Alderman Bunce HIS SPEECH TO THE Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Common-Council of LONDON, TOUCHING The King's Resolution to accept of Honourable Conditions from a Free-Parliament for his Admitment.  
LONDON, Printed by T. S. for O. H. and are to be sold at the Royal Exchange. 1660.   

Alderman Bunce's Speech to the Lord Maior, Aldermen, and Common-Council of LONDON, touching the KING'S Resolution to accept of Honourable Conditions from a Free-Parliament for his Admitment.  
My Lord, Gentlemen, and Fellow-Citizens,  
THat I am after so long a time of Banishment, and almost despair, returned again without fear into my native Country, I need not I think tell you how much I rejoice at; but I cannot indeed tell you that unexpressible joy which I feel within my bosom, to find my poor distressed and distracted Country in some hopes of Settlement and Restoration to her pristine Glory, even then when she seemed to be most overwhelmed and swallowed up, under the usurpation and tyranny of the most mean and Fanatic Spirits of the Nation.  
Nor can I here forbear to burst out into Praises and Thanks to God for his so great a Mercy and Deliverance, That he hath at length been pleased to withdraw his afflicting hand in some measure from us; That he hath opened the eyes of the greatest part of this Nation, except those who are wilfully and obstinately blinded by their own pernicious and covetous Interests; That after we had wilfully run headlong into the Ditch of Ruin, he is pleased to lay to his hand to help us out.  
'Tis well (my Lord) that though we have bought our Knowledge and Repentance at so dear a rate, at the expense of so much Blood and Treasure, yet that we can repent at last, That we are at 'las: sensible of our Distractions, that now we are able to bear no more, we have one who will help us to throw off our Burdens, That we can now see our blindness, our error, our folly, that whilst we endeavoured to free ourselves from the pretended Tyranny of our lawful King, Sovereign, and Superior, we subjected ourselves under the Arbitrary will and power of our Equals, if not Inferiors.  
I must confess (my Lord) though 'tis well known to you all Gentlemen, that I was at the beginning of the late unhappy wars, blinded as well as others, yet I utterly disown that I ever had any design or intention to wrong my Print, though I accounted it then the duty of every Freeborn Englishman to stand for the privilege of Parliament, as for his Native Birthright, so far I durst go, but no farther; for when I saw those, who before they had got the power into their hands, pretended to maintain Parliamentary privileges, pretended to settle the King in Glory, violently infringe the first, and murder the second, I could not but in reason and conscience protest against them.  
Nor was the murdering of their King, or infringing the privileges of Parliament, the furthest those men went who had then got the power into their hands, and ruled only by Sword-law, but having given the Name of a Parliament to a select number of their Creatures, and some who durst do no otherwise than obey their Commands, they made Laws at their pleasure, disinheriting the lawful Heir, and abolishing the power of the House of Lords, the chief part of a Parliamentary Grand Council, they sold the Kings, Queens, Bishops, Deans and Chapters Lands, to maintain their Violences and Villainies, or to enrich themselves, making a prey of these Nations, and over-throwing the Fundamental laws of the Land.  
This my Lord you very well know was the Praemunire we had run ourselves into. This was that we fought for, this was that for which we consumed so much Blood and Treasure: in short, we fought for Liberty that we might be enslaved, we fought for Religion that we might nourish Heresies, Sects and Schisms in the Church, we spent our Estates freely, to maintain a War amongst ourselves under specious pretences, that we might have them preyed upon by ravenous Wolves.  
But when we had run ourselves into all these miseries, under a piece of a Parliament, who had endeavoured all that lay in their power to establish their own Government, yet were they themselves at length turned out by their Servant, their General, (the just reward of their treachery to their Master) who Establishes in himself that power, which he had before avowed as tyrannical, and usurps to himself, though not fully the Title, yet more than the power of any King of England; so it fairly proved that he only defamed Kingship as Tyrannical, that he might be a Tyrant.  
The many changes and Alterations since in the English Government, are so new, that they need no recital, only thus much, that as all they in whose hands the Government was, were equally guilty of the forementioned crimes, so though they did oppose one another, yet they all agreed together in continuing and adding to the Nations Distractions, in preferment to employments, either in Church or State, such only as were either as guilty as themselves, or else possessed with their Fanatic Opinions, in defaming the lawful Heir, and endeavouring by Calumnies, to engender an odium of him in the people's minds, which might have found its desired effect, had not the people for their Cheats and Delusions, conceived a just odium of them, so that the arrow they shot, returned again upon their own heads.  
But many of the good people of England are still possessed with their Calumnies, and believe many of them for truth, though against such clear and certain Evidences; Many understanding people of the Nation, convincing themselves by Imaginary circumstances, that not only his Majesty, but his Brothers, the thrice Noble Dukes of York and Gloucester, have left the Religion of their Fathers and Country, and are turned to the Fopperies of Romish Superstition and Idol try, which how false it is, the God of Heaven knows, and myself can witness his and his Brother, constant use and practice of the English Liturgy, and other Customs of the best reformed Church of England, his constant encouragement of such servants of his, as profess the true Protestant Religion, whether in Episcopacy or Presbytery, and his contrary discouragement of all such who permit themselves to be inveigled into Popish or Jesuitical opinions and tenants, being sufficient evidence, that he is so far from leaving of his true and mother Church, that all possible encouragement is, will certainly be at all times given by him, to the true and sound professors of the Protestant Religion.  
For those other Calumnies laid upon, and only settled in the hearts of the common Soldiers, (whom their Officers here have made believe, that they must expect nothing but death, if he should be admitted to his Crown) viz. that he is revengeful, cruel, never forgetting injuries, but though soothing for a time, yet at fit opportunities resolute in his revenge, all that know him, know to be false, for he is Gentle, Merciful, Peaceable, and rather inclined to suffer injuries, than either to give or avenge them.  
That he intends (as some say) to come with a Foreign Force to regain his Right, and settle himself in his Throne, would be but what we might in justice expect, who have so long exposed him to the miseries of the wide world, and made him the pattern of Patience to future generations, it being lawful both by the Laws of God and man for any one to use all means and endeavours for the recovery of his own; yet so meek and patiented hath he been, that it hath not so much as entered into his thoughts to acquist his Kingdom by force or violence, whilst he can hope to have it by the love of his Subjects; he therefore is resolvedly bend to attend the pleasure of a free Parliament, and wholly intent to accept of such conditions, as shall be proposed with honour by them, rather resolving to part with some of his Right, than to let these Nations run on into further distractions, or his Subjects be oppressed.  
That we might as a just judgement of God have expected a foreign force here amongst us for our obstinacy, we cannot but be sensible of, but that we have so merciful a Prince, who rather waves his Right, and endures with patience his expulsion, than feeks or attempts to invade us by a Foreign Power, by which, though he might gain revenge and satisfaction to himself, yet must it necessarily be with our utter Ruin, and deserved destruction, we must acknowledge as a great mercy of Gods.  
It is not unlikely that you my Lord, and these other Gentlemen my fellow-Citizens may admire somewhat, that I, who was once so far drawn on the other side, should now declaim so much against it, but experience hath now undeceived me, I was for the maintaining, not the infringing Privileges of Parliament. I was for the restoring, not murdering of the King, I was for them so long as they stood fast to the Oath they took in the Solemn League and Covenant, to maintain the King and his Posterity, not for them, when they had beheaded him, and banished his Posterity; I was for the moderation of a Kingly Government, not for the erecting of Anarchichall Tyrannies, or Governments ad libitum.  
But when I saw that those, who pretended that they acted only for the Nations good, intended only for their own, to distract and ruin these Nations, to depress the Nobility and Gentry, only to raise themselves; that they began to oppress and force unheard of impositions and burdens upon the Commonalty, to maintain their Villainies, and enrich themselves, to confound and overthrow all Religion, under a pretence of settling and maintaining it, 'twas time to withdraw myself from, nor could my Conscience proceed any further with them, 'twas they (my Lord) that are changed, and not I.  
What I at first declared for, and have already ventured my Estate for, that I still will, and shall maintain to the utmost drop of my blood, viz. to defend the Privileges of Parliament, without infringing the Royal Prerogative, to endeavour the maintaining the King, his Posterity, according to the Solemn League and Covenant, this I think (my Lord) was the first pretence of these men's raising War against his late Majesty, which at first drew so many honest men to their party; but what hath been the issue of these pretences, we have seen by too sad experience.  
I think it was therefore the duty, my Lord, of every honest man to stand to those first Principles that he undertook, and not with the multitude (blinded by the ambition and self Interests of some particular men) run into those wickednesses and mischiefs which they have since perpetrated, and I think you my Lord, and the rest of my brethren and Fellow Citizens here, aught to take these things into consideration, and remember that Oath which I presume most of you took in the Solemn League and Covenant.  
I think my Lord I need make no further apology, either for myself or the cause I plead for, there's so much of justice in it, that it needs no Oratory to confirm, nor could that cause be ever confuted but by the Sword, whose Tyrannical power we have sufficiently felt, and seen the difference, between a Government by usurping and perjured persons, and the Clemency of a too mild and gracious Prince.  
I shall my Lord, add no further, but only conclude with this Prayer, That the God of Heaven would open your eyes, and the eyes of this whole Nation, and strengthen your hands in the settlement of these three distressed Nations in peace and quietness, which can no better be done than by your hearty prayers and endeavours for the Restauration of the lawful Heir to his Right: for how can we expect that he will ever let Justice flourish amongst us whilst we deny Justice to our Soveraegn.  
FINIS.