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<DATE>2014-08-14</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z140212.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="B18953">
<STC T="W">C2177</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]12128644</BIBNO>
<VID>196968</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>HIS MAIESTIES DECLARATION <HI>AND</HI> Finall Re&s;olution Concerning the Petition of the Honourable the City of London, to the Lords of His Privie Councell: Wherein is &s;et downe his Maje&s;ties determination, by way of an ab&s;olute An&s;wer to the &s;aid Petition.</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>framed printer's device of Leonard Lichfield, featuring the crest of the University of Oxford (not in McKerrow)</FIGDESC>
<HEAD><Q>SAPIENTIA ET FELICITATE</Q></HEAD>
</FIGURE></P>
<P>Printed at Oxford by <HI>Leonard Lichfield,</HI> Printer to the Univer&s;itie. 1643.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="proclamation">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>His Maje&s;ties Declaration and finall Re&s;olution concerning the Petition of the ho|nourable City of <HI>London.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lords,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WEe are very well a&s;&s;ured this our whole Kingdome is in a mu&s;e and expectation what will be the &s;ucce&s;&s;e of the Petition, which the Agents of Our capitall City of London pre&s;ented Vs with, in the name and behalfe of the Mayor, Alder|men, Common Councell, and the inha|bitants in generall of Our &s;aid City: who with willing and obedient hearts de&s;ire Us in all humility, that a faire Ac|commodation of peace may be betweene Our Parliament and Us &s;uddenly fixt that by that means all tho&s;e di&s;orders which grow up by the licenciou&s;ne&s;&s;e and mi&s;demeanors of this Civill war, may be utterly abrogated and taken away from the face of the Engli&s;h earth, that the purity of Gods true Religion may be &s;etled, and &s;o re-flouri&s;h in Our De|minions, free from all the &s;pots and deformities of &s;chi&s;me and here&s;ie, (which &s;urely is the readie&s;t way to avert the heavie wrath of the Almighty from this Kingdome and peo|ple; and finally, that all di&s;ten&s;ions by a happy union may be aboli&s;hed, and the &s;ound of war bee no more heard in our
<PB N="4" REF="3">borders. Propo&s;itions as ju&s;t and hone&s;t they be, as full of advantage and utility to Our &s;elfe, and to you (my Lords) as to all this Kingdome; and therefore &s;eriou&s;ly to be con&s;i|dered, and with mature judgment. We are &s;orry that over|ruled by the per&s;wa&s;ions of &s;ome, We have rendred them an an&s;wer more full of rigour and &s;harpne&s;&s;e then might be &s;uitable to their expectation and hopes, which We beleeve fed them with a certainty, that We would not decline any propo&s;itions for peace with Our high Court of Parliament; and &s;ince We have had a mighty conflict within Our &s;elfe, for not &s;atisfying them in all their ju&s;t demands, without re|&s;ervation or fixing upon the nomination of &s;everall per&s;ons of the mo&s;t &s;ignall Citizens. For when We rightly weigh what ill blood this may breed in the whole City, (the mo&s;t rich and powerfull of all Our Kingdomes) and not onely in that, but in the re&s;t of Our Cities and Townes, when they &s;hall heare the chiefe City of Our kingdome petitioning Us for peace, was received with no better entertainment or countenance from Us, then the pro&s;cription as it were of &s;ome of their able&s;t and mo&s;t u&s;efull members, as men liable to guilt and delinquency. What expectation can other Ci|ties and Corporations of meaner con&s;equence have, that We will receive any &s;upplications or entreaties for peace from them, when they are certainly adverti&s;ed that the City of London &s;ped &s;o ill in their &s;uit which truly was very mode&s;t and full of loyalty.</P>
<P>Some of you perhaps carried away with the heat of pa&s;|&s;ion and zeale to Our honour, will be apt to an&s;wer, that it would derogate from the Maje&s;ty of a King as We are, to receive as it were lawes from Our &s;ubjects and yeeld to &s;uch propo&s;itions as they have laid before Us, for an Accom|modation of peace betwixt Our &s;elfe and Our high Court of Parliament: that We may, &s;ecurely confiding on the num|ber and abilities of Our Army, and the good affections of &s;uch of Our &s;ubjects as adhere to Us, a&s;&s;ume the property to
<PB N="5" REF="3">Our &s;elfe of &s;etting downe &s;uch Articles of Peace to them as they &s;hall nece&s;&s;arily embrace, as it were by compul&s;ion, from Us. Flatter your &s;elves none of you with this opinion, which is both repugnant to Our rea&s;on and the inbred pro|pen&s;ion We have to the welfare of all Our &s;ubjects, e&s;peci|ally to Our good City of London nay, to Our intere&s;t in the hearts and affections of Our people, which are the be&s;t and true&s;t Prerogative that can be inherent in any Soveraigne.</P>
<P>Wee know Our high Court of Parliament to be the &s;u|preme Councell of Our Kingdome, the &s;tronge&s;t and fir|me&s;t pillar on which Our Ance&s;tors have alwayes relyed and tru&s;ted in; and that tru&s;t hath &s;eldome or never ei|ther abu&s;ed or deceived: Wee &s;ee Our City of <HI>London,</HI> the maine nerve that knits together the &s;trength of this Realme, wholly at their devotion and &s;ervice, freely expo&s;ing their unexhau&s;ted wealth, nay, their lives and per&s;ons to the defence of their undertakings, out of a &s;etled and confirmed opinion, derivative from their fore|fathers, that the Parliament will doe nothing prejudici|all to Our Prerogative, or the tru&s;t repo&s;ed in them (by the Votes of the whole Common-wealth;) and this inna|ted inclination to Our high Court of Parliament not to be in them onely, but in the generall heart of all Our Subjects, who as farre as in their abilities, in many, e&s;pe|cially the adjacent Counties to Our &s;aid City, doe with free con&s;ent follow the <HI>Londoners</HI> examples, contributing liberally out of their E&s;tates, and offering their per&s;ons willingly to &s;erve them in their warres, which they doe confidently believe are undertaken for the pre&s;ervation of the fundamentall Lawes of this Kingdome, the perfecti|on of their Franchi&s;es and Liberties, cau&s;es which are &s;o powerfull and prevalent over all mens minds and inten|tions, as they will rather indure all hazards that can hap|pen to their lives and e&s;tates, then any way recede from them as long as the&s;e tumults and dome&s;tique troubles &s;hall continue.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="4">
<P>Be&s;ides, We have daily &s;ad experience of the ill &s;uc|ce&s;&s;e of Our owne, and happy event of the Parliaments undertakings, which are mighty motives to confirme and &s;trengthen men in their opinion of the Ju&s;tice of the Par|liaments proceedings; Our forces under my Lord of <HI>New|ca&s;tle</HI> receiving the wor&s;t in the North from the Lord <HI>Fairefax</HI>: and which is more of con&s;equence becau&s;e it is neerer to Our City of <HI>London,</HI> and &s;o the truth of it more per&s;picuous, Our good City of <HI>Chiche&s;ter,</HI> the chiefe of Our County of <HI>Su&s;&s;ex,</HI> which was well manned and fortified for Us, taken away in an in&s;tant from Us by the Parliaments forces under the command of Sir <HI>William Waller</HI> (who had the like &s;ucce&s;&s;e before at <HI>Port&s;mouth</HI> again&s;t Colonell <HI>Goring</HI>) without any &s;iege at all; &s;o that hee may in re&s;pect of that victory, u&s;e <HI>Ce&s;ars</HI> Adage, of <HI>veni vidi vict;</HI> and that the like event will happen to the other townes Wee have fortified, will be ab&s;olutely be|lieved by the &s;ucce&s;&s;e of this, in the lo&s;&s;e whereof the whole County of <HI>Su&s;&s;ex</HI> (which for its vicinity to Our Citie of <HI>London,</HI> and the number of its Inhabitants, had beene very materiall for Us) is fallen from Our party: Nor are the&s;e halfe the &s;trengths attendent on Our Par|liament; they have an able and well ordered Army in the&s;e parts at their devotion, and running forces in eve|ry place neere Us under their &s;everall Colonells and Com|manders; &s;o that their running Armies are continually ready to take in any towne that &s;hall &s;tand for Us. The Navie is at their di&s;po&s;e, and now at Sea &s;trongly man|ned, to prevent and impeach (if any &s;uch were comming towards Us) their arrivall here, or intercept them in their pa&s;&s;age, which is a maine and huge advantage to their proceedings: And which to them is mo&s;t materiall of all, they have the peoples hearts, who believe all the inju|ries and oppre&s;&s;ions that have befalne them in the&s;e late civill warres, to be derivatives from Us, becau&s;e Wee
<PB N="7" REF="4">have refu&s;ed &s;o many and faire. Propo&s;itions &s;o often and humbly tendered Us by Our Parliament, and now by Our City of <HI>London,</HI> for a &s;peedy Accommodation of peace.</P>
<P>Then if Wee joyne to the&s;e con&s;iderations of their &s;trengths and advantages the knowne and certaine notice of Our weakne&s;&s;e, We &s;hall be e&s;teemed very improvi|dent and carele&s;&s;e as well of Our owne good, as the welfare of Our Subjects, if We doe not in&s;tantly imbrace their Propo&s;itions of Peace.</P>
<P>Tis true, Wee have an Army of brave and valiant men, but the other &s;urpa&s;&s;eth Ours in number, and per|haps equalls them in bravery, as the late &s;ucce&s;&s;es they have had amply te&s;tifies. We want, and &s;o are likely to doe, moneys to defray the charge, Our Army is neither well furni&s;hed with Armes nor ammunition, benefits which they may ju&s;tly boa&s;t of, even to &s;uperfluity, having the City of <HI>London</HI> and Our Magazine at the <HI>Tower</HI> there at their command, the Countrey thereabouts being utterly unable to maintaine Our Army any long time with pro|vi&s;ions, and to depart hence into any other remoter Counties, is to very little purpo&s;e, they having already ta&s;ted the extremities of this warre, and by it left bare and naked of any more plenty of provi&s;ions then will &s;uffice their owne Inhabitants.</P>
<P>The&s;e two con&s;iderations judiciou&s;ly weighed and con|joyn'd with the intreaties of our good Subjects, who have too long beene oppre&s;&s;ed with the ho&s;tility and rapine of the Armies, the glory of God, and the anvancement of his due wor&s;hip added to all the&s;e former motives, We with Our &s;elves &s;et downe this determinate re&s;olution, concerning the late Petition of Our Citie of <HI>London</HI> to Us for an Accommodation of peace betweene Our &s;elfe and Perliament, that &s;ince the an&s;wer before given to the &s;aid Petitioners reflective on the per&s;ons of &s;ome prin|cipall men of the City, which may breed a di&s;ta&s;te and
<PB N="8" REF="5">di&s;like in the whole City, con&s;idering the intere&s;ts tho&s;e per&s;ons have in the &s;ame, that We will hearken to the &s;aid Prop&s;itions of Our City, vowing, and utterly decli|ning the &s;aid per&s;ons afore nominated in that Our An|&s;wer, that &s;o there may be a &s;udden Accommodation be|twixt Us and Our high Court of Parliament, and &s;o re|turne with honour and &s;afety to Our owne Palace at <HI>London;</HI> that all di&s;tractions and differences may be ta|ken away, and peace propagated and promoted through Our whole Dominions, to Our owne comfort, and the joy of all Our Subjects, which certainly &s;hould be all your wi&s;hes as well as Ours, none of you being able to boa&s;t of his gettings by the&s;e &s;o lamentable and unnatu|rall warres, which We &s;hall indeavour to conclude with a happy union betweene Our &s;elfe and Parliament, for the &s;atisfaction of all Our good Subjects, e&s;pecially Our late Petitioners of Our City of <HI>London.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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