YOu know it is not my custome to make Speeches; S'death I am an old man, and cannot speak, I can sit here a whole day to­gether and not speak a word, except it be cry Ay and No, when Master Weaver winks upon me: but S'death such a Victory would make a dumb man speak; for Michael Oldsworth sayes, that Co­lonel Jones has routed Ormond, and killed four thousand of his men; and doth not such a victory deserve a thanksgiving: You now Mr. Speaker Cromwel made us vote a day of thanksgiving for killing the Levellers, and shall not we make our selves Vote a day of Thanksgiving for killing the Cavaliers; Z'blood are not the Cavaliers as bad as Levellers? M. Mar­tin sayes Cavaliers are worse then Levellers (but I hope M. Martin is no Leveller) and I say so too; for if Levellers had got the Victory, they would have had no King; but if the Cavaliers should overcome us, S'death our Parliament would grow out of date, and Kings and Laws would come in fashion again; and Mistris May says, that if Kings and Laws should up, no Member of Parliament may lye with any other woman but his own Wife, which Law Master Martin sayes is against the Priviledge of Parli­ament, and contrary to the Liberty of the Subject; 'Zounds Master Speaker let's maintaine our own Priviledges, why the Devil do we fight else?

Colonel Ven, and Master Ash move that an Act be passed for the better observation of this day; S'death I agree, and withall my humble motion is, that my friend Master Vicars may draw it up, for he is a learned man, and full of Scripture, and can fill the Act full of Scripture which will be a great grace to the Members: ('Zblood I am a Member I think, and love Scripture, although I neither use nor understand it) besides without an Act the Presbyterians will never meddle with it; for they begin to swell already, as though they had an intent if they durst or could tell how to turn Levellers, and level us to make a step for themselves to mount into the Saddle; but I hope M. Speaker, we shall not be meat for the Presbyterians; [Page 4]Judge me Presbyterians are as bad, or worse then Malignants, for should the Presbyterians rule, they would bring Master Scot upon the stool of re­pentance for ravishing the Gentlemans little daughter of 12 yeers old the other day: Damme me Master Speaker, the Case is dangerous, I beseech you let us maintaine our priviledges.

But Confound me here are some amongst us that look like Presbyteri­ans, neverthelesse I hope whether they be Presbyterians or not Presbyteri­ans, the Gentlemen will not be angry with me for speaking my, consci­ence; what? though they have sequestred and plundered Malignants for their consciences, yet I hope they will not make a Malignant of me. S'death Malignant is a hard word, I never understood it before this Parli­ament, what? cannot a man speak his conscience but he must be made a Malignant? Judge me we shall have a through Reformation indeed, if a mans conscience must make him a malignant; but so it is, for since this Reformation, when I sate in the House of Lords, and spake my conscience as did others in Voting for the King: I was made a malignant, and since many members of the House of Commons for speaking their conscience and Voting against the Army, were by the Army made malignants, and pull'd out of the House and thrust into hell by Colonel Pride: 'Zblood I have as little conscience as most, I scarce know what it is; but be it what it will I swear 'tis a malignant, but confound me I care not, I am a member of Colonel Prides Parliament, and I hope a member of Colonel Prides Parliament may speake his conscience, and not be made a malig­nant; Come, come, Master Speaker let us be loving and kind one unto another, we are but a few members left, let us agree and Vote lustily for a thanksgiving day. 'Sdeath the victory deserves it, and if we Vote but the day, I am sure there sits Alderman Atkins Worship will make the Common-councel Vote us a dinner.

But perhaps some may speake against it, and say we are beholding to them for the last; but if they do, I say they are malignants, and lye; 'tis they are beholding to us: yet tis confest they gave us a dinner, and feasted us with Venison; but what of that, they gave us a dinner, and we gave them a Parke; then Judge you Master Speaker whether is better the Ve­nison or the Kings Parke that nourisheth the Venison; againe, others may say that the Generall is beholding to them for his Bason and Ewer, and the Lieutenant Generall for his Purse of Gold; but I say no, for the Gentlemen deserved it: 'Sdeath have we not voted and made Acts for them these seven or eight yeers, and the Generall and Lieutenant Gene­rall fought for them, and killed Levellers, Malignants and Cavaliers to keep them safe, and now doe not we deserve a dinner, and the Generall a [Page 5]Bason and Ewer, and the Lieutenant Generall a little Purse of rotten Gold? 's blood shall men vote and fight for nothing.

Master Speaker, I am an old man, and you are an old Speaker, We are the Supream Authority, the Representative of the People, and you are our Representative, therefore (that we sit not all day quarrelling about a thanksgiving) my humble motion is, that as the People leave all matters of consequence to be decided by us their Representative, so may we Mr. Speaker to your self our Representative. We are the body and Mr. Speaker is the head, therefore let the head speak for the bo­dy, and if Mr. Speaker think this Victory deserve not a thanksgiving let him say so, and if he thinke it doth, let him Vote it, and then as I said before, if we Vote a thanksgiving, the City will vote a dinner; for Mr. Speaker what is a Victory without a thanksgiving, and what is a thanks­giving without a dinner? 's death, I say, no dinner no thanksgiving.

Mr. Speaker, Here are some would have us vote Col. Jones a 1000 l. per annum, and if I may speak my Conscience without being made a Malignant, I thinke he deserves it, for he hath saved us out of the hands of our enemies, and redeemed the Cities Irish lands; so you see that Jones is both a Saviour and a Redeemer, and Mr. Speaker by this you see it is not as Malignants speak; for they say we and our Armies vote and fight only for our own ends and profits; but they lie, and the Su­pream Authority will say they lie; 's blood we fight for the goods of the Nation, and the Liberties of the Subjects.

Colonel Jones is the joy of our hearts, he hath fild our hearts with joy and gladnesse, I say 1000 l. per annum is too little for him; 's death is not Jones the saviour of the three Kingdomes, and can we doe too much for our saviour? Indeed of old the Lieutenant Generall was our saviour, and delivered us out of the jawes of the Lyons, and Bears, the Levellers, and wicked Malignants, and had been so now, if the Ci­tizens would have lent a hundred and fifty thousand pounds speedily and willingly: but judge me, if Ireland had been lost, the Citizens had been all Malignant, because they would not disburse (as they said) with­out security; yet I think we offered them the greatest security in the world, the faith of a Parliament, and a Parliament the Levellers say is the Supream Authority, or the Representative of the People, and so say we; why did we pull down Kings and Lords else; then if a Parlia­ment be supream, their faith is supream, especially the faith of Col. Prides Parliament, 's death is not the supream faith worth an hundred and fifty thousand pounds? But Mr. Speaker as Colonel Jones is our [Page 6]saviour, so he is the Cities saviour, and the Merchant adventurers savi­our, for he hath saved their Irish lands, which was like to have proved meat for Malignants and Presbyterians, for damme. I think Malignants and Presbyterians are all one, for Ormond is a Malignant, and Inchequeen is a Presbyterian, and both fight against us: And Mr. Scot sayes, That whosoever fights against us the Supream power is a Malignant; then judge you are not Presbyterians Malignants? the Scots are Presby­terians, and they declare against Malignants and against us, and will fight against us, then are not our brethren the Scots Malignants?

But the Cavaliers think to make us Malignants for they say we are not the Supream, but the King is the supream Authority; but I say they lye, 'tis we are the Supream Authority; 's blood did not the Army make us so, and did not we cut off the Kings head that we might con­tinue so, and now shall not we be the Supream Authority? 's death I hope the Army that made us will keep us, why the Devil do wee keep them else? what? shall we vote early and late, and make Acts and Or­ders to keep them, and then will not they keep us? But Mr. Speaker let not our heart faint, let us not be faithlesse but beleeving, for with­out doubt they that made us will preserve us; and damme what a shame would it be not to confide in our Keepers, besides, if we should grow jealous of the Keepers of our Liberties, the People would grow jea­lous of us the Keepers of theirs; for doth not the Army keep our Liber­ties, and we keep the Peoples?

The Cavaliers and Malignants say, that we and our Armies are Rebels; but hang them, they lie: we the Supreme Authority say, the Cavaliers are rebels, and the supreme Authority cannot lie: no, nor the supreme Faith neither, although the faithlesse Citizens would not take it for an hundred thousand pounds: but I hope they have faith enough to beleeve that Jones hath routed Ormond, and recovered the Irish Lands; 's death, we may go whistle for a dinner else: What? is not Jones their saviour, and the saviour of us all? and will not men believe their saviour? Sink me, had Ormond taken Dublin, we might have voted these seven or eight a yeers for ought I know, before we could either have voted the Kingdom a Thanksgiving day, or the City have voted us a dinner. Lilburn, Walwyn, Prince, and the Levellers, say that we are Tyrants; but we the supreme Authority say, that they are Traytors, and would be Tyrants themselves if they could tell how: 's Blood, Levellers are worse then Kings for they would have us give an account of all moneys we have received these eight or nine yeers. What? I thought wee had been the supreme Au­thority, [Page 7]and must the supreme Authority be called to recount by Level­lers? 's Death, If we give them an account, are not they the supreme Authority? But I hope, Mr. Speaker, you, nor no other member of this honourable House is so mad as to account to Levellers, nor any else. 's Blood, the supreme Authority give an account! Oh, high Treason! the Levellers are Traytors, the very word Give an account proves them so. What, is not ( Lilburn a prisoner? and shall prisoners have leave to prate? But what is a Leveller? it is a hard word, I scarce understand it: or what is Lilburn, Prince, and Walwyn? is not Prince a Chees-monger? 's Death, I hope a Parliament shall not be food for Chees-mongers. But M. Speaker, we did ill, that we did not make Lilburn an Independent; we should have served him as we served Harry Martin, and given him a thousand pounds per Annum, and he would have been a strong Inde­pendent: for was not Harry Martin a Leveller? and did not we give him a thousand pound per annum to convert him? and is he not now as great an Independent as any of us all?

Mr Speaker, here are some which move that Mr Greenhil and Mr Cooper may preach before the House upon the glorious day of Thanks­giving: to which I give consent: I love Mr Greenhill, and I love preach­ing: 's death, I love a good preacher as I love a good dogg, and I love a good dog as I love Mistris May, and I love Mistris May as I love my life. I love Mr Greenhil because he is an Independent, and I love preach­ing although I cannot understand it: 's bloud, cannot a man love preaching but that he must understand it? I love Mr Cooper, because he prayes for the supreme Authority. Sink me, I love praying, although I cannot pray my self: and I love my Man Michael Oldsworth, because he is my mouth, and prays for me: and I hope no man will be angry with me for loving my own mouth.

Also I love Colonel Jones, because he is the author of this Thanksgi­ving, and because he hath delivered us, and saved us from the hands of Cavaliers; and I hope any man may love his Saviour: and I think the City hath cause to love him, and reward him, for saving their Irish lands, or else they are ungratefull people. Dam mee, they could give the Ge­nerall a Bason and Ewer for killing the Levellers; and will they not give Jones a Bason and Ewer for killing the Cavaliers? What, are not Cava­liers as bad as Levellers? or will the City give their lands to Malignants? or do they not beleeve Colonel Jones his Letter? Zounds, if their hearts are hardened, let Major Generall Skippon be sent to them to increase their [Page 8]faith, for he had Letter, and will swear 'tis true. What, shall the Ge­nerall, and the Lieutenant Gen. the old saviours of the three Kingdoms, have a Bason and Ewer, and a bag of Gold, for killing three or four Le­vellers? and shall not Jones, our new saviour, have a Bason and Ewer for killing three or four thousand Cavaliers? But, Sink me, Mr Speaker, I am an old man, and must conclude: I desire you to consider seriously of what I have said; for this, (for ought I know) shall be the last Speech you shall ever hear me make; but I am an old man, and must conclude.

Copia vera.