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<DATE>2014-04-16</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140218.apex.</ITEM>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P> <HI>A</HI> DECLARATION OF THE Lords and Commons A&s;&s;embled in PARLJAMENT.</P>
<P>Setting forth the innumerable plots &amp; &s;tratagems which the malignant party of this King|dome have lately u&s;ed to break the brotherly bond of peace between <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Scot|land,</HI> to ruinate and de&s;troy the very being of Parliaments, and to &s;ubvert both the Religion and known Law of the two Kingdoms of <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Scotland.</HI></P>
<LICENSE LANG="eng">
<P><HI>Ordered that this be forthwith Printed and Publi&s;hed.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>H. El&s;yng. Cler. D. Com.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LICENSE>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for HENRY FOWLER, <HI>Septem.</HI> 24. 1642.</P>
<PB REF="2">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD><HI>A</HI> DECLARATION OF The LORDS and COMMONS <HI>now a&s;&s;embled in Parliament.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_VVE the Lords and Com|mons a&s;&s;embled in Par|liament, having taken in|to our &s;erious con&s;idera|tion the pre&s;ent e&s;tate &amp; condition of imminent danger, in which the Kingdome now &s;tands, by rea&s;on of a malignant party prevailing with His Maje&s;ty, putting him upon violent and perillous wayes, and now in Armes again&s;t us, to the hazarding of His Maje|&s;ties Per&s;on, and for the oppre&s;&s;ion of the true Religion, the Laws and Liberties of this King|dome, and the Power and Priviledge of Parlia|ment: All which every hone&s;t man is bound to defend, e&s;pecially tho&s;e who have taken the late
<PB N="2" REF="3"> Prote&s;tation, by which they are more particular|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">y tyed unto it; and the more an&s;werable before God, &s;hould they neglect it. Wherefore we fin|ding our &s;elves ingaged in a nece&s;&s;ity to take up Armes likewi&s;e for the defence of the&s;e, which <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">therwi&s;e mu&s;t &s;uffer and peri&s;h; And having <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ed all good wayes and meanes to prevent ex|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">remities, and pre&s;erve the peace of the Kingdom, which good endeavours of ours, the malignity of our enemies have rendred altogether &s;en&s;le&s;&s;e and vaine) doe now think fit to give this accompt unto the world, to be a &s;atisfaction unto all men of the ju&s;tice of our proceedings, and a warning unto tho&s;e who are involved in the &s;ame danger with us, to let them &s;ee the nece&s;&s;ity and duty which lyes upon them to &s;ave them&s;elves, their Religion and Countrey. For which purpo&s;e we &s;et out this en&s;uing Declaration.</P>
<P>Whereas it appeares by the An&s;wer which His Maje&s;ty hath given to the Humble Petition for Peace, that the de&s;igne to alter the frame and con&s;titution of this government both in Church and State is now come to ripene&s;&s;e, and that the contrivers are able to put in execution.</P>
<P>For whar el&s;e can be &s;ignified by the demand|ing the Magazine to be delivered up, all our pre|parations of Force to cea&s;e, and the defen&s;ive Armes of the Parliament to be laid downe.</P>
<P>That the Parliament &s;hould be adjourned to a|nother place, that we &s;hould yeeld our &s;elves (out of the &s;ence of our owne inability to make re&s;i|&s;tance) to the eruell mercy of tho&s;e who have
<PB N="3" REF="3"> po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the King again&s;t us, and incited him to violate all the priviledges, and revile the per&s;ons and proceedings of Parliament, or el&s;e if (as it cannot be otherwi&s;e conceived) We doe not grant what is unrea&s;onable and de&s;tructive, forth|with to bring on that Force which is prepared a|gain&s;t us, by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of papi&s;ts, an ambitious and di&s;contented Clergy, delinquents abnoxious to the Ju&s;tice of the Parliament, and &s;ome ill af|fected per&s;ons of the Nobility and Gentry.</P>
<P>How farre we were plunged, and how fa&s;t this growing mi&s;chiefe prevailed upon us before this Parliament, needs not now be declared, Religion was made but forme and out&s;ide, the Lawes were no defence or protection of any mens right, All was &s;ubject to <HI>Will,</HI> and <HI>Power.</HI></P>
<P>A popi&s;h <HI>Service-Booke</HI> was impo&s;ed on <HI>Scotland</HI> for well they knew thar the &s;amefate attended both Kingdomes, and religion could not be alte|red in the one without the other, God rai&s;ed the &s;pirits of that Nation to oppo&s;e it, with &s;o much zeale and indignation that it kindled &s;uch a flame as no expedient could be found but a Parliament here to quench it.</P>
<P>This nece&s;&s;ity brought on this parliament, and gave it power to act with more vigour and re&s;olu|tion then former parliaments had done, and to &s;et upon a reformation both in Church and State, which was a cau&s;e that tho&s;e who had &s;wallowed up in their thoughts our religion and liberty, and now &s;aw them&s;elves defeated by this meanes, ben+ded all their endeavours to de&s;troy it.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="6" REF="4"> 1. They endeavoured to incence the two Nations, and engage the two Armies one again&s;t the other, that &s;eeing that confu&s;ion the Parlia|ment might not be able to &s;it, and they gain pow|er to perfect their wi&s;hed de&s;igne; the wi&s;dome of Parliament prevented that mi&s;chiefe, and com|po&s;ed tho&s;e differences betweene the King, and the Kingdome of Scotland.</P>
<P N="2">2. They endeavour to turne the Engli&s;h Ar|my again&s;t the Parliament; this was di&s;covered the chiefe actors fled, and the danger avoided.</P>
<P N="3">3. Then they laboured to &s;tir up the Scotti&s;h Army again&s;t us, but &s;uch was the faithfulne&s;&s;e of tho&s;e our brethren, that they could not ef-eY it.</P>
<P>Then they carried his Maje&s;ty into Scotland, to try if a party could be rai&s;ed there to &s;uppre&s;&s;e the good party in that Kingdome, and &s;o to com|po&s;e their intended purpo&s;e here.</P>
<P N="5">5. After his Maje&s;ties returne pre&s;ently &s;ome members of both hou&s;es are unju&s;tly charged with trea&s;on, and the King comes with a Troope of Cavaliers to the Hou&s;e of Commons, to fetch tho&s;e away by force, whom he had cau&s;ed to be &s;o unju&s;tly accu&s;ed.</P>
<P N="6">6. They per&s;waded the King to for&s;ake <HI>White-Hall,</HI> under pretence that his per&s;on was there in danger.</P>
<P N="7">7. Then they work upon him and the Queen, per&s;wading him to retire out of the Kingdome, and carry him further and further from the Par|liament.</P>
<P N="8"><PB N="1" REF="4"> 8. They endeavour to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the people, that the Parliament will take away the Law, &amp; inrroduce an ar|bitrary government, it being &s;uch a charge as no rati|on all man can believe, it being impo&s;&s;ible that &s;o ma|ny &s;everall per&s;ons as the two Hou&s;es con&s;i&s;t of, a|bout 600. and in either hou&s;e all of equall power, &s;hould all of them, or at lea&s;t a Major part, agree in acts of will and tirany.</P>
<P N="9">9. To make all this good upon the Parliament force is prepared, men are levied, and the malignant party of this Kingdome (namely) papi&s;ts, prelaticall Cle|gy, delinquents, and other of the Nobility and gentry, which either feare, reformation, or &s;eeke preferment by betraying their Countrey to &s;erve the Court have, combined to bury the happine&s;&s;e of this Kingdome in the ruine of this Parliamrnt.</P>
<P>All this while the two hou&s;es of Parliament have &s;til applyed them&s;elves unto his Maje&s;ty, with all duty and loyalty, and laboured by humble prayers, and covin|cing rea&s;ons in &s;everall petitions, to &s;atisfie him of their intentions, the ju&s;tne&s;&s;e of their proceedings; their de&s;ire of the &s;afety of his royall per&s;on&punc; and the peace of the Kingdome.</P>
<P>For which end the parliament thought fit to &s;ecure <HI>Hull,</HI> lea&s;t it might be a receptacle of &s;uch ill affected per&s;ons, and of what aid could be gotten from Forraine parts, the fleet under the Earle of <HI>Warwicke</HI> to defend the Kingdome and prevent mi&s;chiefe from abroad, the Magazine of Armes that they &s;hould not be imployed again&s;t us, and the <HI>Militia</HI> of the Kingdome in &s;uch hands as we might confide in, to &s;uppre&s;&s;e commotions with|in our &s;elves.</P>
<P>Let all the world now judge what more could be
<PB N="6" REF="5"> done by us, to appea&s;e his Maje&s;ty, if (after the pre&s;en|ting of &s;uch a petition as the la&s;t, and having received &s;o &s;harpe a returne) if it be fit for us not only not to yeeld to what is required, but al&s;o to make further provi&s;ion for the pre&s;ervation of our &s;elves and of tho&s;e who &s;ent us hither, and at lea&s;t give them warning, that if thee King may force this Parliament, they may bid farewell to all Parliaments, and if Parliaments be lo&s;t, they are lo&s;t, their Laws are lo&s;t, all which will be cut in &s;under with the &s;ame &s;word now drawn for the de&s;truction of this Parliament.</P>
<P>Then if they will not come to help the Parliament and &s;ave them&s;elves, yet have we di&s;charged our con|&s;ciences, and delivered our &s;oules, and we will look for a reward in heaven, &s;hould we be &s;o ill required on earth, which we cannot feare, having found &s;uch de|mon&s;trations of their love and affection.</P>
<P>Thus having cau&s;e to beleeve, con&s;idering the&s;e con|tinuall de&s;ignes upon us, and the compo&s;ition of the Kings Armie, &amp; of his Councell at this time, that the&s;e things are de&s;ired to be made u&s;e of for our de&s;truction, and the de&s;truction of that which we are bound by our prote&s;tation to defend.</P>
<P>Therefore we the Lords and Commons are re&s;olved to expo&s;e our lives and fortunes for the defence and maintenance of the true Religion, the Kings Per&s;on, Honour and E&s;tate, the power and priviledge of Par|liament, and the ju&s;t Rights and Liberties of the Sub|ject. In the maintenance of which cau&s;e, we are re&s;ol|ved to live and die.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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