HIS MAJESTY'S ANSWER, To a Printed Book, ENTITLED, A REMONSTRANCE, OR THE Declaration of the Lords and Commons now assembled in PARLIAMENT, 26. May 1642:  
In answer to a Declaration under His Majesty's Name, concerning the business of HULL.  
Printed at York: And reprinted at London for William Ley, 1642.   

His Majesty's Answer to a printed Book, entitled, A Remonstrance, or the Declaration of the Lords and Commons now assembled in Parliament, the 26. of May, 1642. In Answer to a Declaration under His Majesty's Name, concerning the business of Hull.  
THough whosoever looks over the late Remonstrance, entitled, A Declaration of the Lords and Commons, of the 26. of May, will not think We have much reason to be pleased with it; yet We cannot but commend the plain dealing and ingenuity of the Framers and Contrivers of that Declaration (which hath been wrought in a hotter and quicker Forge than any of the rest) who would no longer suffer Us to be affronted, by being told, They would make Us a great and glorious King, whilst they used all possible skill to reduce Us to extreme Want and Indigency; and that They would make Us to be loved at home and feared abroad, whilst they endeavoured by all possible ways, to render Us odious to Our good Subjects, and contemptible to all foreign Princes; but, like Round-dealing men, tell Us in plain English, That they have done Us no wrong, because We are not capable of receiving any; and That they have taken nothing from Us, because We had never any thing of Our own to lose: If this Doctrine be true, and that indeed We ought to be of no other consideration, than they have informed Our people in that Declaration; that Gentleman is much more excusable, that said publicly (unreproved) That the happiness of this Kingdom doth not depend on Us, or upon any of the Royal Branches of that Root; And the other, who said, We were not worthy to be King of England: Language very monstrous to be allowed by either House of Parliament, and of which, by the help of God and the Law, We must have some Examination. But We doubt not, all Our good Subjects do now plainly discern, through the Mask and Wizard of their hypocrisy, what their Design is, and will no more look upon the Framers and Contrivers of that Declaration, as upon both Houses of Parliament (whose freedom and just Privileges We will always maintain, and in whose behalf We are as much slandered as for Ourselves) but as a Faction of Malignant, Schismatical, and Ambitious Persons, whose design is, and always hath been, to alter the whole frame of Government both of Church and State, and to subject both King and People to their own Lawless, Arbitrary power and Government; of whose Persons, and of whose Design, We shall, within a very short time, give Out good Subjects, and the world a full, and (We hope) a satisfactory Narration.  
The Contrivers and Penners of that Declaration (of whom We would be only understood to speak, when We mention any of their undutiful acts against Us) tell you, That the great Affairs of this Kingdom, and the miserable and bleeding condition of the Kingdom of Ireland, will afford them little leisure to spend their time in Declarations, Answers and Replies; Indeed, the miserable and deplorable condition of both Kingdoms would require somewhat else at their hands: But We would gladly know, how they have spent their time since their Recess (now almost eight months) but in Declarations Remonstrances and Invectives against Us and Our Government, or in preparing matter for them: Have We invited them to any such expense of time, by beginning Arguments of that nature: Their leisure, or their Inclination is not as they pretend: And what is their Printing and Publishing their Petitions to Us, their Declarations and Remonstrances of Us, their odious Votes, and Resolutions, sometimes of one, sometimes of both Houses, against Us (never in this manner communicated before this Parliament) but an Appeal to the People? And, in God's Name, let them judge of the Persons they have trusted,  
Their first Quarrel is (as it is always, to let them into their frank Expressions of Us and Our Actions) against the Malignant Party, whom they are pleased still to call, and never to prove, to be Our evil Counsellors; but indeed, nothing is more evident by their whole Proceed, then that by the Malignant Party, they intent all the Members of both Houses, who agree not with them in their Opinion (hence have come their distinction of good and bad Lords, of Persons ill affected of the House of Commons, who have been proscribed, and their Names Listed and read in Tumults) and all the Persons of the Kingdom, who approve not of their actions; So that if, in truth, they would be ingenuous, and name the Persons they intent, who would be the Men (upon whom that Imputation of Malignity would be cast) but they, who have stood stoutly and immutably for the Religion, the Liberties, the Laws, for all public Interests (so long as there was any to be stood for) they, who have always been, and are as zealous Professors, and (some of them) as able and earnest Defendors of the Protestant Doctrine against the Church of Rome, as any are; who have often and earnestly besought Us to consent, that no Indifferent and Unnecessary Ceremony might be pressed upon weak and tender Consciences, and that We would agree to a Bill for that purpose; they, to whose Wisdom, Courage, and Council, the Kingdom oweth as much, as it can to subjects; and upon whose unblemished Lives, Envy itself can lay no Imputation, nor endeavoured to lay any, until their Virtues brought them to Our Knowledge and Favour. Let the Contrivers of this Declaration be faithful to themselves, and consider all those Persons of both Houses, whom they, in their Consciences, know to descent from them in the Matter and Language of that Declaration, and in all those undutiful actions, of which we complain: and will they not be found in Honour, Fortune, Wisdom, Reputation, and Weight (if not in number) much Superior to them? So much for the Evil Councillors: Now, what is the Evil Council itself? Our coming from London, (where We, and many, whose affections to Us are very eminent, were in danger every day to be torn in pieces) to York, where We, and all such who will put themselves under Our Protection, may live (We thank God, and the loyalty and affection of this good people) very securely; Our not submitting Ourself absolutely (and renouncing Our own Understanding) to the Votes and Resolutions of the Contrivers of that Declaration, when they tell Us, They are above Us, and may (by our own Authority) do with Us what they please; and Our not being contented, that all Our good subjects Lives and Fortunes shall be disposed of by their Votes, but by the known Law of the land: This is the evil Council given and taken: And will not all Men believe there needs much power and skill (of the Malignant Party) to infuse this Council into Us? And now apply the Argument, the Contrivers of that Declaration makes for themselves: Is it probable, or possible, that such men whom We have mentioned (who must have so great a share in the misery) should take such pains in the procuring thereof, and spend so much time, and run so many hazards, to make themselves Slaves, and to ruin the Freedom of this Nation? We say, with a clear and upright Conscience to God Almighty, Whosoever harbours the least thought in his breast of ruining or violating the public Liberty or Religion of this Kingdom, or the just Freedom and Privilege of Parliament, let him be accursed; and he shall be no Counsellor of Ours that will not say, Amen. For the contrivers of that declaration, We have not said any thing which might imply any inclination in them to be Slaves; that which We have charged them, is with invading the public Liberty, and Our Presumption may be very strong and vehement, that (though they have no mind to be Slaves) they are not unwilling to be Tyrants: (What is Tyranny, but to admit no Rule to govern by, but their own wills?) And We know the misery of Athens was at the highest, when it suffered under the thirty Tyrants.  
If that Declaration had told Us (as indeed it might, and as in justice it ought to have done) that the Precedents of any of our Ancestors did fall short and much below what hath been done by Us this Parliament, in point of Grace and Favour to Our People, We should not otherwise have wondered at it, then at such a truth, in such a place: But when (to justify their having done more than ever their Predecessors did) it tells Our good Subjects (as most injuriously most insolently it doth) That the highest and most unwarrantable Precedents of any of Our Predecessors do fall short, and much below what hath been done to them this Parliament by Us, We must confess Ourself amazed, and not able to understand them: And We must tell those ungrateful Men (who dare tell their King, That they may, without want of Modesty and Duty, depose him) That the condition of Our Subjects, when (by whatsoever Accidents and Conjunctures of time) it was at worst, under Our power, unto which (by no default of Ours) they shall be ever again reduced, was, by many degrees, more pleasant and happy, then that to which their furious pretence of Reformation hath brought them: Neither are we afraid of the highest Precedents of other Parliaments, which these men boldly (Our good subjects will call it worse) tell Us, They might without want of Modesty and Duty, make their Patterns: If We had no other security against those Precedents, but their Modesty and Duty, We were in a miserable condition, as all persons will be who depend upon them.  
That Declaration will not allow Our Inference, That by avowing the Act of Sir john Hotham, they do destroy the Title and Interest of all Our Subjects to their Lands and Goods; but confesseth, if they were found guilty of that charge, it were indeed a very great crime. And do they not in this Declaration, admit themselves guilty of this very Crime? Do they not say, Who doubts but that a Parliament may dispose of any thing, wherein We, or Our Subjects have a Right in such a way as that the Kingdom may not be in danger thereby? Do they not then call themselves This Parliament, and challenge this Power without Our consent? Do they not extend this Power to all Cases, where the necessity, or the common good of the Kingdom is concerned? and do they not arrogate unto themselves alone the judgement of this Danger, this Necessity, this Common Good of the Kingdom? What is, if this be not to unsettle the Security of all men's Estates, and to expose them to an arbitrary Power of their own? If a Faction shall at any time, by Cunning, or Force, or absence, or accident, prevail over a major part of both Houses, and pretend that they are Evil Councillors, a Malignant Party about the King, by whom the Liberty and Religion of the Kingdom are both in danger; This they may do: they have done it. Then they may take away (be it from the King or People) whatsoever they, in their judgements, shall think fit: This is lawful, they have declared it so. Let the world judge, whether We charge them unjustly, and whether they are not guilty of the Crime, which themselves confess (being proved) is a great one, and how safely We might commit the Power, these people desire into their hands, who, in all probability, would be no sooner possessed of it, than they would revive that Tragedy which Master Hooker relates of the Anabaptists in Germany, who talking of nothing but Faith, and of the true Fear of God, and that Riches and Honour were vanity; at first, upon the great Opinion of their Humility, Zeal, and Devotion, procured much Reverence and Estimation with the people. After finding how many persons they had ensnared with their Hypocrisy, they began to propose to themselves, to reform both the Ecclesiastical and Civil Government of the State; Then, because, possibly, they might meet with some Opposition, they secretly entered into a League of Association; and shortly after (finding the power they had gotten with the credulous People) enriched themselves with all kind of spoil and pillage, and justified it upon our Saviour's promise, The meek shall inherit the earth; and declared their Title was the same which the righteous Israelites had unto the goods of the wicked Egyptians: This Story is worth the reading at large, and needs no application.  
But We must by no means say, That We have the same Title to Our Town of Hull, and the Ammunition there, as any of Our Subjects have to their Lands or Money, That's A Principle that pulls up the Foundation of the Liberty and Property of every Subject: Why, pray? Because the King's Property in his Towns and in his Goods, bought with the public Money (as they conceive Our Magazine at Hull was) is inconsistent with the Subjects Property in their Lands, Goods, and Liberty: Do these men think, That as they assume a power of Declaring Law (and whatsoever contradicts that Declaration, breaks their Privileges) so that they have a power of declaring Sense and Reason, and imposing Logic and Syllogisms on the Schools, as well as Law upon the People? Doth not all mankind know, That several man may have several Rights and Interests in the self same House and Land, and yet neither destroy the other? Is not the Interest of the Lord Paramont consistent with that of the Mesme Lord, and his with that of he Tenant, and yet their Properties and Interests not at all confounded? And why may not We then have a full Lawful Interest and Property in Our Town of Hull, and yet Our Subjects have a Property in their Houses too? But We, cannot sell or give away at Our pleasure Our Towns and Forts, as a private man may do his Lands or Goods: What then? Many men have no authority to Let or Set their Leases, or sell their Land; have they therefore no Title to them, or Interest in them? May they be taken from them, because they cannot sell them? The purpose of Our journey to Hull, was, neither to sell it, o● give it away.  
But for the Magazine, the M●●ition there, that We bought with our own Money; We might surely have sold that, lent, or given it away. No; We bought it with the public Money; and the proof is, They conceive it so; and upon this conceit have Voted, That it shall be taken from Us: Excellent justice! Suppose We had kept this Money by Us, and not bought Arms with it, would they have taken it from Us upon that conceit? Nay, may they not wheresoever this Money is (for through how many hands soever it hath passed, it is the public Money still, if it ever were) seize it and take it from the Owners? But the Towns, Forts, Magazine, and Kingdom is entrusted to Us, and We are a Person trusted; We are so, God and the Law hath trusted Us; and We have taken an Oath to discharge that trust for the good and safety of Our people: What Oaths they have taken, We know not, unless those which, in this violence, they have manifestly, maliciously violated. May any thing be taken from a man, because he is trusted with it? Nay, may the person himself take away the thing he trusts, when he will, and in what manner he will? The Law hath been otherwise, and We believe will be so held, notwithstanding their Declarations.  
But, This trust ought to be managed by their advice, and the Kingdom hath trusted them for that purpose: Impossible! That the same trust should be irrevocably committed to Us and our Heirs for ever, and the same trust, and a power above that trust (for such is the power they pretend) be committed to others: Did not the people that sent them, look upon them as a Body but Temporary, and dissoluble at Our Pleasure: And can it be believed, that they intended them for Our Guardians and Comptrollers in the managing of that Trust, which God and the Law hath granted to Us and Our Posterity for ever? What the extent of their Commission and Trust is, nothing can better teach them, than the Writ whereby they are met. We called them (and without that call they could not have come together) to be Our Counsellors, not Commanders; (for however they frequently confound them, the Offices are several) and Councillors, not in all things, but in some things; De quibusdam arduis, etc. And they will easily find amongst their Precedents, that Queen Elizabeth, (upon whose Time all Good Men look with Reverence) committed one Wentworth, a Member of the House of Commons, to the Tower (sitting the House) but for proposing, That they might advise the Queen, in a matter she thought they had nothing to do to meddle in: But We are trusted: and are We the only Person trusted? And may they do what their own inclination and fury leads them to? Were not they trusted by Us, when We first sent for them; and were they not trusted by Us, when We passed them Our promise, That We would not dissolve them? Can it be presumed (and presumptions go far with them) that We trusted them with a Power to destroy Us, and to dissolve Our Government and Authority? If the people might be allowed to make an equitable construction of the Laws and Statutes (a Doctrine avowed by them) would not all Our good Subjects swear, We never intended by that Act of continuance, that they should do what they have since done? Were they not trusted by those that have sent them? And were they trusted to alter the Government of Church and State, and to make themselves perpetual Dictator's over the King and People? Did they intent that the Law itself should be subject to their Votes, and that whatsoever they say or do, should be lawful, because they declare it so? The Oaths which they have taken, who sent them, and without taking which, themselves are not capable of their place in Parliament, makes the one uncapable of giving, and the other of receiving such a trust; unless they can persuade our good Subjects; That We are the only supreme Head and Governor in all causes, and over all persons, within Our Dominions; and yet that they have a power over Us to constrain Us to manage Our Trust, and govern Our Power, according to their discretion.  
The Contrivers of that Declaration tell Us, that they will never allow Us (an humble and dutiful Expression) to be judge of the Law; that belongs only to them; they may, and must judge and declare. We all know what Power the Pope, under the Pretence of Interpreting Scriptures, and declaring Articles of Faith (though he decline the making the one or the other) hath usurped over men's consciences; and that under colour of having Power of Ordering all things for the good of men's Souls, he Entiles himself to all the Kingdoms in the World. We Will not accuse the Framers of this Declaration (how bold soever they are with Us) that they incline to Popery; of which another Maxim is, That We must submit Our Reason and Understanding (and the Scripture itself) to that Declaring Power of his: Neither will We tell them (though they have told Us so) that they use the very language of the Rebels of Ireland: and yet they say those Rebels Declare, That whatsoever they do, is for the Good of the King and Kingdoin: But Our good Subjects will easily put the Case to themselves, Whether, if the Papists in Ireland in truth were, or by Art or Accident had made themselves the Major Part of both Houses of Parliament there, and had pretended the Trust (in that Declaration) from the Kingdom of Ireland; thereupon had Voted their Religion and Liberty to be in danger of extirpation from a Malignant Party of Protestants and Puritans; and therefore, that they should put themselves into a Posture of defence; That the Forts and Militia of that Kingdom were to be put into the hands of such persons as they could confide in; That We were indeed trusted with the Towns, Forts, Magazines, Treasures, Offices, and People of the Kingdom, for the Good, and Safety, and best Advantage thereof: But as this trust is for the use of the Kingdom, so it ought to be managed by the Advise of both Houses of Parliament, whom the Kingdom had trusted for that purpose; it being their duty to see it discharged, according to the Condition and true Intent thereof, and by all possible means to prevent the contrary: We say, Let all Our good Subjects consider, If that Rebellion had been plotted with this Formality, and those Circumstances, declared to be legal (at least, according to the equitable sense of the Law) and to be for the public good, and justifiable by necessity (of which they were the only Judges) Whether, though they might have thought their Design the more cunning, they would believe it the more justifiable? Nay, let the Framers of this Declaration ask themselves, If the Evil Counsellors, the Malignant Party, the Persons Ill-affected, the Popish Lords, and their Adherents, should prove now, or hereafter to be a Major part of both Houses (for it hath been declared a great part of both Houses have been such, and so might have been the greater; nay, that the greater part of the House of Peers was such (and We have not heard of any of their conversions) and thereupon it hath been earnestly pressed, That the Minor part of the Lords might join with the Major part of the House of Commons) were We bound to consent to all such Alterations as these men should propose to Us, and resolve to be for the public good; and must the Liberty, Property, and Security of all Our Subjects, depend on what such Votes should declare to be Law? Was the Order of the Militia unfit and unlawful, whiles the Major part of the Lords refused to join in it (as they did two, if not three several times, and it was never heard, before this Parliament, that they should be so, and so often pressed after a dissent declared) and did it grow immediately necessary for the public safety, and lawful by the Law of the Land, as soon as so many of the dissenting Peers were driven away (after their names had been required at the Bar, contrary to the Freedom and Foundation of Parliaments) that the other Opinion prevailed? Doth the Life and Liberty of the Subject depend upon such Accidents of days and hours, that it is impossible for him to know his right in either? God forbidden.  
But now to justify their Invasion of Our ancient, unquestioned, undoubted Right, settled and established on Us and Our Posterity, by God himself, confirmed and strengthened by all possible Titles of Compact, Laws, Oaths, perpetual and uncontradicted Custom by Our people: What have they alleged, to Declare to the Kingdom (as they say) the Obligation that lieth upon the Kings of this Realm to pass all such Bills as are offered unto them by both Houses of Parliament? (a thing never heard of till this day) An Oath (Authority enough for them to break all theirs) that is, or aught to be taken by the Kings of this Realm, which is, as well to remedy, by Law, such inconveniences the Kingdom may suffer, as to keep and protect the Laws already in being; And the form of this Oath (they say) appears upon a Record there cited, and by a Clause in the Preamble of a Statute made in the five and twentieth year of Edward the third.  
We are not enough acquainted with records, we to know whether that be fully and and ingeniously cited, and when, and how, and why the several clauses have been inserted, or taken out of the oaths formerly administered to the Kings of this Realm, yet we cannot possibly imagine, the assertion that Declaration makes; can be deduced from the words, or the matter of that oath; for unless they have a power of declaring Latin, as We as Law, sure Eligerit signifieth, hath chosen (as well as Choose) and that it signifieth so here (besides the authority of perpetual practice of all succeeding ages (a better interpreter than their Votes) is evident by the reference it hath to customs; Consuetudines quas vulgus elegerit, and could that be a Custom, which the people should choose after this Oath taken, and should a King be sworn to defend such Customs? Besides, can it be imagined that he should be bound by oath to pass such Laws (and such a Law is the Bill they brought to Us of the Militia) as should put the power, wherewith he is trussed, out of himself in the hands of other men, and so divest and disable him of all possible power to perform the great business of the oath, which is, To protect them? If we give away all Our power, or if it be taken from Us, we cannot protect any man: And what discharge would it be for us, either before God or Man, (when our good Subjects, whom God and the Law hath committed to our charge, shall be worried and spoilt) to say, That we trusted others to protect them; that is, to do that duty for Us, which is essentially and inseparably our own. But that all Our good Subjects may see, how faithfully these men (who assume this trust from them) desire to discharge their trust; We shall be contented to publish, for their satisfaction (a matter notorious enough, but which we ourself never thought to have been but to publish, and of which the Framers of that Declaration might as well have made use, as of a Latin record they knew many of our good Subjects could not, and many of themselves do not understand) the Oath itself we took at our Coronation, warranted and enjoined to it by Custom and directions of our Predecessors; and the Ceremony or their and our taking it, they may find it in the Records of the Exchequer: This it is.  

The Sermon being done, the Archbishop goeth to the King, and asks his willingness to take the Oath usually taken by his Predecessors.  
The King showeth himself willing, ariseth, and goeth to the Altar; The Archbishop administereth these Questions, and the King answers them severally.  Episcopus. 
Sir, Will you grant and keep, and by your Oath confirm to the people of England, the Laws and Customs to them granted by the Kings of England, your Lawful and Religious Predecessors; and namely the Laws, Customs, and Franchises granted to the Clergy, by the glorious King, Saint Edward your Predecessor, according to the Laws of God, the true Profession of the Gospel established in this Kingdom, and agreeable to the Prerogative of the Kings thereof, and the ancient Customs of this Realm?  REX. 
I grant and promise to keep them.  Episcopus. 
Sir, Will you keep Peace and godly Agreement entirely (according to your power) both to God, the holy Church, the Clergy, and the People?  REX. 
I will keep it.  Episcopus. 
Sir, Will you (to your power) cause Law, Justice, and Discretion in Mercy and Truth to be executed in all your Judgements?  REX. 
I will.  Episcopus. 
Will you grant, to hold and keep the Laws and rightful customs which the Commonalty of this your Kingdom have; and will you defend and uphold them to the honour of God, so much as in you lieth.  REX. 
I grant and promise so to do.  Then one of the Bishops reads this Admonition to the King before the people, with a loud voice. 
Our Lord and King, We beseech you to pardon, and to grant, and to preserve unto us, and to the Churches committed to our charge, all Canonical Privileges, and due Law and Justice; and that you would Protect and defend us, as every good King, in his Kingdom, aught to be Protector and Defender of the Bishops, and the Churches under their Government.  The King answereth: 
With a willing and devout Heart, I promise and grant my pardon; and that I will preserve and maintain to you, and the Churches committed to your charge, all Canonical Privilenges, and due Law and Justice, and that I will be your Protector and Defender, to my power, by the assistance of God, as every good King in his Kingdom, in Right aught to protect and defend the Bishops, and Churches under their Government.  Then the King ariseth, and is led to the Communion Table, where he makes a solemn Oath, in sight of all the people, to observe the Premises: And laying his hand upon the Book, saith: 
The Oath. The things which I have before promised, I shall perform and keep: So help me God, and the Contents of this Book.   
Let all the world judge, whether such Doctrine, or such Conclusions as these Men teach, can follow, or have the least pretence from this Oath.  
For the Preamble of the Statute, (they cite) that tells us, That the King is bound to remedy by Law, the Mischiefs and Damages which happen to His people; He is so: But is the King bound, by the Preamble of that Statute, to renounce his own judgement, His own understanding, in these Mischiefs, and of those remedies? How fare forth He is obliged to follow the judgement of His Parliament, that Declararation still confesseth to be a question: without question, none can take upon them to remedy, even mischiefs, but by Law, for fear of greater mischiefs than those they go about to remedy.  
But We are bound in Justice, to consent to their proposals, because there is a Trust reposed in Us to preserve the Kingdom, by making new Laws: We are glad there is so; Then we are sure no new Laws can be made without Our consent, and that the gentleness of our Answer, Le Roys ' avisera, if it be no denial, is no consent, and then the matter is not great. They will allow Us yet A greater latitude of granting or denying, as We shall think fit, in public Acts of Grace, as Pardons, or the like Grants of Favour: why do they so? If those Pardons and public Acts of Grace, be for the public good (which they may Vote they are) they will then be absolutely in their own disposal: But have they left Us this power? They have sure, at least, shared it with Us: How else have they got the power to pardon Sergeant-major-Generall Skippon (a new Officer, of State, and a Subject, we have no authority to sent to speak with) and all other persons employed by them, and such as have employed themselves for them, not only for what they have done, but for what they shall do? If they have power to declare such Actions to be no Treason, which we would not pardon, and such Actions to be Treason, which needs no pardon, the Latitude they allow Us, of granting or denying of Pardons, is a Jewel they may still be contented to suffer Us to wear in our Crown, and never think themselves the more in danger.  
All this considered; The Contriver of that Message (since they will afford him no better Title) whom they are angry with, doth not conceive the people of this Land to be so void of common sense, as to believe Us (who have denied no one thing for the ease and benefit of them, which in Justice or Prudence could be asked; or in honour and conscience could be granted) to have cast off all care of our Subjects good; and the Framers and Devisers of that Declaration (who have endeavoured to render us odious to our Subjects, and them disloyal to us, by pretending such a trust from them) to have only taken it up: Neither (we are confident) will they be satisfied, when they feel the misery and the Burdens, which the fury and the malice of those people will bring upon them, with being told that Calamity proceeds from evil Councillors, whom no body can name; from Plots and Conspiracies, which no man can discover; and from Fears and Jealousies, which no man understands: And therefore, that the consideration of it, be left to the Conscience, Reason, Affection, and Loyalty of Our good Subjects, who do understand the Government of this Kingdom, we are well content.  
Where will the folly and madness of these people end? who would have our people believe, that our absenting ourselves from London (where, with our safety, we could not stay) and the continuing Our Magazine at Hull, proceeds from the secret plots of the Papists here, and to advance the designs of the Papists in Ireland: But it is no wonder, that they, who can believe Sir john hotham's shutting us out of Hull to be an act of affection and loyalty, will believe that the Papists, or the Turks, persuaded us to go thither.  
An (can any sober man think that Declaration to be the consent of either, or both Houses of Parliament, unaltered either by Fraud or Force, which (after so many Thanks and humble Acknowledgement of our gracious favour in our Message of the 20. of January so often and unanimously presented unto us from both Houses of Parliament (tells us that the Message at first was, and (as often as it hath been since mentioned by us) hath been a breach of Privilege (of which they have not used to be so negligent, as in four months not to complain, if such a breach had been) and that the way and method of proceeding should not be proposed to them, as if we had only authority to call them together, none to tell them what they were to do, not so much as with reference to our own affairs: what their own Method hath been, and whither it hath led them, and brought the Kingdom, all men see; what ours would have been, if seasonably and timely applied unto, let all men judge. We will speak no more of it.  
But see now what excellent Instances they have found out to prove an Inclination, if not in Us, in some about Us, to civil war: Their gving with Us to the House of Commons (so often urged, and so fully answered) Their attending on Us to Hampton Court; and appearing in a warlike manner at Kingston upon Thames; Our going to Hull; Their drawing their Swords at York, demanding, Who world be for the King; the declaring Sir john Hotham Traitor, before the Message sent to the Parliament; the Propositions to the Gentry in Yorkshire, to assist Us against him, before We had received an answer from the Parliament: All desperate Instances of an Inclination to a civil war; Examine them again: The manner and intent of Our going to the House of Commons, We set forth at large in Our Answer to their Declaration of the nineteenth of May; let all men judge. Next, Do these men themselves believe (to what purpose soever that Rumour hath served their turns) that there was an Appearance in warlike manner at Kingston upon Thames? Do they not know, that whensoever We have been at Hampton Court, since Our first coming to the Crown, there was never a less Appearance, or in a less warlike manner then at the time they mean: We shall say no more, But that Our Appearance, in a warlike manner, at Kingston upon Thames, and theirs at Kingston upon Hull, is very different. What is meant by the drawing of swords at York, and demanding, who would be for the King, must be inquired at London, for We believe very few in York understand the meaning of it. For Our going to Hull (which they will by no means endure shall be called a Visit) whether it were not the way to prevent, rather than to make a Civil War, is very obvious: And the declaring him a Traitor, in the very Act of his Treason, will never be thought unseasonable, but by those, who believe him to be a loving and loyal Subject; no more than the endeavouring to make the Gentlemen of this County sensible of that Treason (which they are, in an honourable and dutiful degree) before We received Our Answer from both Houses of Parliament: For if they had been (as We expected they should have been) sensible of that intolerable injury offered to Us; might not We have had occasion to have used the affection of these Gentleman? Were we sure that Sir John Hotham, who had kept Us out, without their Order (We speak of a public Order) would have let Us in when they had bidden him? And if they had not such a sense of Us (as the Case falls out to be) had We not more reason to make Proposition to those Gentlemen, whose readiness and affection We, or Our Posterity, shall never forget?  
But this business of Hull sticks still with them, and finding Our Questions hard, they are pleased to Answer Us by ask Us other Questions: No matter for the Exceptions against the Earl of Newcastle, (which have been so often urged, as one of their principal Grounds of their Fears and jealousies, and which drew that Question from us) they ask Us, Why, since We held it necessary that a Governor should be placed in Hull, Sir john Hotham should be refused by Us, and the Earl of Newcastle sent down? We answer, Because we had a better Opinion of the Earl of Newcastle, then of Sir john Hotham, and desired to have such a Governor over Our Towns, (if We must have any) as should keep them for, and not against Us: And if his going down were in a more private way, than Sir John hotham's, it was because We had that Authority to make a noise, by Levying and billeting of Soldiers in a peaceable Time, upon Our good Subjects, as it seems Sir John Hotham carried down with him: And the Imputation which is cast by the way upon that Earl, to make his Reputation 〈…〉 thought was not Ground enough for a Judicial Proceeding, (it is wonder it was not) was yet Ground enough of Suspicion, must be the Case of every Subject in England (and we wish it went no higher:) If every vile Aspersion contrived by unknown hands, upon unknown or unimaginable Grounds (which is the way practised to bring any virtuous and deserving men into obloquy) shall receive the least credit or countenance in the world.  
They tell us their Exception to those Gentlemen, who delivered their Petition to to us at York, was, That they presumed to take the stile upon them of all the Gentry and Inhabitants of that County, whereas (they say) so many more of as good Quality as themselves, of that County, were of another opinion; and have since, by their Petition to Us, disavowed that Act: Their Information, in that point, is no better than it useth to be, and and they will find, that neither the number, or the quality of those who have, or will disavow that Petition, are as they imagine; though too many weak persons are miss (which they do, and will every day more understand) by the Faction, Skill, and Industry of that true Malignant Party, of which we do, and have reason to complain: They say, they Have received no Petition of so strange a nature; what nature? Contrary to the Votes of both Houses: that is, they have received no Petition they had no mind to receive: But we told them, and we tell them again, and all our good Subjects will tell them, that they have received Petitions (with joy and approbation) against the votes of both Houses of their Predecessors, confirmed and established into Laws, by the consent of Us and our Ancestors, and allowed those Petitions to carry the Style, and to seem to carry the desires o● Cities, Towns, and Counties, when of either City, Town, or County very few known or considerable persons have been privy to such Petitions: whereas, in truth, the Petitions delivered to Us (against which they except) carried not the Style of All, but Some of the Gentry and Inhabitants, and employed no other consent, than such as went visibly along with it.  
But we are all this while in a mistake The Magazine at Hull is not taken from us: Who told you so? They who assure you (and whom, without breaking their privileges, you must believe) that Sir Lo: hotham's shutting the gates against us, and resisting our entrance with armed men (though we thought it in defiance of us) was indeed in obedience to us and our Authority, and for our Service, and the Service of the Kingdom. He was to let none in, but such as came with our Authority, signified by both Houses of Parliament (himself and they had ordered it so) and therefore he kept us out, only till We, or he might send for their directions. We know not whether the Contrivers of that Declaration meant that our good Subjects should so soon understand (though it was plain enough to be understood) the meaning of the King's authority, signified by both ho●ses of Parliament: But sure the world will now easily discern, in what miserable case we had, by this time, been ('tis bad enough as it is) if we had consented to their Bill, or to their Ordinance of the Mili jam, and given those men power to have raised all the Arms of the Kingdom against us (for the common good) by our own Authority: would they not (as they have kept us from Hull) by this time have beaten us from York and pursued us out of the Kingdom, in our own behalf? Nay, may not this Munition (which is not taken from us) be employed against us? Nor against our Authority, signified by both Houses of Parliament, but only to kill those ill Councillors, the Malignant Party, which is about us; and yet for our good, for the public good (they will declare it so) and so no Treason within the Statute of 25. of Ed. the 〈…〉 hath left us (the King of England) absolutely 〈…〉 less provided for, in point of safety, than the meanest Subject of the Kingdom; and every Subject of this Land (for whose security that Law was made, that they may know their duty, and their danger in breaking it) may be made a Traitor, when these men please to say, He is so: But do they think, that upon such an Interpretation (upon pretence of Authority of Book-Cases, and Precedents, which, without doubt, they would have cited, if they had been to their purpose) out of which nothing can result, but confusion to King and people; will find any credit with our good Subjects? and that so excellent a Law made both for security of King and people) shall be so eluded, By an Interpretation, no learned Lawyer in England will at this hour (We believe) set under his hand, notwithstanding the Authority of that Declaration, which, we hope, shall bring nothing but infamy upon the Contrivers of it.  
Now to their privileges: Though it be true they say, That their privileges do not extend to Treason, Felony, or breach of the Peace, so as to attempt Members from all manner of Process and Trial, yet it doth privilege them in the way or method of their Trial; the Cause must be first brought before them, and their Consent asked before you can proceed: Why then their privileges extend as fare in these cases, as in any that are most unquestioned; for no privilege whatsoever, exempts them from all manner of Process and Trial, if you first acquaint the House with it, and they give you leave to proceed by those Process, or to that Trial: But, by this Rule, if a Member of either House commit a Murder, you must, by no means, meddle with him, till you have acquainted that House (of which he is a Member) and received their direction for your proceeding; assuring yourself, He will not stir from that place where you left him, till you return with their consent: Should it be otherwise, it would be in the power of every man, under pretence of Murder, to take one after another, and as many as he pleaseth, and so consequently bring a Parliament to what he pleaseth, when he pleaseth: If a Member of either House shall take a Purse at York (he may as probably take a Purse from a Subject, as Arms against his King) you must ride to London to know what to do, and he may ride with you, and take a new Purse every Stage, and must not be apprehended, or declared a Felon, till you have asked that House, of which he is a Member: Should it be otherwise, it might be in every man's power, to accuse as many Members as he would, of taking Purses, and so bring a Parliament (and so all Parliament,) to nothing. Would these men be believed? And yet they make no doubt But every one who hath taken the Protestation, will defend this Doctrine with his Life and Fortune. Will not Our Subjects believe, That they have imposed a pretty Protestation upon them, and that they had a very good end in the doing it, if it obligeth them to such hazards, to such undertake? Must they forget or neglect Our Person, Honour, and Estate, which by that Protestation they are bound to defend, and in some degree do understand; and must they only venture their Lives and Fortunes, to justify Privileges they know not, or ever heard of before? Or are they bound, by that Protestation, to believe, That the Framers of that Declaration, have power to extend their own Privileges, as fare as they think fit, and to contract Our Rights as much as they please, and that they are bound to believe them in either, and to venture their Lives and Fortunes in that quarrel?  
From Declaring how mean a person we are, and how much the Kingdom hath been mistaken in the understanding of the Statute of 25. E. 3. concerning Treason; and that all men need not fear levying War against us, so they have their order to warrant them; they proceed, in the spirit of declaring, to certify our Subjects in the mistake, which near one hundred and fifty years have been received, concerning the Statue of the eleventh year of H. 7. cap. 1. (a Stature our good Subjects will read with comfort) and tell them, that the serving of the King, for the time being, cannot be meant of Perkin Warbeck, or of any that should call himself King, but Such a one as is allowed and received by the Parliament in the behalf of the Kingdom; And are we not so allowed? However through a dark mist of words, and urging their old Privileges (which we hope we have sufficiently answered, and will be every day more confuted by the actions of our good Subjects) they conclude, That those that shall guide themselves by the judgement of Parliament (which they say is their own) ought, whatsoever happen, to be secure and free from all all account and penalties, upon the ground and equity of that very Statute. How far their own Chancellors may help them in that equity, We know not, but (by the help of God, and that good Law) we shall allow no such equity.  
So then, here is the Doctrine of that Declaration, and these are the Positions of the Contrivers of it.  
1. That they have an absolute power of declaring the Law, and that what soever they declare to be so, ought not to be questioned by ourselves, or any Subject: so that all Right and safety of us and our people must depend upon their pleasure.  
2. That no Precedents can be limits to bond their proceed: so they may do what they please.  
3. That a Parliament may dispose of any thing, wherein the King or Subject hath a right, for the public good; That they, without the King, are this Parliament, and judge of this public good; and that our consent is not necessary: so, the life, and liberty of the Subject, and all the good Laws made for the security of them, may be disposed of, and repealed by the major part of both Houses, at any time present, and by any ways and means procured so to be; and we have no power to protect them.  
4. That no Member of either House, aught to be troubled or meddled with, for Treason, Felony, or any other crime, without the cause first brought before them, that they may judge of the fact, and their leave obtained to proceed.  
5. That the soeveraigne power resides in both Houses of Parliament, and that we have no negative voice: so than we ourselves must be subject to their commands.  
6. That the levying of forces against te personal commands of the King (though accompanied with his presence) is not levying war against the King; but the levying war against his Laws and authority (which they have power to declare and signify) though not against his person, is levying war against the King; and that Treason cannot be committed against his person, otherwise then as he is entrusted with the Kingdom, and discharging that trust, and that they have a power to judge whether he discharge this trust or no.  
7. That, If they should maketh highest Precedents of other Parliaments, their Patitions there would he not cause to complain of want of modesty or Duty in them: That is, They may Depose us when they will, and are not to be blamed for so doing.  
And now (as if the mere publishing of their Resolutions, would not only prevail with the people, but, in the instant, destroy all spirit and courage in us, to preserve our own right and honour) they have, since, taken the boldness to assault us with certain Propositions, which they call, The most necessary effectual means for the removing those jealousies and Differences between us and our People: That is, that we will be content to direst ourselves of all our Regal Rights and Dignities; be content with the Title of a King and suffer them (according to their Discretion) to govern us and the Kingdom, and to dispose of our Children: how suitable and agreeable this Doctrine, and these Demands are, to the affection of our loving Subjects, under whose Trust these men pretend to say and do these monstrous things, and to design, not only the ruin of our Person, but of Monarchy itself (which we may justly say, is more than ever was offered in any of our predecessors times; for though the Person of the King hath been sometimes unjustly deposed, yet the Regal power was never, before this time, strucken at) we believe our good Subjects will find some way to let them and the World know: and from this time such who have been misled by their ill Counsels, to have any hand in the execution of the Militia, will see to what ends their Service is designed; and therefore if they shall presume hereafter to meddle in it, they must expect, that we will immediately proceed against them as actual raisers of sedition, and as enemies to our sovereign power.  
We have done: and shall now expect the worst actions these men have power to commit against us: (worse words they cannot give us) and we doubt not, but the major part of both Houses of Parliament, when they may come together with their honour and safety, (as well those who were surprised, at the passing of it, and unstood not the Malice in it, and the confusion that must grow by it, if believed, as those who were absent or involved) will so far resent the Indignity offered to us, the dishonour to themselves, and the mischief to the whole Kingdom, by that Declaration, that they will speedily make the foul Contrivers of it, instances of their exemplary justice, and brand them and their Doctrine with the Marks of their perpetual Scorn and Indignation.  
FINIS.