HIS MAJESTY'S DECLARATION To all His loving SUBJECTS; Showing His true Intentions in advancing lately to Brainford: TOGETHER With the Answer of both Houses of Parliament to His Message of the 12th of NOVEMBER; WITH His Majesties REPLY thereunto.  
LONDON: Printed by ROBERT BARKER, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty: And by the Assigns of JOHN BILL. MDCXLII.   royal blazon or coat of arms HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE DIEV ET MON DROIT  

His MAJESTY'S Declaration To all His loving Subjects, of His true Intentions in advancing lately to Brainford.  
THough Our Reputation be most dear to Us, and especially in those cases wherein the truth of Our most solemn Professions (and by consequence of Our Christianity) is questioned, yet it is not only for the Vindication of that, and to clear Ourselves from such Aspersions, but withal to preserve Our Subjects in their just Esteem of, and Duty to Us, and from being engaged into Crimes and Dangers by those malicious reports, so spitefully framed and cunningly spread against Us concerning Our late advancing to Brainford, That We have resolved to publish this Our following Declaration.  
AT Colebrook, on Friday the 11th of November, We received a Petition from both Our Houses of Parliament, by the Earl of Northumberland, the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomerie, the Lord Wenman, Master Perpoint, and Sir John Hippisly: And indeed We were well pleased to see it so much liker to a Petition, than the other Papers We had often of late received under that Name, and returned to it the next day so gracious an Answer, that We assure Ourselves could not but be very satisfactory to all that were truly lovers of Peace. The copies of both do here follow.  

To the Kings most Excellent Majesty,  
The humble Petition of the Lords and Commons now assembled in Parliament.  
WE Your Majesty's most loyal Subjects the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled, being affected with a deep and piercing sense of the miseries of this Kingdom, and of the dangers to Your Majesty's Person, as the present Affairs now stand, and much quickened therein with the sad consideration of the great effusion of Blood at the late Battle, and of the loss of so many eminent Persons: And further, weighing the addition of loss, misery, and danger to Your Majesty and Your Kingdom, which must ensue, if both Armies should again join in another Battle, as without God's especial Blessing, and Your Majesty's concurrence with Your Houses of Parliament, will not probably be avoided.  
We cannot but believe, that a suitable Impression of tenderness and compassion is wrought in Your Majesty's Royal Heart; being Yourself an eyewitness of the bloody and sorrowful destruction of so many of Your Subjects; And that Your Majesty doth apprehend what diminution of Your own Power and Greatness will follow, and that all Your Kingdoms will thereby be so weakened, as to become subject to the attempts of any illaffected to this State. In all which respects, we assure ourselves that Your Majesty will be inclined graciously to accept this our humble Petition, that the misery and desolation of this Kingdom may be speedily removed and prevented. For the effecting whereof, we most humbly beseech Your Majesty to appoint some convenient place, not far from the City of London, where Your Majesty will be pleased to reside, until Committees of both Houses of Parliament may attend Your Majesty with some Propositions for the removal of these bloody Distempers and Distractions, and settling the State of the Kingdom, in such a manner, as may conduce to The preservation of God's true Religion; Your Majesty's Honour, Safety and Prosperity; and to The Peace, Comfort, and Security of all Your People.   

His Majesty's Answer to the aforesaid Petition.  
WE take God to witness how deeply We are affected with the miseries of this Kingdom, which heretofore We have striven, as much as in Us lay, to prevent; it being sufficiently known to all the world, That as We were not the first that took up Arms, so We have showed Our readiness of Composing all things in a fair way by Our several offers of Treaty, and shall be glad now at length to find any such inclinations in others: The same tenderness to avoid the Destruction of Our Subjects (whom We know to be Our greatest strength) which would always make Our greatest Victories bitter to Us, shall make Us willingly hearken to such Propositions whereby these bloody distempers may be stopped, and the great distractions of this Kingdom settled, to God's glory, Our Honour, and the welfare and flourishing of Our People; And to that end shall reside at Our own Castle at Windsor (if the Forces there shall be removed) till Committees may have time to attend Us with the same (which, to prevent the Inconveniencies that will intervene, We wish may be hastened) and shall be ready there (or if that be refused Us) at any place where We shall be, to receive such Propositions as aforesaid, from both Our Houses of Parliament. Do you your duty; We will not be wanting to Ours; God of his mercy give a Blessing.   
BUt the same night after the Messengers were gone, certain information was brought unto Us, That the same day the Earl of Essex had drawn his forces with great store of Ordnance out of London towards Us, upon which a Council of War being present, and We having there considered, upon debate, Our present Condition, That being already almost surrounded by his forces, some at Windsor, some at Kingston, and some at Acton, If We ●…ered the remainder to possess Brainford, We should be totally hemmed in, and Our Army deprived of all convenience of either moving or subsisting. Yet how necessary soever it appeared, We could not obtain Our own consent to advance towards Brainford, and either prepossess it, or dispossess them of it, till We had satisfied Ourselves that it was as lawful as necessary, and fully weighed all, that not only reason, but malice it self (which We knew to be very watchful upon Our Actions) could object against it. We considered first that it could not reasonably be esteemed an aversion from Peace, and an intention to interrupt the Treaty then in expectation; Since on the other side We had cause to believe by the former rejection of Our offers of Treaty, when We were supposed to be in no condition of strength, That if We would not thus preserve Ourselves from being so encompassed as to come into their Powers, the very possibility of a Treaty would immediately vanish. We considered next, that much less could it be interpreted any breach of Faith, since willingness to receive Propositions of Treaty was never held to amount to a suspension of Arms; Since otherwise We must (because mention of a Treaty had been once made) by the same Logic have been bound not to hinder them to encompass Us on all parts to Colebrook Towns end; Since no word to that purpose (of any suspension) was in Our Answer; Nay, since in that (by wishing their Propositions might be hastened, to prevent the inconveniences which would intervene) We employed, that by this Arms were not suspended; And since their own Votes of proceeding vigorously, notwithstanding the Petition, and their own actions, in sending after their Messengers great store of forces with Ordnance so near to Us (having before girt Us in on all other parts, and sent men and Ordnance to Kingston after the safe conduct asked of Us) implied the same.  
Being resolved upon these Reasons, That this advancing was necessary and just, We were not yet satisfied till We had endeavoured the same day (though the interruptions of shooting stopped up the way till the next) to satisfy Our Parliament and People of the same, and that Peace was still Our desire, We to that end directed a Message by John White Esquire, which was so received, that his danger of being put to death for bringing it, and the imprisonment of him and the Trumpeter that went with him in the Gatehouse, shown that the very Law of Nations was by some no more considered than all other Laws had been before. A Copy of which Message hereafter follows, to show how little temptation the matter of that gave them for such an usage.  

His MAJESTY'S Message of the 12. of NOVEMBER.  
WHereas the last night, being the eleventh of November, after the departure of the Committee of both Our Houses, with Our gracious Answer to their Petition, We received certain Information, (having till then heard nothing of it, either from the Houses Committee or otherwise) That the Lord of Essex had drawn his Forces out of London towards Us, which hath necessitated Our sudden Resolution to march with Our Forces to Brainford; We have thought hereby fit to signify to both Our Houses of Parliament, That We are no lesse-desirous of the Peace of the Kingdom, than We expressed in Our aforesaid Answer; The Propositions for which We shall willingly receive where ever We are, And desire (if it may be) to receive them at Brainford this night, or early to morrow morning; That all possible speed may be made in so good a work, and all inconveniencies, otherwise likely to intervene, may be avoided.   
ANd to justify yet further, that Our intention was no other than was here professed, assoon as We were informed that the Earl of Essex his Forces were departed from Kingston, before any appearance or notice of further Forces from London, (Our end of not being enclosed being obtained) We gave orders to quit Brainford, and to march away, and possess that place.  
We cannot but make one Argument more of the truth of Our Profession, that this was all Our end, and that We had not the least thought, by so advancing, to surprise and sack London, (which the malignant Party would infuse into that Our City) And that is, That probably God Almighty would not have given such a Blessing to Our journey, as to have assisted Us so both by Land and Water, as with less than a third part of Our Foot, and with the loss but of ten men, to beat two of their best Regiments out of both Brainfords, for all the great advantage of their works in them, to kill him who commanded in chief, and kill and drown many others, To take five hundred Prisoners, more Arms, eleven Colours, and good store of Ammunition, fifteen pieces of Ordnance, (whereof We sunk most that We brought not away) and then unfought with, and unoffered at, nearer than by Ordnance, to march away, notwithstanding the great disadvantage of Our Forces by the difficulties of the Passages, if He, who is the Searcher of all hearts, and Truth itself, had not known the truth of Our Professions, and the innocence of Our heart, and how far We were from deserving those horrid Accusations of Falsehood, and Treachery cast so point blank upon Our own Person, that it would amaze any man to see them suffered to be printed in Our City of London, if any thing of that kind could be a wonder, after so many of the same, and how really they desire Accommodation, who upon this have Voted they will have none.  
These Our Reasons for this Action, This Our satisfaction sent for it, and this Blessing of Gods upon it, will (We doubt not) clear Us to all indifferent persons both of the jesuitical Counsels, and the personal Treachery to which some have presumed so impudently to impute it; And God so bless Our future Actions, as We have delivered the truth of this.   

The Answer of both HOUSES of PARLIAMENT, To His Majesty's Message of the twelfth of November.  
TO Your Majesty's Message of the twelfth of this Month of November, We the Lords and Commons in Parliament do make this humble Answer; That this Message was not delivered to us till Monday the 14th. We thought it a strange Introduction to Peace, that Your Majesty should send Your Army to beat us out of our Quarters at Brainford, and then appoint that place to receive our Propositions, which, yet it plainly appears, Your Majesty intended not to receive, till You had first tried, whether You could break thorough the Army raised for the defence of this Kingdom and Parliament, and take the City being unprovided and secure in expectation of a fair Treaty made to secure the City. If herein Your Majesty had prevailed, after You had destroyed the Army, and mastered the City, it is easy to imagine what a miserable Peace we should have had, and whether those courses be suitable to the expressions Your Majesty is pleased to make in Your Answer to our Petition, of Your earnestness to avoid any further effusion of blood, let God and the world judge.  
As for our Proceed, they have in all things been answerable to our Professions: we gave directions to the Earl of Essex to draw the Army under his Command out of the City and Suburbs, before we sent any Message to Your Majesty: So that part of it was inquartered at Brainford before the Committee returned with Your Answer. And immediately upon the receipt thereof, that very morning Order was taken that the Soldiers should exercise no act of hostility against any of Your Majesty's people. We sent a letter by Sir Peter Killigrew to know Your Majesty's pleasure whether you intended the like forbearance of hostility. But the fury of Your Soldiers, thirsting after blood and spoil, prevented the delivery of the letter. For coming upon Saturday in his way towards Your Majesty as far as Brainford, he found them in fight there, and could pass no further. God who sees our innocence, and that we have no aims, but at his glory, and the public good, will (we hope) free Your Majesty from those destructive Counsels who labour to maintain their own power by blood and rapine, and bless our endeavours, who seek nothing, but to procure and establish the Honour, Peace and Safety of Your Majesty and Kingdoms, upon the sure foundation of Religion and Justice.   

To the Answer of both HOUSES of Parliament to His Majesty's Message of the twelfth of November, His Majesty makes this REPLY.  
THat His Message of the twelfth, though not received by them till the 14th, was sent to them first upon the same day upon which it was dated, and, meeting with stops by the way, was again sent upon the thirteenth, and taken upon that day at ten in the morning by the Earl of Essex, and though not to him directed, was by him opened, so the slowness of the Delivery is not so strange as the stop of the Letter said to be sent by Sir Peter Killigrew, which His Majesty hath not yet received, but concludes from the matter expressed to have been contained in that Letter (to wit, to know His Pleasure, whether He intended the forbearance of Hostility) and by the Command of such forbearance said to be sent to the Lord of Essex his Army, that no such forbearance was already concluded, and consequently neither had His Majesty cause to suppose, that He should take any of their Forces unprovided and secure in expectation of a fair Treaty, neither could any Hostile Act of His Majesty's Forces have been a course unsuitable to His expressions, much less could an endeavour to prepossess (for so He hoped He might have done) that Place, which might have stopped the further March of those Forces towards Him (which, for aught appeared to Him, might as well have been intended to Colebrook as to Brainford) and by that the further effusion of blood, deserve that style.  
His Majesty further conceives, That the printing so out of time of such a Declaration, as their Reply to His Answer to theirs of the sir and twentieth of May, but the day before they Voted the delivery of their Petition, and the March of the Earl of Essex his Forces to Brainford so near to His Majesty, when the Committee at the same time attended Him with a Petition for a Treaty, the Earl of Essex being before possessed of all the other Avenues to his Army, by his Forces at Windsor, Acton, and Kingston, was a more strange introduction to Peace, then for His Majesty not to suffer Himself to be cooped up on all sides, because a Treaty had been mentioned, which was so really and so much desired by His Majesty, that this Proceeding seems to Him purposely by some intended to divert (which it could not do) that His Inclination.  
That His Majesty had no intention to master the City by so advancing, besides His Profession, which (how meanly soever they seem to value it) He conceives a sufficient Argument (especially being only opposed by Suspicions and Surmises) may appear by His not pursuing His Victory at Brainford, but giving Orders to His Army to march away to Kingston as soon as He heard that place was quitted, before any notice or appearance of further Forces from London; Nor could He find a better way to satisfy them before hand, that He had no such intention, but that His desire of Peace, and of Propositions that might conduce to it, still continued, then by that Message of the twelfth, for which care of His He was requited by such a Reception of His Message and Messenger, as was contrary at once both to Duty, Civility, and the very Customs, and Law of War, and Nations, and such as theirs (though after this Provocation) hath not found from Him.  
His Majesty wonders that His Soldiers should be charged with thirsting after Blood, who took above five hundred Prisoners in the very heat of the fight, His Majesty having since dismissed all the common Soldiers, and entertained such as were willing to serve Him, and required only from the rest an Oath not to serve against Him: And His Majesty supposes such most apt and likely to maintain their Power by Blood and Rapine, who have only got it by Oppression and Injustice; That His is vested in Him by the Law, and by that only (if the destructive Counsels of others would not hinder such a Peace, in which that might once again be the Universal Rule, and in which Religion and justice can only flourish) He desires to maintain it. And if Peace were equally desired by them, as it is by His Majesty, He conceives it would have been proper to have sent him such a Paper as should have contained just Propositions of Peace, and not an unjust Accusation of His Counsels, Proceed and Person. And His Majesty intends to march to such a distance from His City of London, as may take away all pretence of apprehension from His Army, that might hinder them in all security from yet preparing them to present to Him, and there will be ready either to receive them, or to end the pressures, and miseries, which His Subjects to His great grief suffer through this War, by a present Battle.   
FINIS.