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<DATE>2009-07-14</DATE>
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<NAME>Lauren Proux</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE Peace-Maker.</P>
<P>BEING A Letter &s;ent from <HI>J. W.</HI> in <HI>London</HI> to <HI>N. C.</HI> his Friend and Countrey-man in <HI>Holland,</HI> to be communicated unto o|thers for publique good</P>
<P>Wherein is &s;et forth the &s;tate of the la&s;t Treatie: And what advantage it will be to the Netherlanders, to accept the offer which the Councell of <HI>England</HI> then made to their Me&s;&s;engers.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>PSALM. 120.7.</HI></BIBL>
<P>I am for peace, but when I &s;peake, they are for warre.</P></Q>
<P><HI>Being according to the Dutch Copie.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>M: Simmons</HI> in Alder&s;gate-&s;treet, next door to the gilded Lion, 1653.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>THE Peace-Maker.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Being a Letter &s;ent from J. W. in <HI>London,</HI> to <HI>N. C.</HI> his Friend &amp; Country|man in <HI>Holland,</HI> to be communicated unto others for publicke good.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Myne-Heer.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THE &s;ingular and &s;incere affecti|on which I beare to my Native Countrey, that our liberty, lives, lawes, and exerci&s;e of the Prote&s;tant Religion, (redeem|ed with a &s;ea of blood and milli|ons of Trea&s;ure from the &s;word and tyranny of the Spanyard) may not at once be lo&s;t and &s;wallowed up either through a crafty de|&s;ign of &s;ome &s;eeking them&s;elves, and their own cor|rupt Intere&s;t, or through the ignorance and mi&s;un|der&s;tanding of other men. I have of late made it purpo&s;ely my worke &s;eriou&s;ly to &s;earch into the
<PB N="4" REF="3">tran&s;actions and pa&s;&s;ages of things between the two S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tates, and &s;o to inform my &s;elf of the mo&s;t expe|dient and ready way and cour&s;e to prevent all fur|ther VVarts and blood: and how in&s;tead of ray&s;ing more Forces one again&s;t the other, that a happy and ble&s;&s;ed peace &s;peedily may be made.</P>
<P>I know there are too many among&s;t you, who by mi&s;-reporting things to the people, doe endeavour to highten the difference: But for my part, I &s;hall deliver nothing but what is truth and certain; as well knowing there is &s;ea&s;onable and good coun&s;ell here tendred to you all, if the Lord move your hearts effectually to embrace it.</P>
<P>I &s;hall not meddle with what hath pa&s;&s;ed between the States here and our former Amba&s;&s;adors, but &s;peak only to the pre&s;ent mttter of the la&s;t Treaty.</P>
<P>The Councell of the late Parliament in&s;i&s;ted on|ly upon two things. 1 Satisfaction. 2 Security. The which by them was thought to be mo&s;t proper, nece&s;&s;ary, and convenient as a manuduction to a Treaty for Amitie between the two Republicks. The &s;ame particulars afterward did the pre&s;ent Councell de&s;ire to proceed upon: but this our Me&s;|&s;engers refu&s;ed, &amp; were unwilling to do, propoun|ding to have them come after the 36. Articles for Amitie, and &s;o to be taken in and debated. The Lords of the Councell here manife&s;ted their un|willingne&s;&s;e, to wave either the one or the other, as having in their under&s;tanding good rea&s;on &amp; cau&s;e for it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, they were not willing to decline their Claim in point of &s;atisfaction: alledging.</P>
<P N="1">1 That it &s;tood with the rules of Ju&s;tice and E|quity
<PB N="5" REF="3">contained in the Morall Law of God and na|ture, and &s;ound naturall Rea&s;on, That wrongs ought to be repaired.</P>
<P N="2">2 That the charge of the Wars ought to be born by the wrong doers: A thing undeniable, and no more then what is ju&s;t, and all States will demand and expect in their own Cau&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3 To decline the claime of &s;atisfaction, it was (they &s;aid) to wave the right of their Cau&s;e, and in a &s;ort to make them&s;elves tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, which they could not do.</P>
<P>Again, for the other particular, namely mattter of &s;ecurity: Here likewi&s;e the Councell gave their Rea&s;ons wherefore they de&s;ired it.</P>
<P N="1">1 Becau&s;e it would be no way for their &s;afety &amp; good to end the pre&s;ent difference by a Peace, if no|thing were done to &s;ecure it.</P>
<P N="2">2 Becau&s;e we brake fir&s;t with them, or rather fell upon them, whil&s;t the Amitie between us and them continued, yea whil&s;t our Emba&s;&s;adors were treat|ing with them, of a &s;trict League and Union, and had no thought of engaging us.</P>
<P>Another Rea&s;on why they de&s;ired Security, was, becau&s;e formerly wee had made it our Intere&s;t to differ with them, and &s;everall times took advantage thereby, both at home and in forreign parts to their lo&s;&s;e and prejudice many ways very much.</P>
<P>The&s;e and &s;uch like were the Rea&s;ons which the Lords of the Councell gave our Me&s;&s;engers, why they were not willing (neither could according to the tru&s;t of the Common-wealth committed to them) wave their Claim either to the matter of &s;atisfaction or &s;ecurity.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="4">
<P>Our Agents perceiving that the States of <HI>England</HI> &s;tood &s;o fa&s;t and fixt, and would not decline the par|ticulars, de&s;ired then to know what &s;ecurity they would have of them, as in what way, and how to be given. To this their An&s;wer was, that they knew not for their part any better way or cour&s;e in order to a la&s;ting and profitable Peace, for the good and &s;afety of both Nations, then by a Coalition, that is, the two States to become one entire Republick. And if this would be accepted by the Netherland|ers, we &s;hould &s;oon &s;ee how reall and &s;incere they were for Peace and Amitie, and how much they in|tended and &s;ought the wel-fare and pro&s;perity of our Nation, as no le&s;&s;e every way then their own.</P>
<P>Moreover, that it &s;hould appeare, if this proffer would be accepted, they minded our happine&s;s and good indeed, in not &s;tanding upon the quantum of &s;atisfaction, but would u&s;e &s;o much rea&s;on and mo|deration, as our &s;elves &s;hould be willing to it, and be no way loo&s;ers, but gainers rather by it.</P>
<P>And that we might not &s;tartle, or take offence in their propounding this way for Peace, by a Coaliti|on, or making the two Republicks one &s;ole and en|tire Common-wealth, they made it to appeare mo&s;t plainly to our Me&s;&s;engers, that the gain and advan|tage following this Conjunction, would not be theirs, but ours abundantly, and that in many re|&s;pects and Con&s;iderations.</P>
<P>And to &s;ay the truth, it cannot be otherwi&s;e, and therefore I mo&s;t earne&s;tly wi&s;h and de&s;ire, that my Countrymen every where were rightly and well in|formed concerning this particular, to wit, what cer|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1+ letters"> profit our Nation may expect, by a willing and
<PB N="7" REF="4">thank full embracing of this large and loving tender of the Engli&s;h, and not &s;uffer our &s;elves to be any longer deluded, and become a prey to &s;uch men, who &s;eek not the &s;afety and publique good of our Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ntrie, but to carrie on their own de&s;ign, not re|garding what becomes of the Nation, if it peri&s;h, it peri&s;h.</P>
<P>And to the end we may not repent when it is too late, but <HI>know the things which belong unto our peace in this our day:</HI> there are five things which I de&s;ire by you, may be communicated to all my Countrey|men every where. Fir&s;t, how much it will be for our good, if <HI>England</HI> and the Netherlands be united and made one Common-wealth, this appears</P>
<P N="1">1 It is well known what a numerous people we are, and how &s;treightned and lockt up (as it were) by rea&s;on of that &s;mall portion of land wee have. VVhereas being one with <HI>England,</HI> and free Deni|&s;ons, our Territories will be larger, and we in a ca|pacity to plant our &s;elves either in <HI>England, Scot|land,</HI> or <HI>Ireland,</HI> where we &s;hall live fart better, and more comfortably then now we do, there being land enough for us, and places mo&s;t proper and fit for our condition, as to improve to our great ad|vantage, all which we know to be true by experience already.</P>
<P N="2">2 VVe are not ignorant of the u&s;efulne&s;s &amp; com|modiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of their ports and Havens; all which being ours as theirs, what infinite gaine and profit vve &s;hall have by them in our trade continually, is not unknovvn to our Nation.</P>
<P N="3">3 For the great trade of fi&s;hing upon the Coa&s;t of Great Brittain, and vvhat vvealth and profit is
<PB N="8" REF="5">gotten thereby, no nation knows better than ours, nor have had more profit thereby then wee. In|deed this very thing duly weighed, is enough to move us all to accept their proffer, and doth plain|ly demon&s;trate, that &s;uch as endeavour to ob&s;truct the &s;ame are Enemies and Traytors to the welbeing of our Nation.</P>
<P N="4">4. VVhereas there belongs to the Common-wealth of <HI>England</HI> many forreign I&s;lands and Plan|tions which doe afford &s;everall rich Commodities, for us to Trade freely to them, and no otherwi&s;e then the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> do, our gaine vvill be great vvhich vve &s;hall have continually thereby.</P>
<P N="5">5. By this Coalition wee &s;hall be the better &s;trengthened again&s;t all Enemies, whether neerer or farther off: Manage our Trade abroad the bet|ter, and live at home (where ever our dwellings are) the &s;afer, and without di&s;turbance or mole|&s;tation.</P>
<P N="6">6. Our Countrey will be much enriched by the Commodities which <HI>England</HI> affords, be&s;ides what we bring from other Nations, by carrying the &s;ame into <HI>England, Scotland, Ireland,</HI> &amp;c. will be no &s;mall gain both to our Merchants and Mariners in point of Trade.</P>
<P>Secondly, if we con&s;ider of the pre&s;ent con|dition of the Common-wealth of <HI>England,</HI> there is no cau&s;e (no nece&s;&s;ity at lea&s;t) on their part to unite with us: for though there be a nece&s;&s;ity (as we &s;hewed before) for us to be one with them, yet they without us can do well enough, and they need us not; this we prove,</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e their Territories are &s;o large and a|bounding
<PB N="9" REF="5">vvith all nece&s;&s;aries as to food and ray|ment, for the pre&s;ervation of mankind, &amp; they can live pro&s;perou&s;ly and happily vvithout the &s;upplies and Commodities of other Countries, (&s;pecially ours) the vvhich vve cannot do.</P>
<P N="2">2. Such hath been the Lords povver&s;ul pre&s;ence with them, both by Land and Sea, &s;o clearly hath he owned hitherto, and born witne&s;&s;e to the ju&s;tnes of their Cau&s;e in many unparalleld and glorious Characters. as all Nations round about them, ta|king notice thereof, would willingly have Peace and Amity with them: Yea no doubt, even <HI>Spain, France, Denmark,</HI> &amp;c. would gladly enter by copu|lation and Treaty, into strict League, both offen&s;ive and defen&s;ive, though it were to leave us to &s;hift for our &s;elves.</P>
<P N="3">3. Such is their pre&s;ent &s;trength and power both at Land and Sea, and the va&s;t Trea&s;ure and VVealth of the Nation, both to maintaine and enlarge the &s;ame, as they &s;ee occa&s;ion, that they need no additi|on from us, either of men, money, &s;hipping, am|munition, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but are herein &s;ufficiently &s;tored and furni&s;hed them&s;elves, to carrie on the work which they have in hand both at home and abroad.</P>
<P N="4">4. How&s;oever our people for many rea&s;ons have encouragement to plant them&s;elves in the Com|mon-wealth of <HI>England,</HI> yet there is no &s;uch encou|ragement for them (&s;pecially the Husband-man) to live among&s;t us, we having no land to &s;pare wherby to better their outward condition.</P>
<P N="5">5. Seeing the Lord hath made them every where &s;ucce&s;sfull in their VVarrs, and given them peace round about, made their Dominion and Territo|ries
<PB N="10" REF="6">&s;o large, it would be much more for their ea&s;e, contentment, quietne&s;s, to &s;it &s;till and peaceably po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e what they have, then by joyning with us, to contract more labours and care, there being no|thing el&s;e which they can expect, in reference unto us, but troubles and but thens by the Coalition.</P>
<P>Thirdly, as the gaine of this Union will be ours, and theirs: &s;o not being accepted on our part, our &s;ufferings thereby will be many and great.</P>
<P>For 1. Our trade every day by continuance of VVarre will be weakned and le&s;&s;ened, whereby our Merchants will be broken Labourers, and Trade&s;|men impoveri&s;hed, hou&s;es worth little or nothing, and &s;o a common calamity &s;uddenly &s;pread the whole land over.</P>
<P N="2">2. Divi&s;ions, Factions, and inte&s;tine Tumults (already broiling among&s;t us) will be heightned and increa&s;ed every day: &s;o that in a little while there will be no need of a forreign Enemie to invade us; for through the Commotions ari&s;ing &amp; grow|ing among our &s;elves, we &s;hall &s;hortly devour and de&s;troy each other.</P>
<P N="3">3. Neither can we imagine, but be&s;ides the fear|&s;ull &s;word of VVarr within and without, a &s;ore de|&s;troying famine will be in all our Cities; for if tnis breach between us and <HI>England</HI> be not healed, our provi&s;ions will be &s;topt, and the Nation expos'd to &s;uch want and penurie, as we mu&s;t be con&s;trained to &s;ell our &s;elves for bread.</P>
<P N="4">4. VVhereas our Countrey flouri&s;hed by rea&s;on of many Forreigners living among&s;t us, as <HI>Engli&s;h, French, Germans, Danes,</HI> &amp;c. by which means great profit and trade was brought to us. All tho&s;e (if
<PB N="11" REF="6">po&s;&s;ible) will &s;peedily return to their own Coun|treys, a prejudice and lo&s;&s;e to our Nation beyond mea&s;ure, as wee &s;ee already in part by &s;add experi|ence.</P>
<P N="5">5. It is well known with what difficulty and hard|&s;hips our former Navie was rai&s;ed; what a &s;tir there was to get men, money, &s;hips, provi&s;ions; how di&s;contented the people were to have &s;uch taxes and heavy but thens laid upon them, now who &s;ees not, but it will be more difficult hereafter, even im|po&s;&s;ible, the people not being able to do as former|ly they did: For Trading cea&s;ing, and Famine like an armed man coming upon us, what can be done, but mourn to behold &s;uch de&s;olation.</P>
<P N="6">6. For <HI>Spain</HI> or <HI>France,</HI> what may wee expect from them, but if brought low by the <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> they will endeavour to enlarge their Territories upon us, and lay our necks under the yoke of their tyran|ny. VVhereas by joyning with <HI>England,</HI> we &s;hall re|tain our freedom, and need not fear any &s;uch op|pre&s;&s;ion: Be&s;ides for the <HI>Dane,</HI> if he would, he can|not &s;tead us, being no otherwi&s;e than an <HI>Aegyptian</HI> Reed, not to be tru&s;ted to, nor leaned on.</P>
<P N="7">7. Not onely is our Navy weakned by a great number of &s;hips, &s;ome &s;unk, others taken, but our chiefe&s;t and choife&s;t Mariners either &s;lain or pri&s;o|ners: Be&s;ides, &s;uch a feare and dread of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> is fallen upon our Nation, Souldiers, Saylers and all, as there is not among an hundred, one (almo&s;t) willing to engage again. And whereas there is &s;o much complaint made again&s;t &s;ome of our Capt. for cowardline&s;s; this I take to be, not &s;o much a naturall feare or da&s;tardne&s;s in them, as the ju&s;t
<PB N="12" REF="7">hand of God upon us and our Fleet, &s;peaking to us as it were from heaven, that vve &s;hould not fight again&s;t <HI>England,</HI> and that good Cau&s;e for vvhich they have engaged, but accept of Peace in the terms propounded to us.</P>
<P>I come now to the fourth head or con&s;ideration: As by this <HI>Coalition,</HI> the gain would be onely ours, and much danger prevented: So it is worth the ob|&s;erving, that this will bring lo&s;&s;e and damage to no man, but every one will be the better; none (I &s;ay) &s;uffer or be the wor&s;e by it. It is true, the vain title of <HI>High and Mighty States</HI> may be laid a&s;ide, as not fit indeed, not proper for poor Creatures, du&s;t and a&s;hes to a&s;&s;ume; but Attributes rather to be given to the <HI>High and Mighty God.</HI> Be&s;ides, it is proba|ble that the common people would more &s;weetly enjoy their liberty and freedom, and not be kept under by &s;o Lordly and Arbitrary power as now they are.</P>
<P>For the great bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Councell is to remove all &s;uch things as are oppte&s;&s;ive and de|&s;tructive to the lives, liberties, per&s;ons and e&s;tates of the Nation, and to e&s;tabli&s;h &s;uch who &s;om and good Lawes as may conduce to a full and perfect freedom.</P>
<P>Hence it is that the people here are much encou|raged to bring in their ju&s;t Complaints concerning any Grievance or Oppre&s;&s;ion which lies upon them, and great care is taken for a &s;peedy and effectuall re|movall thereof. VVhereas among&s;t us, no door is left open to have bad Laws and wor&s;e Cu&s;toms abo|li&s;hed, but what formerly hath been o&s;tabli&s;hed, right or wrong, that is &s;till held up, and no care ta|ken
<PB N="13" REF="7">for the &s;atisfaction and ea&s;e of the people there|in.</P>
<P>In this regard therefore it is greatly to be de&s;ired that the Lord would open the eyes of our Countrey|men to &s;ee how extreamly they are abu&s;ed by &s;ome in power among them, who for no other cau&s;e or end endeavour to continue the VVarr, and embrue our Nation in blood, out only to keep up them&s;elves in &s;tate, pomp, pride, and to Lord it over their bre|thren: This I &s;ay again, and it is as cleer as the Sun at noon-day, that there is not any other imaginable Rea&s;on, why our Generall and Provinciall States accept not of Peace offered to them by the Councel of <HI>England,</HI> but becau&s;e they alone will domineer and will uot let fall that &s;ole Rule and Domination which they have formerly exerci&s;ed over the peo|ple: As for any other inconvenience or lo&s;&s;e I am &s;ure there is none: no lo&s;&s;e or inconvenience to the people at all, but good many wayes.</P>
<P>And here I heartily de&s;ire my Countrey-men to con&s;ider what &s;ollie and madne&s;&s;e it is for them to a&s;&s;i&s;t their Superiours in this VVarr again&s;t <HI>England.</HI> VVhat, my deare Friends and Brethren, will ye &s;hed your blood? &s;pend your trea&s;ures? utterly undo your &s;elves? your VVives? Children? Po&s;terity? only to &s;atisfie the lu&s;ts of &s;ome &s;ew ambitious per|&s;ons? Is it not better, that the title of <HI>High and Mighty States</HI> doth fall, and the&s;e with it, that e&s;|fect it, then the whole <HI>Nation</HI> &s;hould be undone, by e&s;pou&s;ing &s;o di&s;honourable, unju&s;t, and badd a Cau&s;e?</P>
<P>The fifth and la&s;t <HI>Con&s;ideration</HI> which I &s;hall com|mend to you, and by you to the <HI>Nation,</HI> it is</P>
<PB N="14" REF="8">
<P><HI>Fir&s;t, That you would ob&s;erve who the per&s;ons be which are Obstructers and Enemies to this good <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ender of the Engli&s;h.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>The deceitfull wayes and devices which they u&s;e to contirue the bleody Warre between the two Nations.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>What their drift, end, and de&s;igne is in all.</HI></P>
<P>For the per&s;ons, no doubt they are &s;uch as are not wel-affected to either Nation, but de&s;ire the hurt of both: Hence it is, that <HI>Rome</HI> hath her <HI>Je|&s;uits</HI> among&s;t you, <HI>Spain</HI> and <HI>France</HI> their <HI>Boute&s;ues</HI> or Fling-fires, the Prince of <HI>Orange</HI> his <HI>Foction,</HI> and the titular King of <HI>Scotland</HI> his <HI>Incendiaries;</HI> all which like <HI>Samp&s;ons</HI> Foxes, with &s;ire-brands at their tayls, endeavouring to burn our Countrey, de&s;iring rather to &s;ee our Towns and Cities laid wa&s;te, than <HI>England</HI> and the <HI>Netherlands</HI> happily united into one flouri&s;hing <HI>Common-wealth.</HI></P>
<P>Neither are our Magi&s;trates there without guilt and &s;inne in this particular; but &s;ome of them pro|&s;trate the blood and treature of our <HI>Nation</HI> to &s;ati&s;|fie the lu&s;ts of other States.</P>
<P>Some again, either through a ba&s;e feare le&s;t they &s;hould be di&s;placed, or an ambitious de&s;ite to keep up their <HI>Hogen. Mogen</HI> Title, joyne with the re&s;t in their evill doings.</P>
<P>Thus through the covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the one, and pride of the other, the poor people are like &s;heep led to the &s;laughter.</P>
<P N="2">2. For the deceitfull and &s;infull wayes u&s;ed by the&s;e Incendiaries, whereby to carry on their evill de&s;ign, I am a&s;ham'd and blu&s;h to think of them: It is &s;uch a di&s;honour and &s;candall to our Nation:</P>
<PB N="15" REF="8">
<P N="1">1. By fal&s;hood, making lies their re&s;uge. Hence it is, that in your Letters and printed Newes which wee have from thence, we finde continually &s;uch abhominable untruths, as if wee were a Nation which knew not God, nor ever heard of his righ|teous Judgments thratned again&s;t Liers.</P>
<P>Is there no way to hearten and keep up the &s;pirits of our people, but by fal&s;e relations, as to boa&s;t of Victories when we are bearen? to report the Ene|mies lo&s;&s;es to be &s;uch, when it is neither &s;o nor &s;o? VVhat is this for? but a de&s;ign of &s;ome men, to de|ceive and blind the people, that they may not heark|en to Peace, but runne on into unavoydable mi&s;|chief and mi&s;ery.</P>
<P N="2">2. By Pa&s;quils and Libels, and &s;etting forth ba&s;e pictures and &s;currilous forgs, whereby &s;ome &s;eeke to render this State contemptible to the world, and to exa&s;perate the Common people there again&s;t this Nation, a practice mo&s;t un&s;eemly in any civill people, and no where el&s;e I believe practiced in any Chri&s;tian Common wealth.</P>
<P N="3">3. By mi&s; reporting the loving tenders and proffers of this State for Peace, as publi&s;hing what was never &s;aid, and concealing in the mean time the truth of things.</P>
<P>Hence it is, that our people there are made to believe, that the Councell of <HI>England</HI> hath no in|clination to Peace; that their Demands are unrea|&s;onable, and impo&s;&s;ibilities. VVhereas No Nati|on under heaven doth more de&s;irou&s;ly de&s;ire Amity then the Engli&s;h with us, and what they doe pro|pound is the onely cour&s;e (in the judgment of all judicious and unbya&s;&s;ed men) for the &s;ecurity of
<PB N="16" REF="9">both, away to remove all emulation, and to make our Nation really happy.</P>
<P>So that I am very con&s;ident, if my Countrey|men did truly under&s;tand how things have pa&s;&s;ed here, what de&s;ire this Nation hath to Peace, and how good for us all the thing is which is propound|ed, they would not any longer follow their Superi|ours to Warre, but ri&s;e up as one man, and imme|diately become one Common wealth with <HI>Eng|land.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, As the Incendiaries in your Councell there are diver&s;e, &s;o they have &s;everal de&s;igns. Some act to ray&s;e up the Hou&s;e of <HI>Orange,</HI> and under pretence of his greatne&s;&s;e and Authority, make ac|count to reap no &s;mall advantage. Others more in reference to <HI>Charls Stuart,</HI> as thinking to ri&s;e by ray&s;ing him. Others are &s;ecretly in pay, and pro|mi&s;e with <HI>France,</HI> and others with <HI>Spain,</HI> every one driving forward his own Intere&s;t, as hoping by the continuance of this VVarr, to profit their Ma&s;ters and them&s;elves too.</P>
<P>Thus is our poor Countrey rent and torn by the treacherous and crafty de&s;igns of the&s;e &s;everall Fa|ctions, every one &s;eeking him&s;elfe and his owne Intere&s;t, not regarding in the meane time what ru|ine and de&s;olation befals the Nation.</P>
<P>Is it not therefore high time, that my Country|men would awake, and lie no longer a&s;leep and &s;e|cure, through the deceit and hypocri&s;ie of &s;uch crafty men, who like Vipers &s;eeke to eate out the Bowels of their owne Mother, and that they take care for their own peace and &s;afety, which is imme|diately to make peace with <HI>England</HI> upon the terms propounded.</P>
<PB N="17" REF="9">
<P>Moreover, that it may appare how heartily and really the Engli&s;h Nation hath de&s;ired peace with us, and that there might be no more effu&s;ion of blood between the two Nations.</P>
<P>The Councell de&s;ired our la&s;t Me&s;&s;engers, if they liked not this way of Security by Coalition, they &s;hould then propound any better way unto them, which they never did, but lay &s;till fi&s;hing at this &s;tate, as to get out what they could; &s;o that it is mo&s;t evident and clear, that what they did, was only to make &s;ome advantage upon what might be offer|ed, but had no mind, neither they nor their Supe|riours, who &s;ent them, to have a good and la&s;ting peace with the Common-wealth of <HI>England,</HI> unle&s;s it be &s;uch a one as cannot be condi&s;cended to, nei|ther with the glory of God, nor honour, nor &s;afety to the people of this Nation, no nor really to the happine&s;&s;e and pro&s;perity of our owne Countrey.</P>
<P>Thus I have, as with much brevity, &s;o in &s;inceri|ty and &s;inglene&s;&s;e of heart, laid before you the true &s;tate of things: And I doe once more earne&s;tly en|treat, that from your hands, This Peace-maker may, as from my hand be &s;pread all our Countrey over, to the end that my dear Friends and Brethren may &s;ee how the VVarr is neither de&s;ired nor con|tinued by the Engli&s;h: But &s;o much is granted and offered to us, as were our Countrey as flouri&s;hing as ever, and had <HI>England</HI> no advantage at this time over, yet would it have been a &s;ingular mercy and ble&s;hng to us to enjoy what is now offered, it tend|ing wholly and altogether to our good as I have proved before.</P>
<P>Neither is the thing either dangerous or difficult
<PB N="18" REF="10">to the effectuall accompli&s;hment thereof: For you there do but once &s;tand up for your freedom and li|berty, and openly declare that you will accept of Peace, be united to <HI>England,</HI> and make one Com|mon-wealth; the Fire-brands and Incendiaries in your Councels or el&s;ewhere, will have no heart to oppo&s;e; Be&s;ides, the thing is &s;o ju&s;t and nece&s;&s;ary, as you may expect protection and a&s;&s;i&s;tance from the Lord.</P>
<P>Now this I pre&s;&s;e the more earne&s;tly upon you, as not to further or promote the VVars again&s;t <HI>Eng|land</HI> any longer either in your per&s;ons or E&s;tates, &s;eeing it is but to fight your &s;elves into &s;lavery and bondage, and to &s;atisfie their ends and turn, who &s;eek not your good and pro&s;perity, but their owne, and that to your ruine and downfall.</P>
<P><HI>Now con&s;ider what I &s;ay, and the Lord give you under&s;tanding in all things.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="10">
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