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<DATE>2012-06-22</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B110111.apex.</ITEM>
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<VID>180688</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE DECLARATION OF THE BRITTISH in the North of <HI>Ireland.</HI></P>
<P>With &s;ome Queries of Colonel MONK, And the An&s;wers of the BRITTISH to the QUERIES.</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>desolate landscape</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
<P>Printed Anno Dom. 1649.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<DIV2 TYPE="queries">
<HEAD>Queries propounded by Colonell <HI>Monk,</HI> to the Coun&s;ell of War, at <HI>Belfa&s;t,</HI> the 9. of <HI>April.</HI> 1649.</HEAD>
<P>_I De&s;ire to know what cau&s;e You have to di&s;tru&s;t Me, for my faith|fulne&s;se to the good Cau&s;e You &s;tand for?</P>
<P N="2">2 Why do You grow upon Me dayly by new Propo&s;itions, and are not &s;atisfied with the&s;e which the Presbytery at fir&s;t pro|pounded, but a&s;sume an vnlimited power to Your &s;elves?</P>
<P N="3">3. Why do you declare again&s;t that prevalent partie in England without Order or advice from England, and thereby do in all ap|pearance, prejudge the good Party oppre&s;sed there, by declaring your &s;elves &s;ooner, then they think it &s;ea&s;onable: And yet to &s;uffer Malignants in your Quar|ters contrare to Order.</P>
<P N="4">4. I de&s;ire to know, (in regard of our dependence upon England) whom it is that We &s;hall &s;erve for the pre&s;ent?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="responses">
<HEAD>An&s;wers given by the Coun&s;ell of War, to Colonell MONK his fore-mentioned Queries.</HEAD>
<P N="1">To the fir&s;t nothing can be inferred from ouractions implying di&s;tru&s;t of you, or your faithfullne&s;se to the good Cau&s;e; &s;ince we are willing and de&s;ireous yet to tru&s;t you.</P>
<P N="2">To the 2. It cannot be thought &s;trange, that we have other propo&s;itions (be&s;ides the Presbyteries) in regard of ourdifferent relation, neither do we con|cieve that adding to our ju&s;t de&s;ire, upon new Emergence, can be called an a&s;sum|ed unlimited Power.</P>
<P N="3"><PB REF="3">3. Albeit, when lawfull Authority is &s;uppre&s;ed, an Order be impo&s;&s;ible to be obtained, yet as we are Chri&s;tians, our duties to God, and lawfull Authority, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">yes us to declare again&s;t the Publict Enemies of our God, &s;uch as are now the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">revalent partie in England, who have overturned Authority, from which we night have ex&s;pected Orders. And be&s;ides, the Prote&s;tation of many Members of both the Hou&s;es of Parliament, the Prote&s;tation of the Kingdom of Scotland, the Repre&s;entatio~ of the Mini&s;tery, the Apologetical Declaration of many thou&s;and Citizens, in and about the City of LONDON, all again&s;t the pre&s;ent prevalent <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">our&s;es of the Sectaries, may be unto us, in place of a &s;trong advice, to joyne with them, in declaring again&s;t them, and di&s;&s;alowing of their proceedings <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s al&s;o for Malignants you under&s;tand we conceive, only &s;uch who were inga|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed again&s;t England; none whereof are by us Publickly owned, and if any be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rivatly &s;heltered, when they are di&s;covered, we &s;hall take &s;uch cour&s;e with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hem, as &s;hall be incumbent unto us.</P>
<P N="4">To the 4. As we have hitherto in relation to England, &s;erved the King &amp; Parlia|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ent thereof, who&s;e ju&s;t Power rights and proviledges we are deeply &s;worn to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">antain and defend in our &s;olemne League and Covenant, &s;o we re&s;olve faith|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ully and con&s;tantly to &s;erve, and adhere unto them, though (now for a time) <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hey be violently bereft of the exerci&s;e of their ju&s;t and lawfull power.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="propositions">
<HEAD>Propo&s;itions pre&s;ented to Colonel MONK, by the Army.</HEAD>
<P N="1">FIr&s;t, that he and all under his Command, &s;olemnly &s;wear, and &s;ub&s;cribe the Solemne League and Covenant.</P>
<P N="2">2. That He and They do &s;igne the Declaration to be emitted by the Army at their meeting.</P>
<P N="3">3. That he &s;hall not obey or execut any Order that &s;hall be &s;ent unto him, om the now Prevalent power in England.</P>
<P N="4">4. That untill it plea&s;e God to e&s;tabli&s;h a free Parliament in England, that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ee will act nothing wherein the Army is publickly concerned, or di&s;po&s;e of any <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rtified Garri&s;on, without the advice and con&s;ent of a Coun&s;ell of War, fir&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">lled by him, con&s;i&s;ting at lea&s;t of two Officers out of each Regiment, whereof <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e a Field Officer, the other, a Captain cho&s;en by con&s;ent of the Regiment.</P>
<P N="5">5. That He be plea&s;ed to give out of the Magazine unto each Regiment and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oup, a proportionable quantity of Ammunition, and Armes to be in cu&s;tody the Commander in Chief of every &s;everall Regiment, for the which Hee is be comptable. The&s;e are the mo&s;t moderat de&s;ires, by a&s;&s;enting whereunto <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> conceave our Religion and our &s;elves can be &s;ecured: Which being granted, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> do firmly oblidge our &s;elves to obey His Commands.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="propositions">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>The Countries Propo&s;itions to Colonell MONK.</HEAD>
<P N="1">FIr&s;t that nothing be done wherein the Countrie is concerned, &s;uch as the equall and ju&s;t di&s;tribution of the Quarters, the adding to, increa&s;ing, or dimini&s;hing the pre&s;ent &s;tanding Forces, or a&s;&s;ociating with any Party, and other particulars of the like nature, without the con&s;ent of a Com|mitee, con&s;i&s;ting of equall number of the Army and Countrey fir&s;t called, the which is to be called upon any ju&s;t Complaint.</P>
<P N="2">2. That if We &s;hall be invited by any of our Covenanted Brethren in this Kingdome for their Defence in maintaining of the Covenant, again&s;t the oppo|&s;ers thereof, that the General, and this meeting, &s;hall receieve them in this a&s;&s;o|ciation, for mutuall defence, in &s;o far as may contribute for the ends of the Co|venant, and for their pre&s;ervation in pur&s;uance thereof.</P>
<P N="3">3. That in regard of apparent hazards, and the many Enemies of the Cove|nant, we de&s;ire that the Countrie may be pre&s;ently put in a Po&s;ture of Defence, and that their Forces &s;hall not be di&s;po&s;ed of, without the con&s;ent of the Com|mitee above mentioned.</P>
<P N="4">4. That before parting, an equall number of the Army and Countrie be cho&s;en for the ordering of the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e as is afore&s;aid.</P>
<P N="5">5. That as we have de&s;ired a proportionable quantity of Ammunition and Armes, may be given to the Army. We do likewi&s;e de&s;ire, that a competent number of armes with Ammunition, may be put into the &s;everall Regiments Magazines for their Quarters u&s;e upon nece&s;&s;ity.</P>
<P N="6">6. Con&s;idering, that throw the General's declaring again&s;t the pre&s;ent pre|vailing Party in England, His proper meanes may be ob&s;tructed: Therefore Wee &s;hall lay down a cour&s;e, notwith&s;tanding of the great poverty of the Countrey, for his &s;ub&s;i&s;tance, till means come from England.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="declaration">
<HEAD>The Coun&s;ell of Wars Declaration.</HEAD>
<P>AS Wee cannot without great Rejoycing and Thank&s;giving think upon the fir&s;t ble&s;&s;ed vowing of our &s;elves in the Land, by a &s;olemne League and Covenant unto the Lord our God; So We cannot without grea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;orrow and remor&s;e (We pray God give Us &s;o much as we ought) cal to mind the fearfull back-&s;lidings and out-breakings that have been in all man|ner of Per&s;ons, &s;ome by not indeavouring to performe what they did &s;eem
<PB REF="4"> truly to intend, others by never intending what the genuine &s;en&s;e of the Oath did oblidge them to performe, which do clearly appear by the great Defection of many from the Covenant, their joyning in the late unlawfull Engagement a|gain&s;t England, and by the Actions, Di&s;cour&s;es, and new Propo&s;itions of diver&s;e at this time, contrary to the &s;ame: For remedy of all which, that the ju&s;t might not pa&s;&s;e with the unju&s;t, we heartily prai&s;e the Lord for the giving of his &s;ervants of the Mini&s;try, here the boldne&s;&s;e to move the renewing, and the re&s;t of his peo|ple, the readynes and willingne&s;&s;e to renew that &s;olemne and &s;acred&punc; vow: and lea&s;t after &s;uch mercies, We &s;hould grow &s;ecure, and &s;uffer our &s;elves to fall into our former Errours, e&s;pecially when &s;o great powers have a&s;&s;embled them&s;elves again&s;t the Lord and his Chri&s;t. We have thought it nece&s;&s;ary, not to re&s;t &s;ati&s;|fied with the &s;wearing of the Covenant, which many fal&s;e Brethren formerly did, but with <HI>Daniel,</HI> who opened his windows towards the Ea&s;t, to witne&s;&s;e his avouching of the &s;ervice of his God, &s;o by this Declaration do we te&s;tifie to the world, that we have &s;incerely and faithfully without any equivocation &s;worn the &s;aid Oath according to the true and clear meaning of each Article thereof, as well Civill as Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall, &s;o we &s;hall by the &s;trength of God, with our lives <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd fortunes, maintaine the &s;ame again&s;t the oppo&s;ers and Enemies thereof, as well private underminders, as publique oppo&s;ers; whether <HI>Papi&s;ts, Sectaries,</HI> or <HI>Malignants,</HI> not doubting but their powers may be great; yet the Lord our God, will deliver us from them, or if he doe not, yet we will not &s;erve their gods, nor <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y any connivance, or politick lukewarmne&s;&s;e, be any wayes partakers of their in|quities, lea&s;t we ju&s;tly provoke our God to &s;pew us out of his mouth, and &s;uffer <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s to be &s;wallowed up in their judgments, &amp; having found of how dangerous, con|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">equence, it is to leave power in the hands of the&s;e, as are refufers of the Covenant, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> double minded at it, being &s;o far again&s;t our Vowes therein, made to the Lord <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">f ho&s;ts; and &s;uch an apt meanes to breed divi&s;ion among&s;t our &s;elves, and ad|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ance the de&s;ignes of the&s;e who wi&s;h its and our ruine: We doe declare that we will have none in our Army, nor a&s;&s;ociate our &s;elves with any, but &s;uch as &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ke and renew this &s;olemne League and Covenant, and particularlie, that wee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">all not receave into publick charge into our Army, nor a&s;&s;ociat our &s;elves at <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ny time hereafter, with &s;uch as have been violent promoters of the late unlawful <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gadgement again&s;t <HI>England,</HI> nor with any who have formerly been known to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ave been <HI>Malignantly</HI> affected, did goe on upon the &s;ame, untill there &s;hall bee a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ublick way agreed upon by King and Parliament, for receiving of &s;uch upon <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">idence of their repentance, with the advice of the Church: Neither &s;hall wee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ceave into charge, any who&s;oever have gone upon the former Ingadgement, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">efore they have fir&s;t, not onely given publick &s;ignes of repentance to the Church, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">t al&s;o, &s;hall have &s;atisfied the officers of the Army of their good de&s;erving, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ocured a te&s;timoniall from the Presbyterie, of their hone&s;t behaviour: nor &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e tru&s;t any other notorious <HI>Malignants;</HI> before they have given con&s;tant obedi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ce of their re&s;enting their former <HI>Malignant</HI> cour&s;es; and (if when upon &s;uch <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">nes given, they &s;hall be receaved to charge, if they &s;hall yet at any time vent <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">eir <HI>Malignancy</HI> by di&s;cour&s;e, or otherwi&s;e, we &s;hall in&s;tantly thereupon remove <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">em from their re&s;pective charges. And more e&s;pecially, we &s;hall not a&s;&s;ociat our <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ves with the Marque&s;&s;e of <HI>Ormond,</HI> not with any of his partie, &s;o long as they
<PB REF="4"> &s;hall combyne with <HI>Papi&s;ts,</HI> or other forementioned <HI>Malignants,</HI> and &s;hal not &s;wear and &s;ub&s;cribe the &s;olemn League and Covenant, as we have done here; and where|as the Sectarian partie in <HI>England</HI> of late, hes u&s;urped an illegall power over both King and Parliament, and are re&s;olving an univer&s;all Tolleration of Religion, and the &s;ubver&s;ion of lawfull Government, by Kings, Lords, and Commons, and have taken upon them to proclaime all adherers to the fore&s;aid ju&s;t Government in the per&s;on of the pre&s;ent King, to be Rebels and Traitors. All which the &s;aid <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;urped practi&s;es they vi&s;ibly intend to force upon us in this Kingdome, &s;o &s;oon as they can tran&s;port their power thither, to be obeyed and receaved by us, con|trare to our &s;worne &s;olemne League and Covenant: and for this cau&s;e, we doe faithfully obliedge our &s;elves unanimou&s;ly with our e&s;tates and lives, to re&s;i&s;t and oppo&s;e any &s;uch irregular Power which &s;hall proceed from them, and that we &s;hall maintaine the Government of the Church here, together with the ju&s;t power of the King and Parliament in the &s;tate, again&s;t the oppo&s;ers thereof&punc; And being confident that the&s;e our pre&s;ent intentions, will not want bitter and fal&s;e a&s;per&s;ions of all &s;orts, and particularly that by this act we intend to, &s;hake off our due obedience to the Crowne of <HI>England,</HI> and de&s;i&s;t from pro&s;ecuting the &s;ervice again&s;t the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Rebells, wherein wee were imployed by King and Parliament; we do hereby declare, that we &s;hall really demean our &s;elves as be|cometh faithfull and loyall Subjects to the Crown of <HI>England,</HI> and &s;hall at all times give due obedience to the King and free Parliament thereof. And untill it &s;hall plea&s;e God to e&s;tabli&s;h the&s;e according to our &s;olemne League and Cove|nant, we &s;hall pro&s;ecute, by Gods help and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, &s;incerely the Common Ene|my, and advance by Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance all the ends thereof. And lea&s;t by mi&s;under|&s;tanding, or carnall rea&s;oning, we might be drawn to any thing contrare to the word of God, and our &s;olemne Ingagements, we are re&s;olved to proceed to no|thing, what&s;omever in reference to Religion, without advi&s;e of Gods Mini&s;ters and &s;ervants here given unto us in the &s;ame, but &s;hall be ready according to our power, to pro&s;ecute every meane of &s;urety to our Religion, which they &s;hall propo&s;e to us according to the word of God, and the Covenant, and that they and our con&s;ciences may bear us witne&s;&s;e of the integrity of our hearts, and that we may with the more confidence, expect the ble&s;&s;ing of God upon our pro|ceedings, we &s;hall take care that &s;in may be &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in our Army, all &s;canda|lous per&s;ons, and di&s;obedient to Church cen&s;ures, put out of it, and for removing of all jealou&s;ies, our Quarters may have that upon this change of affaires, they may &s;uffer prejudice; we do hereby a&s;&s;ure them, that we &s;hall equally regard their re&s;pective &s;tandings, a&s;well as our owne. The&s;e our re&s;olutions being pondred by any well affected per&s;on, we are confident, will &s;eem as ju&s;t, as nece&s;&s;ary: It is e|vident to the world our con&s;ciences in matters of Religion, loyall to our Sove|raigne the Lords anoynted, who&s;e Fathers unparaleld execution, our &s;ouls ab|horres&punc; and we tremble to name, and who&s;e ju&s;t Succe&s;&s;ion, He giving &s;ecurity for maintaining all the Articles and ends of the &s;olemne League and Covenant, before He be admitted to the exerci&s;e of His Royall Power, We are re&s;olved to maintain with our Lives and Fortunes, to our duties, the Parliaments of the united Kingdomes, our own mutuall Liberties, Lives and Safeties. Withall our &s;olemne vowes unto the Lord our God, which are likely to be mo&s;t impiou&s;ly
<PB REF="5"> violated. Neither We hope will any believe We precipitate, when they con&s;ider the pre&s;ent power of Sectaries, the &s;ecret and open enemies of the Kingdomes, the want of affection of many among&s;t our &s;elves, and the great opportunity they have by every dayes delayes, to &s;ubvert that which we are mo&s;t obleidged to maintain. La&s;tly, the &s;ub&s;cribers do faithfully and &s;olemnly promi&s;e, that Wee do truly intend, and &s;hall zealou&s;ly pro&s;ecut by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of God, with &s;ingle|ne&s;&s;e of heart, having &s;till Gods glory and Honour before our eyes, all the &s;eve|rall points of this Declaration, and as We earne&s;tly de&s;ire, and obte&s;t all good Chri&s;tians to joyn with us, and now di&s;charge their dutie to God and the King, &s;o we &s;hall not be diverted from maintaining of all the&s;e who &s;hall faithfully joyn herein, with an unintere&s;ted regard by what means &s;oever, humbly praying the Almighty Lord, to direct us by his Spirit, and witne&s;&s;e by his power, that he is our &s;trong City and Rock in whom we tru&s;t. We the Gentry and others of the Country do a&s;sent to, and Cordially joyne with the Army in all the points of this Declaration, and &s;hall be equally careful of their ingagement, as of our own, and pro&s;ecution thereof, &s;hall run all the hazards with them.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="5">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
