A VINDICATION OF HIS MAJESTY AND THE ARMY.  
AS ALSO The grounds and reasons of the Armies guarding and preservation of His MAJESTY'S Person.  
Authorized by special Command.  
14 July LONDON, Printed for John Benson, and are to be sold at his shop in Chancery Lane near the Rolls, 1647   

To all my fellow Commoners that love peace and righteousness.  
THere are new births of providence every day wherein the wisdom of God appears in a very delightful variety. There are yet not many days since some who are neither true friends to the King or Kingdom's interest, to the Episcopal or Presbyterial Interest, were driving on the Chariot of the State on their own wheels, wheels of self-interest, and popularity abusing only the notion and name of a King, Episcopacy and Presbytery, to form a Kingdom to their own advantage. But Divine Providence seeing this, opposes itself against such a vanity, working out this politic power and selfish sensual wisdom, and set new wheels on going, and new preparatories to justice and righteousness, fortifying weak and despised instruments, to do and accomplish things in order to his own glory.  
But, lo the prider and vanity of men acted by self-respects: when God cosses them in their enterprises, behold hue they spurn against him, if he employs any instruments to hinder the building of their Babylonish towers, aspiring towards the heavens, then may you see how through policy and power they seek to traduce and calumniate such instrumenct, branding their loyal and upright actions with the ignominious terms of Treasons and Rebellions. But (I hope) these men's folly gins now to be made manifest to all men, and shall no more be covered. By these few lines ensuing, if thy eyes be opened, thou whosoever thou art that shall read them, mayst see the mystery of this iniquity working in that Pamphlet, which for truth's sake and thy better information in this following discourse, thou shalt see a little unmasqued.   

A Vindication of his MAJESTY and the Army, from a Paper of M. Reymes, pretending to be printed by the authority of the LORDS in Parliament.  
MAster Reymes to gain the more credit to his own inventions, with much falsehood, he hath enterwoven some truth: yet so confusedly that, it is a hard matter to say what he hath related truly; for his Relations are either guilty of direct contrariety to truth, Addition or Substraction. And how a man may scandalise any man by any truth, by such an imperfect, lame, and false relation, I leave to wisemen to judge.  
Whereas Master Reymes saith, for his admission to his Majesty, Major General Brown espying him, proffered him the honour of his Majesty's hand: Major General Brown denies that he ever knew this man, or so proffered him his Majesty's hand, but Master Reymes desired it of him.  
And whereas Master Reymes writes that the King struck Colonel Whaley for his presumptuous listening, while his Majesty was in conference with one, whom they suspected, came from London, The truth is, the report of his is false, the King denies that he struck him: neither was the Messenger suspected to come from London, but the truth of that matter is as followeth.  
There came a Messenger to New-market, from the Prince of Orange, and the rest of the King's Friends, with a message to his Majesty, which he delivered to the King as he was walking in the Garden, Colonel Whaley espying this Messenger privately to be discoursing with his Majesty, desired him to forbear any further discourse in private with him, whose desire was grounded upon the Commissioners, declaring to him that at Holmby none were suffered privately to discourse with the King, nor any that had been in the King's Army, to come within three miles of Holmby, Colonel Whaley endeavouring to prevent any evil Counselors from his Majesty, the danger and prevalency of whom this Kingdom yet groans▪ under the woeful experience of, and to keep a good correspondency with the Commissioners, true it is, the King was something troubled at it, and did thrust him from him, but not strike him, according to the Pamphlet, and the reason of the Kings so doing, was when the King after dinner was discoursing with this Messenger in the Presence Chamber, Colonel Whaley came in, which made the King as he said himself to talk a little longer with him▪ to see what the Colonel would do  
The Colonel perceiving this, desired the King to forbear speaking with any such persons; the King then protested he would not, for it they were in his sight, he would not bid them go away; Then the Colonel desiring him to forbear speaking with him, the King thrust him away, not for presumptuous listening, as Mr. Reymes affirms.  
To pass by the many particular untruths and incertainties of Master Reymes his relation, the substance of it being to make the world believe that the King was taken away against his will, I shall in a word or two answer to that;  
When we came to Holmby, he told me when we had answered his desires, and those things we should propound to him, he would go along with us; to which his propositions we gave him such a satisfactory answer, that he told us, he would go with us whether the Commissioners would, yea or no, and accordingly did. Moreover, one of the Commissioners before ever I spoke with his Majesty, told me he was resolved to go with us.  
Whereas Master Reymes further affirmeth, that the King said, that if he were at the head of the Army, he would protest against all their proceed, the King denied to me that ever he said so. But I shall for this time leave Master Reymes without any further Character of the man, or reply to his paper, than what his Majesty said of both at the sight of his Book; who said, if the Citizens dealt thus with him, he should be careful of having to do with them, or speaking to a Citizen for time to come, except it were before five or six witnesses, they being so sickle, by which it may fully appear, that he hath abused his Majesty, by laying those things to his charge, which he never said, wronged Major General Browne, by imputing that to him which he never did, scandalised the Army, by saying they took away the King against his will, when he went according to his profession willingly with them, injured Colonel Whaley, by affirming the King did strike him, for presumptuous listening to his Majesty's discourse with the Messenger, which was no such matter, deluded the people by presenting them with a false Relation to prejudice, forestall, and capivate their judgements, and surprised the house of Lords, by obtaining to all this his wickedness their authority for its publication.  
Therefore now fellow Commoners, who are borne to as large privileges and immunities as any people on the earth, which you may all challenge as your birthright, lest you should be induced through the subtlety of some litigious Lawyers, or through the policy and specious pretences of any man whatsoever to judge our action of guarding his Majesty from Holmby to be illegal, and contrary to the trust reposed in us, assure yourselves that action of ours was not a rash precipitant enterprise, as some say, but challenges the law of Natuee, Nations, this Kingdom, and our Commissioners derived from the Parliament for its foundation.  
The law of Nature vindicates us, for as in a natural body which is composed of sundry members, may lawfully seek its own preservation as from inward distempers, or out ward dangers that threaten its ruin, so likewise may a political body do, if the head be in danger, the foot ought to run, and the hand to act for its preservation, and in this endeavour every member particularly, as well as jointly, is obliged, so that if one hand be cut off, one foot lame, one eye forth, the other hand foot and eye are not hereby disengaged, but the more firmly bound to put forth their utmost powers for the body's fence.  
2. The Law of Nations warrants us, every Nation inviolably maintaining this, that every member in the Nation ought to preserve the Nation as much as in him lies; It is a universal principle, non nobis solum nati sumus, etc. We are not borne for ourselves alone, but the Country in which we live challenges an interest in us, this principle made many rejoice in dying, esteeming it, dulce & decorum pro patria mori.  
3. The Law of this Kingdom (by which we may expect to stand or fall) secures us in this Kingdom, we have this Maximè, that solus populi is suprema lex, The safety of the people is the supremest law; this was the hinge we moved upon, the Kingdom's safety was endangered, and without a speedy application of a timely preservative was likely to be consumed: the best preservative we could see, was the security of his Majesty's person, which our act hath effected. Whose enemies are so dull, and whose understanding is so stupefied and sottishly blind, but may remember and know what a sad disaster hath befallen the Kingdom, in the expense of so much blood and treasure, by the surprising of his Majesty's Person in the late wars? who can but know, had they not had his persons their designs had proved abortive? We will know there was a design to seixe on his Majesty, to raise a new Army, and unnaturally to involve this Kingdom in its own blood, and so to render our latterend miserably worse than our beginning, but this we thought ourselves bound to prevent if possible, which we still judge and doubt not to prove it, and is yet lawful for us to do. As the King is by the law of this Kingdom bound to govern and secure us according to the Law, so are we engaged to secure his Person against the violaters of the Law, which we have, through the blessing of God accomplished, Our end was not his enthrallment, bondag and ruin, as by our actions may appear, but his safety, an the Kingdom's preservation, which otherwise we justly sea had both been endangered, suppose the King through ignorance of traitor's intention to destroy His Person or His Kingdom, should expose himself to the mercy of him that sought his life, do you imagine it would be treasonable for any one to remove his Majesty though without his consent fromm the place the traitor sought his life in, & so to preserve him? but the case is yet more fair for us, His judgement being satisfied, his will was likewise concurring to his remove, we hope this our action will be recented in good part by all the Nation for whose good it was effected. Had the King been surprised, another army been under his name raised, the Nation once more wallowed in its own blood then surely but too late, would the people have cried out, oh that some had been stirred up to have stood in this breach.  
4. The Commission from the Parl. whom some say though with more boldness than judgement, more malice than wisdom, and more envy than prudence or honesty, we have rebelled against & acted contrary to in this action) acquits us, for by our Commission we are bound to seek the preservation of the King's person, whether we have not so done let all the kingdom judge: what hurt to his person have we done what hurt to the Kingdom have we done? we are not conscious to ourselves that we have in this done amiss, who hath cause to complain, surely none can nor will, except those who had thought to have made all men dance after their pipes, kiss their hands, and resign up their birthrights, liberties and lives to their arbitrary, and tyrannical, lawless boundless wills, these Haman-like are mad to think a poor Mordecay will not standcap in hand, bow his knee, and bend unto them.  
Now therefore fellow Commoners I dare assure you, if you▪ listen to those men that in pulpit and press sound forth continual alarms against us, you will involve yourselves and us in a bloody abhorred by us) engagement. Therefore my advice to you all, whom I love and honour, for whose peace and native immunities & Privilege, I think no task too hard to undertake, no labour too great to undergo, no danger so fearful as not to venture myself) is that you would speedily & unanimously address yourselves to the Parliament (whom you have chose, whose servants in truth they are or aught to be) that they would no longer protect unjust men through lawless pretence of infringing the liberties of Parliament, but that they would give free liberty, and declare it to all the Kingdom, that all and every man shall and may have free liberty to accuse any member of that house, and that no man shall fit there against whom the Kingdom shall have aught justly, as being an unreasonable thing, to think that the oppressors of the subject are fit Reformers of the Kingdom, and that the Parliament would speedly without delay hasten this Kingdomes-yeare of Jabile, that every man may return to his own▪ home, sit under his own vine, and all our swords may be turned into plough shares, that there may no more be the alarm of war sounded in this Kingdom. You, Oh Countrymen it lies upon you to remedy that the Parliament are your Stewards', they ought to give a good account of their actions, you have set them a work, good reason they should tell you what they have done for you, have you not parted with much pence, much money, much blood, and are you content to bury all in oblivion? never to inquire what is become of all your lost pains and endeavours? Assure yourselves, that if you awake not you are undone, God hath put an opportunity into your hands, will you not embrace it? If you neglect this, you may never have another, when all your money friends and arms are in the hands of your enemies, do you expect justice then, and can hardly have any now? Dear Country men, the Commonwealth is sick at heart, and groan under a desperate distemper, it lies languishing even as at the last gasp of peace Bleeding hath produced no other effect then to make it more faint; it is time to think of some Cordial, redress and remedy, the principal cause of our distempers is yet predominant, justice must take it away, for, sublata causa tolli●●● effectus; Many of those that pretend to be our Physicians, administer malignant drugs to us, even oppression, vexation, and diminution of our estates. But think you that oppression and slavery is a good receipt to restore us to liberty, or to free us from bondage. Be corrupt men fit instruments to remove our corruption? If you ever expect peace and quietness with justice and righteousness to live and flourish in this Kingdom, then seek to remove covetous men, that seek to fill their own bags, though they 〈◊〉 the Kingdom, bloodthirsty men, treacherous men that have betrayed their trust from all places of public concernment, that endeavour to re-enter honest men (who have been displaced) into the places of trust, into the Militia, Common-council, Courts of Judicature; for through the great corruption that yet remains in all courts the footsteps of reformation are yet invisible: Endeavour to call all men to account, whither Parliament men, Committee-men, Judges, Justices, Lord Moyor, Mayor, Aldermen, Common-council men; all Officers, Soldiers, Treasurers, and all men that have been entrusted with any thing of the public, that the good stewards may be rewarded, have a character of honour stamped upon them, the evil imbezellin● stewards may be displaced, punished, and their ill gotten goods taken from them, and given to the right owners; Use all your lawful power to place the Militia of the Kingdom in the hands of such men that have best husbanded it for your advantage, go on and cease not, till Righteousness and peace flows down in this Kingdom like a mighty water, till the oppressed and imprisoned be set at liberty and this gasping, languishing, dying Kingdom be instated into a full absolute, complete and pefect possession of all its native privileges, freedoms, Charters and immunities whatsoever, wherein assure yourselves, you will have no cause of repentance, but shall receive a crown of joy, and a deep share, portion and interest of such liberty, as a long time through blinding guides have been hid from your eyes, your burdens are greater than ever good men discountenanced, evil men encouraged, your purses exhausted, your liberties infringed by many taxes and assessments, by the Covetous Clergy man's exacting of tithes, the great burden of the Commonwealth, by quartering of Soldiers. Oh therefore cease not to endeavour petitioning, demand again and again, for your Liberties which if you do, & the Lord prosper you, I shall rejoice, however I have done my duty, and discharged my conscience, and shall I hope ever in liberty & in bonds, in Peace and war, in the capacity of a soldier, or of an English man, in life and death in all lawful things, by all lawful means manifest myself to beyours and the Kingdom's faithful servant, against all oppression, and oppressions, tyranny & tyrants, by what Prerogative, names, titles or pretences, they are or may be dignified or distinguished whatsoever, although I perish in the work.  
George Joyce.  
FINIS.