A SPEECH MADE IN THE LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT, Anno. 1621.  
By Sir Edward Cicill, Colonel.  
Printed 1621.   

A SPEECH made in the Lower House of Parliament, Anno 1621. By Sir Edward Cicill Colonel.  
THis Honourable House, Is composed of diverse professions, And every one of us, according to the experience his profession hath learned him, is bound to deliver, what in conscience he shall think needful, for the glory of God and the good of the Kingdom, which is a service here, wherein I have been a daily witness of other men's painfulness. The worthiness of the example requireth me not to be silent, and I would to God a Soldier had less occasion to speak in this place, where the business of war, is become so great a Stranger, that but for our neighbours (whose houses are on fire) we should utterly forget it: by the light of those fires, we may see our dangers and be advised to provide against them, which is the point I would now speak upon. The defence of Religion, and the safety of the Land, are the things in danger. For though we enjoy them by reason of the peace we enjoy, yet it is a peace of such nature, as cannot assure them unto us, because no peace is able to maintain itself unarmed. We are then to consider on the one side, who is the Enemy we are to provide against, how great our danger is, and how near it is. On the otherside, what defence we stand in need of, and when we are to provide it. First, who is the greatest Enemy we have in respect of our Religion. The Catholic King is evident, by the protection he giveth our Papists and traitors, and by his nourishing the Seminaries and jesuites of our Nation.  
2. Who is the greatest enemy we have, in respect of the State. It followeth the Catholic King, whose ambition, it hath ever been through the sides of Religion to thrust at the heart of the State, his Title of Catholic King, reflecting more upon universal Monarchy, than greatness of religion. That it hath been his ambition to create himself Monarch of the world, his consultations, & designs have given clear testimony, and under pretence of Religion, he colour's his quarrel for it. So that England is not only a part comprehended in his ambition, but the chief mark of his offence, because in respect both of Religion and State, England is the greatest impediment in his way. But some will imagine (it may be) that this ambition he had to the Monarchy of the whole world, is a good while ago dead in his mind; I assure myself, it never died, somewhat indeed the action and storm of it was laid in the beginning of his truce with the States; but if ever it were dead, there is nothing more certain, then that now it is renewed again to more life than ever it had; which if it please the honour and wisdom of this house to give me the hearing, I will manifest unto them. The success of the house of Austria in Germany hath encouraged them, and raised a new spirit of ambition in them. It hath crowned them with a new reputation, & a great one. It calleth upon them to follow their good fortune, which they have these promises for. Their footing in the Palatine, for the displanting of a whole Country of our religion. The weakness of the Princes of the Union which is discovered, to be such in their last cold actions, (that we may truly say) what doth remain unlost of Germany which was never lost before, doth hold but upon courtesy, Then the passages that these successes, do offer to open him down into the United Provinces, in the body of which state they have a faction now a working, the sect of the Arminians, which is another thing that animateth them. Out of the Low Countries they cannot but look into England which will carry all the rest. The King of Spain having now the advantage in Italy to make himself the master of it by his forts he hath raised in Voltolina, for the blocking up of almost all Italy, specially the ancient common wealth of Venice, our entire friends. And lastly the dangers, the house of Austria and the Church of Rome have been in, and the hopes they are now in, will be still pricking them forwards to follow their good fortune. These things considered, who can so flatter himself to imagine, that the catholic King's ambition, to the Monarchy of the whole world is dead, thus great an Enemy we have, and thus affected, and yet we are unarmed. Now than that we may know the enemy we have to provide against, Let us consider how great our danger is, in that which I have spoken already: The greatest of it is mainly understood, yet to understand it the better, we are to look on those of the Religion in France, who were never so dangerously threatened as now, nor had ever such cause to quake, in so much as did they not hope of relief out of this Kingdom, I think they would yield presently to mercy, and how can we relieve our neighbours that are in no able disposition to uphold ourselves. Again to understand our danger the better, now we have weighed the condition and State of friends and enemies abroad, Let us examine how it stand with us here at home, how many Papists live here amongst us, that under the Church cause, carry evil minds to the State, to their own native Country, and could be willing to see it bleed to death, at the foot of a stranger, at the foot of the King of Spain, so fare do the papists of our nation differ from others. For such faithful servants are ours to that foreign Prince, as that they will not only hold arguments against the Majesty of their own King, and his children, and rail more than any of our best neighbours and friends, but will spend their study & venture their lives, to make the Spanish King the Monarch of Christendom, so well they have profited under their Masters the jesuites, those faithful Counsellors of Spain, & at this very hour, (I assure myself) the success in Germany is their present object, & the good they promise themselves by it, their object in future, even very now they are discoursing of it, and growing proud in the destruction it threatens us withal: the houses of Parliament where we do now sit, do bear record against them, in that unmatchable treason, the powder plot, thus great our danger is, and yet we are unarmed, and that is our greatest danger.  
The third thing we are to consider in the danger, is how near it is unto us, for although we hear the Spaniard is as fare from us as the Palatine, yet if we will take the distance, either by the scale of State or War, we must judge our danger, not much further from us than our sea coasts. In our profession of arms its a principle, that if the Counter scarf be gained, though it be beyond the ditch the whole fortification is accounted lost. For the Rampire serves but for a defence to make a composition, so that if you will be content to lose the Counter scarf, than you must think of nothing but a composition. And with whom will you think to compound, with an enemy that will keep good quarter? no, with one that will keep the same quarter, the wolf doth with the lamb. If you will do as no good soldier ever did, that is, suffer your enemy to dwell in your out works, while his friends among us, are expecting of him within, and never look to arm and defend yourselves, its best for you to yield betimes, For yielding is like to prove the best of the success: but if you have no belief in that kind of security, let us do as the Israelites did, pray and treat with our swords in our hands, for England that hath been at the least 4. times conquered, was never in more danger than it is at this present, thus great, yea thus near our danger is, & yet we are unarmmed.  
Now for the defence we stand in need of, we are to consider the oppression of his Majesty's Issue, that we are bound in honour & safety to redeem them out of it, and if we are to look to defence of our own country against invasion, which England was never subject to for want of number, but for want of military strength and order. For the wars abroad, there is required a great Army, for the defence at home a more sufficient and better discipline, & a more sincere execution of laws against the Papists. The first touching the redeeming of the Pallet. is first to be resolved on, which brings me now to the consideration of our danger, when we are to provide against it, I pray God it be not too late, you may understand by that prayer my opinion, when we are to provide against it is now instantly; Let us lose no time, not a day, not an hour not a minute. The season of the year requireth it, for if we lose the season, which is to be ready with a royal Army, against the beginning of the spring, and so suffer the Spanish side to go on this year as did the last, you cannot conceive how it will be in the power of man to keep him from the absolute height of his ambition. Let us not treat with him, but as I said before with our sword in our hands, his treaties otherwise are ominous. Let us all fall down upon our knees, with a communion of mind to God for his presence among us, and then immediately fall into consultation for the speedy preparing of money, arms, munition, and good hearts for the defence of Religion, his Majesty, his children, and the safety of the Commonwealth, For the providing, whereof money is the first material, but it hath been suggested by some, that the hearing of the subjects grievances, and the redressing of them was the first business of Parliaments, admit it to be so. For the same reason then a subsidy is the first thing at this Parliament to be enacted, for the present necessity of defending of the Kingdom is the public grievance of the whole Commonwealth, all other are but particular and private grievances in respect of this, and this cannot be redressed without a subsidy, and that freely and presently granted. Other matters for the most part do concern but some of them one member, and some another of the Commonwealth, and may have more time to deliberate on: but this concerns the whole Land, we are all engaged in it for ourselves, and for our posterity, and it cannot admit or any delay, for it is our own cause as well as the Kings, and the thing we should rather offer, then be sought unto for, seeing it will be money laid out in our extreme necessity, for our own safeties, if we neglect this, we shall in effect be as bad as our enemy's instruments, and so offer all the rest of our labours to peril. From which God of his mercy defend us.  
FINIS.