THE DECLARATION AND VINDICATION OF Isaac Pennington, NOW Lord Mayor of the City of LONDON, of Colonel Venus, Captain Manwaring, and Mr. Fowke.  
Wherein is set forth their loyalty to His Majesty, and the integrity of their proceed in serving the King and PARLIAMENT.  
In answer to sundry scandalous Pamphlets, wherein they are charged to be the main Incendiaries of these present troubles in the City of London.  
London, Printed for Humphrey Johnson. Febr. 11. Anno Dom. 1643. 1642   

The Declaration and Vindication of Isaac Pennington now Lord Mayor of the City of London, of Colonel Venus, Captain Manwaring, and Mr. Fowke.  
WHereas by divers late Expresses and Letters to the City of London, we found ourselves aimed at by His Sacred Majesty, as men that have disturbed the public peace of the City; of which we are in our own consciences altogether guiltless, having neither acted nor attempted any thing against the tranquillity thereof; nor had any intentions, but what tended to the true service of his Majesty, the good of the Commonwealth, and the security of the City of London. And have furthermore never done or imagined aught, but what we had just authority from the High Court of Parliament, which we were bound in conscience and equity to obey, being so publicly, and in the eyes of the whole Kingdom, as well of this City, whereof we are members, charged with delinquency: We esteemed ourselves bound, in vindication of our innocence, to set forth these our serious Declarations of our own integrities, knowing well that such charges in the too credulous people, who censure men's actions by the event, rather than intention, might beget an opinion that we are really guilty; when before God and our consciences we do believe, and dare affirm we have neither practised, or attempted aught, which was not warrantable by the known Laws and constitutions of the Kingdom, and for the defence of God's true Religion and worship; yet some malignants as it should appear, have informed His sacred Majesty, and others have instilled the same poison to our fames and reputations into the ears of the people, especially in the City of London, that we have been, & are desirous to advance innovations in the true Church of England, and bring in strange doctrines of Brownism, Anabaptism, and the like, things so far from our thoughts, much less meanings that we should scarcely know their names, were we not instructed in them by those as pursue calumnies, which would make us if not the Authors, at least the promoters and defenders of them, when for our parts we have always esteemed the doctrine of the Church of England perfect and Orthodoxal, and so have ever demeaned ourselves as true sons of the said Church, though perhaps some innovations and insolences (which are not unknown to the whole world, attempted, if not committed by the Bishops and Prelates) upon the persons and estates of sundry of God's faithful servants, might make us desire an abatement of their pride, and a reformation of those gross abuses which they sought by their unlimited power and authority to obtrude upon the Church; and therein surely we performed nothing but what was agreeable to the justice of Gods and the Kingdom's Laws, and what equally desired by the whole body of the Kingdom now assembled in this present Parliament for the same end; namely, to rectify and reform those so long predominant errors in the Church, which had almost grown up again to that abolished doctrine of Papism in this Realm, and obscured the verity of true Religion, by their Ceremonies and circumstances, which were as vain and useless as they were superstitious and ridiculous, if not profane and impious; yet for this our integrity, we know that divers have been apt to censure us, and impute this our zeal in God's cause, to a desire of Innovation; But surely our innocence acquits us of those scandals, and they might as well blame jehu for seeking to destroy all those in Israel that had bowed to Baal, as us for our prosecution by the Laws of the Land, convicted Papists and Recusants; and charged him thereby, that he intended an innovation rather than a reformation in the Religion of the Israelites. For any other of our attempts or practices with which we stand charged, as namely, or at least by evident circumstance, for advancing the affairs of the Common wealth, and being subservient to the commands of the Honourable the High Court of Parliament, by putting their ordinances in practice for the levying of moneys upon the inhabitants of the City of London, to help to defray the charge of the Army raised for the defence of His Majesty and Parliament, certainly we had most convincing reasons to endear it as much as lay in our powers: For first, we beheld the Kingdom torn and dilacerated into a thousand distractions by the counsels of malignants, who merely aimed at their own wicked and sinister ends, and for that purpose, by their seditious devises had separated His Majesty from His High Court of Parliament, convocated by His sacred authority, to treat of the doubtful and difficult affairs of the Kingdom, and to set at right the oppressive abuses thereof, the said malignants seeking utterly to destroy the essence of Parliaments, wherein the safety of the Subject principally consists, as is not unknown to all well affected persons. We beheld likewise by the perverse counsel of the said malignants, an Army raised by His Majesty's command, for what end we could not conjecture, unless for the destruction of the Kingdom, the subduing the people, and subverting the fundamental Laws of the Land, which Army, how destructive it hath been to the good subjects of the Realm, the inhuman plunderings of the Cavaliers, their taking away people's estates, firing their houses, and murdering their persons, hath given to the whole world a sufficient testimony, and after their bloody perambulation through most of the Counties of the Kingdom, and their commitment of robberies and massacres. We beheld them drawing their forces this way towards this noble City of London, which was the mark their avarice shot at, the end which they in their ravenous minds had intended by all probabilities to arrive, the abundant wealth and infinite riches of this great and populous City, being that supply which they expected should build up the ruins of their decayed fortunes, and be an ample salary for their desperate designs, which had almost devoured the wealth of the whole Kingdom, and only thirsted for the spoils of us and our families.  
Besides, in the said army we were as certain there were gathered together as well Commanders as Shoulders, divers notorious Popish Recusants, who by the Laws of the land ought not only to bear arms, but likewise to be disenabled from bearing arms, by taking away all their military furniture, and provision of war: the whole Kingdom at least the well-affected persons thereof, evidently knowing that the sword being once put into the hands of Papists, they would use it without all mercy against the breasts of all true Protestants, and such as were zealous in the worship of the Almighty; yet this Army we saw drawn down (at least the better part thereof,) even to our very doors, within five miles of our habitations, threatening the City of London, and the Parliament there sitting with unavoided ruin, if they had not been prevented, and the utter extirpation, as it was probable enough, of God's true Religion; surrounded therefore with so many dangers and imminent perils which hung like so many teeming clouds over our heads, menacing destruction to our wives, houses and families; nay, desolation to the whole City, let all the world be but indifferent judges, whether we, who were interressed with the chief charge and care of the City, had not reason to look about us, and provide for the safety of the City, one of us having the principal government thereof, and the rest of us being able and sufficient Members of the said City, whether we had not cause not only to put the Order of the high Court of Parliament in practice with diligence, for the raising men and moneys for the defence of ourselves and the City, but also to render them condign and humble thanks for their care and provision for our securities, and whether it was not requisite that the City of London, being the capital place of the Kingdom, and the chiefest Magazine it hath both for wealth and arms, should advance the greatest sums of moneys toward the supportment of these necessities, defensive wars undertaken by the command and order of Parliament for the safeguard of the subjects liberties, and the security of the true Protestant Religion. Certainly had the Citizens contributed in stead of the twentieth part the half of their Estates to an use so necessary and pious, they had but made a just domonstration of their loves to the Commonwealth, and their cares to their selves and families, it being fare more requisite for them to part with the twentieth part of their Estates, so to secure the rest, then by the detention of that, not only to hazard their whole lively hoods and fortunes, but their lives and liberties to the desperate fury of those Malignants and Cavaliers, who think of no other law, nor acknowledge no other conscience but their inordinate lusts. And so confident are we of our integrities, having done nothing but what hath been authorised us by Order from the high Court of Parliament; that we both hope and believe when his sacred Majesty, abandoning the counsel of those Malignants, who have incensed his goodness as well against his high Court of Parliament, as against us, shall really and rightly consider our actions and intentions, his sacred wisdom will not only acquit our innocences of any dis-service to himself, the tranquillity of the Kingdom, or welfare of the City of London, by our forwardness in setting forth the Order of the high Court of Parliament, and levying of moneys for the support and maintenance of these wars against the Cavaliers, but will thank us for our diligence, which hath been a principal means to preserve the City of London from devastation and ruin, and defended Gods true Religion from the machinations of Popish Recusants; and for the Citizens of London, who may by the violence of the said aspersions be drawn to believe the said opinions, we all hope they will by this our Vindication of our innocence, be persuaded to believe our integrities, which have always tended to the service of his Majesty and the advancement of the Commonwealth, the defence of the Protestant Religion, and the demonstration of our obedience to the honourable the high Court of Parliament.  
FINIS.