A DECLARATION MADE AT BODMIN IN THE COUNTY OF CORNWALL The 21. of November, 1643.  
BY THE high-sheriff JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, His Majesty's Commissioners, Gentlemen, & the Grand-Iury, Constables, and Freeholders of the said COUNTY,  
With their general and unanimous Consents, and so entered in the Session's Rolls, to be kept in Record for the satisfaction of all men, concerning the Legality of their proceed in the present Wars, in the raising Men, Money, Arms, & Ammunition for the defence of Our Religion, Laws and Liberty of the Subject, and to suppress all Rebels, and specially, now these of the Town of Plymouth, to reduce them to Loyal obedience.  
OXFORD, February 3.  
Printed by LEONARD LICHFIELD, Printer to the University. 1643.   

A DECLARATION MADE AT BODMIN IN THE County of CORNWALL the 21. of November, etc.  
WHereas by the Statute made in the 7th year of Edw. the first, it is Declared; That to the King it belongeth, and his part it is, to defend all Force against his Peace at all times when need shall be, and thereto all his Subjects are bound to aid him at all seasons. And whereas by other Statutes, made in the 11. year of Henry the 7. the first, & the 19 of the same King, the first, it is declared, That all Subjects are by their Allegiance bound to aid His Majesty against every Rebellion Power and Might reared against him. And likewise by another Statute made in the 18. year of Richard the 2. the 5. It appeareth, That all the Subjects of this Realm do thereby bind themselves to stand with our Lord the King in all cases that shall be attempted agaist Him, His Crown & regality in all points, and therein to live and die, as by relation to the said Statutes it doth, and will more punctually appear. We therefore having taken notice of the said Laws, and the obligation wherewith We and all other His Majesty's Subjects are bound by them, with the usefulness of the said Laws, and the present urgent necessities that lie upon us, and the whole Realm, intending to stand fast to the observation of our Laws, & the laudable Usages and Customs of this Kingdom, in performance of our duties in that behalf, have thought it convenient to Declare; That upon these Reasons, according to our Allegiance, & by virtue of His Majesty's Commissions and gracious directions, granted and signified unto us, of His good pleasure therein, We have done Our best endeavours for the preservation of Our Religion, His Majesty's Peace, the Laws of the Kingdom, and the Liberties of the Subject, for suppressing the hideous and unparallelled Rebellions that have been moved in these Western parts of the Kingdom; wherein, with God's blessing, We have so far prevailed, that the Peace of our Country hath been hitherto so preserved and kept, that We have enjoyed the benefit of our Laws of the Kingdom within the said County, & these Armies which have been issued hence to those good ends, with the assistance of such others His Majesty's faithful Subjects that have joined with them, have obtained Victories over the Rebels, & have quieted the Rebellion in divers of the Western shires of this Realm, and specially in the Neighbouring County of Devon (excepting only the Town of Plymouth, who continue obstinately in their Rebellion.) for these great blessings We ascribe as is due, all honour & praise to Almighty God, & We hereby make known to all men our purposes, to proceed, & go on according to the Laws, and our duties & Allegiance in the same course we have done, by the continuance of supplies of Men, Money, and Arms, with our best abilities, for the subduing that Rebellious Town of Plymouth to their obedience, and for enforcing them to restore His Majesty's Fort and Island (traitorously taken and detained from His Majesty with Force, by these Rebels) unto His quiet possession again. And We have now made this our Declaration for the satisfaction of all His Majesty's Loyal Subjects, of the legality of our Adions, and the clearness of our intentions in the course We have taken, and which we are resolved upon to continue, to be only that which We are in duty bound to do, & to which every good Subject aught to be obedient; wherein if any of this County be hereafter refractory or negligent, they are to expect punishment for the same in a legal way, according to the quality of their offences. And further, in regard some ill disposed seditious persons, under fair shows of Religion, and teaching liberty, only to seduce and deceive the people of this County & others to their own ruin, alleging, that by some other Statutes now in force, the Subjects of this Kingdom, are not bound, nor cannot be drawn or enforced, to go out of their Counties where they dwell, or to arm themselves to that purpose against their wills, by this means endeavouring to move the people to faction & discontent, & with all the power that in them lieth, to Foster & continue the Rebellion in the Town of Plymouth & elsewhere, though to the disturbance of the Peace of this County, & the whole Realm. And in regard it may be some men that have no evil purposes are deceived in their judgements, that have not fully considered the words and intentions of the said Statutes, which were made only to declare, that the Subjects should not be so drawn out of their Counties at His Majesty's pleasure or to any foreign War; but there is nothing contained in any of the said Statutes, against or contrary to the aforementioned Statutes, whereby every Subject is bound to be aiding to His Majesty for the preservation of His Peace; And in the Statute made the first of Ed. the 3. the 5. which We have taken notice of, and doth contain in substance all that is of any effect in any other Statutes, which concern that liberty of the not compelling the Subjects to be, by force, against their wills, drawn out of the Counties where they dwell; in the body of that Statute these words are expressed, But where necessity requires & sudden coming of strange Enemies into the Realm; Whereby it evidently appeareth, on such occasions they are obliged by their Allegiance, and may lawfully be compelled to serve out of the Counties; And we wish all men to consider that both these things mentioned in that Statute, are most manifest in the case of the Rebellion of Plymouth, where they have now (yet under pretence of Religion) and have still had strangers of Foreign Nations entertained by them, & the Rebellion itself, in themselves is most notorious by the traitorous taking of the Kings own Fort, and Island by force from Him, and so keeping it; their unlawful making Fortifications, in and about their Town, their violently taking their Neighbour's prisoners at their wills, and barbarous usage of them, and transporting them by Sea, their illegal exactions of Money, Thefts, Robberies, & Murders of His Majesty's Subjects, committed & continued by them, their several bloody Invasions into this County of Cornwall, their violent and inhuman assaulting Mount-Edgecombe House, their next Neighbour in the same County, with other horrid Actions of theirs, tedious to relate, hardly to be exampled in their impieties in any story. We therefore herein clearly declare our opinions, that it is not the meaning of any of the said Statutes, or of any other Law or Statute to free the Subjects from going out of their County in any case of this nature; when necessity requires, to preserve the Peace of the Realm against Rebels, & Traitors of this Kingdom, or against any strangers that come into this Kingdom to invade the Land, which if they were so to be construed would be most pernicious to the Subjects themselves, & for those reasons We believe there was ever care had by the Kings of this Realm, & the wisdom of our Ancestors, to have no such thing enacted by them, that any County should be thereby restrained not to be able to aid their Neighbour Counties, and the whole Realm, & Subjects thereof, from being able to aid His Majesty for the preservation of His Peace, His Royal Person, and the supportation of His Regality, Crown & dignity, and just Prerogative Royal, & their own Liberties in all they are interessed; And We are assured the subjects of this, & all other Countries of this Kingdom, are by their Allegiance bound to support and uphold the same. And We do hereby Declare our wills and intentions are, to prosecute the same in all that we are able, and therein as we are confident all the good subjects of this County, do & will most cordially condescend and agree with us, so we desire and hope all others His Majesty's good subjects will contribute their best aids and assistance in the lame, against this Intestine wicked Rebellion of Plymouth, & against all other Rebels & Traitors which are in the Kingdom risen up against the King's Majesty, & against all other Powers or Might, that is, or shall be raised against His Majesty, for the preservation of the Peace, His Royal Person, the supportation of His Crown and Dignity, and for preservation of the Religion here established in this Kingdom, and the known Laws and Liberties of the same, according to our, and their Duties and Allegiance.  
FINIS.