ALthough we are turned out of doors, and threatned for endeavouring to put some limitations upon the power of our mighty Conque­ror, OLIVER CROMVVELL, Esquire, for the freedome, ease and settlement of our native Countrey, according to our duties, and the Trust reposed in us, yet we cannot acquit our selves to God and Man, without a protestation against the Usurpation, Oppression, Cruelty and Falshood of the Tyrant, and an information of all the well-affected People of the three Nations, of their (too manifest) present miseries, and future dangers, with our sence of the duty and necessity that lies upon them for the prevention of the same.

And to pass over his Cruelties and Oppressions of particular persons, of all sorts and factions, with his frequent transgressions of the Law, (for which more eminent persons then himself have lost their heads, of late yeeres;) VVe cannot but with grief and horror remember his unparallelled striking at the root of all our Lawes and Freedomes together, by the frequent violencrs offered to the Law-givers, and the reasons that moved him unto it.

And to begin with the long Parliament: VVe know no other reason why the Army was brought to Town, to drive away the major part of the Members then Sitting, but because they inclined to a settlement of the Nation upon our excellent old Foundation of King, Lords and Commons, which would totally have excluded his Ambition, Rapine and Cruelty: For the King was reduced to the Parliaments Terms, and if he were not Fit to be trusted, we know no reason why one of his Sons might not; nor can all the world shew a better Govern­ment, then that of King, Lords and Commons, where we look upon the Lords as Mediators between the King, and Commons, to hinder the incroachments of either upon other, if the King should incline to tyranny, or the House of Commons to perpetuate it selfe, and meddle with the distribution of Iustice, in a corrupt and factious way, when they should onely make Lawes and punish evil Ministers; And for the MILITIA, to secure all this, if it be onely trusted in persons hands of such known integrity, as all the three Estates shall agree upon, VVe should be as certain of a continual and secure injoyment of our Liberties, as God will permit us to bee of any worldly thing, who by his providence overthrowes our best Conceptions whensoever hee pleaseth to punish Us.

And the wisdome of that Parliament foresaw that we could never long be secure from civil wars, and the danger of invasions, in behalf of the Family of the Stewarts, considering their right, and the affections of the people to them, if any other family or Government were setled, though it were a better: And for that reason were they to be hunted away as enemies to his synister aimes, and the worser and smaller number left, whom he hoped to have made as servile as he could wish them: but he found some English Spirits still amongst them, who would not be brought to offer one of their equals the throne he so wrongfully aimed at, and therefore he forced them out of the Parliament-House by his Souldiers, with many insolent reproaches, as men not worthy to be his slaves any longer, and so fell the last remainders of our well built Government; Laws, and Liberties, into the hands of our Infydell Grand Seigniour and his Ianizaries, after all his hypocriticall vows and protestations to live and dye a faithful Servant of the Parliaments.

And to make it the more manifest, That this Conquered Nation had utterly forfeited all its rights, he took away the Liberty of Election from the People, and imposed a thing called a Parliament upon them that was to choose succeeding Parliaments, like it selfe to act those things for him that he was ashamed then to own, though now his impudence is well increased; but to say truth, was sufficient then to take away that Fundamentall Priviledge of Election, which none of our Conquerors ever durst think of before him.

But even those beasts of his own breed disdained such a rider, but when they could not throw him, they let him alight and turn them to grasse; and then he had againe (by his owne confession, in his second Speech to this Parliament) an unlimited power to do what he pleased with his poore slaves of the three Nations; and he tels us that some Gentlemen whom hee names not (but we suppose he meanes his great officers, whom hee only feares) did srame the instru­ment of Government, and put limits to his power: else he good man could have been as wel contented to have been an unlimited Generall, as a limited Pro­tector; and this is evident by his well observing the limits they set him, and that hee swore to; for though they restored to the people the freedome of the Ele­ction of their Members which he had taken from them, yet he stroke out many of those chosen that he thought were not like to be his vassailes. but when we met, he told us we were a truly free Parliament, that hee assumed no dominion over us, but intended to be a fellow Servant with us, and he often called God to wit­nesse of his desire to devest himself of all power, and yet (after a second purge of us) he hath devested us of all our power, for questioning his in those particulars that are more intollerably burdensome and unlimited, than ever any Conqueror imposed upon the Nation: but we know not what the world wil think of us for [...]o tedious a complyance with the unjustest Usurper, and the greatest Murtherer and Robber, that ever England had, but we shall only answer, that we were desi­rous to give our Country some ease of their burthons since it was so difficult to restore them to their liberty and security: but the Tyrants heart is hardned, and out Ta [...]es must be againe increased, according to his Lawlesse will, upon pretence of the providing for the Army, which (he saies) we have neglected, when it is well known that the very customes and excize, without any other imposition, would pay the Army, were it not for his excessive avarice, and the chargeable pomp of his Family, but he will fynde another way of providing for the honest party in the Army, if hee be let alone: for synce Scotland and Ireland will not consume them, there must be more honorable pretences found to send them to some part of the Indies, there to perish [...]hrough want, or the intemper [...] [...] of the ayre: and if any survive, they must there end their days in a perpetuall banishment, as the soure thousand already sent under Venables are like to do, wh [...] were so disposed of before he was so angry with them as now he is, and they were the only people he was invective against, in his fyrst speech to this Parliamen [...] Page 7. by the name of Levellers, though hee knew nothing of their designe then; the truth is, hee will do any thing for his interest, and that will leade him to destroy them by whole Sale, synce their Spirits are not imbased by his former murthring of them in parcels: there is no doubt, but he fears them the most of any people and it is as unquestionable that those he feares most, he will hate most; and for the Cavaleere and Presby [...]erian, let them judge of him by what they have [...] from him, both in England and Scotland, the truth is, his demerits make him feare and hate all people of any principles, and therefore he imprisoneth them upon bare suspitions contrary to Law, and threatneth to force out their very thoughts, to make them accuse themselves and other innocent people, that they may loose theit lives by no better a rule than his High-Courts of injustice, and it is certaine, notwithstanding his hypocricie that he must suppress all sorts of people but Athiests, because no others will cut throates for him, if they think nor themselves obliged to his destruction, which for our parts we think the whole Nation hath the most conscientious Obligation to, that ever mortall men had for their Religion and Liberties; if then out oppressions & dangers are stil g [...] ­ing upon us as fast as he can invent occasions both at home and abroade to increase them for his interest, what should deter us (since we can have nothing worse) from joyning with our Countrey men of any principles, common interest, in the destruction of this devourer of all our securitie and happiness,