YOur Neighbours of Kent, and other Counties wish­ing well to them, take it unkindly, that (notwith­standing all these former admonitions) you should let down your chains, & give a free march to this bloody, cheating, schismaticall Army at all hours of the night through your Ci­ty to cut their throats, and lend them six [Page 4]thousand pounds to enable them to march: when they had no other designe, but in a peaceable way to deliver a Petition to the Houses, demanding nothing but what the Parliament by their Declarations, Cove­nant, the Oaths of Supremacy and Alle­geance, and the known Laws of the Land ought to grant. Onely, being fore-warn­ed by the inhumane assacination of the Sur­rey Petitioners, they had some men in arms a sufficient distance from the Town, to se­cure their Messengers: They have by their Letters to your selves and the Houses ma­nifested the cleerness of their intentions to you all. They are known to be men of set­led habitations and fortunes (for the most part), not vagabonds and Souldiers of for­tune like the Army: Their commerce with you help you both to trade and feed: whereas the Armies insolent march in tri­umph thorow your Citie so far lessened your reputation ever since, that you con­stantly lose in your Trading 200000 pounds a week, and no Bullion comes into the Mint; whereby multitudes of you [Page 5]are undone, and yet the Armies arreares, and all other Taxes are exacted from you with as much cruelty as if you lost nothing. Remember the Butchery committed upon the unarmed Prentices, when Crumwell cry­ed to the Souldiers, to kill man, woman and child, and fire the City; at which time his nose looked as prodigiously upon you as a Comet. Remember the scorne put upon you by a Grandee when you were enabled to put up our chayns again; That the House had consented, your posts should have chains aswell as your Aldermen, and did as­well deserve them. And Weaver's word when your Guards came to attend the House, that threescore of the Army should beat 300 of them.

Remember how unwillingly and jug­glingly they restored unto you the Tower (first plundered of all its Amunition you for­merly had in it) and part only of your Mili­tia, and that clogged with many restricti­ons: They that bestow gifts so grudgingly upon you when they are weak, will deprive you of them againe when they are strong, [Page 6]Adversity makes them your false friends, Prosperity your Reall Enemies, necessity onely tyes them to you: have a care there­fore you do not relieve their necessities, least you lose them; like the frozen Snake in the bosome, when they grow warme they will bite and sting. You seem to have for­gotten the unjust imprisonment of your Al­dermen; The unfaithfulnesse and incon­stancy of their Votes and Ordinances, even for security of money, and land bought: the severall Informations and Testimonies you had of their good intentions to borrow more of your money; not by way of loane, nor upon the publick faith, but by way of plunder. Notwithstanding all these inju­ries and many more (as if God had infatua­ted you to destroy you) you suffer a corrupt faction within you to list men (to the amaz­ment of your neighbour Counties) whose principles you first examine, and if they be not Independents, you trust them not with Armes. I hear of a young man who being asked of what principles he was? he an­swered that in these doubtfull times he pro­fessed [Page 7]no principle but gain: to whom was replyed, Then we are of one principle, for we are resolved to keep what we have got. Behold the principles of these men that ob­struct our peace! consider that Heaven and earth have denounced war against these men, and that God himself hath touched the hearts of all men as one man to rise against them, and demand to have Peace, Religion, and Justice restored. When the whole King­dom shall rise in a flame, what will be your lot but smoake in our eyes, and at last a con­suming fire in your bowels: when you only shall be left to maintain this domineering Army with your money, and to recruit them with your blood? Many of their Officers say already, that the Country is exhausted of money, and you shall be their purse-bea­rers: but because you are a curst cow, they must keep the Army about you, that the Souldiers may hold you by the Hornes whilst their friends milk you. Consider how ab­solute a necessity, and how generall a resolu­tion there is that all things should return to their old channel: If you stop the violence [Page 8]of this Torrent, it will swell untill it over­whelm and drown you. You that are guilt­lesse, joyn not with the guilty: you that are guilty, sin no more: there will be mercy for you if you repent, and amend in time. The very multitude of offenders will help to excuse your offences: Let not despair hurry you from one sin to another untill you fall into destruction, as it did Judas, whose despair (by all Divines) is held to be a great impiety then his treachery: by the first he sinned against the God-head of Christ; by the second against his Manhood only.