MILITES CAUSAE: THE Souldiers of Right, OR, Vox Reformatorum The Remonstrance of the reformadoes Declaring, Avouching, and Maintaining, 1 Their True obedience to the Lord FAIRFAX as Commander in chief. 2 Their unanimous adhering to His undertakings. 3 Their Fidelity to their Country. 4 Their Merits and their sufferings. 5 Their perseverance in their first Principles. Distributed into 14 Particulars. AND Published for their own Vindication, and common satisfaction. December 21 1648. Printed in the Year. 1648. Milites Causae: The Souldiers of Right OR, Vox Reformatorum, The Remonstrance of the reformadoes 1 WHEREAS it hath seemed good, just, and equitable, to his Excellency, the Lord Fairfax, Legitimate Captain general, by Conquest and Commission, of all the Parliament Forces in England and Wales,( upon the humble tender of a Petition presented to his Excellency, by the hands of certain colonels of the Reformadoes, subscribed thereunto, and consented unto by many thousands of the rest) not only to grant their Petition in point of Arrears, but also nobly to look upon them with a cheerful eye of Remembrance, and reflection, to their former good service done, as being the first breakers of the Ice, in this great change of Reformation, the primitive instruments of the Parliaments safety, and their Countries good. And now the distressed( nay deserted) joint-tenants of the Warlike Essex, his magnanimous predecessor: and hath consequently been pleased to receive into his care, favour, and protection, as many as shall be found faultless, trusty, loyal, and can justify their integrity. Wee therefore the said Petitioners, Subscribers, and consenters, do, by this our present Remonstrance manifest to the open world in the first place, our obedience, thanks, and engagement to his Excellency, and His council of war, and do hereby assure him and them, our best assistance, service, and compliance in his designs, against his Enemies, the kingdoms Enemies, and the Enemies of the cross of Christ: And that with our utmost power, maugre all opposite power whatsoever, whether homebred, or foreign. 2 But secondly, forasmuch as we the said Reformadoes, have for this long while( through Envy and Misprision) lain under the goring lash of Malignity, the brand of Calumny, the sting of jealousy( afflictions far more bitter, more miserable, then want, Iron grates or slavery) and so have, consequently, fallen into the ill opinion of the Army, the slighting of the Parliament, the general contempt of both Foes and Friends, the distrust of the people, to the sad ruin of our former reputation, and our utter undoings, having none to stand up for us, either in the mediating for our deuce, or vindicating our honours. Therefore in the second place, we now at last exhibit this Remonstrance( being as it were set at liberty, and got under the sunbeams of his Excellencies protection) thereby do show unto the eyes of all men, both our sincerity, fidelity, and constancy in the general good cause, as also the indignities of injuries, abuses, aspersions, and unchristian requitals, cast upon us after all our faithful service to the State and people, in which Narration wee will bee as succinct as the consequence of so great a matter will possibly admit. 3 In the beginning of these civill, but unnatural bickerings, the King & Parliament first drew no other blood but what dropped from the black-mouthed quill, or was shed from the press in the clash of pens. The one highly asserting his Prerogative, and absolute Supremacy: The other as stiffly maintaining their privileges, and Independent Immunities: Till at last, being weary of their pens they fell to their Pikes, and so the controversy came to be decided by the logic of the Sword and loud Canon, in the open school of Mars, the field of blood. Hereupon both sides began to List Champions, Assistants, and partners in their quarrel, some Prest, and some volunteer, some for pay take up arms, some for conscience, and some for both. Old Souldiers flock hither from beyond Sea, new Souldiers were here made, and many( whom wee neither own nor commend) were Souldiers of Fortune, rather then the Cause. Now then in this great trial of men & minds, the God that searcheth the reins put it into our hearts freely, and conscientiously to venture life, honour, estate, and all on the Parliaments side, in case the War should go on, And to that purpose did wee cordially tender our service, and were as honourably received, to fight in the quarrel of justice, Common right, Reformation of abuses, and the peoples Liberty, never fore-dreaming their revolt from their principles, or our ejection from their service. 4 But fourthly to go on, behold the martiall dispute grew hotter, and hotter, and the Noble Essex was chosen general on this side, we according to the honest dictates of our souls, being by the eye of reason and Religion convinced of the excellency of the Cause, and by the call of Conscience summoned to the undertaking of the work, grew confident of the gallantry of our Leader, and two credulous of the honesty of our State-Masters, and forthwith as became the souldiers of Christ ( whose quarrel wee made it, more then our own or theirs) we accordingly fell to work, and that many of us at our own charges, mounted upon our own horses, fired our own Pistols, and relying upon our own Provisions, divers having laid out hundreds, nay thousands of pounds without receiving one penny back, many of us, and that the mayor part being men of quality, Gentlemen, and old Commanders by Sea and Land, wanting then neither money nor employment, but freely discerting houses, lands, wives, children, friends, livelihood, and all for the grand good work in hand, which wee undertook resolvedly, and performed as valiantly, and successively. tried men, whereof many thousands lost their lives, and many others now better known by their Scars, then their Scarffes, for wee flincht not, wee betrayed not our trust, wee sided not with our Enemies, unless the Parliament was our Enemy, wee failed not in our duties, wee fell not in our principles, wee fought the good fight, and that for four long years, in many a hard and desperate fight, the theatre of the whole world being witness. 5 But behold on a sudden, such is the unsearchable, uncontrollable working of the divine hand, behold the Martiall scene was changed, and new actors Martialled for the stage of War, exit general Essex, enter general Fairfax, now were wee forced to face about to quit our ground, and resign our places to the new model, having this only comfort left us, after al, that a faithful gallant people were our successors, and this our greatest misery, that wee might not be entrusted fellow actors, and fellow-sufferers with them. 6 And now in this great wonder, wee appeared as men in a mist or a maze, wee knew not well on what ground wee went, or stood, nor where wee were, what friends, what foes wee had, wee onely knew our Consciences clear, and our arrears as due as our birth-right; but how to obtain that or this, wee knew not. Our general being dead, our hopes were still in God, and the Parliament, and truly had the first failed us, as the second did, the grave long since, through more want, had been the portion of at least ten thousand honest, gallant, fighting souls, such as dare bid defiance at this instant, and in this present cause, to twice as many of the Enemies of the heroic Fairfax, or any other upon the face of the earth. 7 But to bee brief, notwithstanding our old good service, our inviolated fidelities, our constant perseverance, wee became, like chimneys in Summer, or at least, kept against the winter of a hard time, their slaves at a dead lift: For wee were not so forgotten, or so slighted, as to be absolutely flung aside, for then wee had been in part happy, wee had faced about, and looked out for a livelihood elsewhere, but that which was far worse then disbanding, they hold us by the noses in a neat smoke of delusion from time to time at the Parliament door, there wee danced after an ignis fatuis in a trieniall mist gallantly fold for three full yeares with words, mere words and empty papers, which they gave most freely, and oft would they lay us aside for further debate, respited from year to year, month to month, week to week, day to day, but to as much purpose at last as was at first, and at first as was at last; yet however wee petitioned, and still they gave us words, sometime faire and sometimes foul, according as the Army( their law and terror) moved nearer or further from London. They made many orders indeed for payment, but took none to see us paid, nay would the world think it, there was some in Parliament that took a course to prevent it, for say they, hold the bone out but give it not, that wee may have the Curres at a beck and a whistle, and then said some others, if wee prevent the gluing of the two Armies, wee shall as easily disguard Fairfax and his tattered Regiaments, as a begging soldier from our door with a two penny piece, or a cracked groat, and their plot was sure, for so might they raise a new and third power of their own, when the old and new model was extinct. 8 In the mean time our miseries, scorns, enemies and wants increased as fast as our friends fell, and our scores risse, wee languished even to the gates of death, in expectation of performance from promise of the Parliament, but yet no comfort came, but airy compliments, and some time in course language, bid us sow up the mouths of our children if they wanted bread, what should wee do? the rugged Catch pole, and the hauk-eyed sergeant lay hovering in every corner, my Landlord at the read lettuce would no longer trust on score, the white chalk must be paid; our estates gone, our horses sold, our Swords, Cloaks, Buffs, pistols pawned, and all our credit gone out, like the snuff of a candle with a twang in the end, so that at this instant not 6 of 6000 are able to keep house, or the wolf from the door, or show their heads for fear of arrests: nay divers Commanders, men formerly of good fashion and quality, starved in prison, their wives and children left to the mercy, or rather misery of the wild world, and many at this instant languishing in prison, ready there to perish for want of bread, and the rest in perpetual peril to taste of the same cup, and this was Parliament pay. 9. Yet could not all this, we bless God, once shake the foundation of our first love, the cause we fought for, as we had fought the good fight before, we had we confess both many and strong Invitations with Horse, arms, money, and high promises, from Kent, Essex, Sussex, Surrey, and the City, to side this Summer with the Enemy against our faithful brethren, this courageous and victorious Army, But behold neither want, nor wealth could work upon our spirits, for God still dwelled in our hearts by his fear, to the abhorring and utter renouncing of all offers, solicitations, pretences, preferments or any overtures, which might in the least sort tend to the hazarding of our first principles, to the infringing of the peoples rights, or to the prejudice of this Army, which we, by calling, carriage, and success, have reason to believe that they are the Army of God. 10 And therfore in all reason towards this Army as our proper Center do we now tend, there to coagulate and incorporate with them, for like as in the beginning of this second rebellion, we did exhibit an unanimous and general petition to the Parliament, showing that wee might be employed in the defence of them and this Army, against the adverse party, but that petition proved as fruitless, as our several petitions for Arrears, nay, more particularly, even as within these few months divers of us did singly, and that eagerly petition and implore Lenthall the Speaker, but for poor 20 l. a man, and some for fewer pounds, and some for a few shillings, and that out of our own Arrears, of some 100 some 2 3 or 400 l. due to a man, to the intent, that we might furnish ourselves as Troopers for the assistance of the General, then before Colchester, or to have had means to defray the ordinary charges of the way for our honest conveyance down, there at least to have traild a Pike, as some of our honest Majors and Captains did, but our svit was denied and we deluded, partly by the could fallacy of the Speakers grant, and partly by the ruff Baffles of the two Treasurers, Pocock and Greenhill Treasurers for the Reformadoes payments, and then having in their hands enough and enough again, to have satisfied so poor, so easy a request, for by the way, this Pocock a Draper made double his gains, to the doubleing of our loss, for by reserving from time to time the Cash in his own Coffers, and forcing many of us( taking advantage upon our necessities) to a payment in cloath, at 20 s. 15 s. or less per yard, being put to our choice, that or nothing, but however to let that pass for the present, we consequently say, that as our Trustees deserted us and our persons, we desert them and their persons, neither should the late apprehended Members take it amiss, or the residue of the still remaining Representative think our desertion a wonder, for they turning from us and our petitions, have taught us to turn from them, and so in all right turn our Petition to him, whom we lately and so often petitioned them, that we might serve, therefore now have we faithfully and cordially made our addresses to receive us as his, to relieve us in our distresses, to own us after our long and sad rejection, and so to insert us into the body, from which we were as branches broken of, that others might be engrafted in, for our case is not much unlike that of the Jew and the gentle, mentioned by the Apostle in the 11. of Romans vers. 11, 12, 13, &c. because as they are to make up one entire Communion of Saints, under one Head Christ Jesus, even so we hope to make up one embodied Army under one Leader, as our General conduct under Jesus Christ. 11. Peculiarly therefore to him we adhere, next under Christ our refuge and our Buckler, the man of justice and mercy, that David over the scattered and contemned Troops, who hath now made those churlish Nabals( the sons of folly) taste of hell even there, where so often, so long they had been a hell to us, as their quondam safety, their primitive Champions, keepers, 1 Sam. 25. 3, 6, 10. 15, 16, 21, 22. and deliverers, who brought peace to them, peace to their house, and peace to all they had, who were a wall of defence to them by day and by night, while they sate consulting in the shadow of death, in a very wilderness of fears and dangers. Cruel and uncivil after all were their requitals, and so adieu to our Enemies. That Gideon hath been pleased to bee our recompense who past over the wide River at Rochester, who took the Princes of the Midianites at Colchester, Oreb, and Zeeb, and there slue judge. 7. 24, 25. them; who hath humbled the Princes of Succoth and their City, who hath taught the Elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men with thorns and briars of the wilderness for upbraiding his men, nay worse, for refusing to sand bread, relief, and payment to the faint soldier, while he was pursuing after Zeba and judge. 8. 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16. Zalmunna,( the Kings of the grasshoppers) those County Midianites, and Scottish Amalekite, even proud Goring, and treacherous Hamilton; This Gideon therefore will we follow, and towards him we advance our Colours as our Captain. 12. But stay, our march is stopped, a lion is in the way, or at least a stumbling block which must hence be removed, before we can advance a step further, for it will be objected, and that to our faces, how can we make good our Covenant touching King and Parliament, and quit the name of Traitor or Revolter? To this we answer in brief, there are as we conceive four prime material things, from any one of which four, a Parliament doth receive a denomination, and is accordingly called a Parliament, sometimes truly, sometimes fallaciously, which fallacy or wrong name of Parliament lays the ground for all Faction, sides, and parties, ( viz) the persons, the cause, the Laws, and the Authority of Parliament, of each a word in their order. 1. As for the persons in Parliament, they are not a Juncto of Machiavels, a Pack of brethren in iniquity, a company of young raw-heads, or old Achitophels, a bunch of Factions made up of Royalists, State Presbyters, or silken Independents, it is not a triennial Monopoly of power, laws, estates, and succession from father to son till doomsday; but the proper persons in Parliament, are a select number of pious and righteous men, the Trustees put into power by the wisdom of their Country, or thus; they are the People elected for their goodness not their greatness, as the Representatives in full of the people electing; the electors and the elected being as inseparable and correllative to each other as soul and body, head and heart, and so together make up one individual people, the one represented, the other representing, as being the signifiers, the express letter and image of the people, as the whole people are in one essence the image of God. 2. The cause in Parliament, is the full adequate end, the main intent and fundamental purpose of convoking a Parl. which cause in this present Parliament, was in the hopes and thoughts of good men, the Cause of Christ, namely a through, general Reformation, with justice, truth, and freedom, for the public good: But it seems in the hearts and plots of Knaves and Pretenders, it was the Cause of the devil and Mammon, namely money, with freedom, safety, and honour, for none but their own good, making the good Cause a shelter and pretence to the bad, and thereby attracting, inveigling, and deluding thousands both good and bad, to their own end. 5. As for the laws in Parliament, They are not Committee snares, double faced Orders, or equivocal papers devised for self ends; but those sound, just, plain, and wholesome Decrees, debated, examined, confirmed, and plainly published, by the authority of the said entrusted conscientious persons, and that for the sole entire good of the people, not their own profit; binding both themselves and us, the elected and the electing equally to obedience, so long as the said Decrees stand suitable and convenient, to the sound temper, health, weal, and constitution of the Common body, and no longer. 4 As touching the authority of Parliament, it is not the clubbing humour of a partial Committee, not the wry look of the Speaker, nor the bare pleasure of a revengeful Malignant Member, nor yet the arbitrary will of imperious Lords, and avaricious Commons to swear men, to press men, to imprison men, ad placitum, ●et dunante placito, their will being their law: But authority of Parliament, is next under Christ, the solemn represented power of the people, as it is a people, or more plainly, the authority of Parliament, is the sacred inviolable both sword and scale of justice, derived into the hands of faithful men pro tempore, and that by the providence of God, as Stuards of his rights for him, and next by the election of the people, as Trustees, for their right for them, to alter, make, repeal, examine and ordain, for Gods onely honour, and the peoples good, and so it follows that God is author of the people, the people, are authors of the Representatives to choose them, mend them, or make them a new, in case they abuse their authority, or betray their trust, for in so doing they have wronged their Authors, God and the People, and consequently forfieted, their place, power, and authority, that sat before as Gods, but now they must die as men. 13 Now then( having fully and clearly stated the point) to the grand question in hand, wee reply and say, wee ever were and still are for KING and PARLIAMENT, that is, in reference, sense, and order to the first fundamental cause thereof, for which wee took up arms, ( viz.) Justice and freedom, but by no means, as Idolatrous Reverencers of the persons in Parliament, quatenus persons, under that name and notion, as being members of the Houses. Pell mell, for better for worse, for as touching persons, and Members, every tub must stand upon his own bottom, and let the saddle be set upon the right Horse; God and the Law, bring to account both the guilty hypocrite, and the fearful looker on, actors and connivers, be they who they will bee, high or low, if some betray their trust, or if the rest through fear or favour wink at the betrayors of the trust, wee renounce both the one and the other, for they did fear man more then God, whose presence is daily in the midst of all their ways and councells. When wee therefore say we are for the Parliament, wee mean the original cause itself, which is good, just, honest and perpetual: But as for the Persons, they are Changeable, movable, Trieniall, and perhaps diurnal men: if they bee good, and their laws wholesome, and correspondent to their primitive principles, wee are for them; if not, wee relinguish them, nay wee remonstrate against them, for how can wee serve two masters God & Mammon; neither will wee stain our banners, or abuse our swords in the cause of the wicked, their money, their dignities, their pretended cause, their laws and their authorities perish with their Lordly persons; But for a good cause, good laws, sound authority, righteous persons, wee will even dare to die, if wee perish wee perish. 14 And now lastly to bring up the rear of our Remonstrance, that the whole world, our friends, our foes, may fully know how clear our judgement is in this matter, and how sound our hearts, we do here confirm the particulars of the precedent Remonstrance, with this additional Protestation, and free Covenantiall Vow, as a lasting memorial of our faiths, both of this age, and the ages to come. The Protestation, Vow, and Covenant, of the Reformadoes, December 1648. WEE the Honest, Constant, and faithful party of the Reformadoes, having no other Object before our eyes, in all our intents and undertakings, then the Honour of our God, the Peace, freedom, and welfare of our Country, do here in the sight of the same God, Men, and Angels, Protest, that wee will live and die with them, and none but them, that stand up for the said good Cause, and whose hearts are bottomed upon the same principles, really, invariably, and without hypocrisy: And more particularly, Wee do Protest for, and with the business since, and lawful intent of the late Remonstrance of the Army, and the Petition of Right, September the 11th. as being no ways incompatible with the tenor of the first Covenant, but rather equivalent, expositive, and coessential with it, in a true sense, and Primitive exception, from which some equivocators of the Law, some Lucifers of the Parliament, are miserable, and totally salne. And do accordingly Covenant and Vow, to live and die, stand and fall, with them that maintain, and assert honestly, and truly, the said Remonstrance and Petition, to descend them with our Lives, our Faiths, our Swords, against all manner of Tyranny, either in Prince, Priest, or Magistrate, against all national iniquities, against corruption of Judges, Bribery of Lawyers, abuses of the Law, oppressions of Prisons, and Prison-Keepers: To the end that Justice may flourish, and wickedness be called to the bar, without connivance, exemption of Degrees, exception of Persons. All this wee Vow, Covenant, and Protest to perform, and keep, to the utmost of our power. So help us, the Go● we have Protested by, in the day of battle, and hour of trial. Signed, JOHN BENSON, Secretary to the Reformadoes. FINIS. A True and real List of the faithful Commanders, and Officers as have voluntarily subscribed to the aforesaid Remonstrance, and Protestation, and of such only as will make good the said Remonstrance and Protestation, in opposition to any that shall go about to traduce them, or contradict particulars therein avouched. The intent thereof being no way derogative, or opposite to the proceeding of this right Honourable Parliament, or any Member thereof, so far as they at any time have been( a●e, or still shall be) right honest, just, and noble; for from such Masters, their service shall never d●part, but with their lives. colonels of foot. John Holeman for himself and Officers. Richard own rear admiral of England. lieutenant colonels of foot. Walter own for himself and Officers. John Campneys. Edward Allen. lieutenant colonel Parkenson. sergeant Majors of foot. Edward shepherd for himself and Officers. Richard Beard. Captaines of foot: Henry Ashley for himself and Officers. William own. jelly Merrick. Nicholas Charleton. Robert Turner. Ralph Carter. John Brothers. John Co●le. William Hare. Henry Somerstare. Francis wilson. John Robinson. Hugh Midleton. Thomas Midleton. Christopher Porter. license Floyd. Hugh Justice. Benjamin hook. Thomas Skenner. John Marshall. James Langley. rag the Elder. Jo. Thornehill. Henry row. Richard Price. laurence Philips. Henry Howard. Thomas Cooper. William Bowen. William Hill. Leivetenants of foot. William Wells. John leech. John Foster. William row. ensigns of foot. Richard Adams. colonels of horse. colonel Humes for himself and Officers. Majors of horse. John powel for himself and Officers. dragoons. Charles Birket. Captaines of horse. John hid for himself and Officers. Edward clerk. Thomas Gibson. Henry Gouge. William horn. George black. Mugford. Harccourt. John Earlesman. Richard Stevens. Joseph Jaques. John signior Marshall general, and captain of a Troope of Horse. Edward clerk. William Sambuich. John Holmes. Thomas Brochus. Henry Worth. Thomas Stayner. John Claxton. Leivetenants of horse Henry Welsh. Jo. Trehane. Altolfe. Hales. Aba. dean. Edward Trotman. David Madocks. Coronets of horse. Richard Morgan. Francis Bennet. Thomas Napper. J●hn H Peter Pog●on. Quarter Masters of horse. Ralph G William Ardington. James Sparnell. Captaines of dragoons for themselves and Officers. Simon Farmer. Rodram. FINIS.