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<DATE>2010-02-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B000016.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<BIBNO T="umi">99867199</BIBNO>
<VID>119501</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>THE PARLIAMENTS NEW AND PERFECT CATECHISM, FIT AND Nece&s;&s;ary to be known and practi&s;ed by every old Chri&s;tian and loy|all Subject.</P>
<P>Printed in the Yeare, 1647.</P>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="catechism">
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<HEAD>A NEW AND Perfect Catechi&s;me, fit and nece&s;&s;arie to be knowne, and practi&s;ed by every old Chri&s;tian and Loyall Subject.</HEAD>
<P>QUe&s;t. <HI>What is your Name?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Reformation&mdash; <HI>A ble&s;&s;ed one.</HI></P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Who gave you that name?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Parliament. <HI>A ble&s;&s;ed one.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t. What did the Parliament then for you?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> They did promi&s;e and vow three things in my name. Fir&s;t to maintaine the true Ancient, Catho|licke, and Apo&s;tolicke Religion. Se|condly
<PB N="2" REF="3"><!-- PDF PAGE 137 -->to defend his Maje&s;ties Royall Per&s;on in his ju&s;t Prerogatives. Third|ly to pre&s;erve the Priviledges of Par|liament, and the liberty of the Sub|ject.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Do&s;t not thou thinke that thou art bound to believe and the Parliament to doe as they have promi&s;ed for thee?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Yes verily, charity obligeth me to beleive no Parliament can be &s;o damn'd, as to take an oath, with in|tention and re&s;olution to breake it, &amp; make the Covenant a very &s;talking hor&s;e to all their de&s;ignes, blinding the people with &s;pecious pretences one|ly.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Hath the Parliament truly and faithfully kept their Covenant?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> No verily, but violated every particlar branch thereof.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>What texts have you to prove that?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Their &s;everall apocryphall
<PB N="3" REF="3"><!-- PDF PAGE 137 -->orders, and ordinances extant, which at plea&s;ure they vote, and unvote, doe, and undoe as they &s;ee occa&s;ion to the nece&s;&s;itating and undoing of us all.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Is not the true Religion e&s;tab|li&s;hed and maintained according to the be&s;t Reformed Churches of Chri&s;ten|dome?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> No indeed, but the be&s;t Re|formed Church of Chri&s;tendome is deformed, by irreverently forcing her to conforme to the Doctrine and Di&s;|cipline of the Kirke of <HI>Scotland.</HI></P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Do&s;t thou not beleive thou art bound by the Covenant, &s;tedfa&s;tly to la|bour and earne&s;tly endeavour the &s;etling of Presbyterie in this Kingdome?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Truly no, but rather to de|&s;troy all po&s;&s;ible hopes of it, and the very Covenant it &s;elfe: which is im|po&s;&s;ible to keepe, for if the Scotti&s;h Presbiterie be allowed to be the be&s;t, &amp; we confirme, and e&s;tabli&s;h that forme
<PB N="4" REF="4"><!-- PDF PAGE 138 -->of Government we confound the &s;e|cond Article, which is to pre&s;erve the King in his ju&s;t Prerogatives. Monar|chy (his due) and Presbiterie being in|compatible, and altogether incon&s;i|&s;tent, nor can the libertie of the Sub|ject be at all maintained, where an u|&s;urping power challengeth the privi|ledge to exerci&s;e Tyranny over the very con&s;ciences of freeborne Sub|jects.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Is not the King defended in his Royall Per&s;on and his ju&s;t Preroga|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tves?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Yes indeed as well as Collonel <HI>Whalyes</HI> Regiment can defend him, and of his ju&s;t Prerogatives as yet, he en|joyes ju&s;t nothing.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>How is the condition of the King then good or bad?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Kings owne conditions are extreamely good, but he &s;tands in a very bad condition, being in the na|ture,
<PB N="5" REF="4"><!-- PDF PAGE 138 -->and extremitie of a Pri&s;oner.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Is the King a Pri&s;oner?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Certainly not &s;o free as he ought to be, among&s;t tho&s;e many high, and ju&s;t Prerogatives of a King, he en|joyes not the liberty of a Subject to goe where he plea&s;eth.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>How is the Priviledge of Par|liament and Libertie of the Subject maintained?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Priviledge of Parlia|ment, hath confounded the Libertie of the Subject, and the Libertie of the Subject, de&s;troyed the Priviledge of Parliament.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Is it not then a free Parlia|ment?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Parliament is free e|nough to give to them&s;elves what they take from us, but no free Parliament.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Is it not very ju&s;t and rea&s;o|nable, that this pre&s;ent Parliament &s;hould be di&s;&s;olved?</HI></P>
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<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> No expectation of Peace and happine&s;&s;e without the di&s;&s;olution of this mo&s;t di&s;&s;olute Parliament, and it &s;hould be the de&s;ire and re&s;olution of the whole Kingdome, to free it &s;elfe from the Tyranny and oppre&s;&s;ion it &s;uffers, and the feare, otherwi&s;e of an inevitable &s;econd warre, &amp;c. The Hou|&s;es con&s;i&s;ting of two &s;everall irrecon|cileable Factions; the weaker and op|pre&s;&s;ed will be alwayes plorting and practi&s;ing to maintaine and &s;upport their reputation in the Countrey, which &s;hall ever be pre&s;erved in their ancient ignorance, to their owne un|doing and confu&s;ion.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>What hopes have you, that the Army, according to promi&s;e, and ju&s;t expectation will di&s;&s;olve this Parlia|ment?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Truly little, for now, that Party prevailing in the Hou&s;e) the Army hath an Authority and Vote to
<PB N="7" REF="5"><!-- PDF PAGE 139 -->countenance all their Actions, which otherwi&s;e might have beene Que&s;tio|ned; So they will pre&s;erve mutually each other, to the de&s;truction of us all.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>What nece&s;&s;ity is there for the Synod to &s;it longer?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> None, for if Liberty of Con|&s;cience be allowed; there will be no u&s;e of Forme or Pre&s;cription for Church Di&s;cipline.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Why are they not di&s;mi&s;&s;ed, without further trouble to them&s;elves and us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> There is a my&s;terie, in that they &s;erve for better u&s;e to the Parlia|ment. The Synod hath in Seque&s;trati|on Church livings, to the value of &s;ix hundred thou&s;and pounds yearly com|ming in. The Parliament as much o|therwi&s;e; they are well contented to di|vide the Spoyle. The Parliament bor|rowes con&s;cience from the Synod, the
<PB N="8" REF="6"><!-- PDF PAGE 140 -->Synod derives law from the Parlia|ment.</P>
<P>Q. <HI>Will the long deluded People en|dure this long, which conduceth not to the Good, but ruine of the King &amp; Kingdom.</HI></P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> Certainly no, nor can it be long &s;afe for tho&s;e, that thus impri&s;on, and enthrall the King, captive &amp; en&s;lave the Kingdome, that will not be longer &s;ub|ject to the u&s;urpation and controle|ment of fellow-&s;ubjects.</P>
<P>Q. <HI>You &s;peake as if there were a pro|bability of re&s;i&s;tance, if they &s;hould ma|ligne the King, or infe&s;t the Subject. What power could any obtaine to oppo&s;e, and impede their de&s;ignes, they having po&s;e&s;t them&s;elves of that ever famous, and memorable City of</HI> London, <HI>the Navy at Sea, and maintaining a power|full Army at Land.</HI></P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> The Eyes of the whole Kingdom are intent and fixt on the King, and looke upon him, as the onely unju&s;tly
<PB N="9" REF="6"><!-- PDF PAGE 140 -->&s;uffering and injured Party, crucified betweene two Factions. The Army by not executing their pretences, and not perfecting their promi&s;es, hath contracted a generall hate; and by de|laying the Kingdomes peace, and wel|fare (which depends altogether on the Kings happine&s;&s;e and &s;afety) are growne burthen&s;ome and intollerable, &s;o that their continued &s;ufferings will force them to &s;hake off their tamene&s;s, and rouze up thoughts thir&s;ty of re|venge.</P>
<P>Q. <HI>If the Army have good inten|tions, as they have plau&s;ible pretences, what meanes this cruel delay? why is not the King &s;etled, Pri&s;oners of warre relea&s;ed, the Parliament di&s;&s;ol|ved, and the Army disbanded?</HI></P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> Their tedious delayings, draw their intentions into a &s;u|&s;pect
<PB N="10" REF="7"><!-- PDF PAGE 141 -->of being ill, that they meere|ly pur&s;ue de&s;ignes of their owne intere&s;ts, without reflecting on the great concernment of King and Kingdome, that by their &s;low motion they gaine the ad|vantage of reducing the whole Kingdome, under the power and command of the Army, which they will never be able to com|pa&s;&s;e; for if they reflect on their pre&s;ent &s;tate, there is a divi&s;ion in their Army (as well as in the Hou&s;es of Parliament) which cannot be cemented but in the King, the proper Center where we mu&s;t meet and agree in.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Which is the be&s;t and
<PB N="11" REF="7"><!-- PDF PAGE 141 -->readie&s;t way to procure and e&s;tabli&s;h our con&s;tant, durable Peace and happine&s;&s;e?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The mo&s;t certain, and infallible way is to referre all to his Sacred Maje&s;tie, offer him innocent and &s;potle&s;&s;e hearts, white and unblotted Paper; Hee writes a faire hand, let him im|print his owne conditions, and that is the way to perpetuate our bli&s;&s;e, ye doe violence on his mode&s;tie far, but doing our Du|ty, would &s;o overcome him, that he would not aske &s;o much as we ought, and &s;hould mo&s;t chearfully &s;ubmit to him.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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