HIS majesty's PROCLAMATION, against a traitorous BAND contrived in the North.  
CHARLES, By the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. To our Lovits Our Lion King at Arms, and his brethren Heralds and pursuivants our Sheriffs in that part, greeting.  
Whereas the Committee of Estates of our Kingdom of Scotland, being most careful, according to the trust committed to them, To use all means for advancing the Cause of God, settling the public Peace, and for preventing the practices of such as would in any wise hinder or oppose the same. And seeing a Paper emitted under the Title of An humble Remonstrance, yet being in effect, A Band against God and his Covenant, Us and our authority, and this our native Kingdom and its Peace and happiness, tho covered with the specious pretences of piety and public Liberty, Have found themselves obliged in duty to take notice thereof, And to undeceive our good Subjects by unfolding the wickedness and treachery of the same, which evidently appears, The persons who have special hand therein being formerly under the like guiltiness of Banding, contrary to the national Covenant which themselves had sworn; And having since by several Bands and Oaths to be seen under their hand writings joined themselves to the Rebellion of that Excommunicate traitor James Grahame and his Irish associates, with whom they have corresponded this time past, Have now (as it seems) by his advice entered into this Band (the natural issue of those consultations and meetings they have kept together of late) without the knowledge of the public Judicatories of our Kingdom, contrary to the Law of the Land, and Acts of Parliament expressly made in that behalf: And that they may the more easily inveigle the simpler fort, they have usurped to themselves the flourishing Titles of Lovers of Religion, Our royal authority, and Our kingdom's Peace; their Paper notwithstanding clearly evidencing their intentions to be contrary to all these, By their changing and omitting several essential Articles in the Covenant, which are at length discovered by the Commissioners of the Kirk in their Declaration; By their slighting and contemning the ways proposed by both our Kingdoms, in sending Propositions to us, for attaining a safe and well-grounded Peace: And presumptuously taking upon themselves to prescribe other ways, and to be Arbitrators of the present differences betwixt us and our people: By their traducing the public proceedings of that our Kingdom, in their seeming regrait of the silence of the civil Judicatories, which by the Plague of Pestilence and present Rebellion (fomented by the Remonstrants themselves, who despised the main Orders given to them by the public Judicatories for suppressing thereof) hath been so long occasioned, and is now happily provided for by the care of our Parliament, which hath appointed these Judicatories to meet at the ordinary time, if they be not letted by the indirect practices of their Banders, and such others, who under fair pretexts study the continuance of the present troubles, And by their open withholding their assisting, and secret resisting the resolutions of the Kingdom, Do what in them lies to weaken the strength thereof, and render it a prey to foreign powers: As also by their large enumerating the public Burdens, which have been so necessarily laid on for preserving our Kingdom from ruin, and are so much the heavier on these parts, That these who now complain most, have by their compliance with the Rebels, and refusal to join against them, been altogether free thereof as yet: and which have been so sparingly imposed and providently disposed of, that no just occasion of complaint can be made thereof, as will appear by the public accounts at length perused by the Estates of our Parliament; and yet extant to the view of the world. And last, these Banders finding no readier mean to dishearten our good Subjects in the pursuance of this Cause, make large expressions of their sense of the distressed condition of the country, whiles they themselves by their by-gone correspondence and present Banding with declared traitors and bloody Irishes who have invaded this our Kingdom, Do really witness their intentions to continue, and (so far as they are able) increase the troubles and distresses thereof, and sear the bowels of the same. For which purpose they labour to weaken the confidence ●nd Union betwixt our Kingdoms of Scotland and England, which are so firmly joined in the solemn League and Covenant, that no respects can make them forget their mutual engagements, or withhold their assistance from others, as the condition of affairs shall require. All which being at length considered by the Committee of Estates, And they finding this Band to be Destructive to the Covenant, and ends contained therein, illegal, and against the Laws of our Kingdom, prejudicial to the public Peace (now drawing towards a happy close, if not interrupted by such treacherous Plots) and Divisive for fomenting of Jealousies and continuing the bloody Wars within our Kingdoms, Have declared they will proceed against the same accordingly: And therefore  
OUR WILL IS, and we charge you straitly and command, that incontinent their our Letters seen, you pass, and by open Proclamation hereof at the Market Crosses of Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Forfar, Aberdeen, innerness, and other places needful, In our name and authority command, charge, and inhibit all our good Subjects, That none of them presume nor take upon hand, to acknowledge or sign the said Band, nor join themselves with the subscribers thereof in pursuance of the same, under all highest pains which by the Law or practice of this our Realm can be execute upon such unlawful and seditious Bands. And yet because possibly some of our good Subjects have been through misinformation, fear, or other means ensnared and drawn to join herein, without any ill intention of themselves; And We being willing to reclaim all such, Do therefore declare, that whosoever hath signed or joined in this Band, and will betwixt and the fifteenth of May next to come disclaim and quit the same, shall be free of all censure therefore. The which to do, we commit to you our full power by their our Letters.  
Given under our Signet at Edinburgh the 5 of April, and of our Reign the 22 year 1646. Per actum Dominorum Commiss. predict. Arch. primrose Cler.   

Printed at Edinburgh by Evan Tyler, Printer to the Kings most Excellent majesty. 1646.