Queene and Prince or Gentlemen of the Bed-chamber to the King or Prince and all Officers to be put out and your selves or your Creatures placed in their roomes because this could not be granted then you will have it by violence of Fire and Sword And this was the great necessity you pretend and speake of Because these things could not be obtained you finding the multiplicity and simplicity of Sectaries you have made execrable use of their Repugnancie to our Church-Government established by Law hoping that by your Cunning fishing in these troubled Waters to gaine your ends of ambition profit malice and revenge which doth now appeare to all seeing men to be the ground of this horrid Rebellious Warre For first to beginne with the Church what can you find there amisse for Reformation that you do not first condemne the Apostles themselves and all the Catholick Church ever since for is it possible you can perswade Rationall men that the Government of the Vniversall Church could be so suddainly changed from the Prâ—sbyterian Government which you straine to support supposed or seeming to you to be setled by the Apostles Is it not meer madnesse to thinke that the Government so setled of Bishops should so quickly cast out the Presbytery and that the said Episcopall Function and dignity hath so continued these 1600 years and not one Godly Christian in so long time to be found no not one of note or Antiquity untill k Mr John Knox his time But more strange it appears to me that in all other Reformed places there is not that warmth or fire of zeale to be found anywhere but in Scotland only that will kill and slay all the English to make them obey their Kirke or rather Querke Government which is to pretend holinesse and brotherly love to cheat us of our Wealth quiet and Peace I will not meddle or speake of Reformed Churches God keep them in unity and Tranquillity But because I have been in Scotland and have seen somewhat but have heard and Read much more of their Querk and their Ecclesiasticall government I will say this that I cannot find any great difference between the Iesuit and them The Jesuit would have the Pope only to have all the Spirituall and Temporall powers of the World in him And the Presbyterians would be every one a severall Pope And this I will say and my opinion hath thousands to agree with it that it is more milde and tolerable to live under the Spanish Inquisition then under their Presbyterian Querke Authority and Tyranny which in a word hatches Rebellion seems and seeks sway and domination over their King with all his Loyall Subjects Lands and Riches and this is truly verily and sincerely their only zeale They may remember that the Raigne of Queen Elizabeth and hir Royall favour with the Ayde of the English Nation should not ingratefully be forgotten it is not many yeares since that they fear'd that the French made Warre in Scotland to settle the Romish Religion there which they then thought to be an unreasonable proceeding by Strangers at which time they had recourse to the Crowne of England for their preservation which then relieved them and I have read in their Service-Book of their Church of Prayers Thanks and Vowes that they would never be against the English Crowne but spend their lives for the service thereof And now behold the Perfidious and most abhorr'd ingratitude of these Monsters their thankfulnesse is exprest in Killing and Ruining us and taking our Townes from us But l Mr Henderson will say that the Scottish Nation in thankfulnesse for that good turne they come now in Gud suith to shew their brotherly love to deliver us from Popery I must confesse that in your comming you shew'd a great deale of Affection to us but you should have been better welcome if you had had so much manners to have staid 'till the King had sent for you Besides your care for us is very much to be admired and Respected that you took our danger of Popery into your gud Considerations when as neither the King or His Counsell nor any honest man in the whole Kingdom neither could can or shall perceive any such an alteration or purpose O but my Lord Lowden and my Lord Say and Mr Hambden perceived it through the Perspective Glasse of their high Wisdomeâ—and they sent for you But was your Prayers and Vowes made to my Lord Say or Mr Hambden or for and to the Crowne of England I know you will say it was not to the Crowne but to the People that you owe your thankfulnesse though it may be made good by Record that that vast expence for your deliverance was meerly from the Crowne and then so acknowledged by Record as may be proved But the Scriptures are now better understood by my Lord Lowden and Mr Henderson for now the People are above the King for Kings and Emperours are but the Presbyterians m Curredoggs to keep the Wolfe from their Flock when they command them And therefore they say they being called into England by the Parliament they understand in their Politique Capacity that they are called by the King when God knowes the King had too many English Rebells and Traitors to molest Him His People and Kingdom so that we had no occasion to send for strange Rebells of another Nation to ruine us n totally I will say nothing by whose authority the Parliament is called nor by whose Writ they meet nor that there was ever any Act or Law made without the Kings Confirmation these things have been handled discus'd by more Learned men then my selfe I will have nothing to doe with things that are so transcendent above my Reach But I would gladly let you know we are not Ignorant of your craft and subtilty in seeming to make those few Members at Westminster to be the Parliament because you and they have Covenanted to divide the Spoyle and Government of this Kingdom amongst you For first you know when you were on your Mattch with your Army there were three times the number of Lords wrote unto you from Oxford to disavow your calling in then there were at Westminster to call you Besides the promises therein made o you the which it is not unlikely but you may have cause to repent the not accepting And for the Members of the Commons House the World knowes that the Major part were then at Oxford But you will make walls and Stones to be the Houses of Parliament to serve your ends even as the Westminster men doe to cover their Treason and Rebellion cause and appoint their p Tub-Orators and Pamphletteers to inform the People that the King makes Warre against His Parliament when in truth if they mean the Parliament by the greater number of the Lords and Commons the Parliament in that sense are either with the King or for the King But the Authors and pursuers of this accursed
THE Causes of the Diseases and Distempers of this KINGDOME c. WHen a learned and well experienced Physitian hath eitherby the Pulse Vrin or other Symptomes found out the cause of the dangerous disease of his Patient he will know or conjecture what is Cureable or past Cure And as it is with the Body of Man so in the Body Politique of the Kingdome if the causes of our distempers and distractions would or could be knowne they might with wisedome and judgement be removed and taken away and then by consequence the Effects would cease And though most men are either Fooles or Physitians or a both yet few or none hath either found or shewed the causes or reasons of these causelesse and unreasonable disturbances Amongst the many Thousands of oppressed sufferers in this our afflicted England my selfe though no Phisitian yet the Son of a Chirurgian am one that hath had a long time of many tryalls and experiments of Waters and Water-Casting and I have lately used my poor skill in Casting the Kingdomes Water and though Phisitians may often faile in their conjectures yet b Fooles and Children will many times tell the Truth by chance I have Cast the Waters of Thames Isis Seaverue Wye Avon Trent Humber Owse Tweed Forth Tay Spey Annan c. and as I guesse I have found out the true cause and causes the needlesse why the impertinent wherefore and the accursed unknowne for what this former flourishing Kingdom is thus Rebelliously infected And if I could as well Cure as discover the diseases my gratious Soveraigne and all his Loyall Subjects and Servants should quickly have their owne againe in Peace But because England doth not know well what she ayles though I cannot cure her yet I will tell her how it is The Members of this great Body do complaine of the Head saying that from thence their griefe began the Head is troubled with too much Akeing Cares with extreame overwatchfullnesse for the preservation of the misguiding Members and the misguided Body The Members pretend the defence and maintenance of the knowne Lawes of the Kingdom The King according to those established knowne Lawes desires to Rule and also requires the lawfull obedience due to His Majesty by those Lawes and no otherwise And those at Westminster cannot but acknowledge but that they are all Traytors that doe refuse to live in obedience to the King and those knowne Lawes But the Westminsterians doe call all the Protestants and all others that are obedient to those knowne Lawes Malignants and Popishly-affected And without Law and against those Lawes they Kill Imprison and Sequester all their Lands Offices and Estates And those lawlesse men doe not only commit this outrage against particulars but even against the whole Body of the Kingdome for they have Rob'd it violently of the maine Pillar prop and support of their Lives Livelihoods and Fortunes by taking away from them their Elections of their Knights Citizens and Burgesses for they have turn'd all such out of the House of Commons as would not joyne with them in this horrid Rebellion c when as they being rightly elected and return'd by the Law they cannot put out any but for some legall Cause as being outlawed after Rebellion or for being a Felon Murtherer or Traytor But these Traytors at Westminster are so lawlessely impudent and insolent that as they dare not themselves be tried by the knowne Lawes so they will not permit those whom they falsely accuse to be Malignants to be tried by those Lawes but have kept some in Prison more then these three yeares because they would not commit whoredome with the Beast at Westminster Tush these are triviall matters above the reach of a Scullers d Capacity 't is knowne Mr Sergeant Wild will say there are Presidents that the House of Commons have as their wisedomes thought meet and convenient put out some Members without any legall Cause shewed the greater their fault in so doing 'T is true I have heard there was e one not many yeares since that one was put out for desiring some Ginne or Mousetrappe to catch Puritans and that is one of your Westminster presidents By as good reason because some Theeves and Robbers have not been hang'd therefore all may lawfully steale and none be hang'd by that president or because one of your Members got a Wench with child in his lodging and was not punished for f it shall that be made a president for all others to get Bastards or make Cuckolds I doe heartily desire I might be permitted to joyne Issue with you you have three Iudges with you and it may be requisite for an accommodation that Mr Selden and Mr Maynard were made two more though they love their owne quiet and their wealth too much they are knowne to be learned in the Lawes Those five might be joyn'd to ours here and every one of us and you submit to their judgements according to the knowne Lawes And by the Lawes it will appeare who are Traytors and who are honest g men But Mr Sergeant Wild and learned Mr Miles Corbet will that is not reason for they have been inforc'd or necessitated to doe many things contrary to the Law the more Knaves and Rebels still And shall we of the Kings side say more truly there is neither Law or Reason to kill or imprison us to take our Goods Lands and Offices from us for the poore thred-bare and unjust Reason that you were necessitated For the Turke doth not cover his Tyranny with Law or Reason when he takes Goods or Life from a man for he doth it by will and tyrannicall power even as you doe now to us for we doe not know any injury that we have done you or any faults we have committed against you but that you make our obedience to the King and our keeping of the Lawes our great and Capitall h offences We are all bound in Loyalty to His Majestie by the Law of God by the Lawes of the Land and by the Law of Nature as our grand Parent And for His preservation and defence to keep you from killing and murthering Him and all His loyall and faithfull Subjects we are now necessitated according to those knowne Lawes to oppose you that are the opposers of all the Lawes of God and the Kingdome The causes of your Rebelling and of the Kingdomes miseries was the great necessity that you were in and what I pray you was that great necessity i because some Lord whom you pleas'd to have might not be made Lord Treasurer another High Admiral and the Lord Say to be an Earle and Lord Keeper of the Great Seale because some might not have the honour to be Ambassadors one to be Chancellor to the Queene another Master of the Rolls and of the House of Commons some to be Maisters of Requests Pym to be Chancellor of the Exchequer Hambden Cofferer in a word some to be Secretaries to the King
Warre are easily perceived and known The King as I told you requires the Maintenance of the true Protestant Religion and of the known Lawes and Liberties of his Subjects and for these things He is opposed which is flat Treason His life sought and His Subjects and Kingdoms spoyled But you doe make this Warre because you would inforce the King to abolish Bishops and take away all Deans and Chapters and their Lands to be divided between you and your Covenanted Scottish Brethren And for your better inabling you to swaye and Domineere over the King and His People you will and must have the power of the Militia or else you will kill the King and all his faithfull Subjects that shall defend Him I have read the Chronicles of England wherein I find Commotions and Rebellions to cause the King to keep His Lawes but this is the first Rebellion that I ever heard of that will not only inforce the King to breake His Coronation Oath made to His People but will either kill Him or compell Him to breake His Lawes likewise so that if the King would have been perjur'd for their pleasure they would never have Rebelled against him and indeed if they were not Perjur'd in breaking their Oathes of Allegiance and infringing all the known Lawes we had never been thus mischeivously perplexed And if it be true that the People doe make Kings as your Apostle q Prinne saies therefore they may unmake them if they please then by the same Rule may we not say we will have no more Knights Cittizens and Burgesses for doe not the People make them yes Verily-truly and Truly-verily Therefore advise well of your businesse that you are so madly troublesome about if you begin to pull down Kings I will assure you we will have no Lords or Gentlemen amongst us And in that I am sure we have the advantage in number of People there being more Poore then Rich to take our parts and we shall have as much Law and more Reason for our justification then you have for this Horrid Rebellion I would faine preserve the wilfull the obstinate the mislead and seduced Londoners or as I may truly say my Goatham quondam friends I will not yet call you Bedlams I hope you may yet recover your crooked and crazed Witts before all be spent and lost the which I heartily wish I know some of you are Learned I pray you recollect your Readings and tell me if you can if you ever found Lawes or Government setled by the Sword that so continued or Justice or Right supprest long without being restored And therefore if you doe still continue your disbursements in maintaining this Rebellion you will have the curse of all England as your being the causers of all our miseries and consequently of your own undoing for we all know that if you doe lock up your Purses that we and you shall have Peace laid at our doores r By which means we might have a free Parliament to stop all our Breaches and build up the Ruines which this unnaturall Warre hath made without which we can expect no other but totall confusion and desolation The Lawes are the Touch the Test the rule and guide of all our lives and actions the Lawes are terrible to none but Theeves Murtherers Traytors and Rebels every honest man and true Subject dares look the Law in the face boldly without feare we dare you to be judged and ttyed by the Å¿ Lawes as we dare Let no Sword but the Sword of Iustice decide the Quarrell and cut off the offenders There are but two sorts of Enemies that are the Causers and continuers of our Calamities these only are the hinderers and opposers of our Peace The one Cause is our sinnes and the other the Rebels they are the accursed Amalekites that disturbes and stops us from our enjoying our happy rest If we would reforme the one we should quickly tame the other Therefore let all such as are averse to Peace and delight in Theft and slaughter know that though the plundering Achan can filch a Wedge of Gold yet there are stones to beat out the Braines of such a Theevish knave Let the wise Achittofooles or accursed Councellors to this Rebellion set their Houses in order and goe hang themselves The King is still the King and maugre all the malice of Hell and Hell-hounds he is wall'd about with divine providence and protection His gratious God in whom he only trusts will defend him and arise and scatter his Enemies though you have Rob'd our Royall David of His Militia and Militarie defences yet there is a Sling in store that with a peble can make the greatest Goliahes Grovell amongst you Shamgar shall not want a Goade Gedion a Pitcher and every Loyall Souldier of the Kings will be a Sampson to beat your Braines out with your owne Rebellious jaw-bones that her bloudy Issue or Inundation may be stopt by Calme and gentle Peace But if this afflicted Land hath such an unexpected and undeserved happinesse stored up in the eternall Treasurie of gracious Providence then happy and blessed are those men that are ordain'd to be the Instruments and meanes for a blessed Reconciliation and atonement thrice happy may they be and the fruition of blessings Temporall and Eternall be upon them and their Posteritieâ— boast no more of the Spirit but endeavour to embrace his Spirit who pronounced the Peace-makers blessed and said whose Children they should be called By which consequently it must follow that the Peace-breakers are accursed of God and also may justly be called the Children of their Father the Devill Leave off Triumphing and glorying in your mischeivous Imaginations give over Bragging and Vaunting of your Villanous Victories forbeare to force your Christian Brethren to murther one another in so damnable a Cause as this unfellowed Rebellion But if you will run further on and fill up the measure of your Iniquities with boasting of the successe of your execrable Designes in the end you shall find that to boast of wickednesse is a degree beyond wickednesse and to be Ostentatious in ungodly actions is the road way to double damnation Before I conclude I must propound a Querie or ask you a question You have promis'd that if His Majesty would come and comply with you that then you will make Him a more Great Rich and glorious King then any of His Predecessors ever were Now we would fain know and we doe all desire you to let us understand how which way and by what meanes this Greatnesse Wealth and Glory may be by you conferr'd upon the King if you will doe us the favour as to send us your mind in writing we will pay the bearer and if we can perceive any probabilitiâ—s that you can performe what you promised we will be humble suppliants to His Majesty to accept your kind offer in the mean time before you make Him so Great and Rich as you talk of I think it a very goodstep to that Greatnesse and State if you will be pleased to give him his own againe which you have proditoriously and perfidiously taken and doe still detain from Him Thus have I truly shewed the Causes of the Kingdomes griefes to be at first a Melancholy madnesse then it was hydropically pult up in many places with Ambition Malice Revenge Avarice Sects Schismes and Fantasticall Sathanicall Innovations and perturbations I suppose that nothing can cure her but the Law well applyed to which I leave you and our selves and shut up all with a distick O haples England 't is thy only good To Purge well and give over letting Blood FINIS a Some men are all these some both of these some one of these and some neither b Fooles and Children will tell truth c The Subject is rob'd of his Right and brought into slavery when the Knights and Burgesses whom they have elected according to the Lawes are expulst out of the House of Commons contrary to the Law d Nor would I have you beleeve that I wrote this Pamphlet but I doe know my selfe able to scann all your Neckverses if you have occasion to use me e This was one Mr Shepheard and I would he had then obtained his desire or I wish that either Mouse-traps or any other snare might catch them or make them mend their manners f Sir Edward Askew g If you had dared to suffer your five famous Members to have been tryed by the Law we had had no Warres h Our wealth is also a great part of our faults i These were the chief causes of the Kingdomes diseases k A moderne Patriarch who brought Lay-Elders and little ruffs in fashion in Scotland l Another moderne Patriarch who hath added short haire long eares to M Knoxe's Reformation m A faire and high Presbyterian promotion n I desire not to be mistaken for I taxe none but Rebels either English or Scots and it is knowne that there are honest men and knaves in every Nation o The Lords promised to defend their lawes and liberties from violation and alteration p Such as Mr â—â—st who over prophecied himselfe in Pigge at my Lord Majors Table which proved perfume in the afternoone to the Congregation at Saint Martins q The first Apostle that ever left his Eares twice for Libelling r I desire the common people to be no more cousened out of their Estates and Lives Å¿ If the lawes might decide the Quarrell wee should quickly have a Close-Committee of Heads standing on the top of the two Houses