Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	believe_v	great_a	see_v	1,615	5	3.0323	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63469	The True copys of several letters from Portsmouth directed by Col. Sir Arthur Haslerig, Col. Herbert Morley, Col. Valentine Walton, commissioners by act of Parliament for governing the armies, to the Lord Fleetwood at Wallingford-house, with the Lord Fleetwoods answers thereunto : also, their several letters to ... the Lord Mayor, alderman and common-council of the city of London together with their letters from Portsmouth, to the several militia's appointed by act of Parliament, for the cities of London, Westminster and Borrough of Southwark and their answers there unto.	Hesilrige, Arthur, Sir, d. 1661.; Morley, Herbert, 1616-1667.; Walton, Valentine, d. 1661?; Fleetwood, Charles, d. 1692.	1659 (1659)	Wing T2609; ESTC R21262	11,119	16

You pretend good intentions to the Nations settlement We are sure our hearts thirst after it and that we are not guilty of any Hostility in this place In the interim we resolve by Gods blessing to defend the same for the Parliament If what you are doing might satisfie all the Parliaments party and secure Parliamentary Authority the Rights Liberties Properties of the people and Religion which is the Good Old Cause so much owned by God and valued by all goodmen we should really rejoyce and bless God for it and readily return to our former friendship it being the desire of our hearts that all misunde standings may be removed the Parliament restored old friends reconciled the Commonwealth settled upon righteous lasting Foundations And if you are as peaceably minded as we you may make it appear by directing the withdrawing of the Forces you sent toward this place that so esfusion of blood may be prevented If otherwise we cannot believe you in●end Peace We are Portsmouth Decemb. 14. 1659. My Lord Your Lordships Servants Arth. Haslerig Hetb Morley Val. Walton For the Honourable Sir Arthur Haslerig Col. Walton and Col. Morley at Portsmouth Honourable Gentlemen I Have received yours and finding that our personal reflections doth but provoak each other and therefore I shall rather desire to commit my case unto the Lord then to argue it with man not doubring but that he will plead my innocency for me and convince me wherein I may be found guilty being desirous to bow before him in any thing wherein I may be found faulty and take the shame unto my self rather than be a reproach unto his name by any action of mine the Lord grant that this may be more and more yours and my frame whatsoever our contests are yet I am sure of this by reason thereof the Common enemy is like to have the advantage and which of us may have the Conquest We shall none of us be but loosers I wish ir be not found that whilst you dispute the form you destroy the end and though I may with others so much justifie our selves yet that old friends that have but one interest should engage as enemies is that which we have cause to take up as a lamentation and let us take heed that Saints blood be not layd to our Charge it is a strange hand of God upon us that there should not be found a wise man amongst us who might direct some Medium to make up these Breaches Your actions have greatly widened our Breach I have that comfort that I have no personal design of my own but that this Common Cause and Interest wherein we are all concerned may prosper is my design and whatsoever you may satisfie your selves in the treachery and falsness of some persons who after assurances given of their faithfulness have lately forfeited the same Be confident the Lord will not prosper such practises It is very vvell known I am no enemy to Parliamentary Authority and vvha●soever you may charge me vvith therein Yet I hopeing actions shall manifest the contrary And as for the Forces which are before Portsmouth if you will engage that the Nations Peace shall not be disturbed by your endeavours to raise Forces against us We shall easily be perswaded to withdraw ours and in any thing with a Saving to this Cause shall be ready to expresse the respects which I have had formerly for you and being in some haste I have only this to desire further of you that would release one M. Jennyns and Mr. Lucas who though they are strangers to me yet hearing they are vnder restraint upon our account I desire their Liberty And shall give the same return of friendship as their occasion offered to Your humble servant Charles Fleetwood VVallingford house 17. Dec. 1659. For the Right Honourable the Lord Fleetwood My Lord HAving received and read your Letter dated the 17th instant we find the expressions to be so mild and to savour so much of godliness and self-denial that we cannot but speedily return you this hoping that if the Lord be pleased to give you a heart really to act what you write the Nations may yet be made happy We shall not labour to convince you of your being faulty because you appeale unto God who only is able to make you bow down before him And for our parts we have examined our heatts and we find joy and comfort believing our selves to be in the way that God commands We begun no contest we waited two Moneths and nothing was brought forth but confusion We believe the Common enemy may gain great advantage by our divisions But who gave the occasion we are innocent and we know for either of us to conquer the other is no gain to our Cause If you look upon the Parliament but as a Form and disputing for that but disputing for a Form we differ from you and take it to be the Foundation upon which our Liberties are upheld and our Religion under God to be preserved That we old friends should engage as enemies 't is indeed great cause of lamentation and we are not only sensible of it but those that truly fear God sigh and mourne in secret for the great shame and reproach that the Authors the●eby have brought upon the professors of godliness We have been tender of Saints blood and very careful that poor innocent Souldiers should not be destroyed being sent by your Commands to oppose the Authority of Parliament but we have waited their coming in to us and they have not as yet received any hurt from us If the great providences of God working contrary to your expectation and the wonderful confusions and distractions may work upon you and stir you up to be that wise man to make up these breaches while you have time we shall have cause to blesse God for it VVe hear Vice-Admiral Lawson declares for the restoring thu Parliament and is in the Thames with the Fleet in Order to it His Declaration is sober General Monck desires the like we believe thousands will joyn with them Why should we divide upon this point We have seen a Paper for a Parliament to sit down the 24 of January we cannot think the people will choose upon that Authority we are sure no Qualifications can be made without Parliament so that the time will either be lost or the Cause hazarded by such proceedings We cannot but grieve to see the delay in restoring the Parliament We believe God will again restore it and those that contest against it will in Conclusion be found fighters against that which God hath owned and will yet make instrumental for his glory and the Nations good For our own parts We are most ready and willing to lay down all or any of our imployments for the publick Peace neither do we desire to hurt the persons or Estates of any of those that have formerly been instrumental in the Parliaaments service We desire to be not mistaken we

by the next The Lord perswade your hearts to resolutions of peace and that these sad breaches may be healed is the desire of Your Humble Servant Charles Fleetwood VVallingford-House Decemb. 10. 1659. If we must be looked upon as Enemies I shall desire you will release Cap. Brown Cap. Peacock and Cap. Hopgood I will release Col. Markham and Col. Atkins whose offence I am sure was much greater then any you can charge them with and are persons much more Considerable For the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Common-Council of the City of LONDON My Lord and Gentlemen WE conceive it is not unknown to you the Trust the Parliament reposed in us before theit late interruption We have waited ever since expecting that the force would have been removed from the Parliament House at Westminster that the Members might have returned to their Duties but finding confusions and discontents to increase we came to this Town of Portsmouth which is of great concernment to the City and Publick The Governour and this Garrison have declared their faithfulness to the Parliament there are many Ships not paid off and Marriners ready for want of pay to go into Forreign parts for employment there must some speedy course be taken for preventing the great mischiefs which will otherwise follow We cannot but approve of General Monks Declarations and concurr with him fot the restoring of the Parliament We hope you do the like and intreat you that no time may be delayed but all endeavours may be used that the Parliament doors may be forthwith opened and the Speaker desired forthwith to send Letters to the several Members to perform their Trust in Parliament We know no other way under God to preserve your City and the Nations from inevitable ruin and to deliver us out of these miserable and woful confusions we are now in We beseech you move speedily in this for our Cause and the safety of the whole lyes bleeding We entreat to hear a word of your intentions Our affections as you well know being very great for the welfare and prosperity of the City and we find such absolute necessity of the Parliaments meeting though but in Order to the settlement of future Parliaments that if you cannot prevaile that they may sit quietly at VVestminster we shall write to the Speaker that he would be pleased to meet at Portsmouth where we doubt not through the mercy and goodness of God they may sit with honour and safety and Act freely for the good and preservation of the your City Nations We present our humble services to your Lotdship the Aldermen and Common-Council We are Portsmouth 7. Decemb. 1659. My Lord and Gentlemen Your most faithful and humblest servants Arth. Haslerig Herb. Morley Val. Walton For our Honourable friends the Commissioners of the Militia of the City of London appointed by Act of Parliament Gentlemen YOu know very well that we have the chief Command of all the Forces in England and Scotland by Act of Parliament We are now at Portsmouth a place of great concernment We hope you believe that we desire Peace and settlement not a new VVar we have no perticular design we apprehend there is no other means for the preservation of our Cause the City and Nations and deliver us out of the woful Confusions that we are now in but the opening the Parliament doors that the Members may return and perform their trusts VVe desire you to act your parts in pursuance of the trust reposed in you by the Parliament for removing the force from the Parliament we shall assist you to the utmost of our power and remain Gent. Portsmouth Decemb. 7. 1659. Your affectionate Friends and Servants Arth. Haslerig Herb Morley Val. VValton The same Letter was sent to the Militias at VVestminster and Southwark For the Right Honourable the Lord Fleetwood at VVallingford house My Lord WE shall not trouble you with any tedious reply to your Letter but this we must affirm That neither joyntly nor seperately did we or any of us either to your self or any other person passe our Engagements to do otherwise then we have done And if you had given any of us a perticular Charge we should readily have vindicated our selves Neither did we endeavour to remove the Parliaments good opinion from you though we well perceived your coldness in their service else the Paper sent from the Northern Brigade had never produced the sad consequences that since have ensued And if it was against your Conscience to act as one of the seven Commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament to govern the Army we marvel with what satisfaction you can now act by the Call of private men without any publick Authority and yet pretend you desire retyrement Whether you have not been instrumental to destroy the Parliamentary Authority and how farr we have been instrumentall to any such ends we leave it to the Lord and all indifferent men to judge Neither shall we dispute the necessity that induced the Officers to interrupt the the Parliament for if you and they say it was necessary no man must dare to say otherwise It is an easie matter to pretend to good things for the Nation Oliver did the like but the sequell manifested h●s own advancement to be at the bottom And it is well known when you remove us from our Foundations you may carry us whether you please We all deny to have been instrumentall in any breaches made upon the Parliament but if we had we should not be ashamed to ask God and the world forgiveness and resolve by our future deportments to repair such breaches Concerning oppression imposing restraining Liberty taking away property Governments and Authority we shall only say That whosoever takes away our Parliaments takes the ready course to let them all in like a floud upon us neither do we think the Council of Officers competent per sons to Judg of Government and to break Parliaments and put new fancies of their own instead thereof as they please How far your actings against the Parliament or outs in persuance of the PARLIAMENTS Commands have given encouragement to the Common enemy we leave to your own consideration or because the Parliament will not Act what some Officers of the Army please they must be inte●●upted And if any prove faithful to discharge the Trust reposed in them they are the only troublers of the Nation and give advantage to the Common enemy We are not ambitious of Commands having more given us by the Parliament then we desired but conceive we have more Authority to gran● Commissions in Order to the Parliaments restitution then you can have from the Call of any private persons to continue their interruption You say The Marriners had been paid if we had not been here We suppose some of them are gone to London for their pay and if money were sent to discharge the rest we should be far from hindering their payment or diverting the money