❧ His Majesties Declaration to all His loving Subjects of His true Intentions in advancing
lately to BRAINCEFORD.
THough Our Reputation be most dear to Us, and especially in those Cases wherein the
truth of Our most solemn Professions (and by consequence of Our Christianity) is questioned,
yet it is not only for the Vindication of that, and to clear Our Self from such Aspersions,
but withall to preserve Our Subjects in their just Esteem of, and Duty to Us, and
from being engaged into Crimes and Dangers by those malitious reports, so spightfully
framed and cunningly spread against Us, concerning Our late advancing to Brainceford, That we have resolved to publish this Our following Declaration.
AT Colebrook, on Friday the 11 of November, We received a Petition from both Our Houses of Parliament, by the Earl of Northumberland, the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, the Lord Wenman, M. Perpoint, and Sir Iohn Hippesly; And indeed We were well pleased to see it so much liker a Petition, then the other
Papers We had often of late received under that name, and return'd to it the next
day so gracious an Answer, that we assure Our selves could not but be very satisfactory
to all that were truely lovers of Peace. The Copies of both which do here follow.
To the Kings most Excellent Majesty: The humble Petition of the Lords and Commons now assembled in PARLIAMENT.
WE Your Majesties most loyall Subjects, the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled,
being affected with a deep and piercing sense of the miseries of this Kingdom, and
of the dangers to Your Majesties Person, as the present Affairs now stand, and much
quickned therein with the sad consideration of the great effusion of Bloud at the
late Battle, and of the losse of so many eminent Persons; And farther weighing the
Addition of losse, miscry, and danger to Your Majesty and Your Kingdom, which must
ensue, if both Armies should again joyn in another Battle, as without Gods especiall
blessing, and Your Majesties concurrence with Your Houses of Parliament, will not
probably be avoided.
We cannot but believe, that a sutable Impression of tendernesse and compassion is
wrought in Your Majesties Royall Heart, being Your Self an eye-witnesse of the bloudy
and sorrowfull destruction of so many of Your Subjects, And that Your Majesty doth
apprehend what diminution of Your Own Power and Greatnesse will follow, And that all
Your Kingdoms will thereby be so weakned, as to become subject to the Attempts of
any ill affected to this State. In all which respects, we assure our selves, that
Your Majesty will be inclined graciously to accept this our humble Petition, that
the misery and desolation of this Kingdom, may be speedily removed and prevented;
For the effecting whereof, we most humbly beseech Your Majesty to appoint some convenient
place, not farre from the City of London, where Your Majesty will be pleased to reside, untill Committees of both Houses of
Parliament may attend Your Majesty with some Propositions for the removall of these
bloudy Distempers and Distractions, and setling the State of the Kingdom in such a
manner, as may conduce to the Preservation of Gods true Religion, Your Majesties
Honour, Safety, and Prosperity, and to the Peace, Comfort, and Security of all Your
People.
His Majesties Answer to the aforesaid Petition.
VVE take God to witnesse how deeply We are affected with the miseries of this Kingdom,
which heretofore We have stroven, as much as in Us lay, to prevent, It being sufficiently
known to all the world, That as We were not the first that took up Arms, so We have
shewed Our readinesse of composing all things in a faire way by Our severall offers
of Treaty, and shall be glad now at length to finde any such Inclinations in others,
The same tendernesse to avoid the Destruction of Our Subjects (whom We know to be
Our greatest strength) which would alwayes make Our greatest Victories bitter to Us,
shall make Us willingly hearken to such Propositions whereby these bloudy distempers
may be stopped, and the great distractions of this Kingdom settled to Gods glory,
Our Honour, and the welfare and flourishing of Our People; And, to that end, shall
reside at Our own Castle at Windsore (if the Forces there shall be removed) till Committees may have time to attend Us
with the same (which, to prevent the Inconveniences that will intervene, We wish
may be hastned) and shall be ready there (or if that be refused Us) at any place where
We shall be, to receive such Propositions as aforesaid from both Our Houses of Parliament.
Do you your Duty, We will not be wanting to Ours; God of his mercy give a blessing.
BUt the same night after the Messengers were gone, certain Information was brought
unto Us, That the same day the Earl of Essex had drawn [Page 4] his forces with great store of Ordinance out of London towards Us, upon which a Councell of Warre being present, and We having there considered,
upon debate, Our present Condition, That being already almost surrounded by his forces,
some at Windsore, some at Kingston, and some at Acton, If We suffered the Remainder to possesse Brainceford, We should be totally hemm'd in, and Our Army deprived of all convenience of either
moving or subsisting. Yet how necessarily soever it appear'd, We could not obtain
Our own Consent to advance towards Brainceford, and either prepossesse it, or dispossesse them of it, till We had satisfied Our selves
that it was as lawfull as necessary, and fully weighed all, that not only reason,
but malice it self, (which We knew to be very watchfull upon Our Actions) could object
against it. We consider first, that it could not reasonably be esteem'd an Aversion
from Peace, and an Intention to interrupt the Treaty then in expectation, Since on
the other side We had cause to beleeve by the former rejection of Our offers of Treaty,
when We were suppos'd to be in no condition of strength, That if We would not thus
preserve Our Selves from being so encompass'd as to come into their Powers, the very
possibility of a Treaty would immediately vanish. We considered next, that muchlesse
could it be interpreted any Breach of Faith, since willingnesse to receive Propositions
of Treaty was never held to amount to a suspension of Arms; Since otherwise We must
(because mention of a Treaty had been once made) by the same Logick have been bound
not to hinder them to encompasse Us on all parts to Colebrook Towns end; Since no word to that purpose (of any suspension) was in Our Answer; Nay,
since in that (by wishing their Propositions might be hastned, to prevent the Inconveniences
which would intervene) We implyed, That by this Arms were not suspended; And since
their own Votes of proceeding vigorously notwithstanding the Petition, and their
now Actions in sending after their Messengers great store of forces with Ordinance
so neer to Us (having before girt Us in on all others parts, and sent men and Ordinance
to Kingston after the safe Conduct asked of Us) implyed the same.
Being resolved upon these Reasons, That this advancing was necessary and just, We
were not yet satisfied till We had endeavoured the same day (though the interruptions
of shooting stopt up the way till the next) to satisfie Our Parliament and People
of the same, and that Peace was still Our desire, We to that end directed a Message
by Iohn White Esquire, which was so received, that his danger of being put to death for bringing
it, and the imprisonment of him and the Trumpeter that went with him in the Gate-house,
shew'd that the very Law of Nations was by some no more consider'd [...]hen all other Laws had been before. A Copy of which Message hereafter [...]ows, to sh [...]w how little temptation the matter of that gave them for [...] usuage.
His Majesties Message of the 12. of November.
WHereas the last night being the 11. of November, after the departure of the Committee of both Our Houses with Our gracious Answer
to their Petition, We received certain Information (having till then heard nothing
of it, either from the Houses Committee or otherwise) That the Lord of Essex had drawn his forces [...]ut of London towards Us, which hath necessitated Our sudden Resolution to march with Our forces
to Brainceford; We have thought hereby fit to signifie to both Our Houses of Parliament, That We
are no lesse desirous of the Peace of the Kingdom, Then We exprest in Our aforesaid
Answer; The Propositions for which We shall willingly receive where ever We are, And
desire (if it may be) to receive them at Brainceford this night, or early to morrow morning, that all possible speed may be made in so
good a work, and all inconveniences, otherwise likely to intervene, may be avoided.
ANd to justifie yet further, That Our Intention was no other then was here profest,
assoon as We were informed that the Earl of Essex his forces were departed from Kingston, before any apparance or notice of further forces from London (Our end of not being inclosed being obtained) We gave orders to quit Brainceford, and to march away, and possesse that place.
We cannot but make one Argument more of the truth of Our Profession, That this was
all Our end, and that We had not the least thought, by so advancing, to surprise and
sack London (which the malignant party would infuse into that Our City) And that is, That probably
God Almighty would not have given such a Blessing to Our Journey, as to have assisted
Us so both by Land and Water, as with lesse then a third part of Our foot, and with
the losse but of ten men, to beat two of their best Regiments out of both Braincefords, for all the great advantage of their works in them, to kill him who commanded in
chief, and kill and drown many others, to take five hundred Prisoners, more Arms,
eleven Colours, and good store of Ammunition, fifteen Peeces of Ordinance (whereof
We sunk most that We brought not away) and then unfought with, and unoffered at, neerer
then by Ordinance, to march away, notwithstanding the great disadvantage of Our Forces
by the difficulties of the Passages, if He who is the searcher of all hearts and truth
it self had not known the truth of Our Professions, and the Innocence of Our Heart,
And how farre We were from deserving those horrid Accusations of falsehood and Treachery
cast so point blank [Page 6] upon Our own Person, That it would amase any man to see them suffered to be Printed
in Our City of London, if any thing of that kinde could be a wonder after so many of the same, and how really
they desire Accommodation, who upon this have Voted they will have none.
These Our Reasons for this Action, this Our satisfaction sent for it, and this Blessing
of God's upon it, will (We doubt not) cleer Us to all indifferent persons both of
the Jesuiticall Counsells, and the personall Treachery to which some have presumed
so impudently to impute it; And God so blesse Our future Actions as We have delivered
the truth of this.
The Answer of both Houses of Parliament to His Majesties Message of the 12 of November.
TO Your Majesties Message of the 12 of this Month of November, We the Lords and Commons in Parliament, do make this humble Answer; That this Message
was not delivered to us till Munday the 14. We thought it a strange Introduction to
Peace, that Your Majesty should send Your Army to beat us out of our Quarters at
Brainceford, and then appoint that place to receive our Propositions; which, yet it plainly appears,
Your Majesty intended not to receive, till You had first tryed whether You could
break thorow the Army raised for the defence of this Kingdom and Parliament, and take
the City, being unprovided and secure, in expectation of a fair Treaty made to secure
the City. If herein Your Majesty had prevailed, after You had destroyed the Army,
and mastered the City, it is easie to imagine, what a miserable Peace we should have
had: and whether those Courses be sutable to the Expressions Your Majesty is pleased
to make in Your Answer to our Petition, of Your earnestnesse to avoid any further
effusion of blood, let God and the World judge.
As for our Proceedings, they have in all things been answerable to our Professions:
We gave directions to the Earl of Essex to draw the Army under his Command out of the City and Suburbs, before we sent any
Message to Your Majesty; so that part of it was inquartered at Brainceford, before the Committee returned with Your Answer: and immediately upon the receipt
thereof, that very morning Order was taken that the Souldiers should exercise no
Act of Hostility against any of Your Majesties People. We sent a Letter by Sir Peter Killigrew to know Your Majesties pleasure, Whether You intended the like forbearance of hostility;
But the fury of Your Souldiers thirsting after bloud and spoil, prevented the delivery
of the Letter. For [Page 7] coming upon Saturday in his way towards Your Majesty as farre as Brainceford, he found them in fight there and could passe no further. God who sees our Innocency,
and that we have no Aymes, but at his Glory and the publike Good, will (we hope)
free Your Majesty from those destructive Counsells, who labour to maintain their
own power by hloud and Rapine, and blesse our Endeavours, who seek nothing, but to
procure and establish the Honour, Peace and Safety of Your Majesty, and Kingdoms,
upon the sure foundation of Religion and Justice.
To the Answer of both Houses of Parliament to His Majesties Message of the 12 of November, His Majesty makes this Reply.
THat His Message of the 12, though not received by them till the 14, was sent to them first upon the same day, upon which it was dated, and meeting with
stops by the way, was again sent upon the 13, and taken upon that day at ten in the morning by the Earl of Essex, and though not to him directed, was by him opened, so the slownesse of the delivery
is not so strange as the stop of the Letter said to be sent by Sir Peter Killigrew, which His Majesty hath not yet received, but concludes from the matter expressed
to have been contain'd in that Letter (to wit, to know his Pleasure, whether He intended
the forbearance of Hostility) and by the Command of such forbearance said to be sent
to the Lord of Essex his Army, that no such forbearance was already concluded, & consequently neither
had his Majesty cause to suppose, that he should take any of their forces unprovided,
and secure in expectation of a faire Treaty, neither could any Hostile Act of His
Majesties Forces have been a course unsutable to His expressions, much lesse could
an endeavour to prepossesse (for so He hoped He might have done) that Place, which
might have stopt the farther March of those Forces towards Him, (which, for ought
appear'd to Him, might as well have been intended to Colebrook as to Brainceford) and by that the further effusion of Bloud, deserve that stile.
His Majesty farther conceives, That the Printing so out of time of such a Declaration,
as their Reply to his Answer to theirs of the 26 of May, but the day before they Voted the Delivery of their Petition, and the March of the
Earl of Essex his Forces to Brainceford so neer to His Majesty, when the Committee at the same time attended Him with a Petition for a Treaty, the Earl of Essex being before possest of all the other Avenues to his Army, by his Forces at Windsore, Acton, and Kingston, was a more strange introduction to Peace, then for His Majesty not to suffer Himself
to be coopt up on all sides, because a Treaty had been mention'd, which was so really,
and so much desired by His Majesty, that this Proceeding seems to Him purposely by
some intended to divert (which it could not do) that His Inclination.
That His Majesty had no intention to master the City by so advancing, besides His
profession, which (how meanly soever they seem to value it) He conceives a sufficient
Argument, (especially being only oppos'd by suspicions and surmises) may appear by
His not pursuing His Victory at Brainceford, but giving orders to His Army to March away to Kingston as soon as he heard that place was quitted, before any notice or Appearance of farther
Forces from London; Nor could he finde a better way to satisfie them before hand, that he had no such
intention, but that his desire of Peace, and of Propositions, that might conduce to
it, still continued, then by that Message of the 12, for which care of his he was requited by such a Reception of his Message and Messenger,
as was contrary at once both to duty, civility, and the very Customes, and Law of
Warre, and Nations, and such as theirs (though after this Provocation▪) hath not found
from him.
His Majesty wonders that his Souldiers should be charged with their sting after Bloud,
who took above five hundred Prisoners in the very heat of the fight, his Majestie
having since dismissed all the common Souldiers, and entertain'd such as were willing
to serve him, and required only from the rest an Oath not to serve against him; And
his Majesty supposes such most apt and likely to maintain their Power by Bloud and
Rapine, who have only got it by Oppression and Injustice; That his is vested in him
by the Law, and by that only (if the destructive Counsells of others would not hinder
such a Peace, in which that might once again be the Universall Rule, and in which
Religion and Justice can only flourish) he desires to maintain it. And if Peace were
equally desired by them, as it is by his Majesty, he conceives it would have been
proper to have sent him such a Paper as should have contained just Propositions of
Peace, and not an unjust Accusation of his Counsells, Proceedings and Person. And
his Majesty intends to March to such a Distance from his City of London, as may take away all Pretence of Apprehension from his Army, that might hinder them
in all Security from yet preparing them to present to him, and there will be ready
either to receive them, or to end the pressures, and miseries, which his Subjects
to his great Grief suffer through this Warre, by a Present Battle.
FINIS.