To all the Affectors and Approvers in England, of the London Petition of the eleventh of September, 1648. but especially to the owners of it, by their subscriptions, either to it, or any other Petition in the behalf of it; and particularly to the first promoters of it, my true Friends, the Citizens of London, etc. (continuing unshaken in their principles, by Offices, Places, or other base bribes or rewards) usually meeting at the Whalbone in Lothbury, behind the Royal Exchange, commonly (but most unjustly) styled Levellers.  
Gentlemen, and worthy Friends,  
IT is the saying of the Spirit of God, Prov. 17.17. That a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. And Prov. 18.24. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother; the last of which sayings, I am able by experience to seal to the truth of; and even amongst you, I have found some, that in the burning heat of the day of my Adversity, have stuck closer to me, than my brother; which was not only largely manifested by your Petitioning for me, when I was prisoner in Newgate, about four years ago, and by your effectual Petitioning for me last year, which was the instrumental means of my deliverance out of an almost three years' captivity; But also your late unwearied pains taken for me, etc. in divers Petitions of a hazardous nature at the beginning of my present captivity; which though fruitless in themselves, as to my liberty, yet are strong demonstrations of the continuance of your zealous affections to me in particular, and to the Liberties of the Land of your nativity; for which I suffer, and am in bonds.  
But hearing that you had some thoughts of new motions for me, and my fellow-prisoners, I judge it a fit opportunity for me, to visit you with a few lines, and to acquaint you how things at present stand with me. I believe the most of you have seen, if not read my late Book of the eight of June, 1649. Entitled, The legal fundamental Liberties of the people of England, revived, asserted, and vindicated, in which, from the 43. page to the 59 page. I have fully, both by Law and Reason, undeniably, and unanswerably proved, That the present Juncto sitting at Westminster, are no Parliament at all, in any sense, either upon the principles of Law, or Reason, but are a company of usurping Tyrants, and destroyers of your Laws, Liberties, Freedoms, and Properties, sitting by virtue of the power, and conquest of the Sword; from whom, if we will believe their Oracle Mr. John Cook, we may, and aught, if we can, to deliver ourselves. His words in the King's Case stated page 10. are, That all people that live at the beck, and nod of Tyrannical men, may and aught to free themselves from that Tyranny, if, and when they can; for such Tyrants, that so domineer with a rod of Iron, do not govern by God's permissive hand of approbation or benediction, but by the permissive hand of his providence, suffering them to scourge the people, for ends best known unto himself, until he open a way for the people to work out their own infranchisements.  
And in page 22. (saith he) Conquest only makes title amongst Wolves, and Bears, but not amongst men: And in page 8. That a man ruling by Lust, and not by Law, is a Creature that was never of Gods making, nor of God's approbation, but his permission; and though such men are said to be gods on Earth, it's in no other sense, th●n the Devil is called, the god of this world.  
The same Note also the great men of the Army sing, in their late Remonstrance from Saint Alban, Novemb. 16. 1648. p. 48. 67. and in page 22. they say That when a Magistrate entrusted with a power to protect and preserve the people's Rights and Liberties, shall rise to the assuming hurtful powers, which he never had committed to him, and indeed, to take away all those foundations of Right and Liberty, and of redress, or remedy too, which the people have reserved from him, and to swallow up all into his own absolute will and power, to impose or take away, yea, to destroy at pleasure; and declaring all appeal herein, to the established equal Judgement, or to any other Judgement of men at all, shall fly to the way of Fame, upon the trusting people (which both Cromwell and Ireton, etc. have already, a● really done, as ever the King did,) and by it attempt to uphold and establish himself in that absolute tyrannical power, so assumed over them; and in the exercise thereof at pleasure, such a person in so doing, does forfeit all that trust and power he had, and absolve the people thereby, from the Bonds and Covenant of Peace betwixt him and them; does set them free to take their best advantage, and (if he fall within their power) to proceed in judgement against him, even for that alone if there were no more; of all which, in the evil part of it, in the highest, the chief Authors of that Remonstrance are guilty: Therefore out of thy own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant, says Christ, Luke 19.22. And saith Paul to his, One of themselves, even a Prophet of th●ir own said; The Cretians are always liars, evil Beasts, slow Bellies: this witness is true; therefore— etc.  
Now I say, considering that which is before declared, I cannot upon any terms in the world, either with safety, justice or conscience, as things stand with me at present, give my consent, but hinder as much as I am able, all addresses from you or any others for me, that shall own those usurping Tyrants as a Parliament, especially by Petition Which was a course (saith the pretended Parliament Solicitor against the King, in his Case stated, page 24.) which Gods people did not take with Rehoboam, for they never Petitioned him (although he was their lawful and supreme Magistrate) but advised him; he refusing their counsel, and harkened to young and wicked Counsellors, and they cry out, To thy Tents O Israel, and made quick and short work of it.  
But I shall rather desire and advise you; by Letter like yourselves, address yourselves to the Lord Fairfax; by the sword of whom and his Soldiers, I am now in prison for my honesty and innocency, and nothing else, and demand my liberty of him; if he refuse, print it, and do as God, and Reason shall direct you; for it was his and his Soldier's force that fetched me out of my Bed, the 28 of March, 1649. without all shadow of Law or Justice, and against the tenor of all their own Declarations; the particular pages of which, you may read in my following Letter to Mr. Holland, page 5. And by force of Arms, carried me to whitehal, and then to Derby house, before a company of men, that in Law had no more power to commit my body to prison, than so many thiefs and robbers upon Suitors Hill have; who by the Rules of their own wills (as in the second Edition of the Picture of them, I have fully declared) sent me by force of Arms to the Tower; for all my short eternity in this world.  
But I entreat you seriously to consider that I cannot advise you to make address to him, as the General of the Nations forces, for he is no such thing; but is merely a great Tyrant, standing by the power of his own will, and a strong sword, born by his vassals, slaves and creatures having no commission to be General, either from Law, the Parliament, or from the prime Laws of Nature and Reason.  
For First, when he was first made General by both Houses of Parliament, it was expressly against ●he letter of the Law, which action cannot be justified, either before God or man, but in case of extreme necessity; and for the accomplishment of a universal righteous end, viz. The redeeming, settling, and securing the people's rational and just Rights and Freedoms, and not in the least, for setting up any particular selvish or factious interest.  
But secondly, in refusing to disband, &c he hath rebelled against his Parliament commission, and thereby destroyed and annihilated it; And at Newmarket Heath, the fifth of June 1647 betook himself to the prime Laws of Nature, and by common consent of his Officers and Soldiers became their General, and entered into a solemn and mutual engagement before God, and one another, for the accomplishment of those righteous ends therein contained, for the good of the Kingdom and themselves, by subscribing his name, or at least expressly assenting thereunto, and approving thereof with solemn engagement, as is at large Printed in the Army's Book of Declarations, p. 23, 24, 25, 26. by the very letter of which, he, nor his Officers could not govern the Army jointly or severally, by the former Rules or Articles of Martial Law, no nor so much as make an Officer of the meanest quality, nor put forth any public Declaration, nor treat with, nor conclude with any in reference to the Army, but by the joint advice and approbation of their new erected and established council of Adjutators, which for order and methods sake, the General was betrusted to convene and call together, as the King formerly was Parliaments, or the Lord Mayor of London Common Counsels; and yet notwithstanding he and his Officers, like a generation of most perfidious, false, and faithless men, broke all this engagement to pieces, within less than twenty days after it was made, and so annihilated and destroyed his power, authority, or commission, flowing from the consent of the Soldiers, before he had really accomplished any one thing, he, or they engaged for, and hath since two several times, put a nullity, or force, upon his original Creators, Lords and Masters, the Parliament.  
And that he and his Officers broke their forementioned solemn engagements in so short a time; I prove fully out of their own book of Declarations, in which page 36. to 46 I find a Declaration, dated the 14. of June, 1647. made and published by his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, with the Officers and Soldiers of his Army; (mark it well) for in the very words of it, it is, in Excellency worth all the Declarations that ever the Army made since: and in page 47. to 50. I find a general charge against the eleven Members, with a paper delivered with it to the Parliaments Commissioners at St. Alban, the 17. June 1647 by the appointment of his Excellency Sir T. Fairfax, and the Soldiers of the Army under his command; but in the following pages, viz pag. 51, 52, 53, 54. I find that the 21, 22, 25. of June, 1647. his Excellency, and his Council of War alone, without the Council of Adjutators, representing the Soldiers, according to their engagement, writ letters to, and entered into a Treaty with the Lord Mayor and Common-Councel of London, which was a base, perfidious, treacherous act, and an absolute breach of their solemn engagement; yea in page 57 June 23. 1647. The General, and twenty eight Grandee, and creature Officers, publish a Remonstrance to the Kingdom, and that in the name of the Army; in which base and abominable apostasy they continued, without ever wiping their mouths, or recanting what they had so unjustly done, as ●he whole tenor of their Book of Declarations doth declare; yea when the particular charge against the eleven Members comes from them, it comes only in the name of the General and his Council of War, page 94. yea, and all this, with ten times more (as I believe the world will shortly and fully see) was done in despite of the Adjutators, or consent of th● Regiments, Troops, or Companies; for all those two grand and lying Apostates (Cornet Den. and Parson John Can, a late cheat at Amsterdam) confident affirmations to the contrary in their late Printed lying books, entitled the Levellers Design page 4. 5. and the second part of the Discoverer, page. 5 6. where they aver, That the council of Adjutators, established by the Armies solemn engagement, was dissolved and made null by the s●me power by which they had their constitution; and that it was done by a Petition to the General from most of the Regiments, etc. But although I judge the two forementioned lying base Apostates, to be so abominably vile, that I judge not my excrements mean enough upon equal terms to balance against them; yet knowing the affairs of the Army then so extrraordinarily well as I do, I will balance life against life, that neither they, nor any man breathing can produce a Petition so much as from one single Troop or Company, much less from a Regiment, and therefore much less from the greatest part of the Regiments, both of Horse and Foot, for calling home their Adjutators, before the Gen. and his Officers had, as is before mentioned broke in pieces the solemn engagement again and again (and Invasion of Rights and Privileges was the true declared ground and cause of all the late wars with the late beheaded King, and is really the original ground of most (if not all) the cruel wars in the world) But if the Soldiers had made such a Petition (which they never did) it were not much material I think, for they engaged something to and for the Kingdom, in reference to the setlement of their Liberties and Freedoms,  I am sure they in no one title ever accomplished or performed, and therefore till that be done, they can not rationally or justly absolve themselves from the true intent or meaning of that engagement.  
But I wish those Champions for lies and Apostasy, would instance the place where, the time when, and the Regiments that subscribed and delivered such a Petition, and deal ingeniously with the world, whether it were a free act, or a compulsive one, wrought underhand, by all the snares, policy's, tricks, gins, and slights, that possible the Officers could invent, without or b●low a visible and compulsive force, which can never of right untie that knot; Sure I am, divers of the Adiutators, etc. sent several complaints to me, etc. to the Tower from St. Alban; immediately after the solemn engagement was made, complaining that Cromwell, Ireton, etc. (one of which two penned this engagement) would needs 〈◊〉 by force and frowns totally break and dissolve it; of which baseness (though then we we●e not visibly fallen out) I told Cromwell very freely and plainly of, as appears by my Letters to him of the 22 of June, 1647 and the 1 of July 1647. and in my Advise to the Adiutators of the 16 of July, 1647. All which I caused immediately after to be Printed in my Book, called Jonahs' cries out of the whale's belly, and the like in my little Book, called the Jugglers Discovered; and I am sure it was August following, when the Army's Head quarters were at Kingston, where Cromwell begun to be afraid of the Adiutators apprehending his underhand and night Juggle with the King, to make himself able, like cardinal Woolsey, to say, I and my K●ng; which he was afraid the Adiutators should take too much notice of, although long before their power and authority was destroyed; and therefore was not willing they should at all remain or lodge at the Headquarters, although Crumwel had weeks, and some months before designedly, and of set purpose, with all his power and interest, walked in a continual breaking and trampling the engagement under his feet, and therefore about that time he and his agents set that Petition a foot, to rid the Head quarters of the Adiutators, that they might not so much as see his baseness but alas, that Petition could not null and destroy that that was broken, nuld in efficacy and power, annihilated long before, but yet I could not for all this ever hear that Petition was one tenth part so formal as they report it to be.  
But from what hath been already said, (and in time will speedily be declared) it is evident that the General and the Officers at St. Alban broke their solemn engagement with their Soldiers and the Kingdom, immediately after it was mad●, and tyrannical, and treacherously invaded their Rights and Freedoms, which bred heart-burnings, and those divisions which the public enemy (so called) took the advantage of, and so came on the wars; God ever after their abominable and villainous appostacy, filling their hands with troubles and confusions, besides loss of reputation and good name, upon whose score alone lies the true guilt of all the bloodshed in the last years war, and of all the miseries that since have befallen Ireland 
* Which they might easily have relieved, if they had pleased, with those forces they disbanded in several places of the Nation, immediately after the making the foresaid Engagement; or with those twenty they the last Spring disbanded, out of every Troop and Company: Part of which, in discontent at their base using of them, run to La●ghorn and Poyer, and others; to Goring, Cavel, and others, to Sir Marmaduke La●gdale, and the Scots: but Cromwell it seems was resolved then, That no forces should go to relieve Ireland, till he went with them, with an absolute Commission to be King of Ireland: Which Commission, though he hath got, yet he may fail of his expected Town, both there and elsewhere.  and this year again is likely, by foreign invasions of strange Nations, and by intestine broils to befall England; and therefore if you love the Lord Fairfax, tell him, that though people at the present deal by him and Cromwell, etc. as the Parliament used to do with the King, laying all the evil of his actions upon his evil Councillors, yet he and his Officers in their Remonstrance from St Albon, 16. of November 1648. say That the King himself is the real Fountain, and true original, from whom principally all that mischief hath issued, that of late in his Reign hath befallen the Kingdom being himself the principal Author, and causer of the first and second War, and thereby guilty of all the innocent blood spilt therein, and of all the evils happening thereby, pag. 17. 19 23. 24. 61. 62, 64. whose one example, in doing Justice upon, to future Generations, would be of more terror and avail, than the execution of his whole party,; pag. 47. 48. It being (as they say) a most unjust and unconscionable thing to punish inferior Ministers, the accessories, and let the King, the principal, go free, pag. 50.  
Even so, though most men now lay the blame of all the Army's apostasy, baseness, perfidiousness and treachery upon Cromwell and Ireton, as the General's evil Councillors; yet they (his Screen betwixt him and the people's wrath) being gone from him towards Ireland, he will now appear nakedly and singly, to be as he is in himself, and let him take heed, lest from his bypast constant, signing, assenting to, approving of, and acting in all their perfidiousness, treachery and baseness, with his present carriage, now he stands, as it were a Noun Substantive, upon his own legs, and may now most gloriously act honestly and justly if he please, without their control or any others (and so regain his lost credit and reputation) if wickedness and baseness be not as largely inherent in his heart, as it is in either Cromwel's, or Iretons: I say, let him take heed from all his actings, the knowing and seeing people do not justly conclude him to be the principal Author and causer of all their miseries, distresses and woes; and so in time serve him, as he hath served the King. and only put Cromwell, Ireton, Ha●●●rig, Bradshaw, Harrison, etc. in Hambletons, Hollands, Capulets, goring, and Owen's places, as but accessories or dependants upon Fairfax the principal.  
But my true friends, I shall hear take upon me the boldness (in regard of the great distractions of the present times) to give a little further advice to you, from whose company or society (or from some of them) hath begun, and issued out the most transcendent, cl●ar, rational and just things for the people's Liberties and Freedoms, that I have seen or read in this Nation as your notable and excellent Petition of May 20 1647. burnt by the hands of the common Hangman, Recorded in my Book, called Rash Oaths unwarrantable, pag. 29 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 35. with divers others Petitions of that nature; and the Petition of the 19 of Jan. 1647. Recorded in the following discourse, pag. 45, 46, 47, 48, etc. and the masculine Petition of the 11. of Sept: 1648. so much owned by Petitions out of several Counties, yea, and by the Officers of the Armies large Remonstrance from St Alban of the 16. Novemb. 1648. pag 67 68, 69. The substance of all which, I conceive is contained in the Printed sheet of paper signed by my fellow prisoners, Mr. Will. Walwin, Mr. Tho, Prince, Mr. Rich. Ov●rton, and myself, dated the 1. of May. 1649. and entitled An Agreement of the free people of England, etc. The principles of which I hope and desire you will make the final Centre, & unwavering Standard of all your desires, hazards and endeavours, as to the future settlement of the peace and government of this distracted, wasted, and divided Nation; the firm establishing of the principles therein contained, b●ing that only, which will really and in good earnest marry and knit that interest, what ever it be, that dwells upon them, unto the distressed, and oppressed Commons, or people of this Nation; yea, the settling of which principles, is that, that will thereby make it evident and apparent unto all rational and understanding people in the world, that the real and hearty good and welfare, of the people of this Nation, hath cordially, and in good earnest been that, that their souls have hunted for, and thirsted after in all the late bloody civil wars, and contests: All the Contests of the King's party for his will and Prerogative, being merely Selvish, and so none of the people's interest; and the contest of the Presbyterians for their makebate, dividing, and hypocritical Covenant, no better in the least; and the present contest of the present dissembling interest of Independents for the people's Liberties in general, (read the following Discourse, pag. 27, 28, 29.) merely no more but Self in the highest and to set up the false saint, and most desperate Apostate murderer and traitor, Oliver Cromwell, by a pretended election of his mercenary soldiers, under the false name of the godly Interest, to be King of England, etc. (that being now too too apparently; all the intended them by his Will and pleasure, and so destroy and envassalize their lives and properties to his lusts, which is the highest treason that ever was committed or acted in this Nation, in any sense or kind; either first, in the eye of the Law, or secondly, in the eye of the ancient (but yet too much arbitrary) proceed of Parliament, or thirdly, in the eye of their own late declared principles of reason; by pretence of which (and by no rules of Law in the least) they took away the late King's head, and life, which if there were any Law or Justice in England to be had, or any Magistrates left to execute it, (as in the least there is not) I durst undertake upon my life, plainly evidently; and undeniably, to make good the foresaid unparallelled treasons against the foresaid Ol. Cromwell, upon, & against all the three forementioned principles, viz. Law, Parliament, and Reason; yea, and to frame against him such an Impeachment, or Indictment (which way of Indictments is the true, legal, and only just way of England to be tried at the Common Law, higher and greater than all the charges, against the forty four Judges) hanged for false and illegal Judgements, by King Alfred before the conquest; which with their crimes, are recorded in the Law Book, called The mirror of Justice, Printed in English, for Matthew Walbank at Gray's Inn gate, 1646. page 239. 240. 241. 242. 243. 244. 245. See also page 196. 197. 207. ibid.  
Or then the impeachment or accusation Of the Lord chief Justice Wayland, and the rest of his brother Judges and Lawyers, tormented in Edward the first his time, and mentioned in Speeds Chronicle, fol. 635.  
Or then the impeachment in Parliament, against Judge Thorp, who for taking small bribes against his oath, was condemned to die in Edward the third his time; of whom, you may read in the 3. part. Cooks Institut. fol. 155, 156, and in Mr. Pyms Speech against the Earl of Strafford, in the Book called Speeches and Passages of Parliament, pag. 9  
Or then the impeachment or a charge of the dethroned King Edward the second, in full Parliament, the manner of whose dethroning you may notably read in Speeds Chronicle, fol. 665.  
Or then the many Articles of impeachment, of the dethroned King Richard the second, in full Parliament, recorded at large in the Chronicles, or History of Will. Martin, fol 156. 157. 158 159. the 8. 10. 12. 15. 21. Articles of which, I conceive most remarkable, as to the people, which are extraordinary well worth the reading; for in them the King himself, in those dark days of Popery, is charged To have perverted the due course of the Law, or Justice, and Right; and that he destroyed men by information, without legal examination, or trial; and that he had declared the Laws of the Kingdom, were in his own Breast, (just the same thing do Mr. Peter and other mercenary Agents of the Grandees of the Army, now constantly declare of them) and that by himself, and his own authority (just Cromwell and Ireton like, only much short of them) he had displaced divers Burgesses of the Parliament, and had placed such other in their rooms, as would better fit and serve his own turn.  
Or then the impeachment of the Lord chief Justice Tris●…ian (who had the worship or honour in Richard the second his time, in full Parliament, to be apprehended in the forenoon, and hanged at Tyburn in the afternoon) with his brother Judges, viz. Ful●horp, Be●knap, Care, Hot, Burge, and Lockton; or their associates, Sir Nicholas Bramble, Lord Mayor of London, Sir Simon Burley, Sir William Elinham, Sir John Salisbury, Sir Thomas Trevit, Sir James Bernis, and Sir Nicholas Dodgworth; some of whom were destroyed and hanged, for setting their hands to Judgements, in subversion of the Law, in advancing the Kings will above Law; yea, and one of them banished therefore, although a dagger was held to his breast to compel him thereunto.  
Or then the indictment, of those two grand and notorious, traitorly subvertors of the Laws and Liberties of England, Empson, and Dudley, Privy Counsellors to Henry the seventh recorded in Cooks 4. part. Institut. fol. 198. 199. read also fol 41. ibid. and 2. part. Instit. fol. 51.  
Or then the impeachment of that notorious, wicked, and traitorous man, Cardinal Woolsey, by King Henry the eight his Privy Council, recorded in the 4. part. Cooks Instit. fol. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. Read especially Artic. 17. 20. 21. 23. 25. 26. 30. 31. 33. 35. 38. 42. in all which, he is charged with Arbitrariness, and subversion of the Law.  
Or then the impeachment of the Shipmoney Judges, who in one judgement did as much as in them lay, destroy all the Properties of all the men in England; read the notable Speeches against them, in Speeches, and Passages.  
Or then the impeachment of the Bishop of Canterbury, in the late Parliament.  
Or then the impeachment, of the Lord Keeper Finch, Earl of Strafford, Secretary Windebank, Sir Richard Bolton, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, John Lord Bishop of Derry, Sir Gerrard Lowther, Knight, Lord chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland, and Sir George Ratcliff, all whose impeachments are recorded in a Book, entitled, Speeches and Passages of Parliament, from November, 1640. 10 June, 1641. Pag. 76. 77. to 83. and 117. 118. to 143. and 174. and 256. 257. 258.  
Or then the Articles or charge against the two Sir John hotham's; the elder of which, kept the King out of Hull, the beginning of these Wars, when the House of Commons durst not command him positively to do it, although they were effectually put upon it, by a motion from the younger, then sitting in the House; and yet they were both beheaded as Traitors, for but endevoring to betray Hull to the King.  
Or then the late impeachment of Sir Philip Stapleton, Master Denzil Hollis, and the rest of the eleven Members, whose impeachment of high Treason, is recorded in the Army's Book of Declarations, pag. 47. to 50. and pag. 94 95. 96. etc. And yet the same things, that some of them, in a capital manner, were impeached for as Traitors, their impeachers acted, and did at the very selfsame time, as is clearly declared in the following discourse, pag. 31. 32. to 39 and page 53. to 62.  
Yea, or then the impeachment of King Charles, whom Cromwell and Ireton principally (Bradshaw being but their hired mercenary slave) have beheaded for a Tyrant and Traitor; whose impeachment is recorded in the following discourse, page 65. 66. 67.  
But the principles of the foresaid Agreement, being so detestable and abominable to the present ruling men, as that which they know will put a full end to their tyranny and usurpation, and really ease and free the people from oppression and bondage; that it is something dangerous to those that go about the promotion of it; yet I shall advise and exhort you vigorously, to lay all fear aside, and to set on foot the promotion of it, in the same method we took for the promotion of the foresaid Petition of the 19 of January, 1647. laid down in the following discourse, page 23. 24. 25. And writ to your friends in every Country of England to choose out from amongst themselves, and send up some Agents to you (two at least, from each County, with money in their pockets to bear their charges) to consider with your could and chosen Agents, of some effectual course speedily to be taken, for the settling the principles thereof (as that only within an earthly Government, can make you happy) or at least, to know one another's minds, in owning and approving the principles thereof; that so it may become to you, and all your friends, your Centre, Standard, and Banner, to ●●ock together to, in the time of those foreign invasions, and domestic insurrections, that are like speedily to bring miseries enough upon this poor and distressed Nation, and unanimously resolve & engage one to another, neither to side with, or fight for the Cam●●oes, fooleries, and pride of the present men in power, nor for the Prince his will, or any other base interest whatseover (the which, if you should fight for, it would be but an absolute murdering of your Brethren and Countrymen, you know not wherefore) unless he, or they will come up to those just, righteous, and equitable principles therein contained, and give rational, and good security, for the constant adhering thereunto; and upon such terms, I do not see, but you may justifiably, before God or man, Join with the Prince himself (yea, I am sure a thousand times more justly, than the present ruling men (upon a large and serious debate) joined with Owen Roe O●eal; the grand bloody rebel in Ireland) who if we must have a King, I for my part had rather have the Prince, than any man in the world, because of his large pretence of Right, which if he come not in by Conquest, by the hands of Foreigners (the bare attempting of which may apparently hazard him the loss of all at once, by gluing together the now divided people to join as one man against him) but by the hands of Englishmen, by contract, upon the principles aforesaid (which is easy to be done) the people will easily see that presently thereupon, they will enjoy this transcendent benefit (he being at peace with all foreign Nations, and having no regal pretended Competitor) viz. the immediate disbanding of all Armies, and Garrisons, saving the old Cinque-ports, and so those three grand plagues of the people will cease, viz. Freequarter, Taxations, and Excise, by means of which, the people may once again really say, they enjoy something they can in good earnest call their own; whereas, for the present Army to set up the pretended false Saint Oliver (or any other) as their elected King, there will be nothing thereby from the beginning of the Chapter to the end thereof, but Wars, and the cutting of throats year after year; yea, and the absolute keeping up of a perpetual and everlasting Army under which the people are absolute and perfect slaves, and vassals, as by woeful and lamentable experience they now see, they perfectly are, which slavery and absolute bondage is like daily to increase, under the present tyrannical and arbritrary new erected robbing Government; And therefore rouse up your spirits before it be too late, to a vigorous promotion, and settling of the principles of the foresaid Agreement, as the only absolute and perfect means to cure you of all your maladies and distempers: So with my hearty and true love presented to all that remain upright amongst you (without being perverted to Apostasy by the pretended Council of States places or bribes) I commit you to the safe tuition and protection of the most high, the Lord Jehovah, and Almighty, and re●t,  
Gentlemen, Yours and the Nations faithful, hearty, resolved friend, and servant in the midst of all adversity, afflictions, trials, and sorrows (that never more in all my life encompassed me round about then now) till death, JOHN LILBURN. From my unjust and illegal (though contented) captivity, for my honesty and innocence, and nothing else (as to man) in close imprisonment, in the Tower of London, without any legal and just allowance of maintenance, this present 17. of July, 1649.