❧ By the queen.  
❧ A Proclamation for proceeding against Iesuites and Secular Priestes, their receivers, Relieuers, and Maintainers.  
AS the clemency wherewith wee haue ever found our heart possessed towards our Subiects of all sorts, and our desire to avoyde all occasions of drawing blood( though never so justly grounded vpon the rules of policy, and vigour of our laws) haue been a great cause that of late yeeres wee haue used greater forbearance from the execution of some Ordinances established by advice of our Parliaments, for the conservation of the true Religion now professed in our kingdoms, and for the resisting of all disturbers & Corrupters of the same, Especially from foreign parts, and the receivers and harbourers of them, then the just consideration of the safety of our Estate may welendure, or the examples of some other Princes, where one form of Religion hath ever been only allowed, do regularly approve: So do we truly confess, that our hope was that those Romish Priests who were sent into this realm by foreign authority, to seduce our people from their affection to Religion, and so by consequence from the constancy of their obedience to us( having felt for a time the severity of our laws formerly inflicted) would either by our clemency haue been moved, or out of their own Iudgment haue learned to forbear to provoke us to any sharper course of proceeding, and not so notoriously haue abused our mercy, as they haue done. For whilst wee in our Princely Commiseration, and pity of their seduced blindness, held this so mild and merciful a hand over them, they in the mean time greatly forgetting our patience and lenity, haue sought like unthankful Subiects, the utter ruin both of us and of our kingdoms, to the uttermost of their abilities. It is apparent to the world with how great malice of late our kingdom of Ireland hath been invaded by the King of spain, and how Don Giouan( his chief Commander) published a warrant from the See of Rome to deprive us of our crown, and to proclaim his Master Lord of the same: The Spaniards themselves having not onely declared, but afterwards bitterly complained in their miseries and distresses, that the Secular Priests and jesuits, had both of them invited the King their Master to that unfortunate enterprise, by abusing him grossly with reporting our forces to be so contemptible, and their own party so powerful, as the conquest of that realm was most assured. And that we might not conceive any better hope of them hereafter, it is in like sort made manifest to the greatest part of Europe( as we suppose) by their own books lately published, that they haue already very maliciously and wickedly combined themselves together in this our realm, for the aduancement of our enemies, the perverting of our Subiects, and as much as in them lieth, the subversion of our Estate, in that almost all the English Secular Priests by yielding their obedience to a new kind of Subordination erected amongst them, haue in effect subjecteth themselves to be wholly directed by the jesuits( men altogether alienated from their true allegiance to us and devoted with all their might to the King of spain,) whereby both the one sort and the other so linked together, not mindful of their dueties to God, to us their lawful sovereign, and to our kingdom their native country, are become most dangerous, and more seditious( if it may be) then at any time heretofore: being grown to such an height of impiety, as that they freely in their late Treatises profess, that our Subiects are bound to sight against us, and to join their forces with any enemy that the Pope shall sand to subdue us & our Dominions, under pretence of restoring of the roman Religion within our kingdoms. Besides, such is their pride and presumption, as that they thrust themselves into all the affairs of our Estate, adventuring in their writings and speeches to dispose of our kingdoms and crown at their pleasures, if any of their own sort being of a milder temper, as moved in conscience, do but seem to aclowledge the lenity of our proceedings and government, it is a sufficient cause of their hatred and reuenge to pursue and prosecute them as their enemies.  
And lest the generation of such wickedly disposed persons should in time be rooted out or decay, they make an usual market of transporting the youth of our realm unto foreign Seminaries, thereby to corrupt the best Families, and to hatch up a succeeding brood like to themselves, that by libeling, treachery, and all kind of traitorous practices, may stil seek and endeavour to perturb and molest vs.  
And whereas of late much contention and controversy hath arisen betwixt the Iesuites & the Secular Priests combined with them on the one part, and certain of the Secular Priests dissenting from them in diverse points on the other part, thereby a great difference of offence against us and our State betwixt the one & the other sect hath manifestly appeared: the Iesuites and the Secular Priests their adherents seeking and practising by their continual plots & designs not onely to stir up foreign Princes against us to the invasion and Conquest of our kingdom, but also even to murder our person: the other Secular Priestes not onely protesting against the same as a thing most wicked, detestable and damnable, but also offering themselves both in their writings and speeches to be the first that shall discover such traitorous intentions against us and our State, and to be the foremost by arms and all other means to suppress it. So as it is plain that the treason which is lodged in the hearts of the Iesuites & their adherents is fraughted with much more violent malice, peril and poison both against us and our State, then that disloyalty and disobedience which is found in the other Secular Priestes that are opposite therein unto them. In which respect, although we haue so conceived of them, and that we could haue been well pleased that the same should further haue appeared in distinguishing betwixt them, by the execution of our laws: yet such is likewise their carriage otherwise towards us, as we may not( according to our natural disposition ready at all times to appprehend the least cause to show mercy) any longer permit it with the Honour of our State, good of our Subiects, and safety of our kingdom. For it is evident, that howsoever they be at variance with the Iesuites, and that faction; they concur notwithstanding and agree together in apparent disobedience and disloyalty against us, masking themselves under the vizard of pretended conscience( a suggestion of all other most perilous) thereby to steal away the hearts especially of simplo and common Subiects from us their sovereign, since under colour thereof they labour day and night to win and withdraw them from their sound and due obedience both to us and our laws, and to unite and knit them to our mortal enemy the Pope, increasing thereby his number and diminishing ours: a matter most dangerous to our State, and not to bee endured in the rule or policy of any well governed Common wealth: The same our enemy having had as a temporal Prince his Banner in the field, and still continuing his warlike stratagems against vs.  
Furthermore, we cannot conjecture, but do wonder vpon what grounds they proceed( except it be our sufferance and benignity, which is greatly neglected by them) in that they carry themselves in so great and insolent animosity, as they do almost insinuate thereby into the minds of all sorts of people( as well the good that grieve at it, as the bad that thirst after it) that we haue some purpose to grant toleration of two religions within our realm, where God( we thank him for it, who seeth into the secret corners of all hearts) doth not onely know our own innocency from such imagination, but how far it hath been from any about us, once to offer to our ears the persuasion of such a course, as would not only disturb the peace of the Church, but bring this our State into confusion. And to the further agrauating of this their audacious boldness, we find that their said conceit of a toleration, is accompanied with very great liberty and intolerable presumption, in that they dare adventure to walk in the streets at noon dayes, to resort to prisons publicly, and execute their functions in contempt of our laws, never ceasing the one side as well as the other, by these and many more their intolerable proceedings, to waken our Iustice, which for the respect before mentioned, hath lain in a slumber, where in all good policy, it had been their parts( if ever) by a far contrary course, to haue prescribed to themselves the strictest rules and cautions of giuing any such notorious scandals, to so notable clemency, never moved but by constraint to think vpon any severity. From the which our said mild and mercisul connivency towards such unthankful and inconsiderate persons, we find this further mischief proceeding, That some other natures( apt to innovation and affencted much to their own opinions) haue broken forth on the other side into factious invectives in print, against our present government: whereunto they impute such remissness, as if no care were had by any, but a few of themselves, to preserve Religion. Of which pamphlets or any other to come forth in like kind, as we would quickly make the authors( if they were laid open) to feel the weight of our indignation, in presuming to take vpon them to censure our government, according to their vain conceits, whereby they both injure our innocency, and scandalise many other good and zealous persons, which are free from their unquiet humours, though opposite to the adverse part: so to avoyde( in some sort) all these inconveniences, mischiefs, murmurings, and heart burnings in this realm,( The government whereof hath been and is as well in temporal as ecclesiastical things most firmly established by general consent in Parliament) We haue thought it necessary to give some general notice to our seruants and officers put in trust in our several countreyes for the government of our people, how much we mislike it, That many of them conceiving more of this late cessation of Iustice, then there was cause, haue been so remiss in preventing the resort of secular Priests and Iesuites into places where they haue authority, as they haue seldom made searches for them, or taken pains in apprehending them, as in former times was used to be done, and as the laws of the realm do require. And therefore we haue resolved to publish this our Admonition and commandement, whereby we first require and charge all jesuits and secular Priests combined together, as is before expressed, who are at liberty within this our realm( by whose sole Act of their very coming into this kingdom, they are within the danger of our laws) That they do forthwith depart out of our Dominions and Territories, and not by their abode any longer, provoke us to extend the rigour of our laws vpon them.  
And that the other sort also of the Secular Priestes( that are at liberty and in some things opposite unto the jesuits) do likewise in the same respect, depart out of our Dominions and Territories, betwixt this and the first of Ianuarie next eusuing, except such of them as shall in the mean time present themselves to some of the Lords or others of our privy counsel, to our presidents of Wales and york, or to the Bishops of the dioceses, and before them acknowledging sincerely their duty and allegiance unto us, shall submit themselves to our mercy, with whom we will then( vpon certificate from the said Presidents & Bishops, which we require to be sent up to our Counsel within xx. dayes after such submission) take such further order, as shal be thought by us to be most meet and convenient. Next, we do warn and command both al those who shall hereupon depart, as also all other Romish Priests, be they Secular or Religious, as well Iesuites as of any other order( being our subiects) now already out of our realm, That they presume not to return into our kingdom, vpon any pretence whatsoever. For which purpose also, we do hereby give notice unto all our Ministers to whom the administration of Iustice is committed, That if the Iesuites and Secular Priests combined with them, shal not within thirty dayes, & the other sort of Secular Priests shal not before the first of February( except as before is excepted) after this be published within this our realm, repair to some known port, and there embark themselves for foreign countreys, That then we leave them, their receivers, Releeuers, and maintainers, to be dealt and proceeded with, according to the power and Iustice of our laws, wheresoever they shall be found within the same. And to the end they may be the sooner avoyded from hence, and so our realm free from the danger and infection, which is derived from their continual workings vpon mens consciences: we do hereby strictly command and charge all our Lieutenants, Deputy lieutenants, Commissioners, Iustices of Peace, Maiors, Sheriffes, bailiffs, and all other our officers whatsoever, That they be from henceforth circumspectly and vigilant, each of them in their several charges, to search all places suspected, or whereof they shall haue any information given them, and to apprehended all such Iesuites and Secular Priestes, together with their receivers, Releeuers, and maintainers, equally subject to the penalties of our laws, And to advertise our counsel of their proceedings, to the end we may bee informed of the care and diligence which shall be used in that behalf, as they will answer the contrary at their peril.  
given at our manor of Richmont, the fist day of november, in the four and fortieth year of our reign.  
God save the queen.   

¶ Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the queens most excellent majesty. Anno Dom. 1602.