, what likelihood remains there of di&s;turbance? I am &s;ure cau&s;e there will remain none at all.</HI> Upon the whole I am certain I have made it evident:</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>That the Supream Authority being fully ve&s;ted in Parliaments of</HI> England <HI>&s;uc|ce&s;sively, and frequently cho&s;en by the good People thereof, being free, and with|out check upon them, is an infallible means (under God) of pre&s;ervation of the Nation and the Rights and Intere&s;ts thereof.</HI></P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>&mdash;I marry Sir, this would do well; but you write merrily, <HI>when the skie fals, we &s;hall catch Larkes.</HI></P>
<P>It is Objected, as our Author hath it: whom I had now almo&s;t forgot, <HI>That the PARLIAMENT intended nothing otherwi&s;e then utterly to &s;ubvert Parliaments.</HI> Others there be of the &s;ame
<PB N="40" REF="24"> minde, <HI>That we &s;hould never &s;ee Parliaments more in</HI> England: <HI>but that our Parliament lately &s;itting meant alwayes to be the Supream Power.</HI></P>
<P>I An&s;wer, You might po&s;&s;ibly have been mi&s;taken, be not overha&s;ty to conclude, you know who&s;e bolt is &s;oon &s;hot, and you may peradventure be found peccant of &s;peaking evill of the Rulers of the People; I cannot prophe&s;ie what they would do, but can ea&s;ily foretell what would come on't, if they &s;hould have done as you &s;ay; but I mu&s;t take leave to differ from you, if this be your judgement, upon better grounds I believe then any you have for your conceit, and a little time would have told the truth of the matter: I take them to know their bu&s;ine&s;s better then &s;o; and however &s;ome are never &s;atisfied of &s;peaking evill enough of them, malice hath never yet had the impudence to brand them with the imputation of folly: and would it not well ad|vance the wi&s;dom of tho&s;e Sages, utterly to deprive us of, and to|tally to &s;ubvert the very con&s;titutions of Parliaments; when but the interrupting, forcing, or impo&s;ing upon Parliaments, hath been of &s;o dire and fatal con&s;equence to the late King, and &s;ome body el&s;e: what could they expect but the general murmurs, &s;editions and revolts of the people, of wor&s;e con&s;equence then any yet have been to them, who if they &s;hould be driven from <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter;</HI> though they drew the <HI>Ark</HI> after them; &s;hould be per&s;waded with never &s;o Golden and glorious preten&s;es of Religion and Toleration; yet would not be gotten on; but as they &s;hould prick them forward, and would neverthele&s;s be con|tinually lowing, and looking backward.</P>
<P>Parliaments are the Darling of the people, <HI>who&s;o toucheth them, toucheth the apple of their eye;</HI> and wherever you &s;ee any &s;hy of Par|liaments, 'tis certainly in relation to Faction; or &s;uch things as they know well enough cannot hold water: Ye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, I wonder at my Author, but that it is no wonder to take him tripping; who tells us, <HI>That it is the Intere&s;t of the Arm<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to break the Parliament to pieces;</HI> that he &s;hould think them guilty of &s;o little fore&s;ight, as to give the Army &s;uch ad|vantage again&s;t them, greater then ever old <HI>Oliver</HI> could &s;hew to do what he did. If it were <HI>the Intere&s;t of the Army to break the Parliament to pieces,</HI> (which no man under the degree of <HI>Bedlam</HI> can fancy) <HI>could they contrive a better pretence, then what my</HI> Author <HI>&s;aith, will certainly be matter of fact, that this Parliament had overthrown the very Foundations of Parliaments;</HI> certainly if this were true, we &s;hould all throw up our <HI>Caps,</HI> and hollow at this <HI>&s;econd rout:</HI> But you might have expected this at latter <HI>Lammas.</HI> The Parliament &s;eeming re&s;olutely bent for the good of the Nation; which every day appeared more and more, &s;ince this Paper hath been under my Pen. I make no que&s;tion but they have made this ob&s;ervation, that <HI>Hone&s;ty is the be&s;t Policy.</HI> The&s;e have been and yet are <HI>&s;ifting times,</HI> &s;uch as few Ages have been acquainted with; &s;o as tho&s;e that have &s;tudied the mo&s;t prudentiall proceedings;
<PB N="41" REF="24"> have been <HI>Non-plus'd</HI> in their re&s;olutions how to &s;teer them&s;elves; and have not been able to ride it out, in tho&s;e &s;torms and fluctuations that have betided our State: and I mi&s;take my &s;elf wonderfully, if the mo&s;t downright hone&s;t men of the Nation, do not appear ere long to be accounted the wi&s;e&s;t; the&s;e who have &s;corned to &s;peak or do any thing aga<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n&s;t their con&s;ciences; and yet too did not altogether hold their peace; and therefore many of them were brow-beaten, and others as faithfull men as any in the world neglected, and di&s;regarded; but <HI>let them lift up their heads, for their Redemption drawes nigh;</HI> they will be the men <HI>whom God &s;hall delight to honour in the &s;ight of the Na|tions;</HI> when tho&s;e that have been <HI>as the waves of the Sea, carried to and fro with every winde or breath of preten&s;es; tho&s;e Weather-cocks that have &s;tood right with the winde from any point of the Compa&s;&s;e, though enough again&s;t their own Con&s;ciences; meerly as Time-&s;ervers, to &s;ave their own &s;lakes, and get in other mens too into their fingers; would be glad to &s;hiffle in among the Company:</HI> But their di&s;gui&s;e is by this time &s;o notoriou&s;ly known, that they will not be hid under their <HI>Sheeps-clo|thing.</HI> The Parliament could not but fore&s;ee this, and certainly no|thing hath appeared but that they really intended to doe hone&s;t things for us, which one would have thought had been good &s;ecurity for them again&s;t the cour&s;e u&s;age they have met with a &s;econd time; &s;o this objection, and the Parliament are out of dores together. But it is further objected, that this is variable; though it &s;hould be &s;o &s;etled, yet it may not long hold here, we &s;hall be liable to continuall alterations. I an&s;wer, <HI>After it is thus &s;etled, if it be altered, it mu&s;t be either by force, or by free con&s;ent: And there is no Government but is liable to both the&s;e, as much as this:</HI> It may be forced away, by a greater power; or given away by free con&s;ent; this is true of any Government: And there is no Government can pretend to unchangeablene&s;&s;e in this world: But this let me &s;ay, <HI>No people are in like difence again&s;t Inva&s;ion, as tho&s;e that are under Popular Governments;</HI> I will not in&s;tance, I am &s;ure I need not: As for inte&s;tine di&s;turbances from the generality of a people, that is le&s;&s;e to be feared then under <HI>Monarchy;</HI> for as hath been proved, it mu&s;t needs give be&s;t &s;atisfaction. All the difficulty then will be as to <HI>matter of force in this Common-wealth,</HI> (as of any other in our ca&s;e) <HI>whether the Army will not be more then Quarter-Master:</HI> This is that that our Air hath rung the Eccho of, <HI>ile warrant you the Army will turn out the Parliament before long, and then where is your Common-wealth you bragg'd &s;o much of, and tho&s;e glorious dayes of liberty you &s;o much exulted in the fore&s;ight of.</HI> Verily, it troubled me to hear this language; but I meant not to break my heart with that which I hoped &s;hould never otherwi&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fflict me, then as a <HI>Reproach:</HI> I &s;hould not know well what to think, if our Army were, as generally Armies are, <HI>mad upon Rapine and ruine;</HI> but &s;hould hope we &s;hould be &s;o much <HI>Engli&s;h-men,</HI> as to
<PB N="42" REF="25"> &s;ell out <HI>Lives</HI> in company with our <HI>Liberties,</HI> at &s;o dear a rate, that if they were Conquerors, they &s;hould have little cau&s;e to twit our Survi|vours of their Conque&s;t; if we could not carry on our cau&s;e in de&s;pite of their re&s;i&s;tance. But our Army have profe&s;&s;ed a good will to our <HI>Liberties</HI> and <HI>Priviledges;</HI> and did not long &s;ince bewail their Apo&s;ta|&s;ie in &s;ubverting them; and did therefore re&s;tore this Parliament, be|&s;ides whom there is no vi&s;ible nor &s;eeming face of Authority in <HI>England,</HI> to &s;ettle the Nation upon their ju&s;t Rights, and freedome; &s;urely we will not believe our own eyes. It can never be thought that this Army &s;hould <HI>return again to their vomit;</HI> without &s;ome Witchcraft or &s;trong operation and Inchantment of the <HI>Je&s;uite,</HI> to undertake the Government again; under which they &s;o pitifully mi&s;carried a while &s;ince; although the <HI>Northern</HI> Brigade gave very &s;curvy &s;ymptomes, of being <HI>Bu&s;ie-bodies,</HI> and <HI>troublers of our I&s;rael;</HI> &s;uppo&s;ing them&s;elves wi&s;er then the Parliament, who I am &s;ure are as farre engaged as the be&s;t <HI>He</HI> of them all, to con&s;ult both the &s;ecurity of them&s;elves, the Army, and the Nation, again&s;t the Intere&s;t of the <HI>Norman</HI> Race; and to pre&s;erve the Intere&s;t of all the <HI>Godly,</HI> and <HI>liberty of Con&s;cience;</HI> but I hope the be&s;t part of the Army will not be fooled; but if they will make us their Slaves, we mu&s;t endure till we finde a remedy; but I am &s;ure any Government is liable to this inconvenience; if they cannot ma&s;ter their Army, if their Army be <HI>Knaves,</HI> they will ma&s;ter them: As for giving away the powers of Parliaments, by Parliaments them&s;elves, as their own Act and Deed; is beyond that little foreca&s;t that remains with me to fancy: Is it probable that a Beggar being put into the condition of a Gentleman, whereby he may command his full &s;atisfaction; &s;hould of his own choice be reduced into his former condition, it were certainly a &s;ordid &s;pirit where it &s;hould &s;o happen: But if this could be &s;uppo&s;ed; yet how little doth it pretend to likelyhood that the Re|pre&s;entatives of <HI>England;</HI> men of noble and ingenuous &s;ouls; who have not formerly been known under any other notion, then that of Petitioners; as &s;aith Mr. <HI>Pryn,</HI> and others, who could never get a Dole for them&s;elves, and us, but in a way of begging; and mo&s;t com|monly too when they got any thing, &s;ent away <HI>with a bit and a knock:</HI> Having now got their Supremacy vindicated by the dint of Sword, and &s;et upon the Pinacle of Government; whereby they may oblige as their Servants, by the good turns they may do us; it <HI>b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing more ble&s;&s;ed to give then to receive:</HI> I &s;ay, <HI>doth it come within the compa&s;&s;e of Su&s;picion, that they &s;hould &s;wap away their Supremacy, that they may be returned into their former capacity of being</HI> poor Knights of We&s;tmin&s;ter? <HI>I trow not:</HI> Nay I conjecture, <HI>That if the affairs of the Nation were ordered under the peculiar in&s;pection of our Repre&s;entatives in Parlia|ment, &s;o that they may do us tho&s;e kindne&s;&s;es, and that ju&s;tice we may
<PB N="43" REF="25"> expect from them; that in one &s;even years, it would be impo&s;&s;ible to chu&s;e &s;uch a Parliament in the mo&s;t free way of Elect on imaginable; that &s;hould betray their power into the hands of any Monarch what&s;oever; they would finde &s;o many advantages and &s;o much &s;weet accruing by this way of a Parliaments Supremacy:</HI> But it is farther objected, <HI>That a &s;ingle Councell is not &s;o well con&s;ulted; it were better, and more to be relyed on, that we had a Senate, and a great A&s;&s;embly; or two Hou&s;es of Parliament:</HI> I an&s;wer in generall, <HI>This age is very pregnant of projects; every body ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h a fling at the State: and &s;et their wits a|working to hammer out a Government for England:</HI> They &s;ay, <HI>Every body that comes into</HI> We&s;tmin&s;ter-hall, <HI>hath his Modell in his Pocket, what Government he thinks fitte&s;t for the Common-wealth.</HI> Whether this be true or fal&s;e is no great matter; this I am &s;ure is not un|known, that every <HI>Book-&s;ellers</HI> Basket, and Shop, hath &s;ome new thing to &s;hew for a <HI>Popular Governm nt:</HI> Among the re&s;t, a few days &s;ince I ca&s;t mine eye upon a Paper, that had for its Bu&s;h, this title: <HI>A Modell of a Democraticall Government.</HI> A tru&s;ty <HI>Trojan</HI> he is no doubt, and an excellent <HI>Democracy</HI> he propounds; no le&s;&s;e then <HI>two Coun&s;els</HI> will &s;erve his turn; that he may be &s;ure to be one of the <HI>wi&s;er &s;ort: A Senate and an,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>the Senate to con&s;i&s;t of the Parlia|ment men lately &s;itting; who &s;hould choo&s;e to them&s;elves &s;o many as &s;hall compleat their number three hundred: Every year one hundred to go off, and them&s;elves to choo&s;e an hundred to fill up the three hund|dred: And the&s;e to have the &s;ole power, of debating, and propounding Lawes:</HI> &mdash; Rare invention upon my word, and a gallant ex|change, for <HI>Monarchicall Slavery;</HI> and very well worth the <HI>blood</HI> and <HI>trea&s;ure</HI> that hath been &s;o prodigally expended: I &s;hould not much grudge at a little expence of time, &s;o I did thereby a little ken this well-in&s;tructed Scribe; that I might know him another time from a <HI>Black Sheep.</HI> However, I hold his <HI>Modell</HI> not worth the <HI>whi&s;tleing</HI> after, but de&s;erves to be hi&s;&s;ed out of countenance, and the Ingenuity of the Author to be rewarded after the De&s;ert of a <HI>Libell:</HI> And let me adde this as a piece of my minde, <HI>Tho&s;e endeavours that make the greate&s;t noy&s;e, and mo&s;t &s;pecious pretences for liberty, and freedome; and promi&s;e the greate&s;t Refinings, and Reformation of Government; which yet in them&s;elves tend directly to en&s;lave and oppre&s;&s;e us; tho&s;e are to be had in the greate&s;t dete&s;tation and abhorrence, and ought more &s;everely to be cen&s;ured, then tho&s;e others that deal more plainly with us; and oblige us by their Soveraign Unction, to be their Va&s;&s;als: For while they promi&s;e us Liberty, they them&s;elves are the Bond&s;laves of Cor|ruption, and would entangle us again in the yoak of bondage:</HI> But if nothing le&s;&s;e then a <HI>Senate,</HI> and a <HI>great Coun&s;ell</HI> can &s;erve the turn, (which I will believe when any body gives me good rea&s;on for) I &s;hall immediately joyn my Forces with tho&s;e publick &s;pirited men, in
<PB N="44" REF="26"> their Petition of <HI>July</HI> 6. tran&s;cribed from Mr. <HI>Harringtons Oceana;</HI> a Work which I greatly e&s;teem, and a Per&s;on I very much honour for his Labours about <HI>Government:</HI> And really I am &s;ometimes almo&s;t angry with my &s;elf, that I am forced to di&s;&s;ent from his opinion of a <HI>Senate:</HI> I think I have hunted his works over and over, to finde out the utmo&s;t of his rea&s;on for a <HI>Senate,</HI> which is not &s;o &s;waying with me as to over-rule me in this matter; but I know 'tis no new thing to Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> to meet with Di&s;&s;enters from his Judgement; and I doubt not he will pardon me; &s;ince I will a&s;&s;ure him I &s;hall be willing to learn of him, and &s;hall think my &s;elf honoured to be his Scholar; for in very deed if I erre, 'tis through <HI>ignorance,</HI> not <HI>willfullne&s;&s;e;</HI> that I differ from him, is of con&s;traint, not of choice; for I am &s;o well informed of my &s;elf, that I &s;hould not &s;eek occa|&s;ion of difference with him whom I very well know to be more then my match: With <HI>Leviathan</HI> then if that be it at which Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> &s;o much wonders, I mu&s;t acknowledge my opinion to be firm for a <HI>Single A&s;&s;embly,</HI> as it hath ever been, notwit&s;tanding, what I have &s;een in Mr. <HI>Harrington,</HI> o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> any other to the contrary: The greate&s;t matter I have ob&s;erved in Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> for a <HI>Senate,</HI> is that of dividing and choo&s;ing; and that of Faction in a <HI>Single A&s;&s;embly.</HI> Which for ought that I perceive (though it be the mo&s;t that can be &s;aid) availeth little to the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e. Let me &s;tate the Common-wealth into 20 per&s;ons with Mr. <HI>Harrington;</HI> why &s;hould the Cake be divided between 14. and 6. in two parcels, and not a|mong the 20 into twenty parcels? Why &s;hould the &s;ix have &s;o much &s;hare as the fourteen? is this an equal Commonwealth? Our work would be done by halves, and there would be &s;trange divi|ding in the end I fear: But this mu&s;t not run upon all four, there is a my&s;tery in the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, <HI>I cry you mercy:</HI> And as to faction and &s;crambling, I do not fore&s;ee it, unle&s;&s;e this be faction, <HI>A generall a|greement about the Cake, how it &s;hall be divided, and parcelled out a|mong the people;</HI> el&s;e 'tis a Paradox to me how twenty per&s;ons &s;hould di&s;agree together, and yet have perfect harmony, by an entercour&s;e of &s;pirits, when the entercour&s;e of their per&s;ons in coun&s;ell fails by divi|ding 6 from the 14. would they agree better apart then together about <HI>dividing this Cake?</HI> I &s;trange at the my&s;tery of this &s;crambling; here is neither <HI>King</HI> nor <HI>Hou&s;e of Peers</HI> to &s;cramble with; if there were a <HI>King</HI> there might be &s;ome rea&s;on for halving, and the Popular A&s;&s;embly might be given to &s;cramble for the other half that was kept from them: But what rea&s;on of &s;crambling, when the whole is in the &s;ingle A&s;&s;embly? unle&s;&s;e for failing they mu&s;t &s;cramble among them|&s;elves; the <HI>major</HI> of the 20 with the <HI>minor</HI> of the 20. &s;o by the &s;ame rule may the <HI>major</HI> of the 14 with the <HI>minor</HI> of the 14. and the <HI>major</HI> of the 6 with the <HI>minor</HI> of the 6. and the 14 and 6 &s;cramble with one
<PB N="45" REF="26"> another: It is frivolous to think that the 14 in <HI>England,</HI> like little Babies, would be plea&s;ed with this Rattle, of <HI>Choo&s;ing;</HI> when it is evident it mu&s;t be <HI>Hob&s;ons</HI> choice, <HI>this or none;</HI> and as I have been cheated my &s;elf when a Boy, and thought it priviledge enough to choo&s;e, <HI>the Wags have cu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the greate&s;t piece of an Apple, and offered me the Remainder, and bid me take that or choo&s;e; which proved an Apple of Contention; and pre&s;ently down goes our Apple, and we fall to Boxing to end the quarrell:</HI> Which is mo&s;t like to fall out here, when the Prerogative Tribe doe not like what the <HI>Senate</HI> propo&s;es; how &s;hall they help them&s;elves? The <HI>Senate</HI> mu&s;t goe to dividing again, which it may be, &s;hall plea&s;e no more then before; which if it end with|out <HI>Boxing</HI> will do very well. But let us con&s;ider again, the whole 20 are cho&s;en by the people, the&s;e together would &s;cramble and be factious; carry on a Party, or &s;hare places of Profit and Honour. Well, what benefit accrues by the Divi&s;ion, (unle&s;&s;e becau&s;e of the divi&s;ion, the 14 will be again&s;t the 6. right or wrong, as is &s;omething probable) if 4 of the 6. be for &s;omething to be propo&s;ed as to Faction, or Scrambling, 8 or 9 of the 14 will not fail to <HI>ballot</HI> for them; <HI>if they be corrupt, they will be corrupt &s;till; if they be filthy, they will be filthy &s;till;</HI> 'tis not <HI>two Hou&s;es</HI> that will hinder Faction, or &s;crambling if they encline to it: 'tis not the praying 6 of the 14 to go apart, that will make them either the hone&s;ter or wi&s;er; or will make them ever a jot le&s;&s;e minde them&s;elves and their private intere&s;t, and more the publique, or be more mannerly at the publique Table, and give the be&s;t from them&s;elves to decency, and common intere&s;t: But put ca&s;e that the 6 be over rea&s;oned by 1 or 2 of their own number for &s;omething that before they thought not to be the common intere&s;t of the Nation, yet the Major part of the 14 (&s;uppo&s;ed by Mr. <HI>Har|rington</HI> to be the lea&s;t wi&s;e of the 20) are like to per&s;i&s;t in the more common and fir&s;t received opinion; being &s;tripped of the benefit of hear|ing matters fully debated among them&s;elves <HI>pro</HI> and <HI>con,</HI> which in a &s;ingle a&s;&s;embly they receive the benefit of; where hearing what any man can &s;ay, their judgements are fully informed, and they finde cau&s;e many times to alter a prepo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed opinion, for who &s;o &s;peaks the be&s;t rea&s;on may expect to be followed with the greate&s;t re&s;entments; who (as Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> hath it I think again&s;t him&s;elf) will be &s;ure to lead the herd, as Stags of the large&s;t heads; for while the 6 di&s;cour&s;ing and arguing one with another, &s;hew the eminency of their parts; the 14 di&s;cover things they never thought on, and are cleared in divers truthes which formerly perplexed them; but this I hope is not &s;o well performed, while the 14 are &s;hut out of their debates and con|ferences; or &s;hould not the&s;e 6 better inform tho&s;e 14 if they were but one &s;ingle a&s;&s;embly. But again, the 6 &s;hall Debate, but not Re|&s;olve; the 14 &s;hall Re&s;olve, but not Debate: if the 14 meddle with the
<PB N="46" REF="27"> bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of the &s;ix, ruine is con&s;equent, &s;o &s;aith Mr. <HI>Harrington,</HI> the 14 of <HI>Athens</HI> debating was their ruine: &s;o <HI>Rome,</HI> the 14 debating cau&s;ed her &s;tormes; though it &s;eems it fares not &s;o ill with <HI>Venice,</HI> who&s;e 6 &s;ometimes make bold to Re&s;olve: and <HI>Carthage</HI> is repre|hended by <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> becau&s;e her 6 Propounded and &s;ometimes Re|&s;olv d too, her 14 &s;ometimes Re&s;olved and debated too: We do not want examples out of Mr. <HI>Harrington,</HI> of the enterfe|ring of the 6 with the 14, and the 14 with the 6; both which are of &s;uch di&s;mal con&s;equence; neither could there be wanting &s;ad examples of the like nature in <HI>England,</HI> if ever the Senate take place here: I doubt we &s;hould follow the fate of <HI>Athens</HI> and <HI>Rome.</HI> Would our <HI>Grand Coun&s;el</HI> endure to loo&s;e the benefit of debating among them&s;elves, that <HI>all their communication &s;hould be yea yea, nay nay,</HI> and that too only in d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mb &s;hewes; the genius and natural d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;po&s;ition of <HI>England</HI> would never away wich it, a Nation that cannot endure to be tongue tied, her meane&s;t A&s;&s;emblies not &s;paring, but delighting to exerci&s;e their &s;peeches; and certainly the temper and con&s;titution of a people are very con&s;iderable to Governments, which are to be made for men, and not men for them.</P>
<P>If the&s;e &s;ilent items of the minde be pa&s;&s;able with &s;ome &s;tupid heavy mouthed people, yet will they not take at all, with &s;uch a prompt and ready people as the <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> upon whom I never de&s;ire to &s;ee them obtruded; yea, but &s;hould it be forced upon them by &s;ome &s;ole Legi&s;lator; would it not deba&s;e the Spirits of the Nation, Parlia|ment men &s;hould be bold as Lions, to &s;peak freely their mindes, and to enter their Prote&s;tations if need be of <HI>di&s;&s;ent</HI> and <HI>di&s;like;</HI> and not be obliged to &s;neak their mindes into a box, as if they were afraid or a&s;hamed to &s;peak out. This would be of very ill importance in the <HI>Grand Coun&s;el,</HI> and yet all this the benefit of two Hou&s;es: It was counted a great oppre&s;&s;ion that the King and Lords had a <HI>Nega|tive Voice,</HI> and could hinder the Commons (which an&s;wered to the Prerogative tribe, as that was the Intere&s;t of the people) from what good they would do for the Nation, and yet the Commons were as free to propo&s;e and debate, as their Lord&s;hips; and I mi&s;take excee|dingly if tho&s;e that propound, have not the better half of the Cake, if the other can only di&s;&s;ent, and are bound up from debating, or giving their rea&s;ons of di&s;&s;ent. Nay, how unrea&s;onable it is that 1050 men &s;hould give their &s;uffrages, without &s;o much as the be|nefit of a Jury, going together to con&s;ult and debate about it among them&s;elves, after only a meer Oration in prai&s;e of the matters propounded; when Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> &s;uppo&s;eth them to be none of the wi&s;e&s;t, and therefore de&s;erve to be better informed, before they pro|ceed; and to what purpo&s;e &s;uch a goodly number &s;hould come to|gether, to play, at blindmans buff I cannot imagine, I &s;hall never
<PB N="47" REF="27"> expect the intere&s;t of <HI>England</HI> to be made good, though ten thou&s;and and fifty &s;hould come to be of our prerogative Tribe, if they &s;hall be like that great multitude, that <HI>the mo&s;t part of them knew not wherefore they were come together;</HI> for &s;o they mu&s;t needs be, <HI>if all mu&s;t keep &s;ilence:</HI> Neither will the Printing and publi&s;hing of the <HI>Re&s;olves of the Senate before it comes to the Ballot,</HI> mend the matter much, but mar it rather in my &s;orry judgement; every body hath the benefit of reading that which is Printed, and may by that rea&s;on be as well in|formed as them&s;elves: but 'tis a &s;orry information that we can make to our &s;elves by our own in&s;ight, and the advantage of occa&s;ional mee|tings, in compari&s;on of that clearne&s;s of rea&s;on that convinceth in &s;o grave an A&s;&s;embly; but I did not mean to <HI>contend,</HI> only to <HI>ob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ect.</HI> I ha&s;ten, We have hitherto con&s;idered the Common-wealth to the number of 20 chiefly, they will differ &s;omething it may be under a multiplication.</P>
<P>Saith Mr. <HI>Harrington, Aph.</HI> 70. <HI>The popular a&s;&s;em<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ly in a Common-wealth, may con&s;i&s;t of too few, but can never con&s;i&s;t of too many.</HI></P>
<P N="72">72. <HI>If a popular A&s;&s;embly con&s;i&s;t of &s;o few, and &s;o eminet per&s;ons, as are capable of any orderly debate, it is good for nothing but to de&s;troy the Common-wealth.</HI></P>
<P N="73">73. <HI>If the popular a&s;&s;embly con&s;i&s;t of &s;o many, and &s;o mean per&s;ons for the greater part as are not capable of debate, then this defect mu&s;t he helped by a Senate.</HI></P>
<P N="74">74. <HI>The rea&s;on of a Senate is, that a popular a&s;&s;embly rightly con&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">u|ted, is not capable of any prudent debate.</HI></P>
<P N="76">76. <HI>A popular A&s;&s;embly without a Senate cannot be wi&s;e.</HI></P>
<P N="109">109. <HI>As the &s;oul of man can never be in the body of a Beast, unle&s;&s;e God make a new creation; &s;o neither the &s;oul and freedom natural to democracy in any other form what&s;oever, then that only of a Senate and a popular A&s;&s;embly.</HI></P>
<P>Verily this la&s;t is &s;mart, but wounds not much; the great matter is, <HI>That the popular A&s;&s;embly being the intere&s;t of mankinde, cannot be &s;uffici|ently &s;ecured, but by &s;uch a num<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">er, as are uncapable of any orderly de|bate.</HI></P>
<P>To which I return, <HI>That &s;uch a number as cannot under&s;tand, that can|not make out to one another the benefit of mankind, are too many to make good the intere&s;t of mankind in away of rea&s;on, and if in any particular they hit upon it, tis more by hap then any good cunning.</HI> Therefore I be|lieve, <HI>that &s;o many and no more, as may among them&s;elves, be well in|formed of their own and the peoples in cre&s;t (being univer&s;ally the &s;ame) are the only men, and number of men, to pre&s;erve the intere&s;t of mankind.</HI> When a fire breaks out, tis the intere&s;t of the whole neighbourhood to quench it, but they may be too many to be u&s;eful, therefore the &s;upernumeraries had better be at home, that they be no hinderance:
<PB N="48" REF="28"> That may be the intere&s;t of the whole Nation, that doth not call for &s;o great numbers to keep it on foot, therefore tho&s;e that may be well enough &s;pared let them keep at home, too many are trouble&s;ome, and &s;tand in one anothers light. Why 1050, and no le&s;&s;e, to look to the intere&s;t of <HI>England,</HI> be&s;ides 300 to be the light of <HI>England?</HI> Or, why the light of mankind, mu&s;t be &s;eparated from the intere&s;t of mankind, is very dark to me. If the one body be all <HI>eye,</HI> where is its <HI>ta&s;ting</HI> and its <HI>feeling,</HI> if the other be all <HI>la&s;ting</HI> and <HI>feeling,</HI> where is its <HI>&s;eeing</HI> this is not altogether &s;o good contrivance, as where two half-blind Coachhor&s;es are &s;o placed, that this may &s;ee on the one &s;ide, and that on the other, though, they can &s;carce &s;ee each other, their blinde &s;ides being next together.</P>
<P><HI>The people,</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>Harrington, can feel, but they cannot &s;ee:</HI> well then, the <HI>light</HI> of <HI>this Body is the eye,</HI> that is, <HI>the Senate;</HI> if then the <HI>Eye</HI> be at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and the <HI>Body</HI> be at St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Church, for a little place cannot hold 1050 men; I per&s;wade my &s;elf <HI>this body mu&s;t be full of darkne&s;s.</HI> Why 1050 pray? a le&s;&s;e number was formerly thought enough to a&s;&s;ert the <HI>intere&s;t of mankinde,</HI> again&s;t the <HI>light of mankinde,</HI> the Lords <HI>&s;piritual</HI> and <HI>temporal,</HI> and the <HI>Judges</HI> to boot, which was the intere&s;t of &s;ome men be&s;ides; when yet the Commons were thought to have, and were found to have the <HI>light of mankinde in them too,</HI> yea and have &s;o well a&s;&s;erted and made good the <HI>intere&s;t of mankinde,</HI> again&s;t tho&s;e lights and private intere&s;ts, that leaves no man great cau&s;e to except again&s;t their number. Why 500 or thereabouts being equally di&s;tributed for elections according to the intere&s;t of every part of <HI>England,</HI> &s;hould not as well pre&s;erve the <HI>intere&s;t of mankinde,</HI> as 1050, e&s;pecially when hereby the <HI>Body hath its eyes in its head, hath in it &s;elf the light of mankind and the intere&s;t of makind, can &s;ee and feel both,</HI> I know not? And unle&s;&s;e we &s;hould put out our eyes, becau&s;e &s;ome &s;ay, <HI>they that &s;ee be&s;t, here wor&s;t &s;ometimes, and they that hear wor&s;t, &s;eebe&s;t oft times;</HI> the lo&s;&s;e of one &s;en&s;e being the increa&s;e of another: and &s;o becau&s;e <HI>the Great Coun&s;el is blinde, it &s;hould feel the better;</HI> or the <HI>Senate,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>it doth not feel &s;o much, mu&s;t &s;ee the better;</HI> unle&s;&s;e this be good rea&s;on, I am bound to think be&s;t of <HI>A &s;ingle A&s;&s;embly.</HI></P>
<P>But &s;tay, <HI>The Senate is the light, rea&s;on or learning of mankinde:</HI> and how ea&s;ie it is for, <HI>rea&s;on and learning</HI> to delude <HI>&s;en&s;e,</HI> let any one imagine. It is true, there are &s;ome things &s;o &s;en&s;ibly certain, that they are not to be over ruled by any &s;hew of <HI>rea&s;on,</HI> but <HI>rea&s;on</HI> &s;el|dome bu&s;ieth its &s;elfe about the&s;e; nor are the&s;e the things that &s;o frequently occur unto the <HI>con&s;ideration of our Repre&s;entatives,</HI> if the&s;e were the things, there would be the le&s;&s;e nece&s;&s;ity for <HI>the light of mankinde;</HI> the <HI>rea&s;on</HI> of a <HI>Senate</HI> being to debate <HI>hard matters,</HI> things that are not &s;o liable to <HI>&s;en&s;e:</HI> This difficulty will yet remain, Whether, &s;ince Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> &s;aith <HI>a Senate alone will not be hone&s;t,</HI>
<PB N="49" REF="28"> it be like to be ever the hone&s;ter hereby, while by their <HI>light</HI> of <HI>rea&s;on</HI> and <HI>learning,</HI> it will be no hard matter, in many things, to dazle the weak &s;ight of that va&s;t <HI>Animal,</HI> if both parties do at all agree; whereby the benefit to re&s;ult, will be this only, <HI>that iniquity be e&s;ta|bli&s;hed by a Law,</HI> by a more <HI>&s;eeming</HI> or <HI>pretended rea&s;on</HI> and <HI>intere&s;t: Sen&s;e</HI> doth not much fore&s;ee the benefit of a <HI>Law to be made,</HI> though it feels the good of a <HI>Law that hath been &s;ometime in force;</HI> therefore it will be no hard matter for <HI>&s;eeming rea&s;on</HI> to &s;educe <HI>common &s;en&s;e:</HI> This great <HI>Coun&s;el</HI> wherein it may be &s;ome may be found to have &s;carce <HI>common &s;en&s;e,</HI> had need to be well in&s;tructed, better then a <HI>Senate</HI> can inform them by an <HI>Oration</HI> or <HI>Preachment,</HI> where every ones tale is good, till anothers is told, or el&s;e they are like enough to do they know not what; for I doubt me every man hath not a light within him, to a certain knowledge of <HI>good</HI> or <HI>evill,</HI> the <HI>intere&s;t</HI> or <HI>prejudice</HI> of the <HI>State,</HI> that without any more adoe, we &s;hould be left to do as God &s;hall direct us: let me put a ca&s;e, 1050 are cho&s;en for the Great Councel, and 300 for the <HI>Senate</HI> according to Mr. <HI>Harringtons</HI> free way of Election for fear of fixing any in oppo&s;ition. The 300 pro|po&s;e, <HI>That</HI> CHARLES STUART <HI>be made King of</HI> England; I may &s;uppo&s;e this, for Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> &s;aith in effect, <HI>The Senate will not be hone&s;t if they can chu&s;e, and a King might not do much ami&s;&s;e with the&s;e two Coun&s;els;</HI> well what will the &s;en&s;e and intere&s;t of the 1050 &s;ay to this; &s;uppo&s;ing there mu&s;t be no debating this bu&s;i|ne&s;&s;e there, but every one mu&s;t put their mindes in a box, without telling tales; there be &s;ome in the world that would lay two to one their &s;en&s;e would &s;oon inform them that it is their intere&s;t to make him King: I leave the Reader to a free judgement&mdash; once more: the 300 would &s;eem wi&s;er and in their grave judgements propound to the 1050 to &s;ettle &s;ome <HI>Sectary</HI> as we call them, <HI>Lord Archon,</HI> and <HI>Sole Legi&s;lator of England,</HI> and &s;ignifie to them, <HI>that it is the National intere&s;t &s;o to do,</HI> without debating the matter, but away pre&s;ently to the Balloting box. I conceive their &s;en&s;e would hardly convince them, <HI>that either the one or the other were their intere&s;t:</HI> the &s;en&s;e of people in many things is a kinde of prepo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; they mu&s;t be &s;oundly convinced here if they believe any thing but what they thought before; be it true or fal&s;e: but in other things they are more facile and ductile, and not &s;o hard to be impo&s;ed on.</P>
<P>If they are prepo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with an error, then the work is done to hand; 'tis but propo&s;ing, and 'tis pre&s;ently re&s;olved. If they are prepo&s;&s;e&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d with their true Intere&s;t, if the contrary be not of nece&s;&s;ity to the de&s;ign of the <HI>Senate,</HI> it may lie &s;till till better lea&s;ure; but if it be of ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity, I hope it will be held fit that this be introdu|ced at once, and not committed to chance, to be wrought out by little and little, according to the &s;en&s;e of the people&punc; The <HI>Senate</HI> may ea&s;ily
<PB N="50" REF="29"> over-reach them, in an error wherein they are prepared for them, this might be remedyed by a full and free debate, if it be capable of re|medy; if they be prepo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of their right, which is not with the plea&s;ure of the <HI>Senate</HI> to &s;uffer, though its contrary be not of ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity; they can over-reach them here, by delay, and not propo&s;ing it; or it may be circumvent them &s;ome way un&s;een: What is of ab&s;o|lute nece&s;&s;ity for the <HI>Senates</HI> turn, is cared for before by the &s;ole <HI>Le|gi&s;lator,</HI> &s;o that we &s;hall not &s;tirre their humours about that; and how many other things will fall under the con&s;ideration of the <HI>Senate,</HI> and under the <HI>Ballot</HI> of the popular A&s;&s;embly, wherein they &s;hall be &s;o farre from being prepo&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, that it may be the major part of the great A&s;&s;embly &s;hall be wholly &s;trangers to them; and how ea&s;ily to be over-reached in the&s;e, by following tho&s;e Stags of the large&s;t heads, I cannot but mu&s;e now and then. And this I ob&s;erve, <HI>That men gene|rally are more apt to mi&s;take the common Intere&s;t, then to under&s;tand it rightly; and are commonly more &s;tiffe and inflexible in their errors that they &s;uck in by Tradition; then a&s;&s;ured and confident of &s;ome Truths they hold, which yet are of ea&s;ie demon&s;tration; and will yield no &s;mall ad|vantage again&s;t them.</HI> All which are cogent rea&s;ons with me, that the Coun&s;ell wherein the Intere&s;t of the Common-wealth con&s;i&s;ts, ought not to be without debate. Upon which con&s;iderations, if it be po&s;&s;ible to con&s;titute &s;uch a Coun&s;ell as may enough make good the Intere&s;t of the people, and yet pre&s;erve its own eye-&s;ight; (not knowing why one, and the greate&s;t Coun&s;ell &s;hould wink, while the other takes aim;) I &s;ay, if there can be &s;uch an one, as may pre|&s;erve the benefit of debating, and arguing among them&s;elves in a way of prudence, and pre&s;erve the Peoples Intere&s;t too; hereby tho&s;e inconveniences will be taken off, that mu&s;t needs ari&s;e from two di|&s;tinct Bodies: If then the <HI>Hou&s;e of Commons</HI> were &s;ufficient for the light of Mankinde, and the Intere&s;t of Mankinde; when there was the light and Intere&s;t of a particular party uppermo&s;t, to grapple with; when yet by the &s;warms of petty Burge&s;&s;es the Intere&s;t of that Hou&s;e was made as much as po&s;&s;ible for the Court; and if they would have betrayed the people, or could have been &s;eparate from the Intere&s;t of the people, they might have had what recompen&s;e they could hope for; have yet made good the Intere&s;t of the people with advantage again&s;t all oppo&s;ition. What rea&s;on is there then, when the &s;tream that drove &s;o hard to turn their Mill, but could not, is diverted; that when there remain no temptations at all upon them, to de&s;ert the <HI>Common Intere&s;t,</HI> that any one &s;hould fancy they would <HI>turn Cat in the Pan?</HI> Why &s;hould any think they would make good our Intere&s;t, when as things went then, one would rather have thought they dur&s;t not do what they did: And yet now when they &s;hall hardly dare to doe o|therwi&s;e then make good our Intere&s;t; and nothing in the way to
<PB N="51" REF="29"> terrifie them for doing it, and it &s;hall be their own Intere&s;t &s;o to do, and when they &s;hall be &s;o equally di&s;tributed, as to take in the whole Intere&s;t of the Nation alike; that now they &s;hould de&s;ert the <HI>Com|mon Intere&s;t,</HI> and mu&s;t now be <HI>an incon&s;iderable number,</HI> and not &s;uffi|cient to maintain it; is to me &s;uch a fond imagination, as I have hardly patience to repeat it.</P>
<P>Well, notwith&s;tanding Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> voucheth the&s;e two Councils of <HI>Legi&s;lators,</HI> and warrants them &s;ound wind and limb, I dare not take them upon his word, for I expect a halt; <HI>that the great Council would fall to debating; and then,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>ruine is con&s;equent;</HI> and if the <HI>Prerogative Tribe</HI> be &s;ullen, and will not jog on, the <HI>Senate</HI> mu&s;t not only Propound but Re&s;olve too, with <HI>Carthage</HI> and <HI>Venice:</HI> And then as Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> &s;aith, <HI>If &s;he that divides mu&s;t choo&s;e too, it had been little wor&s;e for the other, in ca&s;e &s;he had not divided at all, but kept the whole Cake to her &s;elf, in regard that being to choo&s;e, &s;he divi|ded accordingly.</HI> Wherefore if the <HI>Senate</HI> have any more power then to divide, the Common-wealth can never be equall. The Reader will ob&s;erve what hath been &s;aid, even again&s;t Mr. <HI>Harringtons</HI> Senate, the mo&s;t rationall that hath been propo&s;ed: If any other that I have met withall, &s;hould be examined, they would appear an hundred fold wor&s;e then this, admitting &s;uch ab&s;urdities, and Slavery as would make one mad to think of them: I have done. But mu&s;t give my &s;uffrage for a &s;ingle Council, that thing called in <HI>England</HI> formerly the <HI>Hou&s;e of Commons;</HI> 'tis that our Nation is well acquain|ted with, and extreamly jealous lea&s;t it &s;hould be robbed of; and is without exception the be&s;t Government in the World, being disburthen|ed of the <HI>King</HI> and <HI>Lords;</HI> and doth not want a way to help it &s;elf, in any thing wherein a <HI>Senate</HI> is of good u&s;e, making choice of Com|mittees for this purpo&s;e, who<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The <HI>Par|liament.</HI></NOTE> can with more judgement finde out tho&s;e men that are the light of Mankinde, then the <HI>rude Multitude,</HI> who&s;e choice I conceit would put little difference between the wi&s;|dome of the Senators, and many of tho&s;e they returned for the <HI>Great Council;</HI> which Committees (for all what my Lord <HI>Archon</HI> hath &s;aid to the contrary) are capable of &s;uch Reformations, as &s;hall render them every manner of way as u&s;efull as a <HI>Senate;</HI> and yet not be obnoxious to its Exceptions. And as to matter of Faction it holds no water; or if it doe, <HI>the remedy is wor&s;e then the di&s;ea&s;e;</HI> and would encrea&s;e the Malady. Wherefore upon the whole there remains but one impor|tant Objection, which I confe&s;&s;e I cannot obviate; and my Lord <HI>Archon</HI> hath Knockt the nail on the head;</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>That a &s;ingle A&s;&s;embly is like a Game at Football:</HI></P>
</FLOATEXT>
<PB N="52" REF="30">
<P>And truely it is not fit <HI>we &s;hould all be fellowes:</HI> And therefore &s;ome who think them&s;elves, more Honourable, more Wi&s;e, or more Reli|gious then the re&s;t; I wonder not, they think much to &s;tand <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n the croud; el&s;e I think few know why they promote it, unle&s;&s;e to &s;hew their Reading, or others, as Mr. <HI>Rogers</HI> conceives, <HI>That the Nation may be put into the fitter method for a Single Per&s;on.</HI> Such an A&s;&s;embly as I have &s;poken o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, being frequently cho&s;en, I &s;uppo&s;e will with mo&s;t rea&s;on doe the Nation right: wherein I think it may &s;uffice that the people pre&s;erve their Right of frequent election; without any nece&s;&s;ity that all of the former Parliament, be debarred of &s;it|ting in the next following. For if any man or men, have &s;o well de&s;erved of his Countrey as to be more then ordinarily &s;erviceable for their good, I do not know why they &s;hould be di&s;abled to &s;hew their thankfulne&s;&s;e, by choo&s;ing them again if they think fit. In this I agree with Mr. <HI>Rogers,</HI> though I under&s;tand not what Oligarchy he would have; wherein he is as dark, as if he were all <HI>Hebrew;</HI> at which one might venture divers Interpretations. Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> ruleth me, where he &s;aith, <HI>Give us good Lawes, good Orders, and they &s;hall make us good men: Good Orders are the very foundation of Government; and then good us as good men as you can with re&s;pect bad to tho&s;e Lawes and Orders: As good men as you can, but by no means break Orders to pick and choo&s;e.</HI> They that would &s;et up a <HI>Scripture Government,</HI> or the <HI>Kingdome of Chri&s;t</HI> in <HI>England,</HI> by overthrowing our natural <HI>Birth|rights,</HI> are mightily to be pitied, but little to be tru&s;ted: 'Tis dange|rous tru&s;ting good men too farre, they may &s;eem good to day, and prove bad to morrow: We have &s;een &s;ad in&s;tances of tru&s;ting good men. Who would have thought old <HI>Oliver</HI> had not had the &s;pirit of the cau&s;e, and that he would not have carryed on the Refined <HI>Intere&s;t:</HI> But alas! alas! how &s;hall we know the men that will continue faithfull. And if any think or &s;ay with <HI>Peter</HI> to Chri&s;t, <HI>Though all for&s;ake thee, yet will not we:</HI> they know not how &s;oon their faith may fall them, and may do well to remember, that <HI>High-places</HI> are &s;lippery places, and doe endanger Back-&s;liding; who unle&s;&s;e they have given over to pray &mdash;<HI>lead us not into temptation,</HI> would (be very fearfull of falling into this &s;nare. The be&s;t men prove bad <HI>Legi&s;lators,</HI> if tru&s;ted with, and continued in <HI>Arbitrary power:</HI> And this is one <HI>evil I have &s;een under the Sun; we call that good which is mo&s;t like us, of our own party, or faction, and humour:</HI> but who ever are truly good will be be&s;t plea&s;ed to be pre&s;cribed by Rules, which may keep them within compa&s;&s;e, <HI>if they &s;hould fall into an hour of temptation,</HI> that though <HI>their Grace &s;hould faile, yet our Faith &s;hould not faile,</HI> while we know, <HI>that though they would, yet they cannot hurt us.</HI></P>
<PB N="53" REF="30">
<P>I have done what I de&s;igned, only have tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed my intended bounds and limits; I hold it no good manners to venture too far, to offer my thoughts about government, knowing very well tho&s;e whom it concerns to Settle us, under&s;tand their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e better then I can teach them; and verily if &s;ome had not been overbu&s;ie in Print, I had kept all this in my brea&s;t, and nor di&s;turbed the publique with it; let this provocation plead my excu&s;e. Only by the way, I do a little wonder at &s;ome who are &s;o purely <HI>popular,</HI> that they are angry at a <HI>Councel of State,</HI> for fear of <HI>U&s;urpation,</HI> but tis like they fear where no fear is.</P>
<P>I had made it my reque&s;t to the Parliament (which I believe they would have well received) to &s;tate us &s;uch qualifications for Mem|bers to be cho&s;en into the next Repre&s;entative, as we might have ventured our all with them; wherein I had delivered my opinion again&s;t admitting any of the <HI>late Kings party,</HI> without fearing to fix them in oppo&s;ition again&s;t us, being already fixed in &s;uch bitter oppo|&s;ition again&s;t a Common-wealth, that they would not <HI>believe the benefit of it, though they did a little feel it, much le&s;&s;e would they believe it at the fir&s;t;</HI> but &s;hould all manner of men be promi&s;cuou&s;ly admitted into the next Parliament, many would be brought in, who when they were there would undoubtedly conclude, <HI>we had wonder|fully beguiled them, and had put out their eyes that they &s;hould grinde in our mill,</HI> and would be confident, <HI>we called them in only to make &s;port:</HI> wherefore they would not fail <HI>to lay their hands upon the pillars of the Common-wealth, and bow them&s;elves with all their might, if po&s;&s;ible, to pull the Hou&s;e upon our heads, though they them&s;elves were ruined by the fall.</HI></P>
<P>Some other things I had humbly propo&s;ed to them in reference <HI>to the next Repre&s;entative,</HI> tending to <HI>the &s;ecurity of the Government,</HI> of <HI>the good Cau&s;e we have been contending for,</HI> and <HI>Liberty of Con|&s;cience:</HI> all which I doubt not, but they would have put in pra|ctice, or have taken better care for all: and then when this <HI>Repre|&s;entative</HI> had found the want of a <HI>Senate,</HI> I &s;hould have &s;ubmit|ted my judgement to theirs, who I doubt not would have had every jot as much fore&s;ight as the <HI>People of Venice,</HI> and if they had found the want, would have called for the remedy, without the help of a <HI>LORD SOLE LEGISLATOR.</HI></P>
<P>I have done, and was indeed &s;ince this <HI>unluckie change,</HI> re&s;olved wholly to omit this Argument of a <HI>Senate,</HI> which was &s;ent to the Pre&s;&s;e a week &s;ince, the whole being intended for the Parliament, who are &s;ince <HI>perfidiou&s;ly forced,</HI> judging it little boot to plead for this or that way of a Common-wealth, when we are like to go without this or that either, and be ruled by <HI>meer will and plea&s;ure;</HI> but ob&s;erving &s;ome endevours for this <HI>Senate,</HI> and <HI>Popular a&s;&s;embly,</HI> by
<PB N="54" REF="31"> <HI>HOOK</HI> or by <HI>CROOKE</HI> who think that <HI>LAMBERT</HI> &s;hall de|&s;erve 20000 <HI>l. per annum</HI> during his life to &s;ettle it: I am over|ruled to publi&s;h my Exceptions again&s;t it, and &s;ubmit them to cen|&s;ure: however, expect not what I propound &s;hould be Setled by &s;uch Juglers, who but ye&s;terday cryed <HI>Ho&s;ana to the Supreme Authority, the Parliament,</HI> and now nothing will &s;erve but, <HI>away with them, away with them, let them be crucified.</HI></P>
<P>I had prepared (be&s;ides my <HI>Addre&s;&s;e to the Parliament</HI>) to clo&s;e my Di&s;cour&s;e with <HI>Addre&s;&s;es</HI> to the <HI>Epi&s;copal, Presbyterian, Indepen|dent, Baptized, Protectorians, Army,</HI> and <HI>the whole body of the Na|tion;</HI> quieting them towards a <HI>&s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the Supremacy of Par|liaments,</HI> chiding them heartily, and &s;everally, as I &s;aw occa&s;ion. But now the Army becoming the &s;ole Ma&s;ters of Rea&s;on, I dare make no <HI>Addre&s;&s;es</HI> but to them&s;elves, wherein yet I &s;hall hardly flatter them, as mo&s;t of them&s;elves did the Late Protector, and betrayed him <HI>with a ki&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="essay">
<PB N="55" REF="31">
<HEAD>TO THE ARMY THE Supreme Authority OF ENGLAND:</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>High and Mighty Ma&s;ters,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>IT hath been in every bodies mouth, <HI>The Parliament were your drudges, that you were twice or thrice about to di&s;card them &s;ince they &s;at la&s;t:</HI> No doubt, they &s;pake it mo&s;t of them as they would have it. Well, you have broken this Parliament, yea, you have broken your &s;elves and us too, yea have turned all top&s;ie <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">urvie. Tis true of you, <HI>The&s;e are they that have turned the World up&s;ide downe: you have made</HI> England, Scotland, Ireland <HI>a Chaos, without form and void,</HI> and I doubt your Omnipo|tency will never &s;peak the word for &s;uch a creation, as any hone&s;t man &s;hall &s;ay when he hath looked upon it, <HI>that it is very good:</HI> You may pardon me &s;ince you have put all out of Order, if you have di&s;ordered my thoughts, &s;o that I ob&s;erve no method, when all is without any method among us. I tell you, <HI>this action is the mo&s;t faith|le&s;s, &s;en&s;ele&s;s, bootle&s;s, ruinous action that ever appeared upon the Stage
<PB N="56" REF="32"> of the world: the mo&s;t fal&s;e hearted and traiterous: the mo&s;t ridicu|lous and in&s;ignificant: the mo&s;t ra&s;h and fruitle&s;&s;e: the mo&s;t dan|gerous and de&s;tructive adventure that ever men took in hand. Oh my &s;oul enter not thou into their &s;ecrets! nor let any hone&s;t man &s;ay a con|federacy with them; let them a&s;&s;ociate them&s;elves, they &s;hall be broken to pieces, God will finde them out in due time.</HI> I be&s;eech you what do you mean, are ye Chri&s;tians and yet will not be men? to pa&s;&s;e by all former Obligations: did you not the other day <HI>bewail your Apo|&s;ta&s;ie, that you had wandred from your GOOD OLD CAUSE?</HI> did you not tell us, <HI>You took &s;hame to your &s;elves, and remembred from whence you were fallen, and repented, and would do your fir&s;t workes; and therefore finding that God ble&s;&s;ed you all along till you forced the Long Parliament, but after that, made you labour as in the fire, and no good came of all your after actions;</HI> therefore you a&s;&s;ured them, <HI>that now they &s;hould &s;it freely, and you would &s;trengthen their hands and be their &s;ervants.</HI> Is not all this truth in the&s;e very words, or to this effect, and much more if I had lea&s;ure to repeat; but it is fre&s;h in every bodies mouths and mindes, though you have forgot it: and are you not pa&s;t &s;hame now: <HI>mu&s;t we bewail your Apo&s;ta&s;ie now,</HI> as fearing <HI>&s;ince you are fallen away after being enlightened, it will be hard to re&s;tore you again by repentance; e&s;pecially &s;ince ye have ta&s;ted of the powers of this world.</HI></P>
<P>But be&s;ides this, did you not every Mothers childe of you Officers, did you not take your Commi&s;&s;ions from the Parliament, and one by one promi&s;e your obedience: Yes, that mo&s;t faithful and gifted Bro|ther Collonel <HI>Packer,</HI> promi&s;ed when he received his Commi&s;&s;ion at Mr. <HI>Speakers</HI> hands, <HI>That he would not only promi&s;e them to be faith|ful and obedient, but they &s;hould &s;ee by his actions that he would be a true &s;ervant to them and the Common-wealth.</HI> Yea <HI>Lambert</HI> him&s;elf was the greate&s;t &s;tickler for the Parliament (God forgive him, for what ends I know not) and yet the&s;e men. Act like as they had given the Parliament Commi&s;&s;ions, and turn them out, whom they ju&s;t now promi&s;ed &s;o &s;eriou&s;ly to obey: a <HI>Tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">k,</HI> a <HI>Heathen</HI> would have &s;corned this fal&s;hood, and ba&s;ene&s;s: What not be faithful to our tru&s;t! <HI>O faith|le&s;&s;e and perver&s;e generation!</HI></P>
<P>Add to this, that flattering and in&s;inuating <HI>Petition</HI> and <HI>Repre&s;en|tation</HI> but the other day, wherein they &s;o &s;adly bemoan them&s;elves <HI>that the Parliament &s;hould &s;o &s;harpely rebuke their humble &s;ervants, their faith|ful &s;ervants, that meant nothing but to Petition in a peaceable manner;</HI> where they artificially conceal their int<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ntions for a <HI>General, only de|&s;ire that</HI> Fleetwoods <HI>Commi&s;&s;ion may be renewed:</HI> other things they Pe|tition for (we under&s;tand what your Petitioning &s;ignifies) <HI>&s;ome to in&s;inuate into the favour of the Militia; others to &s;ecure the Govern|ment of the Nation in the hands of the Officers of the Army;</HI> it is &s;o
<PB N="57" REF="32"> in the effect; and then mo&s;t Saint-like, promi&s;e <HI>all to be well-meaning men, to be Servants to the Parliament;</HI> and the mo&s;t &s;weet expre&s;&s;ions ima|ginable. But we have tryed them that &s;ay, <HI>they are Saints, they are the faithfull Servants of the Common-wealth, but are not;</HI> and have found them Lyars. Who, <HI>Lambert</HI> put the <HI>Northern Brigade</HI> to petition for a <HI>Generall?</HI> no &s;uch matter, he per&s;waded them <HI>(good man)</HI> all he could again&s;t it; yes, I'le warrant you: And yet the <HI>Fift Monarchy-men,</HI> (the Mad ones of them) think now <HI>Chri&s;ts Kingdome</HI> goes on amain, and flock down in Shoals to <HI>Wallingford-hou&s;e,</HI> to make way for <HI>Chri&s;ts</HI> coming, who may be coming for ought that I know, as he &s;aith, &mdash; <HI>When the Son of Man comes &s;hall he finde faith upon the earth?</HI> Upon my word, the&s;e were fit to live <HI>and reign with Chri&s;t a thou&s;and years,</HI> who cannot keep Faith an hundred dayes. Let me &s;ay with the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>Help Lord, for the Godly man cea&s;eth, for the faithfull fail among the Children of men; they &s;peak vanity every one with his neighbour; with flattering lips, and with a double heart do they &s;peak.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis a mo&s;t &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e, ridiculous, and in&s;ignificant action; you plea&s;ure your Enemies, and make your &s;elves and us, the whole Na|tion, a &s;corn, a deri&s;ion, and a Proverb in the earth. In the be|ginning of this book I have been dealing with a Malignant Impo&s;tor, who&s;e whole bu&s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e was nothing el&s;e but to make you break the <HI>Par|liament</HI> to &s;erve his de&s;igns; for I tell you, they fear their Wi&s;dome, more then your power. Are the <HI>Cavaliers</HI> your friends? are ye be|witched to believe them, and to &s;light your old true friends; I thought I had not needed to &s;ay much in the beginning of the Book to an&s;wer that treacherous <HI>Cavalier;</HI> I thought it was enough to tell you who&s;e was the plot, to per&s;wade you to break the Parliament; But before I could bring my Book to light, ye are cheated into a belief of his Impo&s;ture. Ah me! are ye not proud of your wi&s;dome? Who&s;e is this Invention? who put you upon this exploit? Oh &s;ad! <HI>Will you plea&s;e your enemies, and grieve your friends. Know him or them that put you upon this gro&s;&s;e piece of folly, and avoid them. We that put you upon calling back this Parliament, and encouraged you in the day of your &s;traights, and told every body we met, how hone&s;t the Army would be, now they under&s;tood them&s;elves; that they would &s;tand+by the Parliament, while they did &s;ettle the Nation upon the founda|tions of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and truth: We, even we, are laughed to &s;cord; and I mu&s;t &s;peak to you in the words of Joab:</HI> Ye have &s;hamed this day the faces of all your &s;ervants, <HI>that have &s;aved your lives, (that have &s;aved your credits, which &s;hould be as dear as life, and that have appeared for you in the day of your di&s;tre&s;&s;e) in that you love your Enemies, and hate your friends; for you have declared this day,</HI> that you regard neither Princes nor Servants; for this day I perceive that it plea&s;eth you well, though all we dye, &s;o <HI>Ab&s;alom</HI> live. <HI>We know
<PB N="58" REF="33"> not how to look any body in the face; though we thought we had done well when we appeared for you, again&s;t your enemies. But every one of us get away by &s;tealth, as people that are a&s;hamed &s;teal away when they flee in Battell; &mdash; Not only &s;o, but you have made your &s;elves the mo&s;t ab&s;olute</HI> Changelings <HI>in the world; It is a Proverb beyond Seas, to expre&s;&s;e any Uncertainty thus,</HI> &mdash; As certain as England.</P>
<P>Our Agent <HI>Lockhart</HI> is laughed at, when he comes to treat with the <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Favourite: <HI>What a peace with you! who are your Ma&s;ters? you have as many Ma&s;ters at Moons: Goe make peace among your &s;elves, and then talk of peace with us.</HI></P>
<P>Amba&s;&s;adors here in <HI>England</HI> know not who to make their Ad|dre&s;&s;es to; and have &s;aid, <HI>What &s;hall we treat? we know not who to tru&s;t to: You will have new Ma&s;ters within this Six Weeks, and then we mu&s;t begin again.</HI> This is greatly for your honour; 'tis your in|terpo&s;ing hath begot all the&s;e changes; &s;till as we have been &s;etling you have broken us to pieces, this is all your wit, you mend the mat|ters wi&s;ely; if we will have any Government to hold, better heads then yours mu&s;t con&s;ult it. I am loth to think 'tis your de&s;ign to un|&s;ettle us; if it be, <HI>God help your heads,</HI> you will feel the &s;mart of it in time, as well as we; you are <HI>good Souldiers,</HI> but <HI>bad Statesmen, profe&s;&s;ing your &s;elves wi&s;e ye are become fools: Be not wi&s;e over-much,</HI> nor take too much upon you; ye have mi&s;carryed over and over; will you be doing again? I dread the con&s;equence of this hair-brain'd Action; and there are &s;uch fools in the World, <HI>though they &s;hould be brayed in a Mortar, yet their folly will not depart.</HI></P>
<P>Well, but the Parliament mu&s;t out; why, <HI>what evill have they done? for which of all their good works do you &s;tone them?</HI> Have they not gone through good report and evil report for the good of the Nation? Was not their hand in all that was done for the a&s;&s;erting the Nations Birth-rights? and were they not carefully providing for us when you fir&s;t turned them out; it was an abu&s;e put upon them by tho&s;e that turned them out, to &s;ay, <HI>They intended to perpetuate them&s;elves, that &s;o they</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cromwell</HI> and his Creatures.</NOTE> <HI>might Colour their U&s;urpation and Tyranny.</HI> Out of your <HI>own mouths I judge you, you evil &s;ervants;</HI> remember your Decla|ration, wherein you bewayled your Apo&s;ta&s;ie. Did they not re|turn to their duties again, to &s;erve the publike if po&s;&s;ible, and forget all your former abu&s;es? And did they not &s;et them&s;elves &s;eriou&s;ly to work for the Nations welfare? and did they not doe as much a men could doe, that found things in &s;o much di&s;traction, to reduce us to better Orders? Yea verily, <HI>they did as much as mortall men could doe.</HI> Yea, did they not di&s;countenance &s;ome men more then there was ab&s;o|lute nece&s;&s;ity of, to give you content? yea, did they not get you a <HI>whole Years Taxe to be paid in Three Moneths,</HI> and a <HI>Three Moneths Tax more to be paid in Three Weeks,</HI> and all to keep fair with you, and to pay you
<PB N="59" REF="33"> your due? Did they not prepare an Act for one hundred thou&s;and pounds <HI>per men&s;em</HI> to be immediately levyed for you; and Ordered to &s;ell every thing almo&s;t to pay you your Arrears? and thereby drew an <HI>odium</HI> upon them&s;elves, more then ever any other Parliament would do &s;ince you fir&s;t turned them out: And yet though men grumbled at the&s;e Charges, yet generally hoped the Parliament would make them amends by doing good things for them. Yea, did not the Parliament give them new Commi&s;&s;ions, whom the Protector had ca&s;hiered, with|out re&s;pect of per&s;ons, if they were judged Faithfull; as <HI>Lambert</HI> his own &s;elf, though a worthy Member of Parliament gave good rea&s;on to the contray; all without re&s;pect to their opinions; dealing their re|&s;pects without partiality, hoping hereby to oblige their affections? yea did they not encourage all that did the Nation &s;ervice, and &s;hare their Rewards without di&s;tinction to all that de&s;erved it; to <HI>Ducken|field</HI> and <HI>Creed,</HI> who de&s;erve a thou&s;and times more the reward of a <HI>Rope</HI> for their late Trea&s;on, then a Chain of Gold for their <HI>Che&s;hiere</HI> Service: Oh ungratefull unthankfull Mon&s;ters of Mankinde! could it be believed, &s;o much di&s;ingenuity &s;hould be harboured in <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> brea&s;ts? Nay, I pray heartily, <HI>had you any rea&s;on to mi&s;tru&s;t the Parliament?</HI> no more then I have to mi&s;tru&s;t my own heart: <HI>Have they not been en|barqued all along in the &s;ame common cau&s;e with us? is it not as much their Intere&s;t as yours to con&s;ult the &s;ecurity of the Nation, and all that have been the Parliaments Friends? Yea, is not their life bound up in your life? They could not de&s;ign to ruine the Army, but they mu&s;t ruine them&s;elves: You were and are as nece&s;&s;ary by your Forces to defend us, as their Coun&s;ell to give forth &s;uch Orders as may make us happy be|ing &s;o defended; and enable us to maintain you as our Guards: When as through want of good advice, if the Common-wealth &s;ink, (as un|doubtedly it mu&s;t without better Coun&s;ellors) ye may go and defend</HI> Jamaica; <HI>here will be no u&s;e of you. Certainly the Parliament cannot be without you, he is be&s;ides him&s;elf that thinks they can; they could no more &s;ettle a Commonwealth without your Arms, then you can with|out their Heads; neither could they &s;ecure them&s;elves, but they mu&s;t &s;ecu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e you; nor make any Lawes that &s;hould be bad for you, but they mu&s;t be bad for them&s;elves; which every body thinks they would be as carefull in as they could, and no body doubts but they could con&s;ult it as well as any company of men that ever were in England:</HI> Yea, and &s;ay, I &s;aid &s;o. <HI>You must call them back again if ever you make any work of it again&s;t the</HI> Norman <HI>Race.</HI></P>
<P>Goe your way then, think upon it: What have you done? cer|tainly, the mo&s;t barbarous, &s;avage, and inhumane action that ever was done; it &s;eems, <HI>you neither fear God, nor reverence man;</HI> the mo&s;t <HI>bruti&s;h, childi&s;h, wilfull, headlong, giddy</HI> Undertaking that ever was put in practice. And <HI>Wo, aye woe indeed to the Nation who&s;e
<PB N="60" REF="34"> Prince is a Childe:</HI> And no le&s;&s;e <HI>wo to that Common-wealth who&s;e Ru|lers are Children.</HI> Yet more, 'tis the mo&s;t <HI>bootle&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, ra&s;h and fruitle&s;&s;e Enterpri&s;e</HI> that ever was introduced by men that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="3 letters">ld pretend to a de&s;ign: Good now, <HI>What benefit did you propound <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> your &s;elves, or the State? Do you Propound no end of your actions? do you not think before hand, what you &s;hall &s;peak or doe? But doe you in that very &s;ame hour whatever is upon your Spirits?</HI> I doubt, if you have not thought of it before hand, it will hardly be given you &s;o &s;uddenly <HI>how to an&s;wer me aright;</HI> What, <HI>do you overturn, overturn, overturn; and take no care for the Nation, nor your &s;elves; what we &s;hall eat, or whether we &s;hall drink; or whether we &s;hall have any clothes to our backs? Is this Heatheni&s;h?</HI> Sure our Lord never taught you this Le&s;&s;on, to under&s;tand him after this rate: Do you &s;ay to us, <HI>Be filled, be warmed, be clothed?</HI> Will this do the work? Do you de&s;ign the benefit of the Nation, by di&s;turbing our <HI>Settlement,</HI> by ob&s;tructing our <HI>Trade,</HI> by beggering the <HI>Nation,</HI> by undoing every thing as fa&s;t as it is done, by breaking our <HI>Parliaments,</HI> by &s;etting the <HI>Sword</HI> above our ancient <HI>Birth-rights?</HI> is this your Providence for us? <HI>Gramercy Hor&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>But &s;tay, what did you get by breaking this Parliament before? but &s;ubject your &s;elves to the plea&s;ure of your Generall, who turned &mdash; out all he plea&s;ed, that would not be his <HI>Jani&s;aries:</HI> And after Six years were forced to call them back again with &s;hame enough. And now you have broken them again, what will you be gainers? Whoever gets the power, and not by right, will make us Slaves, and you too; in&s;inuations and fair preten&s;es mu&s;t be u&s;ed to <HI>Trepan</HI> you at fir&s;t; but they that are faithfull among you will be known, and weeded out, as &s;oon as the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e is effected; hone&s;t men may be in&s;trumentall to &s;et up a Tyrant, but are not fit in&s;truments to keep them up; nay, hone&s;t men &s;hall be &s;o &s;ure to be rooted out, that it is among their Politicks, <HI>to remove all that have been the In&s;truments of their Advancement, lea&s;t they &s;hould pre&s;ume that their good Services had for ever obliged their Ma&s;ter, or Ma&s;ters, and &s;o &s;hould not be &s;o wholly at their devotion as others that they &s;hould gratifie with their places; who were more bound to de&s;erve that, which they received without any merit.</HI> Are the preten&s;es fairer now then before? No, there is not half that preten&s;e that was on old <HI>Olivers</HI> &s;ide. Can you not &s;ee through them; <HI>No &s;ingle Per&s;on, no by no meanes; we abominate the thoughts of that:</HI> What then? No body knowes, un|le&s;&s;e &s;omething that is a thou&s;and times wor&s;e, <HI>Three, Ten, Thirty,</HI> or it may be <HI>Seventy Tyrants</HI> for a while, till &s;ome one can get above the re&s;t. The Second Generall Officer is an unlucky place; it was <HI>Lieu|tenant Generall Cromwell</HI> once, and then he was a Saint, a precious Saint, could preach, and pray, and promi&s;e &s;trange matters; then
<PB N="61" REF="34"> it was &mdash; <HI>Is thy &s;ervant a dog, that he &s;hould do &s;o and &s;o:</HI> what <HI>be Protector, be King, rule by my meer will, no by Gods grace I will never do it.</HI></P>
<P>Put ca&s;e <HI>Fleetwood</HI> will not act as General, nor grant Commi&s;&s;ions to them that have none, them the Parliament Voted out, and tho&s;e that &s;hall be brought into the place of tho&s;e hone&s;t Commanders that did their part for the Parliament, <HI>the &s;alt of the Army,</HI> who being put out (as certainly that will be their fate, if the weather clear towards the <HI>North) the Army will &s;tinck in the no&s;es of all Europe.</HI> I &s;ay, if <HI>Fleetwood</HI> will not, I hope &s;omebody el&s;e will; what's next then, why not a King? one King, or another King, and then what is the benefit, <HI>Richard Lord Protector is laid a&s;ide,</HI> and <HI>King JOHN the Second comes up in his place:</HI> At fir&s;t it may be a <HI>Senate,</HI> but then &s;omething for the honour of <HI>England,</HI> a <HI>Duke of Venice Elective;</HI> Election will do the work to get into the Throne, but when once up, it mu&s;t be theirs and their heirs for ever, if it be not made <HI>hereditary,</HI> I'le warrant you they know whom to nominate their Succe&s;&s;or, for it will not be prudence to leave that matter un|determined and go out of the world, lea&s;t the&s;e Di&s;ciples &s;hould fall together by the ears about this que&s;tion, <HI>Who &s;hould be greate&s;t.</HI> If you will not believe your own experience, who can help it; I hope by this time your Commander in chief may make bold to put in and pull out who he plea&s;e; out with an <HI>Overton,</HI> a <HI>Rich,</HI> a <HI>Har|ri&s;on,</HI> and in with my Son <HI>Falconbridge,</HI> my Cozen <HI>Lockhurt,</HI> and the re&s;t of his <HI>well affected kindred:</HI> and I &s;hall not pity you a jot.</P>
<P>But if it &s;hould hap to <HI>Lamberts</HI> chance to be <HI>Dominus fac totum,</HI> I hope tho&s;e thorough paced <HI>Protectorians</HI> who laughed &s;o heartily when his Lord&s;hip was turned out of &s;ervice by the <HI>Old Protector,</HI> &s;ome of whom told me, when I complained of my <HI>Lord Protectors</HI> carriage to him, <HI>that it was no matter, never was any man le&s;&s;e pityed, or lamented after, he was all for him&s;elf, he hoped to be next Protector, and becau&s;e nominating the Succe&s;&s;or was agreed of, therefore he was di&s;contented.</HI> I &s;ay certainly the&s;e men will now be contented to yeeld their places to men that were better affected, and are the more endeared friends of his Lord&s;hip: hitherto then, you have notably well projected for your &s;elves, ye are &s;hrewd Politicians. What then &s;hall you Govern the Nation your &s;elves, a great pur|cha&s;e, a burden to any hone&s;t man, more then a benefit: how ma|ny of you are like to &s;hare in this if that were true? <HI>two</HI> or <HI>three of your Grandces,</HI> and theres your de&s;ign; no you hate the thought of this, we mi&s;take the matter, and do you a great deal of wrong to &s;u&s;pect this. What then? <HI>you &s;hall be better paid:</HI> that's well gue&s;&s;ed in good &s;ooth, how will you have it? <HI>why one way or othe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,
<PB N="62" REF="35"> any how rather then fail, we will have it by foul means, if it will not come fairly:</HI> no no, you abu&s;e us, <HI>nothing &s;hall be gathered, but what is levyed by the people in Parliaments;</HI> &s;o far you are right, and if ever you &s;ee a Parliament in <HI>England</HI> that will take &s;o much care of you as this <HI>Parliament</HI> hath taken, and was a taking for you, that will rai&s;e you 120000 <HI>l. per men&s;em,</HI> or 100000 <HI>l. per men&s;em,</HI> as they have done for you, if you could have kept your &s;elves hone&s;t: then &s;pit in my face, and tell me I lie. No, tis <HI>this Parliament</HI> that mu&s;t hazard their Reputations to pay your Arrears, and the Debts of the Nation, and then <HI>future Parliaments</HI> may be more ea&s;ily per&s;waded to grant &s;uch a Tax as may keep us alwayes out of your Debt. What then, <HI>hath the Parliament Voted</HI> 9 <HI>of your Commanders out of their places: doth this anger you, and is this the bottom of the bu&s;i|ne&s;s, and is this all your de&s;ign to be avenged of them, and the Na|tion for it?</HI> goodly great ones! <HI>What are the&s;e men trow, that their particular concernments to be kept in Pay and Command, &s;hould &s;tand in campetition with the Ruine of Three Nations,</HI> a huge reach indeed: But pray, <HI>was it without good rea&s;on? could the Parliament do le&s;&s;e? had not &s;ome of them promoted a General being of the Northern Bri|gade; notwith&s;tanding after the Parliaments di&s;like of it, and after the Petition and Repre&s;entation of the Army was pre&s;ented and debated in the Hou&s;e, which though it did not expre&s;ly require a GENERAL, yet did &s;trongly imply it, and reqiured &s;ome things of wor&s;e con&s;e|quence.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;ay, after this, the&s;e 9 Grandees combined together in a <HI>Letter</HI> &s;igned by them all, <HI>to engage the &s;ub&s;criptions of a Regiment there|unto,</HI> which was produced in <HI>Parliament,</HI> and could have no other con|&s;truction, <HI>but if the Parliament would not grant their commands, they &s;hould be made to do it:</HI> which de&s;erved a greater &s;everity <HI>then being put out of their places.</HI> The like practice they al&s;o &s;et on foot in divers other Regiments.</P>
<P>If this became <HI>faithful &s;ervants,</HI> I wonder who are <HI>Ma&s;ters;</HI> but for the <HI>hone&s;ty of the matter,</HI> they thus combined to effect, to in&s;tance only in one particular, <HI>No Officer mu&s;t be di&s;placed but by a Coun|cill of Officers.</HI> What is the my&s;tery of this iniquity? why all mu&s;t turn out that will be faithful to the <HI>intere&s;t of the Nation,</HI> and the <HI>tru&s;t repo&s;ed in them,</HI> they would pack their Officers to their own mindes: &s;huffle and cut both: verily then, <HI>if they &s;hould Petition in a peaceable way</HI> (as they call it) a priveledge not to be debarred the meane&s;t <HI>Engli&s;hmen;</HI> I wonder what <HI>Supreme Authority</HI> dur&s;t &s;ay them Nay: this is a thou&s;and times wor&s;e providence, <HI>then to grant them a General, and to give him power to place and di&s;place at plea&s;ure;</HI> wor&s;e providence for the Nation I am &s;ure: we might po&s;&s;ibly finde one hone&s;t man in <HI>England</HI> whom we might tru&s;t, if it could not
<PB N="63" REF="35"> otherwi&s;e be avoided, but how to make a whole Councel of Offi|cers hone&s;t; mo&s;t of whom have &s;prouted up from no <HI>very generous principles,</HI> this is next of kin to an impo&s;&s;ibility. What a <HI>Corporation</HI> of the <HI>Army!</HI> what the <HI>Army</HI> the <HI>Repre&s;entative of England?</HI> Mu&s;t your <HI>General</HI> (as of late) be the <HI>Archon,</HI> or <HI>Sole Legi&s;lator;</HI> your <HI>Councel of Officers</HI> our <HI>Senate,</HI> and your <HI>&s;mall Officers</HI> the <HI>people of Eng|land;</HI> out upon it, this is too bad in all con&s;cience: why not a <HI>Cor|poration of the Navie</HI> too? as much rea&s;on every jot. What, <HI>the Supreme Authority of England, that pay you your wages, that can put in and out at their plea&s;ure</HI> (and it is rea&s;on they &s;hould) <HI>the Lords Keepers of the Great Seal: the Judges of the Land: the greate&s;t Offi|cers of State: yea and be&s;ides whom none can give you Commi&s;&s;ions:</HI> but they are Rogues, and Robbers, as bad as any High-way-men, and wor&s;e, <HI>who take upon them to act and have no Commi&s;&s;ion from them;</HI> it is the ca&s;e of &s;ome among you.</P>
<P>Tis a Combination and a Con&s;piracy among you to make a <HI>GENERAL,</HI> and give him <HI>Commi&s;&s;ion,</HI> and then he to give you <HI>Commi&s;&s;ions,</HI> or to &s;et up any number of men as <HI>Supreme:</HI> (but &s;uch as <HI>the good people of the Land chu&s;e</HI>) and then <HI>to take Commi&s;&s;ions from them;</HI> this is <HI>Idolatry, to fall down and wor&s;hip the work of your own hands, and to cry aha! we are warmed, aha! we are warmed.</HI> What not the <HI>Supreme Authority</HI> be able to remove a <HI>Lieutenant,</HI> an <HI>En&s;igne,</HI> a <HI>Serjeant,</HI> a <HI>Cororal!</HI> But by your leave <HI>mo&s;t Omnipotent Councel of Officers,</HI> 'tis true, it is dangerous tru&s;ting a General with this Power, he may turn all to his own Intere&s;t, which mo&s;t commonly accords but little with that of the Nation, you have had wonderful experience of this already; but the <HI>Parliament,</HI> who&s;e <HI>intere&s;t</HI> is the <HI>intere&s;t of the Nation,</HI> and can be no other; that their no&s;es &s;hould come under the <HI>girdle of an Army,</HI> Oh &s;ad contrivance!</P>
<P>What was it the <HI>Good Old Cau&s;e</HI> that the <HI>Parliament</HI> mu&s;t have the <HI>Militia,</HI> and not the <HI>King;</HI> was it then rea&s;on <HI>they &s;hould command the Sword, who carryed the Pur&s;e, and carried the Intere&s;t of the Nation among them?</HI> and poor <HI>King</HI> mu&s;t he &s;uffer death for &s;tanding upon his terms with them: And now when the <HI>Parliament</HI> is by Your &s;elves declared <HI>The Supreme Authority of England,</HI> now they mu&s;t <HI>touch none of your anointed;</HI> now they mu&s;t not &s;o much as <HI>remove one &s;ingle Officer of your Army,</HI> but through the <HI>mediation of your grace and favour:</HI> could the <HI>Parliament</HI> &s;ay <HI>Amen</HI> to this part of your <HI>Pe|tition</HI> and <HI>Repre&s;entation,</HI> and not <HI>betray</HI> the <HI>Nation</HI> and their <HI>tru&s;t,</HI> and make them&s;elves the <HI>&s;corne</HI> and <HI>hatred</HI> of the <HI>Nation,</HI> and <HI>future Parliaments?</HI> Yea, could they under&s;tand this <HI>private Combination,</HI> to <HI>force</HI> this <HI>unrea&s;onable de&s;ire,</HI> and proceed with le&s;&s;e tokens of <HI>their di&s;plea&s;ure,</HI> and not give the <HI>Nation</HI> a <HI>jealou&s;ie</HI> that they would
<PB N="64" REF="36"> betray them; And is this the rea&s;on why you hugge the&s;e 9. Powder-plotters, to effect this mo&s;t horrid, helli&s;h mi&s;chief. I can imagine nothing &s;o like the truth of the De&s;ign, if there be any de&s;ign in it as this; well &s;hould this be effected for you, <HI>that you &s;hould give Law to England,</HI> pray what will be the de&s;ign of it? to what end I pray? to bewray your deep in&s;ight into the affairs of State? To gain your &s;elves Honour and Renown for your rare Conduct of the State; no I fear <HI>&s;hame would be your promotion;</HI> you would have little better &s;ucce&s;&s;e then you have had; you may joult your <HI>Jobernouls</HI> together long enough, before you can hammer out a Settle|ment for us; no body thinks that &s;aying true of you, <HI>I am wi&s;er then all my Teachers:</HI> Where will be the De&s;ign, if when you have run your &s;elves out of Winde, and out of your Wits too, you &s;hall be re|duced to the like exigency as of late, and be forced to bewayl your Blindene&s;&s;e and Apo&s;ta&s;ie again; I &s;ay, <HI>what is become of the De&s;ign then?</HI></P>
<P>And it is not in rea&s;on to fore&s;ee how you can manage the Chariot of the State long, but all mu&s;t run into di&s;order; your Sin, yea and your Undertaking will be a burden, <HI>a puni&s;hment greater then you can bear:</HI> Very con&s;iderate men think you can hardly carry it a <HI>Moon. Oh &s;hallow, oh incogitant, oh pitifull, oh fooli&s;h</HI> Army! <HI>who hath bewitched you? you did run well, who hindred you?</HI> will you <HI>now altogether run in vain? will you lo&s;e the things you have wrought? will you &s;ell the righteous for nought?</HI> Our <HI>Lawes, Liberties,</HI> our <HI>Good Old Cau&s;e</HI> for <HI>le&s;&s;e then a pair of Shooes?</HI> Will you harm us, and do your &s;elves no good? Oh peevi&s;h! oh wilfull! <HI>Are ye Chil|dren? are ye Fools? are ye mad?</HI> Do you di&s;cover your Gallantry by grapling with Impo&s;&s;ibilities? For &s;hame men, for &s;hame give over. <HI>Oh but you mi&s;take us all this while, our De&s;ign is, To carry on the</HI> Refined Intere&s;t, <HI>the Spirit of the Cau&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Good! good! is this the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e? what is this new thing nothing, you now make &s;port withall, a Refined Intere&s;t; the &s;pirit of the cau&s;e; hard words, what is the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> on't: I wonder, whether Sir <HI>Henry Vane</HI> hath opened the&s;e ab&s;tru&s;e terms to your under&s;tand|ing; you apprehend things more nimbly then it &s;eems, then hone&s;t old <HI>Engli&s;h</HI>-&s;pirited Sir <HI>Arthur Ha&s;lerigge,</HI> that mo&s;t highly de&s;erving Patriot; I think it will be hard to under&s;tand the thing you drive at, by the terms you dre&s;&s;e it in; you will teach us to &s;peak <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> af|ter a new cut; certainly &s;uch an Intere&s;t, was never till now phra&s;ed a <HI>Refined one.</HI> The <HI>Refined Intere&s;t,</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>Harrington is that which carries &s;o much rea&s;on in it, and &s;o much the Intere&s;t of the Nation, that it being once under&s;tood, and we in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of it; needs not a Merce|nary Army to keep it up:</HI> Is your Intere&s;t refined in this notion you &s;o much ble&s;&s;e your &s;elves in? what cour&s;e will you take for
<PB N="65" REF="36"> the carrying on the &s;pirit of the cau&s;e, <HI>the Refined Intere&s;t?</HI> what will you pre&s;erve our <HI>choice</HI> inviolable? &s;hall that power rule us, and you, that we choo&s;e &s;o to doe? No, this would hazard the <HI>Refined Intere&s;t</HI> Ile warrant you. What then, &s;hall all the old Friends of the Parliament, that are no more <HI>Turn-coals</HI> then your &s;elves; and have &s;erved the <HI>State</HI> as well as your &s;elves, &s;hall the&s;e in every County, City, and con&s;iderable Burrough, choo&s;e their Tru&s;tees for the Supreme Authority? No, there hath been a great Apo&s;ta&s;ie and Back-&s;liding; hone&s;t men &s;hall be cho&s;en, who are true to the <HI>Cau&s;e;</HI> who <HI>are fit to be Kings and Prie&s;ts, and to reign for ever and ever;</HI> &s;uch as have the Spirit, and the&s;e will know <HI>what I&s;rael ought to doe;</HI> and will <HI>make good Lawes and Statutes, and execute judgement in the Gate;</HI> the&s;e <HI>will hate the Whore, and burn her fle&s;h with fire:</HI> Is this the <HI>Refined Intere&s;t?</HI> what &s;uch another <HI>Gimcrack,</HI> as that little <HI>Mungrell thing</HI> that Voted it &s;elf a <HI>Parliament;</HI> any thing in the world that will keep our Faction in heart; that will carry on our de&s;ign, this is the <HI>Refined Intere&s;t;</HI> whether it be <HI>hone&s;t,</HI> or whether it be <HI>ju&s;t,</HI> it matters not: many men extoll that <HI>Junto</HI> to this day, though the very Con&s;titution of it <HI>&s;tinketh in the No&s;trils of every con&s;iderate man; as tending utterly to cheat us of our Choice.</HI></P>
<P>And what do not men magnifie now adayes, <HI>that will but &s;ay as they &s;ay?</HI> Be&s;hrew that Chri&s;tian Policy that would ride over our Rights and Priviledges, under Preten&s;e of a <HI>Refined Intere&s;t.</HI> Tho&s;e that will forget to be <HI>Men,</HI> will not long remember to be <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI></P>
<P><HI>They that will da&s;h the Second Table of the Law to pieces, will hardly keep the fir&s;t Table as they ought.</HI></P>
<P>Will you rob us of our Rights, and kill us by <HI>Famine</HI> and <HI>decay of Trade?</HI> Surely we mu&s;t all be Souldiers ere long, and then we &s;hall <HI>get a Vote among you.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Will ye kill? will you &s;teal, and &s;ay, Ye are delivered to work all the&s;e Abominations?</HI> No, you are out all this while: We will be hone&s;ter then you think for; we will have <HI>Parliaments</HI> &s;till, cho&s;en by the people: But it cannot be &s;afe for the <HI>Godly,</HI> unle&s;&s;e we choo&s;e a <HI>Select number of faithfull men;</HI> Faithfull to the <HI>GOOD OLD CAUSE,</HI> that &s;hall be a <HI>Check</HI> to the Parliament, an <HI>In|fluencing Senate,</HI> as Mr. <HI>Stubs</HI> hath it; who hath written a Book on purpo&s;e to prove Sir <HI>Henry Vane</HI> no <HI>Je&s;uite.</HI></P>
<P>Sure Mr. <HI>Stubs</HI> did not finde this in Mr. <HI>Harringtons</HI> Modell, which he admires as if <HI>it were a pattern out of the Mount.</HI> No certainly Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> hath more <HI>Wi&s;dome</HI> and more <HI>Hone&s;ty:</HI> His <HI>Senate</HI> is only to <HI>give light;</HI> he doth not propound a <HI>Senate</HI>
<PB N="66" REF="37"> to be the <HI>Interest of the Common wealth;</HI> to &s;ecure the <HI>Hone&s;t party;</HI> nor yet an <HI>Influencing Senate</HI> to be cho&s;en by a few men, that call them&s;elves the <HI>Godly party:</HI> But to be cho&s;en by the People as the <HI>other Hou&s;e.</HI> The&s;e two <HI>Senates</HI> are as contrary as <HI>White</HI> to <HI>Black.</HI></P>
<P>And if Mr. <HI>Harringtons</HI> Modell came out of the <HI>Mount,</HI> I wonder from whence, from what <HI>Manu&s;cript</HI> this Library-keepers Noddle did bring one his. If there mu&s;t be a <HI>Senate,</HI> &s;urely none better, certainly none can be hone&s;t, and ju&s;t, but that which <HI>the People choo&s;e,</HI> as Mr. <HI>Harrington</HI> &s;aith. Pray why &s;hould the <HI>Army</HI> choo&s;e? Are there not as Hone&s;t men as them&s;elves in every part of the Nation? What, I'le warrant, the <HI>major</HI> part is the <HI>wor&s;e</HI> part, therefore they mu&s;t not be tru&s;ted; But the <HI>Council of Offi|cers.</HI></P>
<P>I wonder indeed, how the major part of the <HI>Council of Offi|cers,</HI> can take them&s;elves to be hone&s;t; who fir&s;t Declared a|gain&s;t.</P>
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<P><HI>A Single Per&s;on: Then routed the</HI> Parliament: <HI>Then &s;et up a</HI> Mock-Parliament; <HI>then pulled it down: Then made their Generall</HI> Protector <HI>for life; then made him to beget a</HI> Protector: <HI>Then broke this Go|vernment: Then &s;uffered the</HI> Parliament <HI>to &s;it again: Now have broke them again. What comes next? That which they will break again ere long. One can hardly give a wor&s;e Character of Men:</HI> Meddle not with them that are given to Change.</P>
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<P>And mu&s;t the&s;e choo&s;e us an <HI>Influencing Senate?</HI> It is like to be well done; Well, and when all is done, carry on your <HI>Refined In|tere&s;t</HI> as well as you can, your <HI>Mock-Parliament,</HI> or <HI>Seventy Elders</HI> would never agree, &s;ome would &s;ee further into Mil&s;tones then others, and had a more Glorious Cau&s;e to carry on then the re&s;t; and then this would be the <HI>Refined Intere&s;t;</HI> there would be no end, till we fall all to <HI>Errant Popery:</HI> Yea, your <HI>Senate</HI> and your <HI>Parlia|ment</HI> would agree <HI>like Cats and Dogs,</HI> they would never unite; where then is your De&s;ign?</P>
<P>Have you no Guts in your Brains? <HI>Why do you rage, and imagine a vain thing?</HI> As &s;ure as you live, <HI>nothing but hone&s;t and righteous things</HI> will be a Foundation for us to bottome upon, if we mean
<PB N="67" REF="37"> <HI>to &s;tand again&s;t the Windes and Waves that are like to beat again&s;t our Hou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>He is no <HI>De&s;igner</HI> now, that will not be <HI>Hone&s;t:</HI> Nothing but <HI>Hone&s;ty,</HI> and a <HI>publick heart</HI> can carry us with <HI>credit</HI> and <HI>&s;afety</HI> through the&s;e <HI>Di&s;criminating times.</HI> Never were &s;uch dayes of <HI>Triall</HI> in <HI>England:</HI> They may go to School again that have <HI>Machiavil</HI> by heart; there h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th been and is another <HI>Game</HI> going in <HI>England,</HI> then the&s;e Game&s;ters are aware of. He mu&s;t have been <HI>purely hone&s;t,</HI> and not much <HI>pre-po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed,</HI> that hath not gravelled him&s;elf in the&s;e la&s;t <HI>twenty</HI> years. Ye have many <HI>Flatterers,</HI> but few <HI>reall Friends.</HI></P>
<P>Glad my heart, and do Righteous things, you that are Hone&s;t: <HI>Ye cannot wipe your mouth, and &s;ay, What evill have we done now? Ye cannot have &s;uch a Face of Bra&s;&s;e; &s;uch a Whores Forehead:</HI> Re|pent, repent: Deny us not our ju&s;t Rights; let <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e take place: So &s;hall you repair the Breach you have made upon us; &s;o &s;hall we be e&s;tabli&s;hed;</HI> for <HI>God e&s;tabli&s;heth the Ju&s;t.</HI> And let us by no means <HI>talk deceitfully</HI> for God.</P>
<P>To &s;ay no more, It is the mo&s;t ruinous, the mo&s;t dangerous and de&s;tructive action that ever was taken to task. <HI>Parliament</HI> broken, the <HI>Nation</HI> un&s;etled, <HI>Friends</HI> di&s;contented, no body but blames you, <HI>Lawes</HI> and <HI>Liberties,</HI> all a going; the <HI>Sword</HI> Rampant, the <HI>Nation</HI> undone, your <HI>Enemies</HI> more numerous and mighty; the <HI>Common In|tere&s;t</HI> of the Nation in jeopardy; your <HI>GOOD OLD CAUSE</HI> at &s;take; nay, your own Throats ready to be cut; as if you were going <HI>like an Oxe to the Slaughter, or a Fool to the correction of the Stocks; like a Bird &s;nared in an evil Net, like a Bird that ha&s;teth to the net, and knoweth not that it is for his life:</HI> What &s;ay Friends and Foes;</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P><HI>The Army would not referre the Nation unto the care of this</HI> Parliament, <HI>that were, as one &s;hould &s;ay,</HI> Fle&s;h of their Fle&s;h, and Bone of their Bone; <HI>&s;urely no</HI> Parliament <HI>will ever do good upon them &s;ince this could not: If any other</HI> Parliament <HI>cro&s;&s;e them, then they mu&s;t turn out for</HI> Malignants: With this word in their ears, <HI>What &s;hall we be Governed by them we conquered but the other day? are there no</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>&s;pi|rits in the Nation.</HI></P>
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<P>What can you exp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ct, but a generall Revolt of the People? and that all the Nation &s;hould be in Bloud: Surely it is as good
<PB N="68" REF="38"> for us to die as to live the Slaves of our Servants, mo&s;t of whom our pur&s;es have rai&s;ed from the dunghil.</P>
<P>Sir <HI>George Booth</HI> is an incon&s;iderable Traytor now; you may be a&s;hamed to Seque&s;ter his E&s;tate, who did but endevour to do what you have done; and had more to &s;ay for him&s;elf ten to one then you.</P>
<P>Every thing looks black about us at home, and abroad; Neigh|bours at home ready to cut our throats and yours too; at this very in&s;tant you have di&s;obliged your friends, and yet forain Nations threaten us hard: It is in every bodies mouth, and I doubt 'tis too true, <HI>Amba&s;&s;adors are coming to offer us CHARLES STUART upon Terms, if we will not, then they will bring him in by Force;</HI> if this be &s;o, <HI>Lord have mercy upon us:</HI> here are thou&s;ands in <HI>Eng|land</HI> would rather the <HI>Turke</HI> &s;hould come in, then things &s;hould be as they are: and you have broken the hearts of your be&s;t friends, who will have &s;mall courage to a&s;&s;i&s;t you in keeping out our <HI>COMMON ENEMY,</HI> &s;ince when it is done, we might be &s;ure to return to our former <HI>&s;lavery.</HI></P>
<P><HI>France</HI> and <HI>Spain</HI> look at us untowardly, others be&s;ides would put to their helping hand to Ruine us; for all whom we &s;hould not have cared Three skips of a Lou&s;e, if you had not di&s;tur|bed our SETTLEMENT, we &s;hould have been <HI>formidable</HI> to all <HI>EUROPE,</HI> yea, to the <HI>WORLD,</HI> as the Authour of that Book,</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P>&mdash;<HI>France</HI> no friend to <HI>England</HI>&mdash;</P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>hath put his Chri&s;tian Maje&s;ty in minde of.</P>
<P>This is the kindene&s;s you have done for your &s;elves and us, where|by you have made us carele&s;&s;e of our own and of your &s;afety; where|fore let me &s;peak to you in the words of <HI>Joab,</HI></P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="emphatic remark">
<P>&mdash;<HI>Now therefore ari&s;e, go forth, and &s;peak comfortable words to your Servants; for I &s;wear by the Lord, if you go not forth, there will not tarry with thee one this night</HI> (when this night of trouble comes upon you, which ha&s;tens apace, our Sun being almo&s;t &s;et) <HI>and this will be wor&s;e unto you then all the evill hath befallen you un|till now.</HI></P>
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<PB N="69" REF="38">
<P>I am not humour&s;ome, nor have I &s;o much intere&s;t going in this Parliament as &s;ome of your &s;elves, ten of them do not know me I am certain; if you could call another Parliament fairly, whom you could and would refer your &s;elves unto, I &s;hould be &s;ilent, and glad that the &s;alvation of the Nation might come that way; and &s;o I dare &s;ay would mo&s;t of that Parliament you have now &s;hut out.</P>
<P>But I doubt, yea I am confident this will not be, can there be a Parliament fairly cho&s;en, that &s;hall &s;o much be concerned to &s;ecure what we have been contending for hitherto, <HI>They cut off the Kings head: they Voted down Monarchy, and the Hou&s;e of Lords: they &s;et up the Common-wealth; they are concerned to venture their credits to get you money:</HI> do you think they are not mo&s;t concerned to keep up what they have &s;et up: another Parliament would &s;train at a Gnat, and think it a Camel if they &s;hould &s;wallow an Act for 40000 <HI>l. per men&s;em;</HI> the&s;e men as far as I can &s;ee, mu&s;t do the drudgery, and make way for another Parliament, by putting all out of debt, and putting things into a Method for a new Election, and then things may go on han&s;omely; el&s;e I fear it much, we &s;hall &s;ee no Settlement.</P>
<P>All things look with a &s;ad face, the cloudes threaten us from every quarter of Heaven; the Ship of the Common-wealth is now launched out into the Ocean of Confu&s;ion, and it is greatly to be feared, the Voyage will be with hurt, and much damage not only of the Lading and Ship, but al&s;o of our lives, however the Ma&s;ters of our &s;hip have per&s;waded us that the Haven wherein we were was not convenient to Winter in, and have hoi&s;ed &s;ail intending to run a de&s;perate cour&s;e, and the winde now blowing &s;oftly they &s;uppo&s;e they have obtained their purpo&s;e: but I doubt me it will not be long, ere there ari&s;e again&s;t it a tempe&s;tuous wind, an <HI>Euroclidon,</HI> which will catch the Ship, that they cannot bear up in the Winde, but mu&s;t let her drive, when if they can come by the Boat, and u&s;e helps for undergirding the Ship, tis well, they may &s;trike &s;ale, and be driven for fear of the quick-&s;ands, and to day light the Ship of the Goods, and to mor|row ca&s;t overboord the Tackling of the Ship with their owne hands.</P>
<P>Verily now there is no &s;mall tempe&s;t to lies on us, and neither Sun nor Moon hath appeared for the&s;e many dayes, but all hopes that we &s;hall be &s;aved is well nigh taken away: we &s;ounded Wedne&s;day, and found it twenty fathoms, Thur&s;day, and found it fifteen fathoms, and in great fears we are of falling upon the Rocks, though but the other day we deemed that we drew nigh to &s;ome
<PB N="70" REF="39"> Countrey, to &s;ome <HI>Settlement;</HI> however our Ship-men di&s;covering a certain Creek, that they knew not what Countrey it is, minded to thru&s;t in the Ship, but are fallen where two Seas meet, and the Ship is run aground, that it &s;ticks fa&s;t; and great fears! there are all will be broken to pieces and all lo&s;t: tho&s;e Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">riners that but now managed the Ship are almo&s;t gone, but call them back by all means; you might indeed have hearkened to your friends, and not have loo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed from <HI>Creet</HI> (from <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI>) and &s;o have gained this harme and lo&s;&s;e; but put all again into their hands that are your be&s;t Guardians, they will by the ble&s;&s;ing of God bring off the Ship &s;afely; I dare warrant there &s;hall be no lo&s;&s;e of the Ship, nor of any mans life among you; <HI>Howbeit,</HI> as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid to the <HI>Cen|turian,</HI> and to the <HI>Souldiers,</HI> I am confident I may &s;ay &s;o, &mdash;<HI>Except the&s;e men abide in the Ship</HI> (for a while) <HI>ye cannot be &s;aved.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="39">
</DIV1>
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</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
