AS soone as the House of Au­stria had incorporated it selfe with Spaine, and by their new Discoveries gotten to themselues the wealth of the Indies, they began to affect and haue ever since pursued a first Monarchy.

The Emperour CHARLES the fift would first lay the foundarion there­of in Italy, by surprising Rome: from this, hee was thrust by the force and respect of Religion: HENRY 8. be­ing made Caput foederis against him. He then attempted it in high Germa­ny, practising by faction and force to reduce them first to Pettie States, & so to his absolute power. Thus HEN: 8. againe preuented him, by tying the Lutheran Princes under his confede­racie and assistance. His soone the se­cond PHILIP, pursued the same am­bition in the Nether Germany, by [Page 2] reduction whereof hee intended to make his farther way into the other. This the late Queene of England in­terrupted, by siding with the afflicted people on the one part, and making her selfe the head of their Protestants league with the Princes on the other: drawing in as a secret of State the countenance of France, to giue the more reputation, and assistance to them, and security to it selfe.

Spaine seeing his hopes fruitlesse by those vnions ands straights, began first to breake if hee may the amitie of France and England; but finding the common danger to bee a fast tye, hee raiseth vp in that Kingdome a faction of his owne, by which the French King was distressed, that had not the English Counsell and assi­stance relieved him, Spaine had there removed that next and greatest ob­stacle of his ambition: his Counsell [Page 3] now tels him from these Examples, that the way to this great worke is impassable, so long as England layes a net in his way; and the remoue of that must bee the first of his in­tents.

This drew on those secret practises often against the Queene, and his o­pen furie in 88. against the State; which shee seeing by following the advice of a free Counsell, would ne­ver after admit of Peace, winning thereby the hearts of a loving people, who ever found hands and money at home, and keeping sacredly her Ali­ances abroad, securing to her Confe­derates all her time, freedome from Spanish flattery, and so ended her old and happy dayes in glory.

Spaine then by the wisedome and power of that great Lady dispoiled of his meanes to hurt, though not of his desires, makes vp with her peacefull [Page 4] Successour of happie Memory, that golden League, that discerning vs at home by opinion of securitie, and gi­ving them a power in our Counsell by believing their friendships, & pre­tented mariages, gaue them a way to cherish amongst vs a partie of their owne beliefe, of power abroad to leade in jealousie, and sow division betweene vs and our confederates, by which we se they haue swallowed vp the fortune of our Masters brother, with the rest of the Imperiall States; distressed the K. of Denmarke, by that quarrell, diverted the Swedens assi­stance by the warres with the Pole, and maining him now with the ofex of the Danish Crowne. And now whether from the plot, or our fatali­tie, it hath cast such a bone betweene France and vs, as hath made them­selues by our quarell of Religion a fast Confederate, and vs a dangerous E­nemy: [Page 5] so that now wee are left no o­ther assurance against their malice and ambition, but the Netherlanders where the tie of mutuall safety is wea­kened, by daily discontents bred and fed betweene vs, from some ill affe­cted to both our securities; that by the doubtfulnes of friendship, as we now stand, wee may rather suspect from our owne domesticke faction: if they grow too furious, they will rather follow the example of Rome in her growing, that held it equall safetie, honorable & more easie dare Regem, then subiugare Proviciam, cōsidering the power they haue in their hands, then to giue any friends assistance to serue the present condition of our state.

You may therefore see in what tearmes wee stand abroad, and I feare me at home for resistance in no bet­ter state: There must be to withstand [Page 6] a forraine invasion, a proportion both of Sea and Land forces for to giue an Enemy an easie passage, and a Port to relieve him in, is no lesse then to ha­zard all at one stake; and it is to be considered, that no march of land can be of that speed to make head against the landing of an Enemy, nor no such prevention as to bee master of the Sea: To this point of necessarie de­fence, there can be no lesse thē 24000. for the Land forces: if it were for an offensiue warre, the men of lesse liue­lihood were the best spared, and were vsed formerly to make such warre Purgamento Repub: if wee made no farther purchase by it: and for a safetie of a Common-wealth, the wisedome of all times did neuer inte­resse the publique cause to any other, then such as haue a portion in the publique aduenture, and that we saw in 88. when the care of the Queene [Page 7] and Counsell did make the body of that large Army no other then the trayned band with which the auxilia­ries of the whole Realme amounted to no lesse then 24000. men; neither was any of these drawne from forth their Countries and proper habitati­ons before the end of May, that there must bee no long agrievance to the publique: such discontentments be­ing euen to vs a more fatall Enemy then any forraine Force: the carefull distribution and direction of their sea and land Forces, being more fitting for a Counsell of warre, then a pri­vate man to advise of. I passe it over, yet willing when I shall bee called humbly to offer vppe such observati­ons as I haue formerly gathered by the former like occasions in this Realme.

To make vp this preparation, there is requisite two things; Money, and Af­fections, [Page 8] for they cannot be properly seuered.

It was well and wisely said of the great Counsellor the L. BVRLEIGH in the like case to the Queene, win hearts and you haue their hands and purses. And I finde that of late, diffidence hauing bin a defect in the one, it hath unhappily produced the other.

In gathering then of money for this present need, there is requisite three things, Speed, assurance, and sa­tisfaction, and the way to gather as others in the like case haue done, must be by that paith-way that is cal­led, Via Regia; being more secure and speedy, for by vnknowne and vntrod­den wayes it is both rougher and te­dious, and seldome succeedeth: this last way although it tooke place as it were by a supply at first, and received no generall deniall; yet since, it hath drawne many to consult with them­selues [Page 9] and others in the consequence, and is now conceived as a pressure on their Liberties and against Law; I much feare, if now againe it bee offe­red eyther in the same face, or by pri­vie Seale, it will bee refused wholly; neyther finde I it, that the restraint of those Recusants haue produced any other effect then a stiffe resolution in them and others to forbeare: besides, although it went at first with some assurance, yet when wee consider your Commissions and other formes incident to such like services; that how long it hangs in hand, the many delayes that wee may easily see, that such a summe by Parliament granted is farre sooner and more easily ga­thered.

If any make the successions of time, to produce an inevitable necessicitie to inforce it; if denied, whether in gene­rall, or by excise, or by imposition, or [Page 10] particular in some select persons, which is the custome of some Countries, and so conclude it as therefore the publique state Supre­ma Sege, hee must looke for this to bee tolde them; that seeing ne­cessitie must conclude alwayes to gather money as lesse speedy or as­sured, then that so practised, which cannot bee fitter then by Parliament, the successe attendeth the humour of the heedlesse multi­tude, that are full of jealousie and distrust; and so vnlike to comply to any vsuall course of leavie but by force, which if vsed the effect is fearefull, and hath beene fatall to this state: where as that by Parlia­ment resteth principally on the Re­gall person, who may with ease and safety mould them to his fit desires, by a gracious yeilding to their just Petitions.

[Page 11]If a Parliament then be most spee­dy, assured and safe way, it is fit to conceiue what is the fairest way to act and worke it to the present neede: first, for the time of the vsuall summons, reputed to bee 40. dayes, to bee too large for this pre­sent necessity; it may bee by the dating of the writs lessened, since it is no positiue Law, so that care be had that there bee but one Coun­ty day; if then, the same to bee leavied bee once agteed of for the time: in the body of our graunt there may be assignement made to the Knights of every Shire and County respectiuely, who vnder such assu­rance may safely giue security pro­portionable to the receipts, to such as shall advance in present for the publique seruice any summes of money,

[Page 12]The last and weightiest considera­tion if a Parliament be thought fit, is how to remoue or comply the diffe­rences betweene the King and the Subiects in their mutuall demaunds, and what I haue learned amongst the better sort of the multitude, I will free­ly declare, that your Lordships may be more enabled to remoue and an­swere those distrusts, that either con­cerne Religion, Publique safety of the King and state, or the iust liber­ties of the Common-wealth: for Re­ligion is a matter that they lay neerest to their conscience, and they are led by this ground of jealousie, to doubt some practise against it: First, for that the Spanish match was broken by the gratefull industrie of my Lord of Buck: out of his religious care; as there hee declared, that the Articles there demanded, in some such sufferance as may endanger [Page 13] the quiet if not the state of the refor­med Religion heere. Yet there haue (when hee was a principall actor in the conditions of France) as hard, if not worse to the preseruation of our Religion passed, then those with Spaine; and the suspect is strenghthe­ned, by the close keeping of his agree­ments; In the point there conclu­ded.

It is no lesse argument of a doubt to them of his affectios, in that his Mother and others, many of his Ministers in neere imployment about him are so affected, they talke much of his aduancing, men papistically deuoted so placed in the Campe of neerest service and chiefe command; and that the Recusants haue got these late yeares by his power, more of courage then assurance) then before. If to cleere these doubts (which per­haps are worse in fancy then in truth) [Page 14] hee take a course, it might much ad­vance the publique service against the squeamish humours, that haue more a violent passion then setled judge­ment, and are not the least of the opposite number in the common-wealth.

The next, is the late losses, misfor­tunes, and losses both of men and mu­nition, and how in our late vnderta­kings abroad, which the more tem­perate spirits impute to want of coun­sell, and the more sublime wits to practise.

They began with the Palatinate and lay the fault of the losse there, on the improved credite of GONDAMOR distrusting him for the staying of supplies to Sir HORACE VEERE, when Collonell CECILL was cast on that imployment: by which the King of Spaine became the Mr. of the Kings Childrens inheritance; And [Page 15] when Count MANSFIELD had a roy­all supply of forces to assist the Prin­ces of our part for the recovery there­of, eyther plot or errour defeated the enterprise for vs to Spaines advan­tage; That Sir ROBERT MANS­FIELDS expedition to Argiers, should purchase only the security and guard of the Spanish coasts; To spend so many 100000. l. in the Cales voyage against the aduise of the Parliament, onely to warne the King of Spaine to bee in a readinesse and so weaken our selues, is taken for such a signe of ill affection to him amongst the multi­tude; The spending of so much mu­nition and victuals, and money, in my Lord WILLOVHBIES journey, is conceived an vnthriftie error in the director of it, to disarme our selues in fruitlesse voyages, may (to seeme o­ver curious) seeme a plot of danger, to turne the quarrell of Spaine our [Page 16] auncient enemy; that the Parliament peticioned and gaue supply to support vpon our Allies of France, and so some after (a new and happily) gaue much talke that wee were not so doubtfull of Spayne as many wish since? it was held not long agoe a fundamentall rule of theirs and our security, by the old Lord BVRLEIGH, that nothing can prevent the Spanish Monarchie, but a fastnesse of the two Princes whole amitie, gaue counte­nance and courage to the Netherlan­ders and German Princes to make head against his ambition, and we see by this disunion a fearefull defeat hath happened to Denmarke, and that party to the aduantage of the Austrian family, and thus farre of the waste of publique treasure in fruitlesse expeditions, and an impor­tant cause to hinder any new supply in Parliament: another feare that [Page 17] may disturbe the smooth and spee­die passing of the Kings desire in Parliament, is the late waste of the Kings liuelyhood whereby is like and in former times to arise this jea­lousie and feare that when he hath not of his owne to support his ordi­narie, for which the lands of the Crowne were settled vnalterable and called sacra Patrimonium Principes, that then hee must of necessitie rest to those assistances of the people, which ever were collected and Con­signed for the Common-wealth: from hence it is like there will be no great labour and stiffenesse to enduce his Majestie to an act of resumpti­on, since such desires of the state haue found an easie way in the will of all Princes from the 3. HEN. to the last, but that which is like to passe the deeper to their disputes and care, is the late pressures they suppose [Page 18] to haue beene done vpon publique li­berties and freedome of the subiect, in commanding their goods without assent by Parliament, confining their persons without especiall cause decla­red, and that made good by the Iud­ges lately, and pretending a writ to commaund their attendance in a for­reine warre; all which they are like to enforce as repugnant to many posi­tiue lawes and customary immunities of this Common-wealth; and these dangerous distrusts to the people are not a little improved by his vnexam­pled course, as they conceiue an In­land armie in winter season, when formes times of greatest feare produ­ced no such, Anno. 88. and makes therein their distracted feare, to coniecture idly, it was raysed wholly to subiect their fortunes to that will of power, then of law, and so make good some far­ther breach vpon their liberties and [Page 19] freedome at home, then defend from any force abroad: how farre at home such jealousies (if they met with any vnusuall disorder of lawlesse Soul­diers) or vnapt distemper of the loose and needy multitude, which will easi­ly turne away vpon any occasion, in the State they can side with a glori­ous pretence of Religion & publique safetie, when their true end will bee onely rapine of the rich (and ruine of all) is worthy a provident and pre­venting care.

I haue thus farre deliuered that (that which freedome you pleased to admit such difficulties as I haue ta­ken vp amongst the multitude) which may avert if not remoue impediments to any speedy supply in Parliament at this time, which how to facilitate may better become the care of your Lordships judgements then my igno­rance, only wish, that to remoue away [Page 20] a personall distast of my Lord of Buck: amongst the people, hee might be pleased if there bee a necessitie of Parliament, to appeare a first ad­viser thereunto, and what satisfa­ction it shall please his Maiestie of grace to giue at such time to his people, which I would wish to be grounded with present of his best and fortunate progenitors, and which I conceiue will largely satis­fie the desires and hopes of all, if it may appeare in some sort to be drawn downe from him to the people, by the zealous care and industry that my Lord of Buck: hath of the publique vnitie and content by which there is no doubt, but hee may remaine not only secure from any farther quarrell with them, but merit happy memory amongst them of a zealous Patriot, for to expiate the passion of the peo­ple at such time with sacrifice of any [Page 21] of his Maiesties seruants, I haue ever found (as in Edw. 2. Rich. 2. Hen. 6.) no lesse fatall to the master then the minister in the end.