WIth what Sympathy and Vnanimity we first engaged our selves in this present cause, I need not call to your remembrance: nor can you forget what lists and bounds we then set our selves: Reformation was our earnest de­sire. Petition was our only way; To live and dye together in one and the same opinion was our mutuall pro­mise; To preserve our Antient and Fundamentall Lawes, to purchase our just Liberties, To conserve the Kings known Rights, were our solemne Protestations. All these being now [Page 2] like Sampsons cords, broken, I believe my selfe disengaged: The Reformation desired is extirpation endeavoured; In stead of Petition, as Subjects ought, we command as Rebells use; The preservation of our Antient and Fundamentall Lawes, is out-lawed by new Votes, and illegall Ordinances; The pur­chase of our just Liberties, is turn'd into unjust licentiousnesse; And the conservation of the Kings known Rights, is over­turn'd by unknown wrongs; And our living and dying in one and the same Opinion, is crumbled away into, So many men, so many minds; of our first Juncto, how many Presbyterians, how many Independants we both know; of those Presbyterians, how many are Anabaptists, how many are Jacobins you know not; of those Independents, how many are Antinomians, how ma­ny are Brownists, I know not: And though we both know what we would not have, yet neither of us know what we would have.

Would we have no Bishops Sit in Parliament? an Act is passed for it, the King hath signed it. Though I must tell you, that very Act hath cancelled one of our best Fundamentalls; The best part of Magna Charta is thereby dissolved, and hath put the whole into an Ague.

Would we have no imposition of Ship-mony? the like course is taken, and the like power hath confirmed it. Though I must tell you, this very ease of Ship-mony, hath brought a di­sease upon our Ship-strength; and whereas before we were well nigh able to cope with all the Navies of Christendome, we have scarce any more left now then the bare name of a Navy.

Would we have no Monopolies? They are damn'd too by the like Authority; though I must tell you, the very taking away of this yoake hath made the whole Kingdome a Monopolie; the severall Committees have got a Monopoly of our Coyne and all that is Coynable; The severall Commanders have got a Monopoly of our Cattell, and all that is Edible; some there be that have got a Monopoly of our Wives and all that is Ami­able; others of our Children, and all that is Delectable; others [Page 3] of our Servants, and all that is Profitable; others of our Neigh­bours, and all that is Sociable: The Muster-Roll since our last besieging of Basing, assures me, we are 21500. weaker then we were; and Major Copley will witnesse it with me.

Would we have no Ceremonies lye heavy upon tender Consciences? That hath been offered us too; Though I must tell you, we that stumbled at these Gnats, have since swallowed Camells; we that would not be imposed upon our selves, doe our selves impose upon others, Burthens too heavy for them, our selves, or any man else to beare.

Would wee have no Papists? we were in a faire way for that too; we might have forc'd their children to an education under Protestants: Though I must tell you, but under the Rose be it spoken, This had been a piece of absolute Tyranny; and would have been required with the Abolition of all Prote­stants in all the World, save England.

What is it we did privatively desire, and the King did po­sitively deny? He was not weary of Granting, 'till we were shamelesse and unreasonable in demanding. To a Regulation of Bishops He consented; He declined only their Extirpation; would we have no Bishops? Why? because they have not Jus divinum to plead for them? it remaines yet undecided; the E­piscoparians affirm it; The Anti-Episcoparians deny it; and yet grant by consequence, what they challenge by conclusion. That Episcopacy hath Jus Apostolicum for their Advocate. Or is it because some of them are bad? Vpon the same ground would we have no Judges, no Aldermen, no Knights, no Lords, no Parliaments; All have not been good: because some are, let their prescription of time forbid the proscription of their Fanction.

Mistake me not yet, Sir, I am no Patron, no Advocate, no Pleader for Episcopacy; I am an Independent, I was so when I first entred into this combination, and so will dye; And such a one were you at that time, though now you have forgot your first Faith, and are turn'd Presbyterian, yet still I am, as I was then, a perfect Bishop hater; but why I am so, I know no more [Page 4] then you doe. Herein we still both agree; In all things else we are at oddes: you will have Presbytery established; I am for In­dependency; And which of these two are most consistent with the essence of this Kingdome, I wish you would put it to the Issue upon a faire and calme disputation betwixt my good Lord Say, who well knowes what the new Directory is, and how to confute it; and your good Earle of Pembrook, who for three Months (his own words) could not understand it, but now by the help of Mr Olsworth (it seemes) knowes it to be the best Nursery of Devotion in the World, and yet neither un­derstands nor knowes how to maintain it: or betwixt our Learned M ^r Goodwin, and your learned M ^r Calamy, who yet never answered that Quotation of his, from the best Astrono­mers that ever writ, in the yeare 1640. plus vel minus, there would be universalis toti [...] Mundi insania, to which I should have pinn'd my Faith, if he had but added the whole Truth, saying with Tycho-Brahe, Erga R [...]ges: so the words stand, and ought not otherwise to be repeated: or by determination of the Sword, betwixt Noble Crommell, our Generall, and vali­ant Massey, yours.

But Disputations we have had already, to no purpose, you will confesse with me; For the Episcoparians are the better Scholars, and have confuted us both; you for too heavy Task­masters, and us for too easie: And justly; For your Assembly with the power of your Party in the Parliament, have impo­sed Oaths and Covenants contrary to Law and Religion; yes, and imprisoned Lilburne for his defence of Magna Charta, and refusing the new Oath, Ex Officio, which your selves condemn'd in the Ecclesiasticall Court: Nay, and beyond this too, divers of your Assembly of Divines, have in their Feast­meetings declared, That their Presbytery being Jure divino, hath a Supreame power in Causes both Ecclesiasticall and Civill over King and Parliament, and so instead of ruling by Law, will rule all by their owne lawlesse Arbitrary Injun­ctions.

Battailes we have also had to as little purpose; For untill [Page 5] this last Summer, the Kings Souldiers were the stronger men, and gained against us both: you know in what a low Condi­tion we both were, when Sir Thomas Fairfax lay before Ox­ford, how tumultuous the Londoners were when Leycester was taken, and how we were resolved to passe over the Chan­nell, if Nasby fight had gone against us: And to whom we owe the thankfulnesse of that, whether to Generall Fairfax, and the Presbyterians under him, or to Generall Cromwell, and the Independents under him, let our Enemies speake; Their witnesse will be the best, we may be partiall to our selves.

That we have since taken Bristoll, the Devizes in spight of Lloyd, Winchester notwithstanding Ogles strength there, and Bazing House, where many of our Armies were till then crusht; It is well knowne we owe more to Cromwells Horse, then to Fairfax Foot, or Dalbeers Engines: And that Dalbeer should have 6000 ^l for Basing, Fairfax 500 ^l for Bristoll, Massy the like, in Iewells, which they we are as Badges of Honour, and Cromwell no acknowledgement for all; yes, and instead of it, you suffer him to lye under an impeachment of Treason suggested by the Earle of Manchester; is a shrewd evidence to me, That if your Presbytery be once establisht, we must look for as little favour as the Episcoparians: And this you already partly shewed, by your selfe-charity in your great care of Skippon, to cure his wounds which he received at Nasby fight, and suffering all ours to sinke or swimme.

Well, notwithstanding all these Successes, are either of us nearer to our ends? If the King can but live and rub out this Winter, we shall save Him a labour next Spring of calling in any Forreigne Forces: It is resolved upon amongst us, and for that ancient loves sake which hath been betwixt us, I give you notice of it, that you may returne to us, That if the King will give us Liberty of Conscience, and not subju [...]ate us to Ecclesiasticall Power, we will submit our selves to His Civill Power; and rather live with Episcopacy to establish Monar­chy, then under Presbytery to pull it downe.

[Page 6] Episcopacy may stand, and we enjoy our Consciences, Presbytery will not allow it; Episcopacy may enjoy their Lands, and we our Farmes, not so with Presbytery; For they intend as well a Reformation of the State, as of the Church, i. e. of long Gownes into short Clokes, of Lawne Sleeves into fine Shirts, of Meum & Tuum into Suum, of Godlinesse into Gaine; And our Copy-holds, if they once come to the question, whether they be as Antichristian as the Churches Lands, into their owne Purses: It is not a Reformation they seeke, but an Alteration; and that Alteration shall but make way for an Alienation, To bring the Kings Crowne under Christs Scepter, which themselves will manage, not for Christ, but against Christ; For his Kingdome is not of this world.

We Independents seek only a Reformation, not an Altera­tion; we have yet so much Reason, as to see, The further we swerve from our first Constitutions, the nearer we hasten to Desolation; The further from our Fundamentall Principles, the nearer to our perpetuall Ruine? It is so in the Church, it is so in the State. I instance only in the State: The first Con­stitution, and Fundamentall Principle of this Kingdome is, There should be a King, and Subjects; That the King should Rule, the Subjects should obey: He Rule according to Law, They obey according to Conscience. That He should secure the Kingdome against Forreigne Enemies; That they should assist him therein; That both should conscientiously intend the publick Peace, and the Kingdomes happinesse: we find all this done, while we had but one King, and many Subjects; And we find all this undone, now we have many Kings, and no Subjects: To regaine all, we would come to our first Consti­tution, and live in subjection under that one whom God hath made our Superiour, and not any longer in vassalage under many, whom our selves have made.

A second or another first Constitution of this Kingdome, is, we should have Parliaments; that those Parliaments should consist of three States, Lords Spirituall, Lords Temporall, and [Page 7] the House of Commons; But one of these three, the Lords Spirituall being found superfluous, we say of two States, the House of Peers, and the House of Commons; The House of Commons to find out the Grievances of the Kingdome, and to prepare Redresses of those Grievances for the House of Peers, the House of Peers to present them to the King, and the King to signe them with His Royall Fiat for Lawes: All this hath been done while the House of Parliament prepared Lawes for the King to confirme them; All this hath been un­done, since the two Houses have made Lawes for the King to obey them: our Grievances were redressed before, They are increased now; we had some Liberties then, and hope of all Liberties we could desire: we have no Liberties now, nor hope of any; we had good Lawes before, whereby we knew sinne; we have many sinnes now, yet know no Law: To re­gaine our Lawes and Liberties, we would come to our first Constitution, and have two Houses to acknowledge one King above them, and not one King to acknowledge two Houses above Him.

It may be you will say, Turpe est Doctori, cùm Culpa re­dar guit ipsum, why have I hither to took part with the Parlia­ment against the King? with the Parliament, I confesse, I have, but not against the King: For when I first entred into this Compact, by Protestation, by Vow, and Covenant, it was to fetch the King up unto his Parliament, out of the hands of Evill Councellors; That was the only pretended reason for the raising of all our Armies, save the very last under Sir Tho­mas Fairfax; He was the first Generall, that ever received Command to deny Quarter to any, even to the King himselfe: And this was not disclosed untill of late, else I had published it, and our resolution in this point sooner.

But now it is knowne; and yet I still side with the Parlia­ment? I confesse I doe; but not as I did before; Before I did it sincerely; now I doe it politickly; The Parliaments Cause, Rebus sic stantibus, is a good Cause to live in; For hereby I save mine owne stake, and get a good share in other mens; But now [Page 8] I am weary of it; For now I would manage such a Cause, as I might live and dye in: live in with Profit, and aye in with Com­fort: The course I have hitherto taken, I professe, I have un­dertaken for meere gaine; The course I would now take, I professe, I would undertake for meere Godlinesse; I would not at my Death renounce a wicked course, as Colonell Sandys did at Worcester, and Major Abercromye in Buckinghamshire; For then it would be too late, because I cannot goe to Heaven without Repentance; and Repentance cannot be true which hath not this Ingredient, Doe good, as well as that, Cease to doe Evill: I must receive the Kingdome of Heaven, The Gospell, into me, before I can hope to be received into the Kingdome of Heaven, Glory. And you know; To the Poor is the Gospell Preached; And though I am rich in substance, yet I am poore enough in spirit, I thanke God for it, and would you were so too, to receive the Gospell.

Sir, by this that hath been said, you know the Resolution of our Party; There wants nothing but the Kings offer to invite us, and ere long we intend to invite Him to that offer, viz.

That we shall be obliged only to honest Conversation by the common Lawes of this Kingdome, and freed from any, and all Ecclesiasticall Censures for point of Religion.

This is all we desire; and if this be granted, we presently declare our selves for the King, will joyne with Him, will fight for Him, and either end our lives, or settle His Crowne fast upon His Head, His Sword in His Hand, and Himselfe in His Chaire.

This we will doe, maugre the opposition of all Presbyte­rians in great Brittaine, and the whole World besides: we will make our Army equall with that under Montrosse, who we heare is already on this side Tweed, with no fewer then 14000 Foot and Horse: The like Assistance he shall have from us, under the Command of Cromwell, or whom else His Majesty will put in Chiefe. And let it be tryed then, whether any Parochiall, Consistoriall, Provinciall, or Generall Classis of the Clero-Laicall-Presbytery, dare thinke to Depose. or [Page 9] whisper, to Excommunicate the King or any of his Loyall Sub­jects.

And now, Sir, if you will goe on in your Apostacy, Goe and perish: If you will returne, Welcome and be safe; with them who say, GOD SAVE KING CHARLES. I leave you to your Choice; but will be glad to embrace you in the armes of, Sir,