THE PETITION OF Both Houses of Parliament, Presented to His majesty at york, March 26. 1642.  
With his Majesties Answer thereunto.  
AND The Petition of Noblemen and Gentlemen estated in Ireland, and now in London.  
And likewise the Petition of the county of lincoln, With His Majesties several and respective Answers thereunto.  

C R  HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE  royal blazon surmounted by a crown  
LONDON, Printed for A. C. 1642.   

To the Kings most Excellent Majesty.  
The humble Petition of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament▪  
May it please your Majesty,  
YOur Majesties 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, wee thought more proper for the removing the distraction of the Kingdom, then if we had then proceeded according to Your Majesties Mossage of the 20. of January, by which Your Majesty 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 Majesties 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 proceedings in preparing a Book 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 bee pleased to concur with Your Parliament in these necessary things, wee 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 Majesties fears and doubts, the ground whereof is from Seditious Pamphlets and Sermons, we shall be as careful to endeavour the removal as soon as we shall understand what Pamphlets and Sermons are by your Majesty intended, as we have been to prevent all dangerous tumults: And if any extraordinary concourse of people out of the City of Westminster had the face and show of Tumult and danger in your M●jesties apprehension, it will appear to be caused by your Majesties denial of such a guard to your Parliament as they might have cause to confided in; And by taking into White-hall such a guard for yourself as gave just cause of jealousy to the Parliament, and of terror and offence to your people. Wee seek nothing but your Majesties 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, Whethe● 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 M●●isters 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 those 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 proceedings thereupon, for which we have yet received no full satisfaction.  
To your Majesties next Question,[ Whether you had denied any Bill for the ease and security of your Subjects,] Wee wish we could stop in the midst of our answer, That with much thankfulness wee aclowledge that Your Majesty hath past 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 onely 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 M●jesty 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 Y●u● 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 Kngdome more then 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 canbee 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 Mar●hant Adventurers at Rotterdam in Holland, That an unknown person appertaining to the Lord Digby, did lately solicit one james henly a master 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 〈◇〉 likewise, he said a great Army was to be transported. And al●hou●h we are not apt ●o give credit to Inform 〈◇〉 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 considering with what circumstances it is accompanied, With the Lord Digbies preceding Expressions in his letter to Her Majesty, and Sir Lewis Dives, And Your Majesties 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 advice and beseech Your Majesty for the procuring and settling the confidence of Your Parliament, and all Your Subjects,& 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 onely give Your Majesty just cause of security in their faithfulness, but other manifold evidences of their earnest intentions and endeavours to advance your Majesties service, honour, and contentment, and to establish it upon the sure foundation of the Peace and prosperity of all Your kingdoms.   

His Majesties answer to the Petition of both Houses of Parliament.  
IF you would have had the patience to have expected Our Answer to your 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 Wee 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,& in what language( how unusual soever) you think fit, and 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 counseled by those who are enemies to the Peace of the kingdom, and favourets 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 shewed you one by Our Message of the 20. of january, if you have a better or readier, We shall willingly harken to it, for hitherto you have shewed 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, Wee 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 28. of january, to the Petition of the House of Commons, for We accepted the persons,( except for Corporations) We onely denied the way. You ask it by way of Ordinance, and with such a preface as We can neither with Iustice 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 onely good old way of imposing on Our Subjects.) We are extremely unsatisfied 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 not satisfied with, or shall ever allow Our Subjects to be bound by your printed Votes, of the 15, or 16. 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. B●ynton brought from us, in answer to that Message they brought to us, that as yet Wee rest nothing satisfied in that particular.  
As for the seditious Pamphlets and Sermons, Wee 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 your 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 accustomend 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 onely 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 bee to the freedom of future Parliaments( if not seasonably discountenanced and suppressed) Wee must advice you to consider, as likewise whether both Our powers may not by such means bee 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 yeares, 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 ourself,& 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 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 chiefly 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 aclowledge the charge our people have sustained in keeping the two Armies, and in relieving Ireland, of the 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 then 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 ourself in need of any foreign Force to preserve us from Oppression( and We shall not need for any other purpose) but are confident( through Gods 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 master, 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 onely for the vindicating of Our Own Honour, but also thereby to settle the mindes 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 Iustice or Honour, which shall be offered to us for the begetting a right understanding between us, So We are Resolved, that no streights 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 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 so to ourself 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.   

To the Kings most Excellent majesty, The humble Petition of divers Noblemen and Gentlemen Estated in Ireland, now at London.  
Humbly sheweth,  
THat most of Your Petitioners, and many thousands of Your Majesties most faithful Subjects, and late Inhabitants of Your Kingdom of Ireland, being robbed, and spoiled of all their substance( and thereby many of them reduced to a most miserable condition, who formerly faithfully served Your majesty) are now enfored to flee into this Kingdom, by occasion of the unexampled, bloody,& unhuman cruelties of the Rebels of that Kingdom, who through the instigation of Popish Priests, Friers,& Jesuits and other malignant persons, have risen in Arms in that Kingdom against Your Majesties Crown and Dignity, and destroyed, or banished almost all Your Majesties loyal and dutiful Subjects the Protestants there for no other cause, but for that they do not worship God after their Idolatrous and Superstitious maner; which is manifest by their public Declarations, Speeches, oaths, and Confederacies( abeit some few other fond pretences are added, to gloss their most barbarous actions) That these four moneths past, the expectation of powerful Supplies, Treasure, and Ammunition, from England and Scotland; hath supported the drooping and languishing spirits of your Petitioners and others, the Protestants, interested in that Kingdom, who finding but small Succours hitherto sent thither notwithstanding the several Orders of both Houses of Parliament, do now with unspeakable grief of heart, apprehended nothing but despair of ever being restored to their habitations, if Your majesty be not graciously pleased to give life and power to the painful endeavours of both Houses of Parliament, the prosecutio of that War necessary requiring a great sum of money to be presently raised. And in all humility, The Petitioners conceive, the Act lately passed by Your Majesties royal Grace and goodness,( upon the Propositions made by those who shall adventure their Moneys) to be the onely way left for raising present Money for that work: And they find that the removal of Your Sacred Majesty to places so remote, and distant from the Parliament, doth much discourage the Adventurers, in advancing moneys for effectual proceeding in the work, and consequently will be a means, unavoidably to retard the long expected Supplies, contrary to Your Majesties royal intentions often expressed, and will much encourage the Rebells, and their adherents in that Kingdom, and may▪ in the opinion of some,( as they fain) gain a belief of those false reports, which divers of the Rebells have taken the boldness to raise, even very lately, since the publishing of Your Majesties Proclamation for suppressing the Rebells, That they are Your Majesties Souldiers& that the supplies that arrived there, were but the Parliamenp suppl●●t. And Your further Petitioners humbly show, That if strong Forces be not presently raised,& transported thither,( the season of the year now serving) the British and Protestants in that Kingdom cannot long Subsist, but will be extirpated, and Papists, and the Idolatrous mass thereby established, which is already publicly used in most of the Churches of that Kingdom.  
May it therefore please Your most Sacred majesty, to reflect upon the desperate, and miserable condition of that poor Kingdom, and weighing the premises and other the Consequences of delaying the effectual setting forward of the War against the Rebells in Ireland; of Your Princely goodness and wisdom, to vouchsafe Your Majesties presence unto Your Parliament, for the encouragement of the Adventurers, and all other Your Majesties good Subjects, in this Pious work; for the discouragement of the Rebells, and for expediting such further Acts, Commissions, and Warrants to issue, as shall be requisite for the preservation of the remnant of Your good Subjects, the Protestants yet left in Ireland, or driven for the present thereout.  
And Your Suppliants will pray, &c.   

To the Kings most excellent Majesty, The humble Petition of His Majesties loving subjects in the County of lincoln.  
IN all humility representing at our thankefullest acknowledgements to God, and to Your Majesty of the great blessings which we have for these many yeares enjoyed under your gracious government, and particularly the blessed fruits of this present Parliament, by your Majesties wisdom and goodness assembled, whereby many wholesome laws have been enacted, for the great Honour of your Majesty, relief of your people, the prosperous government of this, and happy settling of the late troubles in both kingdoms: So our saddest Regrete for any the least misunderstanding and differences which have happened betwixt your sacred Majesty, and the said Parliament, or any Members of the same, with our many distractions thereupon, and fears of the utter ruin of your Majesty, and your royal Posterity and kingdoms, by the malicious and insolent designs of the Popish party, and the advantage that foreign enemies may easily take thereby.  
Humbly prestrating ourselves at your Majesties feet, most affectionately pray, that your Majesty and Parliament may by all good means be firmly united. And for that purpose you would graciously please to reside near, and listen unto the faithful counsels of your said Parliament, whereby Romish Idolatry and Superstition may bee extirpated, Church and Common-wealth duly reformed, the true Religion and all things else settled in a blessed peace under your Majesties government. And we shall have still further cause to continue our cheerful aids, both of persons and estates for your Majesties and your kingdoms prosperity and honour. And ever pray for your Majesties long and happy reign over us.   

His Majesties answer to the two former Petitions.  
At the Court at York 28. Martii, 1642.  
HIs Majesty hath given me express command to give you this His answer to your Petitions, That this Petition( as some others of this nature) is grounded upon mis-information, and( being grieved& highly offended, to see how his good people have been and are abused, by false rumours and intelligences, which have procured causeless fears and apprehensions) refers the Petitioners to the two Answers He hath given to His Parliament, viz. to the Declaration presented to Him at Newmarket, and to the Petition presented to Him the 26. of this month at york: wherein you will clearly perceive that His Majesty is not gone, but driven from His Parliament; And therefore His Majesty hath reason to think, that now( understanding the love He bears to, and confidence He hath of His peoples fidelity; as likewise His constant resolution for the maintaining of, and governing by the laws of the Land) you may find reason to Petition the Parliament to comply with His Majesties just Desires, and gracious Offers, this being the onely way safely and speedily to cure the present Distractions of this kingdom, and( with Gods blessing) to put a happy end to the Irish Rebellion, for the effecting whereof( as His Majesty hath often said) He will neither spare pains, nor decline any hazard of His Person or Fortune.  
Signed by Mr. Secretary Nicholas.  
FINIS.