HIS MAJESTY'S DECLARATION To all His loving Subjects, Upon occasion of a late Printed Paper, ENTITLED, A Declaration and Protestation of the Lords and Commons in Parliament to this Kingdom, and the whole World, of the 22d of October.  
Printed by His MAJESTY'S Command AT OXFORD, By LEONARD LICHFIELD Printer to the University. 1642.   

HIS MAJESTY'S DECLARATION TO ALL HIS LOVING SUBJECTS Upon occasion of a late printed paper, ENTITLED, A DECLARATION AND PROTEstation of the Lords and Commons in Parliament to this Kingdom, and the whole World, of the 22d of October.  
IF in truth the framers of this Declaration are not engaged by any private passion or respect, by any evil intention to Our Person, or design to the prejudice of Our Just Honour and Authority, to raise these forces and Army against Us (as they call Almighty God to witness they are not) they will think it their duty to disclaim the Protection of the Conductors of that Army, who the next day after this so solemn Protestation, used their utmost power by the strength of that Army to have destroyed Us, and put Our Person (for whose defence they would make the world believe this Army is raised) into as much danger as the skill and malice of desperate Rebels could do, otherwise this Protestation now made, will appear of the same nature with those by which they promised to make Us a glorious King, when by their ninteen Propositions they endeavoured to strip Us of all those Rights which made Us a King, and them Subjects.  
What those Actions and proceed have been which have manifested their Loyalty and Obedience unto Us, will be as hard to find, as their humble Petitions and Remonstrances, when in truth their Actions have been the greatest scorns of Our Authority, and their Petitions the greatest reproaches and challenges of Us, which any age have produced; And we have not only the clear evidence of Our own Conscience, but the testimony of all good men, that We left no Action unperformed on Our part, which might have prevented the misery and confusion which the Ambition, Fury, and Malice of these seditious Persons have brought upon this poor Kingdom, neither is there any thing wanting to the happiness of Church and State, but that Peace and Order which the faction of these men have rob them off.  
But they directed their General the Earl of Essex to deliver an humble Petition to Us, wherein they desire nothing from Us, but that We would return in peace to Our Parliament, and by their faithful Counsel and advice compose the distempers and confusions abounding in Our Kingdoms, as We are bound to do. We were never so backward in receiving, or so slow in answering the Petitions of either or both Our Houses of Parliament, that there was need by an Army to quicken Us, which either or both Houses of Parliament have in no case no more shadow of Right or Power to raise by any Law, Custom, or Privilege, than they have by their votes to take away the lives and fortunes of all the Subjects of England; yet the Framers of this Declaration take it unkindly that upon their profession in the sight of Almighty God (which is they say the strongest assurance that any Christian can give) We did not put Ourself into their hands (those hands which were lifted up against Us, and filled at that time with Arms to destroy Us) and leave a strength God had supplied Us with, of good and faithful Subjects, who notwithstanding all their threats and menaces had brought themselves to Our Assistance. If that Petition had been so humble as they pretended, they would not have lost the advantage of publishing it in this their Declaration, that the World might as well have been witness of our refusal of Peace, as it hath been of their disdain of any way to it, when they rejected Our several earnest offers of a Treaty.  
But why did they not send this humble Petition? His Excellence twice sent unto Us for a safe conduct for those who should be employed therein, and We refused to give any, or to receive this humble and dutiful Petition. Sure when Our good Subjects shall understand the strange enmity between these men and truth, the noconscience they use in publishing, and informing those by whom they pretend to be trusted, things monstrous and contrary to their own knowledge, they will not be less offended with their falsehood to them, than their Treason to Vs. 'Tis well known We never refused to give admittance to any Message or Petition from either or both Houses of Parliament, their Messengers have been received & entertained not only with that safety, but with that candour, as is due to the best Subjects, when their Errand hath been full of Reproach & Scorn, & the Bringers bold, arrogant, & seditious in their demeanour, and therefore there needed to have been no more scruple made in the delivery of this, than the other Petitions which have been brought Us; the truth is We were no sooner acquainted at Shrewsbury by the Earl of Dorset that he had received a letter from the Earl of Essex intimating that he had a Petition from both Houses to be delivered to Us, and to that purpose ask a safe convoy for those who should be sent, but We returned this Answer, That as We had never refused to receive any Petition from Our Houses of Parliament, so We should be ready to give such a reception and Answer to this as should be fit, and that the bringers of it should come and go with all safety, only We required that none of those Persons whom We had particularly accused of high Treason should be, by colour of that Petition, employed to Vs. After this We heard no more till a second letter, at least a fort▪ night after the first, to the Earl of Dorset, informed Us that Our former Answer was declared to be a breach of Privilege that We would not allow any Messengers to come to Us, that is, that We were not content that such Persons who had conspired Our death, might securely come into Our presence; Our second Answer differed little from Our former, insisting that the address should not be made by any of those Persons whom We had particularly accused of high Treason, amongst whom the Earl of Essex himself was one, but declaring that Our ear should be still open to hear any Petition from Our two Houses of Parliament: whether this were a denial from Us to receive their Petition, or whether if Our two Houses of Parliament had indeed desired to Treat with Us by Petition, they might not as well have sent it to Us, as they have done since their Instructions to their Ambassadors into Ireland, and their new Bill for rooting out Episcopacy, and devising a new form of Church-government, let all the world judge. We have reason to believe that the Petition then prepared for Us (if We have seen the true copy of it) was thought by the Persons trusted for the presenting it, fit to be delivered after a Battle and full Conquest of Us, then in the head of Our Army, when it might seem somewhat in Our power whether We would be deposed or Noah.  
For that continued dishonest Accusation of Our Inclination to the Papists (which the Authors of it in their own Consciences (which will one day be dreadful to them) know to be most unjust and groundless,) We can say no more, and We can do no more to the satisfaction of the world, If they know that the Romish Priests have encouraged those of that religion to conform themselves to the Protestant Religion, by coming to Church, receiving the Sacrament, and taking the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, they are more conversant with the subtleties of them then We are, but We must confess till We be certain they have found that way to deceive Us, that is, to delude the Laws which are against them, We shall in Charity believe their conformity to be real, and not pretended; but that any Priests or jesuites imprisoned have been released by Us out of the Goal of Lancaster, or any other Goal, is as false (to use an expression of their own) as the Father of Lies could invent, neither are the Persons named in that Declaration to whom Commissions are supposed to be granted for places of Command in this War; so much as known to Us, nor have they any command, or, to Our knowledge, are present in Our Army, and 'tis strange that Our Oaths and Protestations before Almighty God, for the maintenance of the Protestant Religion, should be so slighted in the end of this Declaration, when in the beginning of it, it is acknowledged to be the stronggest obligation and assurance that any Christian can give. We desire to have Our Protestations believed by the evidence of Our Actions.  
But they are informed (and that is ground enough for them to lay the basest imputation upon their Sovereign) that Sir john Henderson, and Colonel Cockram (men of ill report both for Religion and Honesty) are sent to Hamborough and Denmark; (We thought We should have heard no more news from Denmark) to raise foreign forces and to bring them hither: We have before in Our Declarations (sufficient to satisfy any honest man,) declared Our opinion and resolution concerning Foreign Force, and We had never greater cause to be confident of security in Our own Subjects, and therefore cannot believe so vile a scandal can make any impression in sober men. Let a List of the Nobility and Gentry about Us, and in Our service be viewed, and will they not be found the most zealous in the Protestant Religion, the most eminent in Reputation, of the greatest fortunes, and the greatest fame, the most public Lovers of their Country, and most earnest assertors of the Liberty of the Subject, that this Kingdom hath, how different the Reputation of the principle Ringleaders of this faction and Rebellion is, how careful they are of employing virtuous and honest men, is apparent to all the world, when they have entertained all the desperate and necessitous Persons (whereof very many are Papists. which We speak knowingly, as having taken several of them Prisoners) they can draw to them, and when they supersede a proceeding at the Common-Law for an odious and infamous crime, that M. Criffan may have liberty to keep them company in this Rebellion.  
For Our affection and gracious Inclination to the City of London, and how fare we are from any such purpose, as these impious men charge Us with, appears in Our late Proclamation, in which We declare the Suburbs to be comprehended as well as the Cities of London and Westminster, to which We doubt not they will give that credit and obedience, as We shall have cause to commend their Loyalty in joining with Us to suppress this Rebellion, which uncontroled, in a short time, must make that place most miserable.  
For the Oath and Covenant which they threaten Us with, if it be to engage them to do or not to do any thing contrary to the Oaths they have already taken of Allegiance and Supremacy, as it cannot oblige them being taken, so We doubt not Our good Subjects will easily discern that it is a snare to betray and lead them into a condition of the same guilt, and so of the same danger with themselves; And We must therefore declare whosoever shall hereafter suffer himself to be cozened by those Stratagems, and take such a voluntary Oath against Us, We shall impute it to so much malice, as will render him uncapable of Our Pardon, and shall proceed against him as a desperate Promoter of Sedition, and an Enemy to the Kingdom.  
Let all honest men remember the many gracious Acts We have passed this Parliament for the ease and benefit of Our people, that when there was nothing left undone or unoffered by Us, which might make this Nation happy, these mischievous Contrivers of Ruin, instead of acknowledging Our Grace and justice, upbraided Us with all the Reproaches malice and cunning could invent in a Remonstrance to the People (a thing never heard of till that time) that having thus incensed mutinous and seditious minds, they made use of them to awe the Parliament, drove Us, and the major part of both Houses from Our City of London, that they took away Our Fort and Town of Hull from Us, kept Us from thence by force of Arms, and employed Our own Magazine against Us, that they seized upon Our Royal Navy, and with it chased Our good Subjects, and kept all supply from Us, that they voted away Our negative voice, and then raised a formidable Army to destroy Us, that when they had thus compelled Us, by the help of such of Our good Subjects who against the fury of these men durst continue loyal, to raise some power for Our defence, they absolutely and peremptorily refused to treat with Us for the peace of the Kingdom; and lastly that on the 23d of October they brought this Army (raised for the defence of Our Person) into the Field against Us, and used their best skill and means to destroy Us and Our Children, We say whoever remembers and considers this progress of theirs, will think of no other Covenant then to join with Us in the apprehending the Authors of this miserable Civil-Warre, that Posterity may not with shame and indignation find that a few Schismatical ambitious persons, were able to bring such a flourishing glorious Kingdom, which hath so long resisted the Envy of Christendom, to a speedy desolation, to satisfy their own pride and Ambition. And We doubt not Our good Subjects of Scotland, will never think themselves engaged by the Act of Pacification (to which We willingly consented) to assist a Rebellion against their own natural King, for the assistance of Persons accused and notoriously known to be guilty of High Treason, the bringing of whom to condign punishment, would with God's blessing, be a speedy means of happiness and Peace to Our three Kingdoms.  
FINIS.