THE HVMBLE PETITION OF The Major, Aldermen, and Commons of the Citie of LONDON to His Majestie; With His MAIESTIES GRACIOUS ANSWER thereunto LONDON, Printed for HENRY TURKEY. 1643.
Published by His MAIESTIES Command.
To the Kings most Excellent Majesty, The humble PETITION of the Major, Aldermen, and Commons of the City of LONDON.
THat the Petitioners, Your Majesties most humble and Loyall Subjects, being much pierced with the long and great divisions between Your Majestie, and both Your Houses of Parliament, and with the sad and bloody effects thereof, both here nnd in Ireland, are yet more deeply wounded by the misapprehension which Your Majestie seemeth to entertain of the Love and Loyalty of this Your City as if there were some Cause of feare, or suspition of danger to Your Royall Person, if Your Majesty should returne hither; and that this is made the unhappy Barre to that blessed Reconciliation with Your great and most faithfull Councell, for preventing that desolation and destruction which is now most apparently imminent to your Majesty and all Your Kingdoms.
For satisfaction therefore of Your Majesty and cleering of the Petitioners Innocency, they most humbly declare, (as fo merly they have done) That they are no way conscious of any Disloyalty, but abhorre all thoughts thereof; and that they are resolved to make good their late solemn Protestation and sacred vow, made to Almighty God, and with the last drop of their dearest Bloods, to defend and maintain the true reformed Protestant Religion, and according to the duty of their Allegiance, Your Majesties Royall Person, Honour and Estate, (whatsoever is maliciously and falsly suggested to your Majesty to the contrary) as well as the Power and Priviledges of Parliament, and the lawfull Rights and Liberties of the Subject; and doe hereby ingage themselves, their Estates, and all they have to their uttermost Power, to defend and preserve Your Majesty and both Houses of Parliament from all Tumults, Affronts and Ʋiolence, with as much Loyalty, Love and Duty, as ever Citizens expressed towards Your Majesty, or any of Your Royall Progenitors, in their greatest Glory.
The Petitioners therefore, upon their bended Knees, do most humbly beseech Your Majestie to returne to Your Parliament (accompanied with Your Royall, not Martiall attendance;) to the end, that Religion, Laws and Liberties may be setled and secured, and whatsoever is amisse in Church and Commonwealth, reformed by their Advice, according to the fundamentall Constitutions of this Kingdom: and that such a Peace [Page] may thereby bee obtained, as shall bee for the glory of God, the Honour and Happinesse of Your Majesty and Posterity, and the safety and welfare of all Your Loyall Subjects, who (the Petitioners are fully assured, whatsoever is given out to the contrary,) doe unanimously desire the Peace herein expressed.
And the Petitioners shall ever pray, &c MICHELL,
His Majesty hath gratiously considered this Petition, and returnes this Answer.
THat His Majesty doth not entertaine any mis-apprehension of the love and Loyalty of his City of London. As he hath alwayes expressed a singular regard and esteem of the affections of that City, and is still desirous to make it his chief place of residence, and to continue and renew many marks of his favour to it, so he believes much the better and greater part of that his City is full of Love, Duty and Loyalty to his Majesty; and that the Tumults, which heretofore forced His Majesty for his safety to leave that place, though they were contrived and encouraged by some principall members thereof, (who are since well kn [...]wn, though they are above the reach of Iustice) consisted more of desperate Persons of the Suburbs, and the neighbouring Towns, (who were misled too by the cunning and malice of their seducers,) then of the Inhabitants of that City. He lookes on his good Subjects there, as persons groaning under the same burthen which doth oppresse his Majestie, and awed by the same persons who begat those Tumults, and the same Army which gave battell to his Majstie. And therefore as no good Subiect can more desire from his soule a composure of the generall distractions, so no good Citizen can more desire the estabishment of the particular peace and prosperity of that place, by his Maiesties accesse thither, then his Maiesty himself doth.
But his Maiestie desires his good Subiects of London seriously to consider, what confidence his Maiest [...]e can have of security there, whilest the Laws of the Land are so notoriously despised and trampled under foot, and the wholsome government of that City (heretofore so famous over all the World) is now submitted to the A [...]bitra [...]y Power of a few desperate persons of no Reputation, but for malice and d sl [...]yalty to him; Whilest armes are taken up not onely without, but against his consent and expresse command, and Collections publikely made, and Contributions avowed for the maintenance of the Army which hath given him battell, and therein used all possible [Page] meanes Treason and Mallice could suggest to them, to have taken His life from Him, and to have destroyed His Royall Issue; Whilest such of His Majesties Subjects, who out of duty and affection to his Majestie, and Compassion of their bleeding Country, have laboured for Peace, are reviled, injured and murthered, even by the Magistrates of that City, or by their directions; Lastly, what hope his M [...]jesty can have of safety there, whilest Alerman Pennington their pretended Lord Major, (the principall Authour of those Calamities, which so neerly threaten the Ruine of that famous City, Ven, Fulke, and Mainwairing (all Persons notoriously guilty of Schisme, and high Tre [...]son,) commit such outrages in oppressing, robbing and imprisoning according to their Discretion, all such his Majesties loving Subjects, whom they are pleased to suspect but for wishing well to His Majesty. And His Majesty would know whether the Petitioners beleeve, that the reviling and suppressing the Book of Common Prayer, establisht in this Church ever since the Reformation,) the discountenancing and imprisoning Godly, Learned, and painfull Preachers, and the cherishing and countenancing of Brownists, Anabaptists, and all manner of Sectaries, be the way to defend, and maintain the true, reformed Protestant Religion? That to comply with and assist persons, who have actually attempted to kill His Majesty, and to allow and favour Libels, Pasquils, and seditio [...]s Sermons against his Majesty, be to defend His Royall Person and Honour, according to the duty of their Allegiance? Whether to imprison mens persons, and to plunder their houses, because they will not rebell against his Majestie, nor assist those that do? Whether to destroy their Property by taking away the twentieth part of their Estates from them, and by the same Arbitrary Power to referre to four standers by of their own faction, to judge what that Twentieth part is, be to defend the lawfull Rights and Liberties of the Subject? And if they think these Actions to be instances of either; whether they doe not know the persons before named to be guilty of them all? Or whether they think it possible, that Almighty God can blesse that City, and preserve it from destruction, whilest persons of such known guilt and wickednesse are defended and justified amongst them, against the power of that Law, by which they can only subsist.
His Majestie is so farre from suffering himselfe to be incensed against the whole City, by the actions of these ill men, though they have hitherto been so prevalent as to make the Affections of the rest of little use to Him, and is so willing to be with them, and to protect them, that the Trade, Wealth, and Glory thereof (so decayed and Eclipsed by these publike Distractions) may again be the Envie of all forraign Nations, That he doth once more gratiously [Page] offer His free and generall Pardon to all the Inhabitants of that His City of London, the Suburbs, and City of Westminster, (except the Persons formerly excepted by His Majesty,) if they shall yet returne to their Duty, Loyalty and Obedience. And if His good Subjects of that His City of London, shall first solemnly declare, That they will defend the known Lawes of the Land, and will submitted, and he govern'd by no other Kule; if they shall first manifest, by defending themselves, and maintaining their own Rights, Liberties and Interests, and suppressing and force any violence unlawfully raised against those and His Majesty, their Power to defend and perserve Him from all Tumults, Affronts and Violence; Lastly, if they shall apprehend and commit to safe Custody the Persons of those foure men, who enrich themselves by the spoile and oppression of His loving Subjects, and the ruine of the City, that His Majesty may proceed against them by the course of Law, as guilty of high Treason, His Majesty will speedily returne to them with His Royall, and without His Martiall Attendance, and will use His utmost endeavour, that they may hearafter enjoy all the Blessings of Peace and Plenty, and will no longer expect obedience from them, then he shall, with all the faculties of His Soule, labour in the preserving and advancing the true, reformed, Protestant Religion, the Lawes of the Land, the Liberty and Propriety of the Subject, and the just Priviledges of Parliament.
If notwithstanding all this, the Art and interest of these men can prevaile so farre, that they involve more men in their guilt, and draw that His City to sacrifice it's present Happinesse, and future Hopes to their Pride, Fury, and Malice, His Majesty shall onely give them this Warning, That whosoever shall henceforward, take up Arms, without his consent, contribute any Mony or Plate, upon what pretence of Authority soever, for maintenance of the Army under the Command of the Earle of Essex, or any other Army in Rebellion against Him, or shall pay Tonnage and Poundage, till the same shall be setled by Act of Parliament; Every such Person must expect the severest punishment the Law can inflict; and in the meane time his Majest [...] shall seize upon any part of his Estate within His Power, for the relief and support of him and His Army rais'd and maintain'd for the Defence of His Person, the Lawes, and this His Kingdome; And since he denyes to His Majesty the duty and benefit of his subjection, by giving assistance to Rebells, which by the knowne Lawes of the Land is high treason, His Majesty shall likewise deny him the benefit of his Protection, and shall not only signifie to all His Forraigne Ministers, that such Person shall receive no advantage by being His Subject, but shall by all other wayes and meanes proceed against him as a publike Enemy to his Majesty, and this Kingdome.
But His Majesty hopes and doubts not, but his good Subjects of London will call to minde the Acts of their Predecessors, their Duty, Affection, Loyalty and merit towards their Princes, the Renown they have had with all posterity for, and the Bles ing of Heaven which alwayes accompanied those virtues, and wil consider the perpetual scorne and infamy, which unavoidably will follow them and their children, if infinitely the meaner part in quality, and much the lesser part in number, shall be able to alter the Government so admirably established, destroy the Trade so excellently setled, and to waste the wealth so industriously gotten, of that flourishing City; And then they will easily gather up the Courage and Resolution to joyn with His Majesty in Defence of that Religion, Law and Liberty, which hitherto hath and only can make themselves, His Majesty, and his Kingdom happy.
For concurring with the Advice of His Two Houses of Parliament, which with Reference to the Common-wealth may be as well at this distance, as by being at White-hall, His Majesty doubts not but his good Subjects of London, well know how farre (beyond the example of his Predecessors) His Majesty hath concurred with their advice, in passing of such Lawes, by which He willingly parted with many of His known Rights, for the benefit of His Subjects, which the fundamentall Constitutions of this Kingdom did not oblige him to consent unto, and hath used all possible meanes to beget a right understanding between them; And will therefore apply themselves to those, who by making Just, Peaceable and Honourable Propositions to His Majesty can only beget that concurrence.