THE MESSAGE OF BOTH HOUSES To the King MARCH 22. 1641.  
With His Majesties ANSWER reported to the House of Peers, APRIL 1. 1642.  
Published by Order of the Lords in PARLIAMENT.  
LONDON: Printed by ROBERT BARKER, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty: And by the Assigns of JOHN BILL. MDCXLII.   

❧ Die Veneris, 1. April. 1642.  
ORdered by the Lords in Parliament; That the Message of both Houses of Parliament to His Majesty, dated the 22th of March, and His Majesties Answer thereunto, shall be forthwith printed and published.  
Jo. Browne Cler. Parl.   

To the KING'S most Excellent MAJESTY The humble Petition of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament.  
May it please Your Majesty,  
YOur Majesty's most loyal Subjects, the Lords and Commons in Parliament cannot conceive that the Declaration which Your Majesty received from us at New-market, was such as did deserve that censure Your Majesty was pleased to lay upon us in that Speech which Your Majesty made to our Committees there, and sent in writing to both Houses; Our address therein being accompanied with Plainness, Humility, and Faithfulness, we thought more ●roper for the removing the distraction of the Kingdom, then if we had then proceeded according to Your Majesty's Message of the 20th of january, by which Your Majest●e was pleased to desire, That we would declare what we intended to do for Your Majesty, and what we expected to be done for ourselves; in both which we have been very much hindered by Your Majesty's denial to secure us and the whole Kingdom, by disposing the Militia, as we had divers times most humbly Petitioned: And yet we have not been altogether negligent of either, having lately made good proceed in preparing a cook of rates to be passed in a Bill of Tonnage and Poundage; and likewise the most material Heads of those humble desires which we intended to make to Your Majesty for the good and contentment of Your Majesty and Your people; but none of these could be perfected before the Kingdom be put into safety, by settling the Militia: And until Your Majesty shall be pleased to concur with your Parliament in these necessary things, we hold it impossible for you to give the world, or Your people such satisfaction concerning the Fears and Jealousies which we have expressed, as we hope your Majesty hath already received touching that exception which You were pleased to take to Master Pyms Speech.  
As for Your Majesty's Fears and doubts, the ground whereof is from Seditious Pamphlets and Sermons, we shall be as careful to endeavour the removal assoon as we shall understand what Pamphlets and Sermons are by Your Majesty intended, as we have been to prevent all dangerous Tumults: And ●f any extraordinary concourse of people out of the City to Westminster had the face and show of Tumult and danger in Your Majesty's apprehension, it will appear to be caused by Your Majesty's denial of such a guard to Your Parliament as they might have cause to confide in; And by taking into Whitehall such a guard for Yourself as gave just cause of Jealousy to the Parliament, and of terror and offence to Your People. We seek nothing but Your Majesty's Honour, and the peace and prosperity of Your Kingdoms; And we are hearty sorry we have such plentiful matter of an answer to that question, Whether you had violated our Laws.  
We beseech your Majesty to remember, that the Government of this Kingdom, as it was in a great part managed by Your Ministers before the beginning of this Parliament, consisted of many continued and multiplied acts of violation of Laws, the wounds whereof were scarcely healed, when the extremity of all these violations was far exceeded by the late strange and unheard of breach of our Laws in the accusation of the Lord Kymbolton, and the five Members of the Commons-house, and in the proceed thereupon, for which we have yet received no ful● satisfaction.  
To Your Majesty's next Question, Whether You had denied any Bill for the ease and security of Your Subjects, We wish we could stop in the midst of our answer, that with much thankfulness we acknowledge that Your Majesty hath passed many good Bills full of contentment, and advantage to Your People; But truth and necessity enforceth us to add this, That even in or about the time of passing those Bills, some design or other hath been on foot, which if it had taken effect, would not only have deprived us of the fruit of those Bills, but have reduced us to a worse condition of confusion then that wherein the Parliament found us.  
And if Your Majesty had asked us the third question intimated in that Speech, What we had done for Yourself, our Answer would have been much more easy, That we have paid two Armies, wherewith the Kingdom was burdened last year; And have undergone the charge of the War in Ireland at this time, when through many other excessive charges and Pressures, whereby Your Subjects have been exhausted, and the stock of the Kingdom very much diminished: Which great mischiefs, and the charges thereupon ensuing, have been occasioned by the evil counsels so powerful with Your Majesty, which have, and will cost this Kingdom more than two Millions: All which in Justice ought to have been born by Your Majesty.  
As for that free and general Pardon Your Majesty hath been pleased to offer, it can be no security to our Fears and Jealousies, for which Your Majesty seems to propound it, because they arise not from any guilt of our own Actions, but from the evil Designs and Attempts of others.  
To this our humble Answer to that Speech, we desire to add an Information which we lately received from the Deputy Governor of the Merchant Adventurers at Rotterdam in Holland, That an unknown person p●●r●aining to the Lord Digby, did lately solicit one james Henly a Mariner to go to Elsenore, and to take charge of a Ship in the Fleet of the King of Denmark there prepared, which he should conduct to Hull: In which Fleet likewise, he said a great Army was to be transported. And although we are not apt to give credit to Informations of this nature, yet we cannot altogether think it fit to be neglected, but that it may justly add somewhat to the weight of our Fears and Jealousies, co sidering with what circumstances it is accompanied, Of the Lord Digbies preceding Expressions in his letter to Her Majesty, and Sir Lewis Dives, And Your Majesty's succeeding course of withdrawing Yourself Northward from Your Parliament, in a manner very suitable, and correspondent to that evil Counsel.  
Which we doubt will make much deeper impression in the generality of Your People; And therefore we most humbly advise and beseech Your Majesty for the procuring and settling the confidence of Your Parliament, and all Your Subjects, and for the other important reasons, concerning the recovery of Ireland, and securing this Kingdom, which have been formerly presented to Your Majesty, You will be graciously pleased (with all convenient speed) to return to these parts, and to close with the Counsel and desire of Your Parliament, where You shall find their dutiful affections, and endeavours ready to attend Your Majesty with such entertainment, as shall not only give Your Majesty just cause of security in their faithfulness, but other man fold evidences of their earnest intentions and endeavours to advance Your Majesty's Service, Honour and contentment, and to establish it upon the sure foundation of the Peace and Prosperity of all Your Kingdoms.   

His Majesty's Answer To the Petition of both Houses of PARLIAMENT, Presented to Him at YORK on Saturday the 26th of March, 1642. by the Lord Willoughby, Lord Dungarvan, and Sir Anthony Irby.  
IF you would have had the patience to have expected Our Answer to your last Declaration (which, considering the nature of it, hath not been long in coming) We believe you would have saved yourselves the labour of saying much of this Message. And We could wish that Our Privileges on all parts were so Stated, that this way of Correspondency might be preserved with that Freedom which hath been used of old: For We must tell you, that if you may ask any thing of Us by Message or petition, and in what language (how unusual scever) you think fit, & We must neither deny the thing you ask, nor give a reason why we cannot grant it, without being taxed of breaking your Privileges, or being counselled by those who are enemies to the Peace of the Kingdom, and favourers of the Irish Rebellion (for we have seen your Printed Votes upon Our Message from Huntingdon) you will reduce all Our Answers hereafter into a very little room. In plain english, It is to take away the Freedom of Our Vote, which, were we but a Subject, were High injustice; but being your King, we leave all the world to judge what it is.  
Is this the way to compose all misunderstandings? We thought we shown you one by Our Message of the 20th of January, if you have a better or ●●adier, we shall willingly hearken to it, for hitherto you have showed us none. But why the refusal to consent to your order, (which you call a denial of the Militia) should be any interruption to it, we cannot understand. For the Militia (which we always thought necessary to be settled) we never denied the thing (as we told you in Our Answer of the 28th of January, to the petition of the House of Commons, for We accepted the persons, (except for Corporations) We only denied the way. You ask it by way of Ordinance, and with such a preface as We can neither with justice to Our Honour, or innocency consent to: You exclude Us for any Power in the disposition or execution of it, together with you, and for a time utterly unlimited. We tell you we would have the thing done; Allow the persons (with that exception;) Desire a Bill (the only good old way of imposing on Our Subjects.) We are extremely unsatified what an Ordinance is, but well satisfied, that without Our Consent it is nothing, not binding: And it is evident by the long time spent in this argument, the necessity and danger was not so imminent, but a Bill might have well been prepared, which if it shall yet be done with that due regard to Us, and care of Our People, in the limitation of the power and other circumstances, we shall recede from nothing we formerly expressed in that Answer to your Order, otherwise we must declare to all the world, That we are nothing satisfied with, or shall ever allow Our Subjects to be bound by your printed Votes of the fifteenth or sixteenth of this month, or that under pretence of declaring what the Law of the Land is, you shall (without Us) make a new Law, which is plainly the case of the Militia: And what is this but to introduce an Arbitrary way of Government?  
Concerning Pyms Speech, you will have found by what the Lord Compton, and Mr Baynton brought from Us, in answer to that Message they brought to Us, that as yet we rest nothing satisfied in that particular.  
As for the seditious Pamphlets and Sirmons, we are both sorry and ashamed in so great a variety, and in which Our Rights, Honour and Authority are so insolently slighted and vilified, and in which the Dignity and Freedom of Parliament is so much invaded and violated, it should be asked of Us to name any; the mentioning of the Protestation protested, the Apprentices Protestation, To your Tents, O Israel, or any other, would be too great an excuse for the rest. If you think them not worth the inquiry, We have done. But We think it most strange, to be told, That Our denial of a Guard (which We yet never denied, but granted in another manner, and under a Command at that time, most accustomed in the Kingdom) or the denial of any thing else (which is in Our power legally to deny) which in Our understanding (of which God hath surely given Us some use) is not fit to be granted, should be any excuse for so dangerous concourse of people, which not only in Our apprehension, but (we believe) in the interpretation of Law itself, hath been always held most tumultuous and seditious. And we must wonder, what, and whence comes the Instructions and Informations that those people have, who can so easily think themselves obliged by the Protestation to assemble in such a manner, for the defence of Privileges, which cannot be so clearly known to any of them, and so negligently pass over the consideration, and defence of Our Rights (so beneficial and necessary for themselves, and scarce unknown to any of them) which by their Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy (and even by the same Protestation) they are at least equally obliged to defend. And what interruptions such kind of Assemblies may be to the freedom of future parliaments (if not seasonably discountenanced and suppressed) we must advise you to consider, as likewise whether both Our powers may not by such means by usurped, by hands not trusted by the Constitution of this Kingdom. For Our Guard, we refer you to Our Answer to your Declaration.  
By that Question of Violating your Laws; by which we endeavoured to express Our care and resolution to observe them; we did not expect you would have been invited to have looked back so many years, for which you have had so ample Reparation; Neither looked we to be reproached with the Actions of our Ministers (then against the Laws) whilst we express so great a zeal for the present defence of them, it being Our Resolution, upon observation of the mischief which then grew by Arbitrary power (though made plausible to Us by the suggestions of necessity and imminent danger, and take you heed ye fall not into the same error upon the same suggestions) hereafter to keep the Rule Ourselves, and to Our power require the same from all others. But above all, we must be most sensible of what you cast upon Us for requital of those good Bills you cannot deny. We have denied any such Design, and as God Almighty must judge in that point between Us, who knows Our upright intentions at the passing those Laws: So in the mean time we defy the Devil to prove that there was any Design (with Our knowledge or Privity) in or about the time of passing those Bills, that had it taken effect could have deprived Our Subjects of the fruit of them: And therefore we demand full Reparation in this point, that we may be cleared in the sight of all the world, and chief in the eyes of Our loving Subjects, from so notorious and false an imputation as this is.  
We are far from denying what you have done. For we acknowledge the charge Our People have sustained in keeping the two Armies, and in relieving Ireland, of which we are so sensible, that in regard of those great Burdens Our People have undergone, we have and do patiently suffer those extreme personal wants, as Our Predecessors have been seldom put to, rather than we would press upon them: which we hope (in time) will be considered on your parts.  
In Our offer of a General Pardon, Our intent was to compose and secure the general condition of Our Subjects, conceiving that in these times of great Distractions the good Laws of the Land have not been enough observed; But it is a strange world when Princes proffered Favours are counted Reproaches: yet, if you like not this Our offer, we have done.  
Concerning any discourses of Foreign Forces (though we have given you a full Answer in Ours to your last Declaration, yet) we must tell you, we have neither so ill an opinion of Our own merit, or the Affections of Our good Subjects, as to think Ourselves in need of any Foreign Force to preserve Us from Oppression (and we shall not need for any other purpose) but are confident (through God's providence) not to want the good wishes and assistance of the whole Kingdom, being resolved to build upon that sure Foundation, the Law of the Land. And we take it very ill that any general Discourses between an unknown Person and a Mariner, or inferences upon Letters should be able to prevail in matters so improbable in themselves, and scandalous to Us, for which We cannot but likewise ask Reparation, not only for the vindicating of Our Own Honour, but also thereby to settle the minds of Our Subjects, whose Fears and jealousies would soon vanish, were they not fed and maintained by such false and malicious Rumours as these.  
For Our return to Our Parliament, We have given you a full Answer in Ours to your Declaration, and you ought to look on Us as not gone but driven (We say not by you, yet) from you. And if it be not so easy for you to make Our residence in London so safe as We could desire, We are, and will be contented that Our Parliament be adjourned to such a place, where We may be fitly and safely with you. For (though we are not pleased to be at this distance, yet) ye are not to expect Our Presence, Until ye shall both secure Us concerning Our just apprehensions of Tumultuary Insolences, and likewise give Us satisfaction for those Insupportable and Insolent Scandals that are raised upon Vs.  
To conclude, As We have or shall not Refuse any way agreeable to justice or Honour, which shallbe offered to Us for the begetting a right understanding between Us: So we are Resolved, that no straits or necessities (to which we may be driven) shall ever compel Us to do that, which the Reason and understanding that God hath given Us, and Our Own Honour and Interest, with which God hath trusted Us for the good of Our Posterity and Kingdoms, shall render unpleasant and grievous unto Vs.  
And we assure you that (how meanly soever you are pleased to value the discharge of Our public duty) we are so Conscious to Ourselves of having done Our part, since this Parliament, that (in whatsoever condition we now stand) we are confident of the continued Protection from Almighty God, and the constant gratitude, obedience, and affection from Our people: And we shall trust God with all.   
FINIS.