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A51065
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A moderate reply to His Majesties answer to the cities last petition presented at Oxford which answer was read in Guildhall, before the commons of the said city, January 13, 1643 / by a well-minded petitioner for peace and truth.
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Petitioner for peace and truth.
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1643
(1643)
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Wing M2330; ESTC R31030
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18,007
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20
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of Westminster excepting the Persons formerly excepted by His Majesty but upon these conditions 1. Condition First If we shall return to our Duty Loyalty and Obedience We never yet departed from our Duty Loyalty and Obedience and we hope never shall therefore we yeeld Secondly If His good Subiects shall solemnly declare That they will defend the known Laws of the Land and will submit to and be governed by no other Rule We have already in our solemne Protestation declared that and will maintain it to the utmost of our Lives Liberties and Estates against all the Cavaliers in the World That we will maintain the known Laws and submit to be governed by no other Rule but by the known Laws untill they be lawfully reversed or others made by those that are lawfully called hereunto according to the constitution of the Kingdom and in this Resolution by Gods grace we will live and dye therefore hitherto we yeeld Thirdly The third condition is If they shall first manifest by defending themselves and maintaining their own Rights Liberties and Interests and suppressing any force and violence raised against those and His Maiesty to their power to defend and preserve Him from all tumults affronts and violence Surely If God please to blesse us we will maintain our own Rights Liberties and Interests otherwise we would never be at such cost and charges to maintain Warre against those that are risen to take them away and cursed be he that will not promise to the utmost of his power to suppresse any tumults fronts violence raised up against His Maiesty we are hitherto agreed Fourthly If they shall apprehend and commit to safe custody the Persons of those foure men who inrich themselves with the spoyle and oppression of His loving Subjects and the ruin of the City That His Maiesty may proceed against them by the course of Law as guilty of high Treason His Maiesty will speedily return with His Royall and not His Martiall Guard c. How If we shall apprehend and commit to safe custodie the Persons of these four men By what meanes here is no legall way propounded How must this be done What By an Insurrection What Rise up tumultuously against the Kings chief Officers Surely Now it appears His Maresty hath little hand in this Answer Doth not His Maiesty complain of those tumults that came to the Parliament and cryed out No Bishops no Bishops And shall we think that He would have us rise up in tumults and cry No Lord Mayor no Lord Mayor Do we seek to His Maiesty for peace and shall we think that He doth answer us by putting us upon a designe to cut one anothers Throate Shall we think that His Maiesty will teach His Subiects to rebell against Himself in His Ministers of Justice Do we seek for peace abroad and shall we suppose His Maiesty doth answer us by advising a course for the spilling of one anothers bloâ—d at home Surely no Such a remedy is by farre worse then the disease If His Majesty shall legally accuse them to the Parliament and they send in a legall manner for them We will venture our lives to take them if need should be but in the mean while they are not flying away And we suppose they have little cause and that we are spoyled and opprest by them and they inricht by us was never our complaint unto His Majesty We could heartily wish there were no greater spoylers and oppressors of the Kings Subiects in the Kingdom then they are we would be very unwilling to have the Cavaliers to come to relieve us from these spoylers Therefore I hope London will be as wary in delivering up such active and well affected Members to be sacrificed to the malice of wicked men that have incensed His Majesty against them as the Parliament a leading example have been in the very self same case And yet if His Majesty hath any crime against any or all of them there is no question but the City of London will as willingly surrender them up to the Justice of the Law in a lawfull proceeding against them as the Parliament was Well in short wee see the tearms upon which His Majesty will grant our Petitions for peace and truely If this be the way for peace viz. To intimate unto us in generall without any legall and orderly directions to seize upon the Persons of our chief Members of the Citie which cannot be done but tumultuously and it is like without shedding of bloud we had rather be without it then have it we had rather waite for a better peace some other way As for His Maiesties promises upon this course taken Viz. That He will come with His Royall and not His Martiall guard and use His utmost endeavour that we may hereafter enioy all the blessings of peace and plenty c. We believe then there will be no great need of His Martiall guard and His endeavours for our peace and plenty and the successe thereof we may read in those Countries where His Maiesty hath been with His Forces and made promises of this nature which will amount to a great deal of lesse peace and plenty then now we have And therefore for the last part of the Authors reply Viz. His Maiesties threatning If we take not this course If we continue to contribute our maintenance of the Army under the Earl of Essex c. We reply only thus being in a great straite That we must and by Gods help will do the utmost that we can while we have life and breath to maintain the Army raised up for the defence of our Religion and Kingdom under the command of the Earl of Essex But we had rather if God would please that no more English bloud may be spilt in this Cause but we see how the case stands with us we must either ioyn with the Cavaliers in fighting against the Kingdom the Gospel Parliament Laws and Liberties or expect the utmost issue to our perill and surely we will rather stand to the issue of the lesser evill of sorrow rather then sinne and fight for and not against the Kingdom The Author saith His Maiestie hopes His good Subiects of London will call to minde the Acts of their Predecessors their Duty Affection Loyalty and merit towards their Princes the renown they have had with all posteritie for and the blessings of Heaven which alwayes accompanies those vertues and well consider the scorne and infamy which unavoidably will follow them and their children if infinitely the meaner part in qualitie and much the lesser part in number shall be able to alter the Government so admirably established Destroy the trade so excellently setled and to waste the wealth so industriously gotten of that flourishing Citie and then they will easily gather up the courage and resolution to ioyn with His Maiesty in defence of that Religion Law and Liberty which hitherto hath and only can make themselves His Maiesty and the whole Kingdom happy
Surely this City doth call to minde and for ever will the acts of our Predecessors their duty affection loyalty and merit towards their Princes the renowne they have had with all posterity for and the blessings of heaven which hath alwayes accompanyed these vertues and will and do consider the scorne and infamy which unavoidably will follow us and our children if infinitely the meaner part in quality and the lesser part in number shall notwithstanding the assistance of all the Cavaliers in the Army raised up against the Parliament and all the Papists and Atheists in the City or Kingdom to help them be able to alter the Government so admirably established Destroy the trade so excellently setled and to waste the wealth so industriously gotten of this flourishing Citie as the Cavaliers have in many flourishing Cities and Towues where they have been And therefore we will gather courage and resolution to joyne with His Majesty and Parliament in the defence of that Religion Law and Liberty which stands in opposition to popery and slavery and can only make our selves His Majesty and His Kingdom happy And notwithstanding with reference to the Common-wealth his Maiesty may have concurrence with his Parliament at this distance is well as at White Hall yet we should thinke our selves infinitely ingaged unto his Maiestie if he will be pleased to come to his Parliament and we think the whole Kingdom will reioyce at it and though his Maiesty hath concurred with their advise beyond the example of his Predccessors in passing of such Bills by which he willingly parted with many of his known Rights for the benefit of his subiects which the fundamentall constitutions of this Kingdome did not oblige him unto for which we are heartily thankefnll yet would his Maiesty be pleased to leave that wicked Counsell about him who adviseth him to ioyne with them against his Parliament beyond the example of his Predecessors and to take such courses whereby These Acts of Grace in passing Bills for the good of the Subjects shall be voyde and of no use but even the Parliament it self and all our Lawes Religion and Liberty are in danger to bee utterly lost and destroyed we should surely then be easily perswaded of his Majesties cordiall love and respects unto us and we know not what to doe but still to apply our selves unto his Majesty as we have done unto his Parliament that such just peaceable and Honourable Propositions may bee mutually tendred that may beget a sweet and happy concurrence betweene his Majesty and Parliament We have seene the Petition who would not subscribe it wee have seene the supposed answer if true who could have expected it shall we be any longer deceived then let us be for ever undon it is no Religion but Popery no Liberty but slavery which shall be our portion doe not thinke that were it not for a few Brownists and Anabaptists c. all would be well that these are the disturbers of our Peace I am no friend to such as these but let me live and die such an one as those that are falsely so called no no such Brownists and Anabaptists as were the causes of the Irish Rebellion as all men may see are the incendiaries of our troubles Popery and slavery hath a long time threatned this Nation When absolute prerogative gets upon the Throne and the Pope upon the Church what Subjects then but slaves what Christians but Papists shall we be cozened of our Religion and Liberty by lies and hypocrisie no peace is to be had but either we must fight for it in hope of victory or purchase it by perpetuall slavery Warre is bitter God give us peace Hell is hot God give us truth if we love our soules let us fight for our Religion if we love our posterity let us fight for their Liberty amongst others these motives doth captivate my resolutions first the consideration of the cause it is for God it is for the Kingdome if I fight for God I shall have God though I loose all and that will make up all if I decline God though I enjoy all I shall loose God and then all will make up nothing it is for Iesus Christ who would not help him to his glory He hath fought with divine justice with the curse of the Law with the Divell with sinne with death for us shall we not fight with man for him we were his enemies when he did thus for us hee is our Redeemer what is now to deare for him hee left Heaven to fetch us from Hell what can we doe in requitall therefore he is our Generall mighty in battaile who would not fight under his Standard if ever now is Christs cause on foot to affirme the contrary is shamelesse impudency which to beleeve is sottish credulity if Popery be piety then are we deceived in this controversie can English ingenuity be deceived with such Romish falacy It is for the Gospell who is so blind as once to doubt it Life by it hath bin brought to light shall we now lose it it s a dore to glory shall we let it be shut It s a vision of Heaven shall we let it passe pitty pitty your poore posterity no Gospell no Christ no Christ no Glory if so woe woe that ever they were borne beleive it It is not Queene Elizabeths reformation but Queene Maries Religion that will give content put it to question doth the Rebells in Ireland the Papists in England the Catholique Army in the North the popish in the South aime at and fight for Queene Elizabeths Reformation It cannot but vexe an ingenious man to thinke that men should bee such fooles as to be thus cheated Secondly It is the Kingdomes cause the peace the plenty the security of the Kingdome lies a bleeding England hitherto the envie is like to be made the pitie of Nations we may reade our dismall quality in Irelands misery instead of beauty we shall have baldnesse and of garments a rent farwell the bleating of sheepe the lowing of Oxen the Calves of our stall and the heards of our flockes instead of our musick shall ring in our eares the pittifull cries of dearest wives with wringing hands and 〈◊〉 eyes dearest husbands bread bread can pitifull mothers endure the cries of tender babes with blubber'd cheekes and bleared eyes mother mother bread bread what a harsh and unusuall discourse will this bee amongst our delicate women Let us eat your childe to day and you shall have mine to morrow how will all faces gather blacknesse and all hearts sadnesse when death climes up at our windowes and there is nothing but lamentations in the houses and cries in the street when our young men shall fall and our old men faint and no man knowes how long doe we not see many from Ireland whose clothing was lately rich and food delicious now clothd in raggs glad of your crusts and thankfull for your old shooes doth not the same blood of the Irish Rebellion run in the veines of distracted England and hath it not wrought the same bloudy effects up and downe throughout the Kingdome what dismall groanings of murthered men screiching women and crying children will fill our eares in every house in a word did we know the effects of Warre we would study Peace pray for peace petition for peace and if wee could not prevaile we would give out our selves to all that we have to fight for our peace against the enemies thereof that some suddaine end might be put to the Warre Thirdly consider the example of our Adversaries how do they joyne together as one man against us who would have thought such a war so expensive should be carried on in Ireland and now in England by voluntary contributions amongst the Papists as we see it is shall the Pope have greater interest in Papists than Christ in Christians shall hee call for the assistance of Papists and they run and ride travell beyond Seas flie into Holland France Germany Denmarke every where for help and shall we doe nothing doe Papists forget all their interests in wives children Countries dwellings Estates gather into Armies venture their lives for the Pope and shall Christ call for help and shall we sit still hath the Pope done more for Papists than Christ for Christians hath the Pope shed his bloud for them suffered wrath for them adopted them unto God pluckt them out of the snares of death hath not Christ don all this for us hath the power of the Masse-Booke prevailed more with Papists in the cause of their Lord God the Pope then the Bible with Christians to doe for their Lord Iesus Christ can the Pope protect in Battells succeed Battells prosper battells like unto Christ can the Pope reward our labours make up breaches repay losses looke to widdowes and fatherthelesse crowne with Glory like Iesus Christ let us be ashamd of our pretended Christianity if Christs cause hath in us no greater efficacy In short let us take what speedy course we can to redeeme all or wee loose all pray for the peace of Ierusalem and the ruine of Babylon study the peace of Ierusalem and the ruine of Babylon fight for the peace of Ierusalem and the ruine of Babylon Christ and his Gospell Religion Lawes Liberties Estates Trades Wives Children all accommodations of soule and body calls and cries begs and intreats if wee have any bowels of love and compassion we would not give back but now give out our helpe and thinke upon some suddaine certaine continued course by some generall asistant that the burthen being put upon many shoulders every man might beare with ease and delight whereby we may both prosecute and purchase our peace peace is our quarrell peace is our prayer let peace bee our study and endeavours and Peace shall bee our reward FJNJS