Selected quad for the lemma: city_n
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A78251
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The case of the King stated, from the very beginning of the warre to this present day, in relation I. To the two Houses. II. To the Army. III. To the Scots. IV. To the subjects of England in generall. In justification & commiseration of his Majesty in this his distressed condition; and for the satisfaction of the whole kingdom. / By Basilius Anonymus.
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Basilius Anonymus.
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1647
(1647)
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Wing C1099; Thomason E416_5; ESTC R204479
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21,297
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25
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his Majesty and with the consent and love of the whole Kingdome when they have restored his Majesty Fifthly their Party being wholly broken here and the Houses likewise themselves there is no hope of serving their ends any longer in a Parliamentary way but upon the King they may and serve him too So that they have no way left to procute an Interest again to any purpose in this Nation but by closing with the King Sixthly notwithstanding their former Parliamentary engagements they are not to seek of a cleanly pretence to stand for his Majesty as long as the Covenant is in being and the Houses and Army have broken that Covenant by their palpable endeavours not only to ruine his Majestie 's Person but also to root out the very Principles of Monarchy both which both They and the Houses have Covenanted to defend Seventhly there can be no doubt of carrying the work through because the miscarriages of the Houses and the Affronts of the Army have wholy made ship wrack of the Affections of the City as for the rest of the Kingdom variety of oppressions hath made them absolutely the Kings own reckoning their own deliverance to depend on his Rostauration Lastly though it may be objected there is a great distance betwixt the Scots and the Royall Party in matter of Church-Government and so little hope of a cordiall uniting betwixt them yet I am bold to imagine that since all the world knowes the Design of a Presbytery by them upon this Nations was only to quell their Adversaries the Bishops that were the only men which vexed them and hindered them from thriving so well as they desired in this Kingdom and so to make a sure footing here by trampling them under it will be no hard matter to reconcile them so far as to let us have Bishops again upon condition they may establish themselves here with them And it is probable they will be contented to save their own souls in their Kirk of Scotland and let us alone with ours if their Bodies and Purses be well provided for in the Common-Wealth of England The Case of the King in relation to all his Loyall Subjects VVHat the Spaniards have often boasted of themselves as the only Nation under Heaven most zealous of the Honour of their Princes might with as much truth and more modesty have bin verified in former times upon the English Nation it having bin an old received Maxime of State amongst them That the glory of the Kingdom consist much in the State and Majestick splendour of their King And God be blessed this Loyall principle is not yet worne out unlesse it be in the hearts and pract ses of some few in these later yeares who have sold themselves to work wickednesse and been Ring-leaders in an open and most horrid Rebellion wherein they had drawn in a great part of their fellow Subjects to serve their own factions and ambitions ends as hath been manifested sufficiently in stating the severall passages betwixt his Majesty the two Houses and the Army Now it remains in the next place to shew how the City of London and the rest of the Kingdome hath been abused likewise as well as the King and what obligation lies upon them all for the immediate entring upon some Course for the Restauration of the King and the deliverance of the Kingdome from the slavery and oppression of a tyrannicall Parliament and a more tyrannicall and insulting Souldiery No way more ready to finde out how the City and Kingdome have been abused than by recounting the innumerable Tricks that have bin used to milk the Purses of the people in pretence of maintayning the Warre when the least part God knowes hath been imployed that that way but either treasured up in the purses of the Members or laid out by them in rich and fair purchases at home or transported to serve their turnes abroad against a rainy day while the Souldiers have pined for want of pay in their religious cause and devoured the poore Countrymen by Free quarter For whereas one or two wayes well ordered would have served the turne they have made use of so various wayes for raising of vast and incredible Summes of money as were never heard of before at a time in one kingdome whereof I will here set down the Catalogue 1 Royall Subsidy of 300000 l. 2 Pole-money 3 The Free Loanes and Contributions upon the Publique Faith amounted to avast incredible summe in Money Plate Horse and Arms Bodkins Thimbles and Wedding-Rings of the zealous Sisters 4 The Irish Adventure for sale of Lands a first and second time 5 The weekly Meale 6 The City-loane after the rate of fifty Subsidies 7 The Assesments for bringing in the Scots 8 The fifth and twentieth part 9 The weekly Assesment for the Earle of Essex his Army 10 The weekly or monthly Assesment for Sir Tho. Fairfax his Army 11 The weekly Assesment for the Scotish Army 12 The weekly Assesment for the British Army in Ireland 13 The weekly Assesment for my Lord of Manchesters Army 14 Free-Quarter at least connived at by the State because the Souldiers having for a time subsistence that way were the lesse craving for pay whereby their Arrears growing stale must at last either be frustrated by a tedious Committee of Accounts discount it out of the Commanders Arrears whereby the State saves it 15 The Kings Revenue 16 Sequestrations and Plunder by Committees which if well answered to the State would have carried on the work which may be thus demonstrated One halfe of all the goods and chatrels and at least one halfe of all the Lands Rents and Revenues of the kingdome have bin Sequestred And who can imagine that one halfe of the profits and goods of the Land will not maintayn any Forces that can be kept and fed in England for the defence thereof 17 Excise upon all things this alone if well managed would have maintayned the warre The Low-Countreys make it almost their only support 18 Fortification money All which amounting to about forty Millions have bin expended heretofore whereto wee may adde since the sale of a great part of Bishops Lands which the unmeasurable summes arising still by Fines for Delinquents Compositions with the continuance of the Excise and yet not so much as a penny disbursed for the pay of the souldiers insomuch that they threaten every moment to come and levy their Arreares within the City of London which is become now the common mark of all intolerable affronts and injuries that the ingratitude of the Houses or the insolent threats of the Souldiers can cast upon them And the Countrey groanes still under those three heavy burthens Excise Taxes and Free-Quarter without hope when or how they shall have remedy But rather on the other side they see nothing but a cloud of perpetuall misery and slavery hanging over their heads ready to fall upon them by the late Votes of the Houses and the generall Councell of the
Army for the establishment of thirty thousand standing Forces in the Kingdom with constant pay to be levied for ought we know if they once settle to more then the third generation Then seeing these things are so my dear Countrey men it is very evident how the Case stands betwixt his Majesty and you Is not his Case your own have ye not been alike abused gulled and oppressed Is not he deprived of his Crown as you are of your Liberties and Estates Is it not plaine that his Prerogative and your Freedome must fall together And is not a speedy settlement the only meanes to preserve them And is there my probability of setling till his Majesty be seated in his Throne And hath it not been evidenced unto you that there is no way to effect this unlesse the Houses condescend to an accommodation with his Majesty And this they will never do unlesse all the Loyall hearts of the Kingdom do give them to understand by way of Declaration or Petition that they are very sensible of their own and his Majestyes distressed condition and are resolved with theit utmost possibilities all as one man to restore his Majesty to his regal dignity as the only meanes to procure ease and tranquility to these wearied and distracted Kingdoms toward which I commend unto them these few considerations First seeing the Houses and the Army stand wholly ingaged against the King as I have proved notwithstanding all fair pretences and seeing they are both resolute and active and have the power of the Sword in their hands there is a necessity unlesse we intend to have our miseries intailed upon our posterity that all delayes be laid aside and some speedy course taken to ballance their power before they have strengthen'd their party too much and quite over-run the Kingdom and made sure of all both by Sea and Land at they have well nigh done already Secondly though the Army are a considerable Body for number and so the very appearance of it might deterre men from stirring yet if we consider its constitution either in whole or in the parts of it we shall finde it to be an Aggregate of differing Interests opinions and perswasions and since they agree in nothing but to ruine us so if any appearance should be made against them or any vigorous ingagement be set on foot in the behalfe of his Majesty so as that they be reduced to the least plunge of hardship and difficulty they would all moulder away to nothing for a great part I dare say most of the private Souldiers are such as have done and would do his Majesty service if occasion were offered whereas they have betaken themselves to that Army and continue there not out of any devotion or affection to their Cause but only as Souldiers of Fortune that have no where else at present to subsist and so are willing upon any termes to imbrace ease and maintenance upon Free-quarter Thirdly the Houses and Army have quite lost the affections of the City of London the only considerable party in this Kingdom to uphold a Design and so of course now seeing they can settle no where else nor otherwise secure themselves and their estates they must return unto his Majesty And besides they openly professe they would with all their hearts spend as much more as they have done to restore his Majesty and be revenged upon their Riders So that if they be wrought upon by apt Instruments against a right nick of time they are ready to entertaine any course that carries a probability in the face of it to redeeme their lost liberties and reputation Fourthly as the whole Kingdom is dis-obliged by the Houses and the Army insomuch that their own friends especially of the Presbyterian faction are become as absolute enemies to them as the Cavaliers So the Scots being reputed the leading men of that party and having declared in their late Letter to the House their dislike of the Kings being in the power of the Army and of their intended dealing towards him And withall that the Kingdom of Scotland doth reckon their stability and happinesse to depend upon the safety and preservation of his Majesties royall person and are resolved that no alteration of affaires shall ever seperate them from the duty and allegiance they owe unto his Majesty nor from their constant resolution to live in all Loyalty under his Government then if they proceed really in this way they have begun it will bring in all the Covenanters of both Kingdoms to the royall Party and make their fingers itch to be in action against the adverse Party now predominant in the Houses and Army Lastly since God hath been pleased so to provide for the good of these Kingdoms and the safety of his Majesty that he hath thus cleanly escaped their hands and thereby the Army hath lost their maine advantage in the possession of his Person and that his Majesty hath retired himselfe and hath freedom to shew himselfe in the head of any party when a happy opportunity shall be offered Then if the Houses and Army shall persist still in their horrible extremities without all hope of a reasonable accommodation it is the duty of all men whose consciences are touched but with a spark of honesty to assist him with their utmost endevours against the rigorous demands and dealings of unreasonable and cruell men enemies to him as he is a King enemies likewise to the Kingdom and professed enemies to all regular Forms of Government From whom good Lord deliver him and set an end to his affliction Vive le ROY FINIS