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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A REMONSTRANCE PRESENTED TO HIS MAIESTIE by the PARLIAMENT in <HI>June, Ann. Dom.</HI> 1628. 3^o. <HI>Caroli Regis.</HI> VVherein is di&s;covered, the great danger that <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ireland</HI> lay under; and the <HI>Parliaments</HI> care to have &s;ecured them. As al&s;o the names of &s;ome of the Enemies of the State, as Dr. <HI>Laud,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Mo&s;t dread Soveraign,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_AS with all humble thankfulne&s;&s;e we your dutifull <HI>Commons</HI> in Parliament a&s;&s;embled, do acknowledge the great comfort we have in the a&s;&s;urance of your Maje&s;ties pious and gracious di&s;|po&s;itions; So we think it a mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary duty (being called by your Maje&s;tie to con&s;ult and advi&s;e of the great and urgent affairs of this Church and Common-wealth, finding them at this time in apparant danger of de&s;truction) faithfully and dutifully to inform your Maje&s;tie thereof: and with bleeding hearts and bended knees to crave &s;uch &s;peedie redre&s;&s;e therein, as to your wi&s;dom (unto which we humbly &s;ub|mit our &s;elves and our de&s;ires, &s;hall &s;eem meet and convenient.</P>
<P>What by the multitude and potency of your Maje&s;ties enemies abroad, what by their malicious and ambitious ends and how vigilant and con&s;tantly indu|&s;trious they are in pur&s;uing the &s;ame, is well known unto your Maje&s;tie, toge|ther with the dangers threatned thereby to your &s;acred per&s;on and your King|doms, and the calamity which hath already fallen, and daily hath increa&s;ed upon your friends and Alleys, of all which we are well a&s;&s;ured your Maje&s;tie is mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible, and will accordingly in your own great wi&s;dom, and with the grave&s;t and mo&s;t mature Coun&s;ell and exegency of the times and occa&s;ions, provide by all good means to prevent and help the &s;ame. To which end we mo&s;t humbly entreat your Maje&s;tie:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, and e&s;pecially to ca&s;t your eyes upon the mi&s;erable condition of this your own Kingdom of late &s;o &s;trangely weakned, impoveri&s;hed and rejected; that unle&s;&s;e through your Maje&s;ties mo&s;t gracious wi&s;dom, goodne&s;&s;e, and ju&s;tice, it be &s;peedily rai&s;ed to a better condition, it is in no little danger to be|come a &s;udden prey to the enemies thereof; and of the mo&s;t happy and flou|ri&s;hing,
<PB N="2" REF="2"> to be the mo&s;t mi&s;erable and contemptible Nation in the world. In the di&s;covery of which dangers, mi&s;chiefs and inconveniences being upon us, we do freely prote&s;t that it is far from our thoughts to lay the lea&s;t imputation upon your Maje&s;ties &s;acred per&s;on, or the lea&s;t &s;candall upon your govern|ment: for we do in all &s;incerity, and with joyfulne&s;&s;e of our hearts, not onely for our &s;elves, but in the name of all the Commons of the Realm whom we repre&s;ent, a&s;cribe as much honour to your Maje&s;tie, and acknowledgement of dutie, as a mo&s;t loyall and affectionate people can give to the be&s;t King; for &s;o you are, and &s;o you have been plea&s;ed abundantly to expre&s;&s;e your &s;elf this pre&s;ent Parliament by your Maje&s;ties clear and &s;atisfactory An&s;wer to our Petition of Right; for which our &s;elves and our po&s;terities &s;hal ble&s;&s;e God, and ever pre&s;erve a thankfull memory of your great goodne&s;&s;e and ju&s;tice therein. And we do hereby beleeve, that all or mo&s;t of the&s;e things which we &s;hall now pre&s;ent unto your Maje&s;tie, are either altogether unknown to you, or el&s;e by &s;ome of your Maje&s;ties Mini&s;ters offered under &s;uch &s;pecious pretences as may hide their own bad intentions and ill con&s;equence of them from your Maje&s;tie. But we a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves, that according to the good example of your noble predece&s;&s;ors, nothing can make your Maje&s;tie, being a wi&s;e and judicious Prince, and above all things de&s;irous of the welfare of your people, more in love with Parliaments than this which is one of the principall ends of calling them, that therein you may be truly enformed of the &s;tate of &s;eve|rall parts of your Kingdom, and how your Officers and Mini&s;ters do behave them&s;elves in the di&s;charge of the tru&s;t repo&s;ed in them by your Maje&s;tie; which is &s;carce po&s;&s;ible to be made known unto you but in Parliament, as was declared by your ble&s;&s;ed Father when he was plea&s;ed to put the <HI>Commons</HI> in Parliament a&s;&s;embled in mind, that it would be greate&s;t unfaithfulne&s;&s;e and breach of dutie to his Maje&s;tie, and of the tru&s;t committed to them by their Countrey that could be, if in &s;etting forth the grievances of the people, and conditions of all the parts of this Kingdom, and whence they came, they did not deal clearly with him, without &s;paring any, how dear and neer &s;oever they were unto him, if they were dangerous or hurtfull to the Common-wealth. In confidence therefore of your Maje&s;ties mo&s;t ready and gracious acceptati|on in a matter of &s;o high importance, in faithfull di&s;charge of our duties we do; Fir&s;t of all, mo&s;t humbly be&s;eech your Maje&s;tie to take notice, that how&s;o|ever we know that your Maje&s;tie doth with your &s;oul abhorre that any &s;uch thing &s;hould be imagined or attempted, yet there is a generall fear conceived in your people of &s;ome &s;ecret working and combination to introduce into this your Kingdom Innovation, and change of our Religion is more precious to us than that our lives and what&s;oever this world can afford. Our fears and jealou&s;ies herein are not meerly conjecturall, but ari&s;ing out of &s;uch certain and vi&s;ible effects, as may demon&s;trate a true and reall cau&s;e. For notwith|&s;tanding the many good and whole&s;ome Laws made to prevent the encrea&s;e of Poperie within this Kingdom, and notwith&s;tanding your Maje&s;ties mo&s;t gracious and &s;atisfactory An&s;wer to the Petition of both Hou&s;es in that be|half pre&s;ented to your Maje&s;tie at <HI>Oxon.</HI> we find there hath followed no good
<PB N="3" REF="2"> execution or effect. But on the contrary (at which your Maje&s;tie out of quick &s;ence of your own religious and pious heart cannot but be in the highe&s;t mea|&s;ure di&s;plea&s;ed) tho&s;e of that religion do find extraordinarie favours and re|&s;pects in Court from per&s;ons of great qualitie and power there, unto whom <NOTE PLACE="marg">Counte&s;&s;e of <HI>Buck.</HI></NOTE> they continually re&s;ort; And in particular is the Counte&s;&s;e of <HI>Buckingham,</HI> who, her &s;elf openly profe&s;&s;ing that religion, is a known favourer and &s;up|porter of them that do the &s;ame; which we well hoped upon your Maje&s;ties An&s;wer to the afore&s;aid Petition at <HI>Oxon.</HI> &s;hould not have been permitted. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Petition at <HI>Oxon.</HI></NOTE> Nor that any of your Maje&s;ties Subjects of that religion, or ju&s;tly to be &s;u&s;|&s;pected, &s;hould be entertain'd into your Maje&s;ties &s;ervice, or of your royall Con&s;ort the Queen: Some likewi&s;e of that religion have had Honors, Offi|ces <NOTE PLACE="marg">Papi&s;ts placed in authority. Letters for &s;tay of proceed|ing a|gain&s;t Pa|pi&s;ts. Compo&s;i|tion with Recu&s;ants Inhibiti|ons. Tolerati|on dange|rous.</NOTE> and places of Command and Authority lately conferred: But that which &s;triketh the greate&s;t terrors into the heares of your loyall Subjects concerning this point, is, the letters for &s;tay of legall proceeding again&s;t them have been procured from your Maje&s;tie (by what indirect means we know not &amp; Com|mi&s;&s;ions under the great Seal granted and executed for compo&s;ition to be made with Popi&s;h Recu&s;ants. Inhibitions al&s;o and re&s;traints both to the Ec|cle&s;ia&s;ticall and temporall Courts and Officers to intermeddle with them: which is conceived to amount to no le&s;&s;e than a toleration, odious to God, full of di&s;honour, and great &s;candall and grief to your people, and of the appa|rent danger of the pre&s;ent e&s;tate of your Maje&s;tie, and of this Kingdom. And in e&s;peciall, about <HI>London</HI> and the Suburbs thereof, where exceeding many families of them do make their aboad: A frequent Ma&s;&s;e at Denmark Hou&s;e and other places; and by their often meetings and conferences, have unhappy opportunities of combining their coun&s;els and &s;trength together, to the hazard of your Maje&s;ties &s;afetie and the State: and mo&s;t e&s;pecially in the&s;e doubtfull and calamitous times. But as our fear concerning change and &s;ubver&s;ion of Religion, is grounded upon the daily increa&s;e of Papi&s;ts, the open and pro|fe&s;&s;ed enemies thereof, for the rea&s;ons formerly mentioned: So are the hearts of your Subjects no le&s;&s;e perplexed, then with &s;orrow they behold the daily growth and &s;preading of the faction of <HI>Arminians,</HI> (that being as your Ma|je&s;tie <NOTE PLACE="marg">Armini|ans.</NOTE> well knows) a cunning way to bring in Poperie, the profe&s;&s;ors of the&s;e opinions the common di&s;turbers of the Prote&s;tant Churches, and incendiaries of tho&s;e &s;tates wherein they have gotten any head, being Prote&s;tants in &s;hew, and Je&s;uites in opinion and practi&s;e, which cau&s;ed your royall Father with &s;o much pious wi&s;dom and ardent zeal, to endeavour the &s;uppre&s;&s;ing of them, as well at home, as in the neighbour Countreys. And your gracious Maje&s;tie (imitating his mo&s;t worthy example) hath openly by your Proclamation de|clared your mi&s;like of the&s;e per&s;ons, and of their opinions, who notwith&s;tand|ing are much favoured and advanced, not wanting even of the Clergie neer to your Maje&s;tie, by name D^r <HI>Neile</HI> Bi&s;hop of Winche&s;ter, and D^r <HI>Laud</HI> Bi|&s;hop <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dr <HI>Neile.</HI> Dr <HI>Laud.</HI></NOTE> of Bath and Wells, who are ju&s;tly &s;u&s;pected to be un&s;ound in their opi|nion that way. And it being now generally the way to preferment and pro|motion in the Church, many Scholars do bend their &s;tudies to maintain tho&s;e errors: their books and opinions are &s;uffered to be printed and publi&s;hed; And
<PB N="4" REF="3"> on the other &s;ide, the &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of &s;uch as are written again&s;t them, and in the defence of the Orthodox Religion are hindred and prohibited: And which is boldne&s;&s;e almo&s;t incredible, this re&s;traint of orthodox books is made under colour of your Maje&s;ties formerly mentioned Proclamation, the intent and meaning whereof, we know was quite contrary. And further to increa&s;e our fears concerning Innovation in Religion, we find that there hath been no &s;mall labouring to remove that which is the mo&s;t powerfull means to &s;treng|then and increa&s;e our own Religion, and to oppo&s;e the contrary, which is diligent teaching and in&s;tructing the people in the true knowledge and wor|&s;hip of Almightie God, and therefore means have been &s;ought out to depo&s;e and di&s;countenance pious, painfull, and orthodox Preachers: and how con|formable &s;oever. and peaceable in their di&s;po&s;ition and carriage they be, yet the preferment of &s;uch is oppo&s;ed; and in&s;tead of being encouraged, they are mole&s;ted by vexatious cour&s;es, and pur&s;uits, and hardly admitted to lecture even in tho&s;e places where are no con&s;tant preaching Mini&s;ters, whereby many of your good people (who&s;e &s;ouls in this ca&s;e we be&s;eech your Maje&s;ty to commi&s;erate) are kept in ignorance, and are apt to be ea&s;ily &s;educed to er|rour and &s;uper&s;tition. It doth not a little al&s;o increa&s;e our dangers and fears <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ireland.</NOTE> this way, to under&s;tand the mi&s;erable condition of your Kingdom of <HI>Ireland,</HI> where without controull the Popi&s;h religion is openly profe&s;&s;ed and practi&s;ed <NOTE PLACE="marg">Nunne|ries and &s;uper&s;titi|ous hou&s;es</NOTE> in every part thereof, Popi&s;h juri&s;diction being generally exerci&s;ed and avow|ed, Mona&s;teries, Nunneries and other &s;uper&s;titious hou&s;es newly erected, re|edified and repleni&s;hed with men and women of &s;everall Orders, and in a plentifull manner maintained in <HI>Dublin,</HI> and mo&s;t of the great Towns, and divers other places of the Kingdom, which of what ill con&s;equence it may prove (if not &s;ea&s;onably repre&s;t) we leave to your Maje&s;ties wi&s;dom to judge: but mo&s;t humblie be&s;eech you (as we a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves) to lay your &s;erious con&s;ideration thereof, to your royall and pious heart, and that &s;ome timely cour&s;e may be taken for redre&s;&s;e therein. And now if to all the&s;e your Maje&s;tie will be plea&s;ed to adde the con&s;ideration of the circum&s;tance of time, wherein the&s;e cour&s;es tending to the de&s;truction of true Religion within the&s;e King|doms, have been taken even at &s;uch time, when the &s;ame is with open force and violence per&s;ecuted in other Countreys, and all the reformed Churches of Chri&s;tendome either depre&s;&s;ed or mi&s;erably di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, we do humblie ap|peal to your Maje&s;ties princely judgement, whether there be not a ju&s;t ground of fear, that there is &s;ome &s;ecret and &s;trange cooperating there with the ene|mies of our Religion abroad for the utter extirpation thereof; and whether if it be not &s;peedily redre&s;t, and the profe&s;&s;ion of true Religion more encoura|ged, we can expect any other but mi&s;erie and ruine &s;peedily to fall upon us, e&s;pecially if be&s;ides the vi&s;ible and apparant dangers wherewith we are com|pa&s;&s;ed round about, you would be plea&s;ed piou&s;ly to remember the di&s;plea&s;ure of Almightie God alwayes bent again&s;t the neglect of this holy Religion; the &s;trokes of who&s;e divine ju&s;tice we have already felt, and do &s;till feel with &s;mart and &s;orrow ingreat mea&s;ure: And be&s;ide this fear of innovation in Re|ligion, we do in like faithfull di&s;charge of our duties mo&s;t humblie declare to
<PB N="5" REF="3"> your Maje&s;tie, that the hearts of your people are full of fear of innovation and change in government, and accordingly po&s;&s;e&s;t with great grief and &s;or|row; Yet in this point by your Maje&s;ties late An&s;wer to our Petition of Right touching our Liberties, much comforted, and rai&s;ed again, out of that fullen|ne&s;&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Petition of Right. Loan.</NOTE> and di&s;content which they generally had conceived throughout the whole Kingdom, all the undue courles which were the la&s;t yeer taken for ray|&s;ing of money by Loans, then which (what ever your Maje&s;tie hath been in|formed to the contrary) there was never any money demanded or paid with greater grief and generall di&s;like of all your faithfull Subjects; though many partly out of fear, and partly out of other re&s;pects, yet mo&s;t unwillingly, were drawn to yeeld to what was then required.</P>
<P>The billiting of Souldiers did much augment both our fears and our griefs, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Billiting of Soul|diers.</NOTE> wherein likewi&s;e they find much comfort, upon your late gracious An&s;wer to the Petition of Right, and lo that which we pre&s;ented to your Maje&s;tie concerning that particular, yet we humblie be&s;eech your Maje&s;tie that we may enform you, that the &s;till continuance and late re-inforcing of the num|ber of tho&s;e Souldiers, the condition of their per&s;ons, many of them not being natives of this Kingdom, nor of the &s;ame, but &s;omewhat of an oppo&s;ite reli|gion, the placing of them beneath the Sea-coa&s;ts; where making head among&s;t them&s;elves, they may unite with a Papi&s;t partie at home (if occa&s;ion &s;erve) or joyn with an invading Enemie to do extream mi&s;chief: and that they are not yet imployed nor di&s;mi&s;&s;ed, doth &s;till mini&s;ter cau&s;e of jealou&s;ie to your loving Subjects, and cannot be continued without exceeding great danger, of the peace and &s;afetie of your Kingdom. The report of the &s;trange and dan|gerous purpo&s;e of bringing in the <HI>Germaine</HI> hor&s;e and Riders would have tumed our doubts into di&s;pairs, and our fears into certainty of confu&s;ion, had not your Maje&s;ties gracious Me&s;&s;age (for which we give you humble thanks) comforted us with the a&s;&s;urance of your royall word, that they neither are, nor ever were intended by your Maje&s;tie for any &s;ervice in <HI>England,</HI> but they were de&s;igned for &s;ome forraign employment; yet the &s;ight of the Privie Seal by which (it &s;eemeth) they were to be leavied for this place; the great &s;umme of money which upon examination had been made over for that pur|po&s;e; that much about the &s;ame time there was a Commi&s;&s;ion under the great Seal granted to the Lords and others of your Privie Councell to con&s;i|der, as of other wayes of rai&s;ing of moneys, &s;o particularly by impo&s;ition, gives us ju&s;t cau&s;e of &s;u&s;pect, that what&s;oever was your Maje&s;ties own gra|cious intention, yet there wanted not tho&s;e that under &s;ome colourable pre|tence might &s;ecretly by this, as by other wayes, contrive to change both the form of Religion and government, and thereby to undermine the &s;afetie both of your Maje&s;tie and of your Kingdom: Such men could not be ignorant, that the bringing in of &s;trangers for aid hath been alwayes pernicious to any State where they have been admitted, but to <HI>England</HI> fatall. We do ble&s;&s;e God that hath given to your Maje&s;tie a wi&s;e and under&s;tanding heart, to di|&s;cern the mi&s;chief of &s;uch cour&s;es, and that &s;uch power produces nothing but weakne&s;&s;e and calamitie. And we be&s;eech your Maje&s;tie to pardon the vehe|mencie
<PB N="6" REF="4"> of our expre&s;&s;ions, which in loyall and zealous affections we bear to your Maje&s;tie and your &s;ervice; We are bold to declare to your Maje&s;tie and the whole world, that we hold it far beneath the heart of any <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> man to think that this victorious Nation &s;hould now &s;tand in need of <HI>Germaine</HI> Soul|diers to defend their own King and Kingdom. But when we con&s;ider the cour&s;es formerly mentioned concerning the undermining of Religion, and tho&s;e things tending to an apparant change of government; the often breaches <NOTE PLACE="marg">Often breaches of Parlia|ment. Tunnage &amp; Poun|dage.</NOTE> of Parliaments, whereby you have been deprived of the faithfull Coun&s;els and free aids of your people. The taking of Tonnage and Poundage without any grant thereof by Act of Parliament ever &s;ince the beginning of your Ma|je&s;ties reign. The &s;tanding Commi&s;&s;ion granted to the Duke of <HI>Buckingham;</HI> And in time of peace the di&s;placing of faithfull Officers and Mini&s;ters, &s;ome from Judiciall place, and others from the Offices and Authorities which for|merly they held in the Common-wealth; we cannot but at the &s;ight of &s;uch approaching de&s;olations as mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily follow the&s;e cour&s;es, even out of the depth of &s;orrow lift up our cries to heaven for help, and next under God, humble our &s;elves to your &s;acred Maje&s;tie, and falling down at your feet to be&s;eech you to hearken to the voice of all your people, which if you could hear &s;o many thou&s;ands &s;peaking together, they would all joyntly implore help and reformation. And if yet your Maje&s;tie will be plea&s;ed to take a pre|&s;ent view of the pre&s;ent e&s;tate of your Realm, we do humbly pray you to con&s;ider whether the mi&s;erable di&s;a&s;ters and ill &s;ucce&s;&s;e that hath accompa|nied <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cales. I&s;le of Ree. Rochel.</NOTE> all your late de&s;ignes and actions; particularly tho&s;e of <HI>Cales,</HI> the <HI>I&s;le of Ree,</HI> and the la&s;t expedition to <HI>Rochell,</HI> hath not wa&s;ted all that &s;tock of Ho|nour that was left unto this Kingdom, &s;ometime terrible to all other Nati|ons, and now declining to a contempt beneath the meane&s;t with our Honour there lo&s;t, and that not a few who had they lived, we might have had &s;ome better hope of recovering it again; our valiant and expert Collonels, Captains and Commanders, and many thou&s;and common Souldiers and Marriners, though we have &s;ome cau&s;e to think that your Maje&s;tie is not rightly inform|ed thereof, and that of &s;ome thou&s;ands of your Subjects lo&s;t in the <HI>I&s;le of Ree,</HI> your Maje&s;tie received Information but of &s;ome few hundreds; and all that di&s;honour and lo&s;&s;e hath been purcha&s;ed with the con&s;umption of a Million of trea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Many of your Forts exceeding weak and decayed, and want both men and munition; and here we cannot but with grief con&s;ider and complain of a <NOTE PLACE="marg">4. and 5. Head.</NOTE> &s;trange improvidence, your Maje&s;tie will rather call it treacherie, that your &s;tore of powder which by order of your Privie Councell dated the tenth of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Powder. 10. of <HI>De|cember,</HI> 1626.</NOTE> December, 1626. &s;hould be con&s;tantly 300. la&s;ts, be&s;ides a continuall &s;upply of 20. la&s;ts a moneth of ordinarie, and were now fit as we conceive to be doubled: that proportion which is at this time in the Tower, the pre&s;ent wants being &s;erved, is but nine La&s;ts and 40. l. in all, which we tremble to think of, and that notwith&s;tanding this great &s;car&s;itie of powder, great quan|tities &s;hould be permitted to be &s;old out of your Maje&s;ties &s;tore to particular per&s;ons for private gains, whereof we have &s;een a Certificate of 36 La&s;ts &s;old
<PB N="7" REF="4"> &s;ince the fourth of Januarie la&s;t, and your Maje&s;ties &s;tore being unfurni&s;hed of powder, which by a Contract made by Ma&s;ter <HI>Eveling</HI> ought to be &s;upplied monethly with 20 La&s;ts, at the rate of 3 l. 10 s. 10 d. the Barrell; your Ma|je&s;tie hath been forced to pay above 7 l. a Barrell, for powder to be brought in from beyond the Seas: For which purpo&s;e 12400 l. was impre&s;t to Mr <HI>Bur|lamache</HI> the la&s;t yeer, and that powder not &s;o good as that which by contract your Maje&s;tie &s;hould have of your own by one third part; all which are mo&s;t &s;trange and dangerous abu&s;es.</P>
<P>But what povertie, weakne&s;&s;e and mi&s;erie your Kingdom is now grown <NOTE PLACE="marg">6. and 7. Heads.</NOTE> into by decay of trade, by de&s;truction and lo&s;&s;e of &s;hips and Marriners within the&s;e three yeers la&s;t pa&s;t, we are almo&s;t afraid to declare: And could we have been &s;ure that your Maje&s;tie &s;hould any other way have had a true informa|tion thereof, we &s;hould have been doubtfull to have made our weakne&s;&s;e and extremitie of misfortune to appear: But the importunate and mo&s;t pitifull complaints from all the parts of the Kingdom neer adjoyning to the Seas in this Land, would rend (we think) the &s;tonie&s;t heart in the world with &s;orrow, and the &s;ence we have of the mi&s;erable condition of your Kingdom is no by-rea&s;on thereof, e&s;pecially for that we &s;ee no pre&s;ent po&s;&s;ible means, being now &s;hortly to end this Se&s;&s;ions, how to help the &s;ame; adde &s;uch a weight of grief to our &s;ad thoughts, as we have no words to expre&s;&s;e it. For your Maje&s;ties mo&s;t exact information herein, we be&s;eech you to be plea&s;ed to prove the Ca|lender of particulars with this Remon&s;trance which we now mo&s;t humblie pre&s;ent unto your Maje&s;tie.</P>
<P>One rea&s;on of this decay of Trade, and lo&s;&s;e of &s;hips and Marriners, is the not guarding of the Seas; the Regality whereof, your Maje&s;tie hath now in a manner wholly lo&s;t, and that wherein a principall part of the honour and &s;afetie of this Kingdom heretofore con&s;i&s;ted, in having the ab&s;olute com|mand <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dunkirk.</NOTE> of the Seas, is &s;o now neglected, that the Town of <HI>Dunkirk</HI> doth &s;o continually beat, rob and &s;poil your Subjects, that we can a&s;&s;ure your Ma|je&s;tie if &s;ome pre&s;ent and effectuall remedie be not forthwith provided, the whole body of this Kingdom, and the &s;hipping and Marriners belonging thereunto, will be meerly lo&s;t and con&s;umed.</P>
<P>The principall cau&s;e of which evils and dangers, we conceive to be the ex|ce&s;&s;ive <NOTE PLACE="marg">9. Head. Duke of <HI>Buck.</HI></NOTE> power of the Duke of <HI>Buckingham,</HI> and the abu&s;e of that power: and we mo&s;t humblie &s;ubmit it to your Maje&s;ties mo&s;t excellent wi&s;dom, whether it can be &s;afe either for you or your Kingdom, that &s;o great power as re&s;ts in him both by Sea and Land &s;hould be in the hands of any one Subject what|&s;oever. Sure we are, it cannot be for your &s;ervice, it being impo&s;&s;ible for one man to manage &s;o many and &s;o weightie affairs of the Kingdom as he hath undertaken; be&s;ides the ordinarie duties of tho&s;e great Offices which he holds, &s;ome of which well performed, would require the time and indu&s;trie of the able&s;t man both for coun&s;ell and action that could be found in your whole Kingdom (e&s;pecially in the&s;e times of common danger) And our humble de|&s;ire is, that your mo&s;t excellent Maje&s;tie would be plea&s;ed to take into con&s;i|deration, whether in re&s;pect the &s;ame Duke hath &s;o abu&s;ed his power, it be
<PB N="8" REF="5"> &s;afe for your Maje&s;tie and your Kingdom, to continue him either in his great Offices of tru&s;t, or in his place of neerne&s;&s;e of coun&s;ell about your &s;acred per&s;on.</P>
<P>And thus in all humility ayming at nothing but the honour of Almightie God, the maintenance of his true Religion, the &s;afetie and happine&s;&s;e of your mo&s;t excellent Maje&s;tie, and the pre&s;ervation and pro&s;peritie of this Church and Common-wealth; We have endeavoured with faithfull hearts and in|tentions, and in di&s;charge of the dutie we owe to your Maje&s;tie and our Coun|trey, to give you a true pre&s;entation of our pre&s;ent danger and pre&s;&s;ing cala|mities, which we humbly be&s;eech your Maje&s;tie graciou&s;ly to accept, and take the &s;ame to heart, accounting the &s;afetie and pro&s;peritie of your people, your greate&s;t happine&s;&s;e; and their love your riche&s;t trea&s;ure. A ruefull and lamentable &s;pectacle, we confe&s;&s;e, it mu&s;t needs be, to behold the&s;e ruines in &s;o fair a hou&s;e; &s;o many di&s;ea&s;es, and almo&s;t everie one of them deadly, in &s;o &s;trong and well tempored a body (as this Kingdom lately was) yet we will not doubt but that God hath re&s;erved this honour for your Maje&s;tie to re&s;tore the &s;afetie and happine&s;&s;e thereof again, as a work worthie &s;o excellent a Prince; For who&s;e long life and true felicitie we daily pray, that your fame and never dying glory may be continued to all &s;ucceeding generations.</P>
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