A LETTER TO General Monck, In Answer to His of the 23th of January, DIRECTED To Mr. roll, To be communicated to the Gentlemen of the County of DEVON.  
By one of the EXCLUDED MEMBERS of Parliament.  
LONDON: Printed for R. Lowndes, at the White Lion in S. Paul's Churchyard. 1659.   

A Letter to General Monck, in Answer to his of the 23 of January, directed to Mr. roll, to be communicated to the Gentlemen of the County of Devon.  
By one of the Excluded Members of Parliament.  

SIR,  
UPon reading your Letter of the 23 of January, directed to Mr. roll, to be communicated to the Gentlemen of Devon, I thought, that to answer some mistakes, as it is due to the subject, seasonable to the occasion, and proper for me, (therein concerned;) so it cannot be ungrateful to you, if you be that lover of truth and candour, I always esteemed you, and not a person obstructed with Interest, or engaged in Faction. With wise and good men, the shrill sound of Trumpets doth not silence the whispers of Reason and Conscience; nor the power of acting without control, encourage them to oppress: And I persuade myself, that virtue and prudence will equally restrain you from treading in the footsteps of the Ambitious, or any other by-path, (though yet untrodden.) Give me leave, therefore, (with the freedom of an Englishman, and your friend) to show you, That, in waving the original merit of the Cause, as impertinent, (whereas, indeed, it is only considerable) You argue too much at large, and without a principle: For, being once propounded, and admitted, (as it needs must be) That the Force upon the Parliament in 1648. was the great Breach, at which our Confusions have entered like a Torrent; It will then follow, Not that Actions, in themselves, unjustifiable and ruinous, ought however to be justified, though with ruin: But that the continuance of the same force must needs enlarge the Breach, levelly all our Fences, and let in an Ocean of Miseries; It will not seem reasonable, nor according to good Art, to skin the Wound, and make a palliative Cure, but rather to search the bottom, how tender soever the flesh may there be: It will then appear, That accumulation of Violences is not the way of Peace. And that Error can never become Truth by perseverance, It will be demonstrable, That for the minor part of the Parliament to exclude the major, in constituting of the Government, is to settle a Commonwealth upon the Basis of a Faction: A Foundation too narrow for the Fabric; which having no principle of stability within itself, must be always supported with external Props. For, Sir, I dare appeal to your Reason, whether such a State can subsist one hour longer, than the force continues, by which it was first constituted. Finally, it will then be evident, That the danger of endless Distractions, is more terribly threatened by the oppression of those, who are, without comparison, the major part, and disinheriting the Nation of its Laws and Birthright, than the disobliging of such as are, in respect of the people, very few, being so confessed by the Argument itself. For what makes them, with so much obstinacy, decline freedom of Parliament, but the conscience of their own weakness, as to a legal civil Interest?  
But admitting (for Arguments sake) That the many corrupt Interests (now on foot) ought to overrule that of Justice and Common Freedom: And that those Interests outweigh their Opposites in the balance, (whereas every man knows, they have only rendered themselves considerable, for the present, by getting the start in Armour; And so, if ever disarmed, must vanish of themselves.) Yet by your favour, Sir, I marvel, you can, from thence, so positively conclude, That Monarchy cannot possibly be restored in these Nations: The Reasons you allege are two; 

1. Because its Support is taken away.  
2. Because it is exclusive of the forementioned Interests, which are likewise twofold, Spiritual and Civil.    
For the first of these Reasons, I think no man, of sense, will deny, That the Excise, and Monthly Taxes (which were established since these times, and which probably can never cease, till Freedom of Parliament be restored) doth fare exceed the Charge of a Court: And I doubt not but Charles Stuart would readily accept a Monthly Tax of Sixty thousand pounds, in lieu of his former Revenue, and abate us our Excise: So as that Objection is sufficiently answered, without Jealousy given to the Purchasers of his Lands.  
For the Spiritual Interest, viz. Liberty of Conscience; When I compare the great Moderation of the Church of England, in its Principle, with the present temper of the Age, which renders all thought of Spiritual Coercion absurd and ridiculous, and the Uniformity you mention, (in the judgement of all knowing men) impossible to be established by Humane Endeavours. I do not see, why we should not expect as great Indulgence, under Monarchy, and Regulated Episcopacy, as in a Commonwealth; And much greater than we can promise ourselves either from Presbytery, or Church-Anarchy, which (by confounding our Doctrine, destroying our Discipline, and weakening our Charity) will soon make way for popular Feuds and Animosities, the most licentious and turbulent of all Persecutions.  
For the Civil Interest you mention, viz. the security of Public Sales, (which, like a great Philistim, seems to bid defiance to our Peace▪ As, on the one side, our settlement cannot, probably, now be bought at a cheaper rate, than the satisfaction of the Purchasers; so, on the other side, methinks, the most interessed of them might, in prudence, rather submit to some abatement, to procure a legal and unquestionable Title, than with extreme hazard to themselves, and ruin to their Country, maintain an Estate, which they can sell to few, but Mortgage to none. Were there a mutual condescension herein, I suppose, there are many visible Expedients to reconcile all pretences, and preserve the Commonwealth, now exposed, as it were, to a daily Crisis: I verily believe, the most considerable Freeholders in England would think it the discreetest Bargain that ever they made, if, by sacrificing the fourth Part of their Inheritances, they might enjoy the remainder in peace, freedom and safety: A much less proportion, certainly, would do the Business. And, Sir, if you would now further such an Agreement, I dare freely say, it would be the greatest Victory you ever obtained. We see, that ofttimes, in private suits, where there is an Animosity between the Parties, much more is spent, than the value of the thing Contended for: But this is fare more observable in Civil Dissensions, where the Vast Burden of War is attended with infinite hazard, and commonly ends in public Calamities. The War of Germany, having lasted thirty Years, with utter desolation to some Provinces, and exceeding great ruin to all, The several Princes, at length, bethought themselves of a Temperament, Wherein, the disinherited, (as it were) compounding, and the Conquerors receding, Peace was seasonably restored, and both sides greater gainers by their present loss, than they could have been by future Victory; And, though, at first, the difficulties seemed insuperable, Yet long suffering, and common Exigence had so disposed the minds of all men concerned, that, (by admitting Necessity, in lieu of Justice,) their Endeavours proved very successful: How great a Blessing would it be to this Nation, if wisdom, moderation, piety to our Country, and charity to ourselves, and each other, might produce the same Effects with us, which misery and woeful experience extorted from them! Which, Sir, I do not only Offer; but earnestly press upon your Consideration, For that, as I believe you a person of much integrity, and Temper, so, I suppose in this juncture of time, it may be in your Power to make yourself an Arbitrator, or at least, to promote an Agreement, for which, the Ages to come will bless your Memory. I doubt not, but, in your Progress, by the public Addresses you have received from many Counties, the Clamours of some, and mutterings of all, You understand the Violent inclinations of the People, Now crying with Rachel, Give us freedom of Parliament, or we die; It boots not therefore to allege, That the Army will not endure it; For either that Yoke is indended to be perpetual; or not; If not, when ever it shall either cease, or be cast off, In comes freedom, like a torrent, and in a moment overwhelms all, that hath been Established by Juntoes, Whereof this very Parliament hath given a fair precedent; But, if our Yoke be intended perpetual, What tyranny like that of armed faction? What sound so harsh to English ears? And who, in after-ages, will believe, that those very men, who so branded the King, for an irregular impeachment of five Members, and aspersed him with the bare rumour of an intention to bring in a few Germane Horse, should, themselves, continue and own the forcible exclusion of much the major part of the Parliament, and entail upon their Country an Army of Janissaries and Timariot; which, I am confident, if they will subsist, must, at least, every third year, conquer it anew.  
By that wisdom, and courage, you have oft expressed; By your love to Justice, and bowels to your Countrymen; By the instability of humane affairs; The uncertainty of your Life, but certainty of your Account, I conjure you, not to lay the Cornerstone of such a Babel, Whereof, it were no presumption to presage, that it can never be perfected, God having already so confounded their Languages; To whose holy guidance, and preventing grace, I hearty recommend you, and remain,  
Jan. 28. 1659. Sir, Your most faithful and affectionate Friend and Servant, R. M.   

POSTSCRIPT.  
SIR,  
GIve me leave to offer this Postscript to your further consideration; It is manifest, That betwixt the Years 1643, and 1653. The great Monster W r devoured, 1. The Benevolences of all the well affected, 2. The spoils of all the Disaffected, 3. The Annual Rents of a Considerable Part of the Lands in England, sequestered, 4. The fifth and twentieth Part of all men's Estates, 5. That prodigious Contribution of fifty subsides, at once, besides many more, at other times, 6. The infinite Sums raised by the Compositions of many thousands of Delinquents, 7. A constant Excise upon almost all Commodities, 8. The monthly Tax, sometimes 120000 l. seldom under 90000 l. 9 The Sales of Kings, Churches and forfeited Lands, And Lastly, in effect, the whole Kingdom of Ireland; And yet, (if we may believe the innumerable Complaints of Reformades, Widows, and Lender's,) the public faith, very lamely asserted; As evident it is, that the late Protector, continuing the same butthens and, otherwise, practising all the subtleties of a Tyrant, in wracking the People; Yet, in four, or five years' time, contracted a Ruinous and incredible debt; The same forces are still continued, And, probably, must increase, in measure, as our dissatisfa●●ions multiply; There are, now, no considerable Estates, left, to sequester, Delinquents to compound, or public Lands to sell; The Commonwealth vastly indebted, The treasury exhausted, Trade declining, Customs sinking, All future Contributions must, of necessity, be forced out of the very bowels of a poor, enslaved, exasperated, and starving people; The perpetuating whereofs by our servitude, Whether it be fit, or just, or safe, or, indeed, possible, I leave you to judge.   
FINIS.