¶ A Letter from Major General Sir Hardress Waller, and the Council of Officers at Dublin to lieutenant General Ludlow.  
Sir,  
WE have received a Letter from Lt. Col. Puckle Governor of Ross, and in it one from you to him, dated at Duncannon; wherein you require him to preserve ●●● Garrison for the Parliament: He had done that before he had any Orders from you to do it. We wish you had rather sent Orders of that nature to your Sub●●●tute Col. Jones, when he so long and so openly acted against the Parliaments Authority; than to Lt. Col. Puckle, who, you could not but know, had ●●●gether with us declared for it. When you were in this Bay, you received an Assurance under all our hands, That we had declared (as in duty bound) for ●●● Parliament, whose commands both concerning you and ourselves, we would cheerfully and punctually obey; But you write to Lt. Col. Puckle, That we had set up for o●●●selves; We will not say, that you have set up for yourself, though your staying, if not acting, amongst those who had set up for themselves at London; your never declaring ●● the Parliament, when most of the Army here had declared against them; your posting from the Parliament, when you yourself write they were to fit within a day or two; a●● your now casting yourself into that only place, in this Nation, which hath not, together with us, declared for the Parliament: might, we say, give us a juster rise to belie●● you had set up for yourself, than our Actings or Letters have given you cause so untruly to report of us. If you have assumed that belief concerning us, because of our not a●●mitting you here, we hope whatever you yourself are pleased to believe, all unbiased persons will, with us, judge, it was not consistent with our duty to admit to the command of the Parliaments Army here, (till their pleasure was signified) a person that had ever since their interruption resided among, and (we more than doubt) acted with their Enemies; that would not stay two or three days for their sitting, to bring their commands with him; and who stands now accused before them with several Articles of Hig● Treason.  
Truly Sir, your Actings have made our suspicions but too strong. You went declaredly from hence with an Address from this Army to the Parliament; and to settle according to their commands, the Forces in this Nation: But though you met at Conway the news of their being by force kept from sitting, whereby the end you proposed by yo●● journey, was cut off even in the beginning of it; yet you went on to those who had offered that sinful violence. 'Tis true you say, That by a Letter you received from the factious Party, which had been guilty thereof, they intimated unto you, that a stop for the present was only put upon their sitting, and consequently, a door of hope was opene● to you to bring them to their duty: but let all rational men judge, Whether it had not been a much more probable way conducing to that end, for you to have returned to the Army, and accompanied your persuasions with a Declaration, That if those were not listened unto, the Forces of this Nation should be employed by you to bring them to the obedience, which fair means could not effect. We doubt you had too good an opinion of such men, or of the force of your own reasons, to believe that those who would n●● listen to the Authority and Commands of a Parliament, would be brought to their duties by the prevalency of your particular arguings or desires. Had worthy General M●● been possessed with the like thoughts, and employed only his Arguments and entreaties to reduce them, putting his person also at the same time in their power, 'tis to be fear'● we had received our Laws from Wallingford-house, and not from the Parliament, who only can make and repeal them. But allow you could be so much mistaken in them a●● in yourself, why did you not forthwith return to your duty here, when you found experimentally the unsuccessfulness of your endeavours there; it being then too manifes● That the Council of Officers at Wallingford-house, were so far from restoring the Parliament, that they voted the calling a New one, with a Senate, and one and twenty conservators with power in several particulars above both Senate and Parliament: And when also Col. Jones (who you entrusted with the Army here) did openly send out Orde● for the election of two out of each Regiment to compose that Meeting at London, which was to introduce this new Government, and vigorously contributed, what in him la● to promote Subscriptions to an Agreement, as opposite and destructive to the restauration of the Parliament, as even those forementioned Elections were designed to be: f●● which Elections we hope you have not forgot, how by particular Letters to several Officers here (ready to be produced) you did appear but too Active and Encouraging. B●● lest you might not remember the Contents of Letters to private persons and of an ancienter date, we shall mind you of one written to a public Person, viz. Col. John Jon●● and of a fresher date, viz. the 17. of December last, wherein you use these very words: We seem to be necessitated to look towards the Long Parliament; 'tis to be feared they will ●● very high, in case they should be brought in without Conditions. Let all that hear this, judge how fit that person is to command an Army of the Parliaments, that includes himse●● amongst those who not out of willingness, but necessity, seem to be looking towards the restauration of the Parliament; and who expresses a fear they would be very high, ●● not bound up by Conditions before their admittance. Your duty had been the contrary to what your fears are; and we would gladly know, who you judged fit to put Conditions upon the Parliament. But since you fear the Actings of the Parliament, unless brought in by Conditions; you teach us thereby to keep you from the Head of one of the Parliaments Armies, lest you should make use of their Forces, to secure you, and those like minded with you, from your fears: For our parts, we desired no earthly thing mor● than their restauration, and bless God, both our duties and innocency makes us not fear, but desire they should fit as a Parliament, that is, without any previous Conditions pu● upon them. You that could fear the Parliament would be very high, in case they should be admitted without Conditions, and have associated yourself of late with those, the moderatest of which were guilty of that Apprehension, may be suspected to have been pleased with, if not consenting to the Interruption of that Authority, whose high acting● are confessedly feared by you.  
We shall not much dwell upon the Title that you give Col. Jones, of Dear Friend, in the said Letter; though in it we cannot but observe, That 'tis not probable you would call him by that name, if you thought he had falsified the trust you had reposed in him; and yet that he has publicly acted against the Authority of Parliament, and their Laws could not be unknown unto you, were it only in reference to that particular Subscription promoted, of owning the Lord Fleetwood Commander in chief of the Armies of this Commonwealth, contrary to an express Act in that behalf, whereby from your Substitute, he became my Lord Fleetwood's; and you from Lieutenant General under the Parliament, to become Lt. General under their Enemies. If you approved of this Action, why should we receive you? if you disapproved it, why do you give the chief promoter of it the Title of your Dear Friend? In the same Letter also you have these words, viz. I hope ere this the Commissions for the setting of Civil justice on the wheels in Ireland, i● come unto your hands; which Commissions being sent by the power of those who had violated the Parliaments Authority, we might expect would rather have had your discountenance, than your hope that they would come safely unto his hands. And though we love to have the wheels of Civil Justice moving: yet we as much desire to have those wheels receive their motion from that Authority only which legally can give it to them: and we heartily wish you had the like Principle.  
That you could have come from London hither, when your mentioned hopes failed you, and when your Substitute Col. Jones had so egregiously acted against the Parliament and with their Enemies, is evident, by your being now able to come into Ireland; and therefore your declining thereof so long, proves the fault lay more in your want of Inclination, than in your want of Power; and if you had appeared active at London for the restauration of the Parliament, or earnest against those here which had neglected their duty therein: it is not over probable you would have been permitted to have come for Ireland, which (as your own Letter imports) was well known at London before your departure thence, to have declared for the Parliament; unless those that permitted you to come for this country, had believed your actings here (if received) would prove more advantageous to them than to the Parliaments service. You went to London to represent things to the Parliament, and slayd there all the while that by force they were kept from sitting; and as soon as ever (through Providence) they were restored to sit, you hasten away hither, without any application to them. This being the matter of Fact, we leave it to all sober men to make the inference; We cannot indeed but admire, that having assured you under all our hands, whatever the Parliaments commands were concerning you, when your case was heard by them, they should be cheerfully and readily obeyed; That you would rather elect to put things into extremes, as much as in you lay, than patiently waiting a little time, to have them receive a legal and quiet issue. If your Actings have not incapacitated you to sit in the Parliament, doubtless it had been more proportionate to you, to have gone to London, and there have acted what you went over for, than to put yourself up into Duncannon, the only place that has not (together with in) declared for the Authority of the Parliament. Some possibly from thence may infer, That you think it a more hopeful and more expeditious way to attain the command of this Army, from so small a beginning thereunto as Duncannon, than to acquire that end by any hopes you have of reviving the Parliaments Commission for it: We have upon all these Considerations thought it our duty to the Parliament, to send Forces for the blocking up Duncannon; of all which we thought fit to send you notice, and remain  
Dated at Dublin, Jan. 10: 1659. Your humble Servants, Har. Waller. Eliah Green. John Warren. Barry Foulk. Broghill. Hen. Owen. John Maunsel Io. Frank. Cha. Coote. Ben. Lucas. Ay, Jeonar. Ri. Stephens. W. Caulfield. Rich. Lehunt. Rod. Mansell. Ioh. Reding. Theo. Jones. Sol. Cambie. Io. Harrison. Simon Garstin. I. King. Samson Towgood. Percival Hart. R. Shield.