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<DATE>2014-03-20</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140212.apex.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">E2603A</STC>
<STC T="G">C.112.h.4[84]</STC>
<STC T="G">190.g.13[63]</STC>
<STC T="C">R225786</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99886280</BIBNO>
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<DIV1 TYPE="Parliamentary order">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>Die Veneris, 23. Febr. 1643.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>It is this day ordered by the Commons a&s;&s;embled in Parliament, That <HI>Mr. Millington</HI> doe move the A&s;&s;embly of Divines to appoint Letters to be written to the Mini&s;ters of <HI>London, We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and el&s;ewhere; for the incouraging of Sub&s;crip|tions, for the rai&s;ing and maintaining of Sir <HI>Thomas Middletons</HI> Forces.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>H. El&s;ynge Cler. Parl. D. Com.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>TO OVR REVEREND AND DEARE BRETHREN, THE Mini&s;ters of the Cities of London, We&s;tmin&s;ter, and el&s;ewhere, our Follow-Labourers in the Lords Vineyard.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Reverend and well-beloved Brethren:</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WEE cannot but be very apprehen&s;ive, by the &s;ad experience of the pre&s;ent di&s;tractions, both of the cau&s;es whence they proceed, and remedies whereby we hope they may be removed. Our &s;ufferings, feares, and &s;olemne Fa&s;ts ingage us to con&s;ider how God hath beene provoked by our &s;innes, how his indignation is to be appea&s;ed, and how we may &s;erve his providence by any of our indeavours to promote all warrantable meanes of &s;afety from the imminent dangers, wherein the Malignant adver&s;aries both of Religion and the State, continually labour to involve us: VVhich though they threaten us many wayes, yet no way more, than by pouring out the Iri&s;h Rebels into the Northerne parts, e&s;pecially into North VVales, where they daily find a great party of ill-affected Gentry, Clergy, and people, who&s;e gro&s;&s;e igno|rance, and blinde zeale, again&s;t the Reformation of the Church and Kingdome, make them capable of any impre&s;&s;ion of ho&s;tility, which may be of pernicious operation again&s;t all the wayes of redre&s;&s;e intended and pur&s;ued by our god|ly Governours, and by all tho&s;e who put them&s;elves under their protection and &s;ervice. There have the Armies of the adver&s;e party (when foiled el&s;ewhere) a place of retreat, and hence are they mo&s;t readily recruted; the windes &s;er|ving more ordinarily for pa&s;&s;age out of <HI>Ireland</HI> into <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Wales,</HI> then contrariwi&s;e, and locking up in their Har|bours our greater &s;hips (not able to abide tho&s;e narrow and &s;helvie Seas) from intercepting the le&s;&s;er ve&s;&s;els, wherein the Iri&s;h are wafted over. And while the Iri&s;h and VVel&s;h have &s;uch opportunities of a&s;&s;ociation, the Forces of the Parliament are made ineffectuall, either to &s;uccour the Religious and Loyall Subjects in tho&s;e parts, or to recover the City of <HI>Che&s;ter,</HI> a place of very great importance to the &s;ervice and &s;afety of the whole Kingdome. Again&s;t the&s;e evils the mo&s;t pre&s;ent and powerfull remedy (as it is repre&s;ented to us by the prudence of the Lords and Commons in Par|liament a&s;&s;embled) is, that a proportion of Hor&s;e and Foot, (&s;et downe in the Ordinance which herewith is &s;ent un|to you) be with all expedition made up, under the conduct of Sir <HI>Thomas Middleton,</HI> with who&s;e worth divers of us are very well acquainted, and who&s;e wi&s;edome, courage, and fidelity to the common cau&s;e of God and his Countrey, with much honour to him, is under the hands of faithfull witne&s;&s;es (well knowne to &s;ome of us) very fully and late|ly atte&s;ted, which makes us the more confident to propound the Propo&s;itions of &s;upply by the loane of a con&s;iderable &s;umme, to your pious indeavours, according to your intere&s;t with your Pari&s;hioners, and other friends. It is hard to &s;ay, whether the nece&s;&s;ity of &s;uch an Army, or the advantage by it (if there be not too much delay in the &s;ervice) bee a more urgent motive to &s;et it forward. But this is evident, to all that know the &s;tate of tho&s;e parts, that there is not &s;o much Religion in many places among them as any way to civilize the people, and &s;o much &s;uper&s;tition (where there is any) that they have taken up armes to defend idolatrous pictures, again&s;t the execution of the Ordinance of Parlia|ment, whereby they were doomed to be pulled downe. And how can it be otherwi&s;e? while their Clergy are gene|rally either very ignorant, or very prophane. Again&s;t whichevills there is nothing more cordially intended by that worthy Knight, nor whereto our zeale may be more &s;erviceable, then the removall of &s;uch Mini&s;ters, and the planting of better in their places, (no way &s;o fea&s;ible as by this meanes,) which as we &s;hall lay to heart for our owne particu|lars, &s;o we de&s;ire to commend it, (with the whole de&s;igne) to your religious and affectionate furtherance, re&s;ting</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your very loving Brethren, the Divines, now a&s;&s;embled by Ordinance of Parliament.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="Parliamentary order">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Februar.</HI> 26. 1643&punc;</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>Ordered that this Letter be &s;ent in the name of the A&s;&s;embly to the &s;everall Mini&s;ters of <HI>London, We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and el&s;ewhere.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Henry Robrough</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Scribes.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Adoniram Byfield</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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