A Brief ANSWER TO A BOOK ENTITLED, HIS MAJESTY'S LETTER AND DECLARATION TO THE SHERIFFS and CITY OF LONDON.  
Jan. 30th LONDON, Printed in the year, 1642.   

An Answer to His Majesty's Letter and Declaration to the Sheriffs and City of London.  
First, We were glad to find that there was yet some hopes they would look to the peace and happiness of that City, and at last sever themselves from any faction or dependence which might insensibly involve them in those Calamities they did not foresee. 'Tis the nature of Mortals (but the cause I know not) to rest secure in his own thoughts, when in the opinion of others he is subject to the greatest casualties; nay, so averse are they, that when reason cannot promise a happy success to their bad attempts, they make it a matter of faith, and believe that for an absolute certainty, which in itself i● less than probable: I wish this disease may never steal into the Royal, but if His words be scanned, 'twill breed a jealousy of His inclination to that distemper; for if He were not, how could He imagine that the City of London, should now after so many desperate designs be insensible of the miseries that will ensue the Conquest, if obtained by their Adversaries? surely they about His Majesty have not that power over His Rational faculties, as to possess Him with a thought of Divinity inhaerent in them, as if their ways were like Gods, past finding out; Or if His Majesty do but weigh the several accidents and passages that have happened since these differences, He will find no promise from God of the Victory; nay, I am confident His tender Heart cannot be free from some fears, seconded with pregnant reasons, wh●r●on He may ground a belief of His loss; and for any thing that He hath yet gotten, the City may continue as zealous for the Parliament as ever they were; and with no less safety than their diligence hath hitherto with God's assistance purchased for them.  
Secondly, With that Answer of ours we sent a Servant of Our own to require and see that it might be communicated to the whole body of that Our City; but instead of that admission we expected to Our Messenger, Guards of armed men have been brought to keep Our good Subjects from being present at the reading thereof. What hopes is there of doing good, when His Majesty doth so confide in those ill instruments about Him? who but the Messenger himself could make that false Report? were there at any time this twenty years more present at a Common-council, than at that? or did they keep out any that had right by custom to be then present; and for those that had no right, His Majesty Himself doth implicit acknowledge how justly they were kept out; for He saith in this His Letter and Declartion to the Sheriffs, That Speeches were made by strangers, who were admitted the City Counsels contrary to the freedom and Custom of those meetings: now if those that made speeches had no right to be there, and those that were kept out by the Guard, had as little right as they; then His Majesty doth implicitly commend the keeping of those out; and yet in another place of that Declaration He blames them for keeping them out; and for the entertainment of His Servant that brought the Message, what greater respect could be showed him, than the admittance of his presence, and what fairer play can there be, than that above board; the Messenger himself being made a witness of that day's work.  
Thirdly, That all Our good Subjects may clearly understand how fare We have been from begetting, how fare We are from continuing and from nourishing these unnatural civil dissensions, and how much it is in their own power to remove the present pressures, and to establish the future happiness and glory of that famous City.  
'Tis most certain and believed of all, that His Majesty did not beget these distractions; but 'tis known by whom they have been maintained since their birth; I mean, by whose authority, though his Warrants (as is probable) have been used about that which was never intended at his granting of them: and 'tis clearly to be discerned, how easily they may remove the present pressures, and 'tis as clearly to be discerned how if they take that way prescribed to them to remove their present miseries, they will bring greater miseries in their stead, and greatest of all to their posterity: for the way prescribed is in effect this, that the City should first apprehend an inability to make resistance, and then yield themselves to the cruel mercy of those who have so fare possessed His Majesty; and that they should apprehend the Parliament men, and other good Commonwealth's men, as fast as the King accused them, till at last there would be none left to defend the Kingdom: now if this were done, the War would doubtless cease, and these present pressures would be removed; not taken away, but drawn into greater mischiefs that would follow, so that then the cure were worse than the disease, for by this kind of physic you may tamper with the body to cure a Fever that's spotted, and turn it to the plague.  
Fourthly, We do hereby Declare the said Isaac Pennington not to be Major of that Our City of London, and to have no lawful Authority to exercise the same, and that Our good Subjects of that Our City ought not to submit to any Orders, Directions, or Commands, which shall issue from him as Lord Major.] Here his Majesty hath excused the Lord Major, for not sending a Warrant to apprehend him that said he hoped to wash his hands in His Majesty's blood; it seems he hath no Authority to do it: But I rather hope His Majesty was misinformed, for those words if they were spoken by any man, might well have been questioned by the same authority that other things were done by; but 'tis likely that those which informed his Majesty of that, either knew more than my Lord Major did in that particular, or else wilfully injured my Lord by his false Report; but hour if some Ceremonies were not performed which used to be sollemnized, nay though he had not been chosen by the City, yet he hath authority from the Parliament for what he doth, and which is sufficient to force an obedience from those within his Liberties: but 'tis most likely that he was chosen by the major part, for if the City did trust him with the government of their estates in the Parliament House, surely they would trust him with their Charter and to govern the City, and Alderman Cordwell was known before as well as now, and why had they not choose him to sit in Parliament before Alderman Pennington if he had been better beloved, or if the City had been so opinionated of him: but 'tis probable that many are offended because this Lord Major was chosen before others that were his Senio● Ald:, but for those that are offended they must needs know 'tis without cause; and so they may guess how they shall be pleased, for the Office of Major goes not in order but by election, for otherwise the City might be enforced to have a Major that might undo the City, but it hath been the care of former ages (as I may say) to provide better for this City.   
FINIS.