Presbyterians and the Independents joyned together till they had overthrown the King and his Party which done they fell in pieces and first the Presbyterians strived to Out the Independents and to advance their faction in Parliament And now the Independents take their turne and labour to Out the Presbyterians and to advance their Faction in Parliament and each goes the very same way to Out the other as both at first did to out the third party and hence are their latter so suitable to their former proceedings if yet their latter forcible practises may be called violations of the freedome of Parliament or not rather mutuall counterworkings of the two factions to undermine and ruine one another But whether they agree or differ amongst themselves they still pursue their common cause against the King and Church and prosecute those Members that opposed them from the beginning and oppresse them dayly more and more and so the Legall Parliament lies under the power of a continued force and violence to this day And that not only in respect of those Members of Parliament but also in respect of the King the Head of the Parliament whom they drove away by Tumults together with those Members and afterwards sent him those Bills to Passe touching the Bishops and the Militia together with other Propositions which they had passed in their pretended Houses of Parliament and took up Armes afterwards to inforce him to submit to their Propositions and to signe their Bills and being resolved on their Designe would not accommodate upon any other termes with his Majesty but continue and pursue their war untill they had overthrowne the King and his Party Which done his Majesty was first at Newcastle under Custody of the Scots Army then removed to Holmby and there guarded by a party and now at last under the power of Sir Thomas Fairfax his Army and pursued and pressed continually with the same Bills and Propositions as formerly Which if his Majesty shal Iames. 4. 1 2 3. finally refuse as in Honour and conscience grant them hee cannot then which God avert they are likely to make further use of their power and force upon his Majesty and so make up the measure of their iniquity Which done they wil turne their force upon the people and set up their Governement over them and having now got the whole strength of the Kingdome compell them to submit to it and to pay such Taxes as they shall impose and undergo such Services as they shall enjoine and doe whatsoever they shall please to command for the setling and establishing their Government and so make up the measure of their tyrany And an evidence of their intentions and resolutions in this kind wee have in their late proceedings with the Lord Mayor the Aldermen and Citizens of London and that breach made upon the City what doth it else but portend an inundation of slavery upon the whole Kingdome Thus their whole action hath beene forcible and violent tumultuary and military and destructive of Monarchy and of the freedome of Parliaments and of the Liberty of the English Nation and Monarchy and Liberty are determining together and Poliarchy and Slavery coming in together Let our strength be the Law of justice 2. Wis 11. Read the Chap. But the people hoped when Cornet Ioyce and his Company first obtayned his Majesty and expected that those Champions of Liberty and of the freedome of Parliament would forthwith have brought his Majesty to his two Houses of Parliament with freedome honour and safety according as they intimated See Par. 11. in their Declarations Representations Remonstrances and other Papers So spake ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the Law of Liberty Ia. 2. 12 And because feares and jealousies are rife by reason of your innate and avowed Principles and extraordinary Military preparations Let me propose for the satisfaction and security of the People both in point of Regality and Liberty that in the meane time till peace bee setled the severall Countyes and Corporations in the Kingdome may elect and nominate the Commissioners for their respective Militia's And that such their choice and nomination may be free and absolute without the interposition of the Parliament or Army or any member of either because they are the parties against whom the security is demanded And heerby they shall be assured of your good intentions to the publike and of your loyalty and fidelity to the King and Kingdome and of peace indeed by the Treaty FINIS
who were the chiefe actors in the said Engagement and Tumult were afterwards most trusted and imployed and most active in their preparations for Warre And were not yours and their proceedings in every circumstance the same formerly After you had engaged your selves in the two treasonable Bills to take away from the King the government of the Church by Archbishops Bishops c. and to take out of his hand the Militia of the Kingdome Did not you in the first place endeavour to new modell both Houses of Parliament And did you not rayse tumults to that purpose And did you not rayse a war afterwards in justification prosecution and maintenance of your Treasonable engagements and of the force and violence done to the Parliament and to oppose and hinder the restitution of the Houses of Parliament to their honour and freedome and of his Majestie to his just Rights Power and Government though at that time you pretended the defence of the King Parliament and City then alleadged to bee in danger when indeed none were in danger but only the authors actors and abettors of the traiterous practises aforesayd and those very men in and about the City who were the chiefe actors in those engagements and tumults were they not afterwards most trusted and imployed and most active in the first preparations for war The true ends of all their proceedings were the same with Par. 33. the said Treasonable engagement and tumult against the Parliament all of them conceâ—â—ring as in other things so especially in this viz. to have the King brought up to London without delay or any neerer approach of the Army As all their and your proceedings formerly concentred in this To drive him away from London that so you might enter upon the government and as at present your proceedings concenter in this to keepe him from London and from his government But I see no reason why if you please his Majesty may not forthwith returne to London for ought you remonstrate For I suppose you insist not on the Resolutious of both Houses and both Kingdomes in that case since they also Resolved that his Majesty should abide at Holmby but you seazed his sacred person and brought him thence They resolved also that his Majesty should remove to Richmond but you would not suffer him to goe thither And whereas you proposed That the King might not come neerer then the Quarters of the Army to the City You have now the City under your power and may Quarter in it at pleasure Besides there is no doubt upon the termes you propose but that the King will come to the Parliament as you desire not so much in place as in affection and agreement Vpon such termes as may render both him and the Kingdome safe quiet and happy And t is not likely that his comming upon these termes can produce greater disturbances and distractions but peace indeed if you keepe to your Remonstrance and bottome your peace on grounds of common and publique welfare and security and not shape and mould it only to the private advantage of a particular party or faction And heerein be sure to avoyd what you charged upon the Presbyterians That they would make such a Peace with the King if any as would only serve to set up and stablish their owne greatnesse and the affected domination of themselves and their party over all others But to returne to our purpose By what hath beene declared and published from us and from the speakers and aforesayd Members of both Houses it may appeare how maliciously treacherously and unworthily we have beene dealt withall by those our enemies and by a factious and powerfull party especially in the Parliament and City combining with them And to what hath been published by his authority and by the Lords and Commons at Oxford in their Diclaration of the 9 Mart. 1643. setting foorth the reasons of their going away from Westminster it may appeare how they were dealt withall by both parties in the Parliament and City combining together The Houses being thus restored to a condition of present Par. 35. safety honour and freedome It is absolutely necessary that there be speedy and exemplary justice done upon at least the chiefe authors abettors of the said treasonable engagement and of the said force done to the Parliament and upon the chiefe actors in maintenance and prosecution thereof Or rather upon the chiefe authors abettors and maintayners of the former ingagements force and violence which till done the Houses cannot be restored to their native and primitive safety honour and freedome The Right Honourable the House of Peeres have since their Par. 36. Restitution begun and proceeded to declare null and void all that was done in the name of both Houses while they lay under the power of the tumultuous violence And consequently they declare null and voyd all that hath beene done in the name of both Houses from Dec. 1641. to this present day since the Parl. as it was first convened hath all this time layen under the power of violence tumultuous or military Yet the House of Commons hath not onely not concurred Par. 37. with the Lord in any of those things but rather seeme to have cast them aside and the Members of that House who after the violence done and in the absence of the Speakers and others proceeding in the name of that House made the pretended Votes Orders and Ordinances aforesaid and were the chief actors thereupon for levying of war in prosecution maintenance of the engagements and tumults being conscious of their owne guilt and danger thereby and presuming on their interest in the House indevor to obstruct and avoid the bringing of any to justice who have acted under their pretended authority knowing it to be their owne case and concernment in See par 32. point of impunity aswell as conducing to their faction and interest for that cause they labour as for life to uphold the things past and done and the authorities given by them and their faction in their and the Apprentices Parliament yea and those very Votes wrested by force Iuly 26. And they are strengthened by the concurrence of divers other Members also who having perhaps with harmlesse intentions continued to sit with them may yet feare themselves to bee involved in the same case and danger by having sate with them And thus by the concurrence of both these parties we find an absolute obstruction to the bringing to justice or questioning of any who have acted as aforesayd but all seeme to be either justified or at least protected from justice by the power and prevalence of those Members in Parliament who are many of them as we can make appeare equally guilty of and others in some kind obnoxious for the same things And in point of the tumults did not the same House in like maner refuse the Motions and oppose the Order of the House of Peeres for repressing them and did not
Comparatis Comparandis THE SECOND PART OR A PARALLELL of the former and later Force upon the two Houses of Parliament Out of thine owne mouth will I judge thee Luke 19. 22. Therefore art thou inexcusable oh Man whomsoever thou art that judgest for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thy selfe for thou that judgest doest the same things Rom. 2. 1. Terrena potestas caput Regem Hugo de Sanct. Vict. l. 3. de sacr p. 2. cap. 4. Regem in temporalibus neminem superiorem recognoscere Innocent 3. cap. Novit Neque enim pietatem subvertit ista subjectio Chrysost Printed in the Yeere 1647. Reader THis Treatise is spent wholly upon the tumults raised and the Militia of the Kingdome controverted in this Parliament and that thou maiest the better judge of the following discourse First consider what that Oracle of the Law hath delivered concerning such Tumults By the Ancient Law and Cooke 4. pats inst it l. 1. of the High Court of Parliament Custome of Parliament a Proclamation ought to be made in Westminster in the beginning of the Parliament that no man upon paine to lose all that he hath should during the Parliament in London Westminster or the Suburbs c. weare any privy coate of Plate or goe armed during the Parliament and the reason hereof was that the high Court of Parliament should not thereby be disturbed nor the Members thereof which are to attend the arduous and urgent businesse of the Church and Common-wealth should be withdrawne Secondly consider what his Majesty hath declared concerning The Kings Dec. of July 1. 1642. Husb. Collect of Remon and Orders 398. the Militia The Kingdome of England in its Fundamentall Policy as well for his owne assurance against the danger of forraine Invasions as the bad use that might be made of great constant Forces whether Forraine or Native is defended by it selfe every man according to his ability providing armes horses and men for that purpose and those horse and armes so provided being still their owne proper goods and remaining in the custody of each man respectively And these are the trained Bands or the Militia of the Kingdome The calling together of whom and the training exercising and conducting of them belongs to the King as the supreame Governour for maintaining the Lawes of the Land and preserving his owne just Rights and Prerogatives and protecting the Subject in matter of property and liberty whether against private injury or common oppression or invasion and so for conserving both the private and publick peace of the Kingdome These things premised I shall stay thee no longer in the Porch but give thee leave to enter upon the discourse it selfe at pleasure THere was published not long since a booke intituled Prima Pars de Comparatis Comparandis or a parallell of the Kings government as it is set sorth in the Remonstrance Husb. collect by order of Parliament Remons Page 3. of Dec. 15. 1641 with the present Government of the two Houses of Parliament and in pursuance of that conception is this Secunda Pars c. Wherein I shall proceede to compare and parallell the late force and violence of the Army and City upon the two Houses with the former tumults and outrages upon the King and his Parliament which followed immediately upon and from that Remonstrance The first occasion of the tumults was this A factious and seditious Party in Parliament complying Husb. p. 521. with the same Party in the City brought in a Bill to take away Bishops roote and branch And a seditious and traiterous Party brought in another Husb. pa. 530. 543. See Parall 4. of this boke Bill to take the Militia by Sea and Land from the King and to settle it in others These Bills being rejected in a full and free Convention of Parliament they resolved to revive and promote them by tumults force and violence and to that end they declared in the Remonstrance premised that the House of Commons had prepared divers good Bills for a through reformation both in Church and State but they were hindred in the House of Peeres by the Bishops Husb. p. 18 19. and Popish Lords their number and prevalency there Heereupon the tumultuous people in and about See paralel 34 London of their Party and Confederacy resort to Westminster with swords and clubs crying no Bishops no Bishops Husb. p. 41. 42. and 533. no Popish Lords And they threatned to pull downe the Lodgings where divers of the Bishops lay and assaulted some in their Coaches chased others with Boates by water and layed violent hands on the Bishop See par 30. of Yorke in his passing to the House also they misused severall other Members of either House who they were Husb. p. 533. informed favoured not their desperate and seditious ends proclaiming the names of severall of the Peeres as evill and rotten hearted Lords and assaulting and evill intreating some of the Members of the House of Commons Husb. p. 531. See par 30. even at the doore of that House resolving either to force Husb. 531. 547. their votes or to hinder them from voting And this was done at severall times and upon severall occasions when any thing was likely to be carryed against them Whereupon the House of Peeres twice very earnestly Husb. p. 531. desired the House of Commons that they would for the dignity of Parliament joyne with them in a Declaration for suppressing such Tumults but instead thereof speeches Husb. p. 532. See par 37. were made in justification of them And afterwards when the Lords by the direction of the Judges had given Husb. 532. order to the Justices of the Peace and other Officers about Westminster to endeavour the suppressing of Tumults one of the Justices for doing his duty therein was sent to the Tower Justice Long. And as that Remonstrance inflamed the people against the Bishops and severall members of both Houses of Parliament So did it incense and inrage them also against the King and his Government And those tumultuous Rioters utter traiterous speeches against his Majestie Husb. 533. as they passe along the streets to Westminster and in their returne from thence they make a stand at White hall Gate and say They will have no more Porters Lodges but would speak with the King when they pleased Heereupon his Majesty sensible of his owne and the Parliaments great disturbance and danger by those Tumults Husb. p. 30. sent a Message to the Lord Mayor of London requiring him for the time to come to take speciall care for the preventing the like tumults as far as in him lay and when none of these courses could prevaile but the people grew more and more outragious and insolent his Majesty well knowing who they were that first raised and invited the tumultuous people to Westminster and seeing to what end they were raised by force to compell the Parliament to order limit