His Majesty's DECLARATION To all His Loving Subjects, Touching The CAUSES & REASONS That moved Him to Dissolve The Two last PARLIAMENTS.  
Published by His Majesty's Command.  DIEV ET MON DROIT HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE  royal blazon as printer's device 
LONDON, Printed by the Assigns of John Bill, Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. 1681.   

His Majesty's DECLARATION To all His Loving Subjects, Touching The CAUSES & REASONS That moved Him to Dissolve The Two last PARLIAMENTS.  
IT was with exceeding great trouble, that We were brought to the Dissolving of the Two last Parliaments, without more benefit to Our People by the Calling of them: But having done Our part, in giving so many opportunities of providing for their Good, it cannot be justly imputed to Us, that the Success hath not answered Our Expectation.  
We cannot at this time but take notice of the particular Causes of Our Dissatisfaction, which at the beginning of the last Parliament, We did recommend to their care to avoid, and expected We should have had no new Cause to remember them.  
We Opened the last Parliament which was held at Westminster, with as Gracious Expressions of Our readiness to satisfy the Desires of Our Good Subjects, and to secure them against all their just Fears, as the weighty Consideration, either of preserving the Established Religion, and the Liberty and Property of Our Subjects at home, or of Supporting Our Neighbours and Allies abroad, could fill Our heart with, or possibly require from Us.  
And We do solemnly Declare, That We did intent, as far as would have consisted with the very Being of the Government, to have Complied with any thing, that could have been proposed to Us to accomplish those Ends.  
We asked of them the Supporting the Alliances We had made for the preservation of the General Peace in Christendom; We recommended to them the further Examination of the Plot; We desired their advice and assistance concerning the preservation of Tanger; We offered to concur in any Remedies that could be proposed for the Security of the Protestant Religion, that might consist with preserving the Succession of the Crown, in its due and legal Course of Descent; to all which We met with most unsuitable Returns from the House of Commons: Addresses, in the nature of Remonstrances, rather than of Answers; Arbitrary Orders for taking Our Subjects into Custody, for Matters that had no relation to Privileges of Parliament; Strange illegal Votes, declaring divers eminent Persons to be enemies to the King and Kingdom, without any Order or Process of Law, any hearing of their Defence, or any Proof so much as offered against them.  
Besides these Proceed, they voted as followeth on the 7th of January last;  
Resolved, That whosoever shall Lend or cause to be Lent by way of Advance, any Money upon the Branches of the King's Revenue, arising by Customs, Excise, or Hearth-money, shall be adjudged to hinder the Sitting of Parliaments, and shall be responsible for the same in Parliament.  
Resolved, That whosoever shall buy any Tally of Anticipation upon any part of the King's Revenue, or whosoever shall pay any such Tally hereafter to be struck, shall be adjudged to hinder the Sitting of Parliaments, and shall be responsible for the same in Parliament.  
Which Votes, instead of giving Us Assistance to support Our Allies, or enable Us to preserve Tanger, tended rather to disable Us from Contributing towards either, by Our Own Revenue or Credit; not only exposing Us to all Dangers that might happen either at home, or abroad; but endeavouring to deprive Us of the Possibility of Supporting the Government itself, and to reduce Us to a more helpless Condition than the meanest of Our Subjects.  
And on the 10th of the same Month they passed another Vote, in these words,  
Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this House, That the Prosecution of Protestant Dissenters upon the Penal Laws, is at this time grievous to the Subject, a weakening of the Protestant Interest, an Encouragement to Popery, and dangerous to the Peace of the Kingdom.  
By which Vote, without any regard to the Laws established, they assumed to themselves a Power of Suspending Acts of Parliament; whereas Our Judges and Ministers of Justice neither can, nor aught; in reverence to the Votes of either or both the Houses, break the Oaths they have taken, for the due and impartial Execution of Our Laws; which by Experience have been found to be the best Support, both of the Protestant Interest, and of the Peace of the Kingdom.  
These were some of the unwarrantable Proceed of that House of Commons, which were the occasion of Our parting with that Parliament.  
Which We had no sooner Dissolved, but We caused another to be forthwith Assembled at Oxford; at the Opening of which, We thought it necessary to give Them warning of the Errors of the former, in hopes to have prevented the like Miscarriages; and We required of Them to make the Laws of the Land their Rule, as We did, and do resolve, they shall be Ours: We further added, That what We had formerly and so often Declared concerning the Succession, We could not departed from: But to remove all reasonable Fears that might arise from the Possibility of a Popish Successor's coming to the Crown, if Means could be found, that in such a Case, the Administration of the Government might remain in Protestant Hands, We were ready to hearken to any Expedient, by which the Religion Established might be Preserved, and the Monarchy not Destroyed.  
But contrary to Our Offers and Expectation, We saw, that no Expedient would be entertained but that of a total Exclusion, which We had so often declared, was a Point, that in Our Own Royal Judgement, so nearly concerned Us both in Honour, Justice, and Conscience, that We could never consent to it: In short, We cannot, after the sad Experience We have had of the late Civil Wars, that Murdered Our Father of Blessed Memory, and ruin'd the Monarchy, consent to a Law, that shall establish another most Unnatural War, or at least make it necessary to maintain a Standing Force for the Preserving the Government and the Peace of the Kingdom.  
And We have reason to believe, by what passed in the last Parliament at Westminster, that if We could have been brought to give Our Consent to a Bill of Exclusion, the Intent was not to rest there, but to pass further, and to attempt some other Great and Important Changes even in Present.  
The Business of Fitz-Harris, who was Impeached by the House of Commons of High Treason, and by the House of Lords referred to the ordinary Course of Law, was on the sudden carried on to that extremity, by the Votes which the Commons passed on the 26th of March last, that there was no possibility left of a Reconciliation.  
The Votes were these,  

Die Sabbati 26ᵒ Martii, post Meridiem.  
Resolved, That it is the undoubted Right of the Commons in Parliament Assembled, to Impeach before the Lords in Parliament any Peer or Commoner, for Treason, or any other Crime or Misdemeanour; and that the refusal of the Lords to proceed in Parliament upon such Impeachment, is a denial of Justice, and a violation of the Constitution of Parliaments.  
Resolved, That in the case of Edward Fitz-Harris, who by the Commons hath been Impeached of High Treason before the Lords, with a Declaration, That in convenient time they would bring up the Articles against him for the Lords to Resolve, That the said Fitz-Harris should be proceeded with according to the course of Common Law, and not by way of Impeachment at this time, is a Denial of Justice, and a Violation of the Constitution of Parliaments, and an Obstruction to the further Discovery of the Popish Plot, and of great danger to His Majesty's Person, and the Protestant Religion.  
Resolved, That for any Inferior Court to Proceed against Edward Fitz-Harris, or any other Person lying under an Impeachment in Parliament, for the same Crimes, for which he or they stand Impeached, is a high Breach of the Privilege of Parliament.   
It was a Matter extremely sensible to Us, to find an Impeachment made use of to delay a Trial, that We had directed against a professed Papist, charged with Treasons against Us of an extraordinary Nature: And certainly the House of Peers did themselves Right in refusing to give countenance to such a Proceeding.  
But when either of the Houses are so far transported, as to Vote the Proceed of the other to be a Denial of Justice, a Violation of the Constitution of Parliaments, of Danger to Our Person and the Protestant Religion, without Conferences first had to examine upon what Grounds such Proceed were made, and how far they might be justified; This puts the two Houses out of capacity of transacting business together, and consequently is the greatest Violation of the Constitution of Parliaments.  
This was the Case, and every day's continuance being like to produce new Instances of further Heat and Anger between the two Houses, to the disappointment of all Public Ends, for which they were Called, We found it necessary to put an end to this Parliament likewise.  
But notwithstanding all this, let not the restless Malice of ill Men, who are labouring to poison Our People, some out of fondness of their Old Beloved Commonwealth-Principles, and some out of anger at their being disappointed in the particular Designs they had for the accomplishment of their own Ambition and Greatness, persuade any of Our Good Subjects, that We intent to lay aside the use of Parliaments: For We do still Declare, That no Irregularities in Parliaments, shall ever make Us out of Love with Parliaments, which We look upon as the best Method for healing the Distempers of the Kingdom, and the only Means to preserve the Monarchy in that due Credit and Respect which it ought to have both at home and abroad.  
And for this Cause We are Resolved, by the Blessing of God, to have frequent Parliaments; and both in and out of Parliament, to use Our utmost Endeavours to extirpate Popery, and to Redress all the Grievances of Our good Subjects, and in all things to Govern according to the Laws of the Kingdom.  
And We hope that a little time will so far open the Eyes of all Our good Subjects, that Our next meeting in Parliament, shall perfect all that Settlement and Peace which shall be found wanting either in Church or State.  
To which, as We shall Contribute Our utmost Endeavours, so We assure Ourselves, That We shall be Assisted therein by the Loyalty and good Affections of all those who consider the Rise and Progress of the late Troubles and Confusions, and desire to preserve their Country from a Relapse.  
And who cannot but remember, That Religion, Liberty and Property were all lost and gone, when the Monarchy was shaken off, and could never be revived till that was restored.  
Given at Our Court at Whitehall the Eighth day of April 1681.   

At the Court at Whitehall, April the Eighth, 1681.  
IT is this day Ordered by His Majesty in Council, That this Declaration be forthwith Printed and Published, and Read in all Churches and Chapels throughout this Kingdom.  
Francis Gwyn.