An Answer to the London PETITION.  
You Gentlemen and Citizens,  
BOth you and your request are welcome to Us, and cannot fail of a kind reception here, where your former merits, and your present good intentions are so well known. It is natural in the Patient to seek cure of his disease, and to move the Physician to use his best skill, and it is commendable in you under your sufferings to apply yourselves to Us for ease; and we hope it is not mere impatience urges you to seek things impossible, or unjust: Your prayers for peace are Honourable, so was jacob's wife for children; yet when she cried, Give me children or I die, she was too blame; for she sought that of Jacob, which Jacob had no power to give, and she sought the same with such violence, as Jacob ought not to have heard. But we will only conceive, that without all impatience, you seek of Us Peace, so fare as we can procure it, and not absolutely, for it depends not so much upon Us, as the King, and it is not in Us to draw the King to a Peace, except His Majesty be as inclinable to it, as we are. And we will conceive also that you seek not Peace nakedly, except it come along with Truth, Righteousness, and Honour, and of such a Peace we are as zealous as you can wish Us to be; and for other Peace, if we should wholly submit to the King's party, without all conditions for future security, such a submission to that Party would be no redress but an increase of your present sufferings. We are entrusted in this by the whole Kingdom, and that trust we must not break upon the solicitation of any part of the kingdom: You are a considerable part of London, but you are not whole London, and London is a considerable part of this kingdom, but it is not the whole kingdom, and we, according to our trust, must look upon the whole kingdom: but it may be, that you see more than the whole kingdom, and may out of that sight offer some thing to Us for the ease and relief of the whole kingdom; in this we will not gainsay you, it is possible that some clear way and form of a just, safe, and honourable Accommodation may be opened, and discovered to you, which hath not yet been found out by Us; if this be so, we desire you cordially, and in a friendly manner to communicate your apprehensions, and understandings of this affair to us, and by our sudden and full embrasement there of, you shall soon find how dear, and precious the face, the very name or sound of Peace is to us: In the mean time we desire you to rest assured, that if there be any defect in us, it must needs be in point of understanding, it cannot be in point of affection. No men living can be in affection more devoted to safe Peace than we are. And further, we desire you not to censure us of any defect at all, no, not so much as in understanding, except you can reveal to us some better way, than we have hitherto assayed: No Accommodation can be, but we must leave something to the King upon trust, and if the Accommodation be even, the King will not deny some trust to us, but in this help to advise us how fare we shall trust the King, and how far we shall trust the King's party; were the King utterly disengaged from all parties, perhaps we would wholly trust the King, and desire no trust at all to be left in us from his Majesty: but we see in the King's party, some that have a strange power in his affection, yea a greater power fare than we have, and yet they are known to be deeply in raged Papists, violently engaged Delinquents: and if you would wholly put yourselves and the kingdom into the trust of such a party, we are bound to withstand it, as much as we can, The King protests to hate Popery, and disavows all thoughts of arbitrary Rule, yet we know all, how far he is addicted to Papists, and Malignant haters of Parliaments: and since we cannot submit to the King, but we must submit to His Party, whom He prefers before us, what advantage is it to us, whether He be in heart the selsesame, as His Party is, or not? The truth is, we and the King's party are so diametrically opposite in Religion and State both, that he cannot protect both, if they are his friends, we are his enemies; if we are his friends, they are questionless his enemies; if he shield them from our justice, he must expose us to their injustice; either they must judge us, or we them, no middle way can be safe; nor deserve the name of Accommodation, it must prove inevitable confusion in the end. Many years we have already struggled together, and they have all the while found more favour from the Court than we; but now we are more implacablie exasperated by blood, one against the other, and they will not lay down Arms before us, nor ought we before them, and if both lay down Arms together, yet little safety will be to us; for our Religion and profession will ●inde us truly to perform, but theirs will ●inde them to betray us, and since they are greater in the King's favour, and are lose from Oaths, when we are discountenanced, and our hands are tied from defence, what equality of Treaty is there? We will speak now to you, as we would to the whole body of England; if you prefer their cause and being before ours, speak it out more plainly: if you wish better to us, and think better of us, be wary of such Accommodation, as may render us upon unequal terms into their hands. You will say we have received other Petitions with more favour, when they have more concurred with us in their Votes, We confess and justify it: for when the people have encouraged us by Petitions, answering to our Votes, and have invited us to be more hardy in searching their wounds, fearing our too much tenderness in their own case, we could not but resent a better disposition and capacity of cure, than now we take notice of in such contrary Petitions, as seem to express a distrust of us, though indeed your professions be clean contrary. Yet to deal plainly with you, and all other Petitioners: We love not to be solicited at all by the People in any case whatsoever, except when we do manifestly fail of our duty, either out of too much fear, or too much presumption. Howsoever for the present go peaceably home, and if you think us worthy of that trust which you have hitherto reposed in us, leave to us to consider of this your Petition with all its circumstances, and assure yourselves, we will condescend to the more hazard, and departed something the more from our own due in our demands from his Majesty for your sakes. And if you prefer your own judgements before ours, proceed to advertise us lovingly and fairly, wherein we may do you more good, or how we may draw nearer to a prudent Accommodation, and impart more particularly your open sense thereof. Howsoever we desire you to address yourselves to his Majesty in the same manner as you have done to us, unless you condemn us as more indisposed to peace then his Majesty is, and let your request be, that in this valuation of his Party, and his Parliament, He would be equally pleased to condescend, and departed from his former rigour of Terms, as you expect from us, or else we must pronounce you in this unequal. And for the sum of all, let your desired Accommodation be such, as shall maintain us to be the King's legal Parliament, and a legal Parliament to be the King's highest Court of Judicature, and the highest Judicature of the King fittest to determine all public disputes; and best disposed to mercy, as well as justice; and policy, as well as Law: and without more ado your wished Accommodation is perfected, and agreed upon.  
FINIS.