WHEREAS severall Warrants have beene presented to Vs, under the hands of the Earle of Stanford, Sir Edward Bainton, and others, directed to diverse of Our loving Subjects of Our Counties of Glocester, So­merset and Wilts, whereby they are required in Our name and for Our Service to appeare with their Armes, and other warlike preparations at a certaine time and place; We doe hereby Declare for the satisfa­ction of all Our Loving Subjects of those Counties, and that they may not be seduced from their obedi­ence by the cunning and subtilty of those men, That the said Earle of Stanford, or the other men under whose hands the Warrants have issued, have no Authority from Vs to grant any such Warrants, but that the said Earle, and his Confederates are in open and Actuall Rebellion against Vs, and doe endeavour to take away Our Life from Vs. And We doe therefore straightly Charge and Command all Our loving Subjects whatsoever, upon their Allegiance, not to obey any of the said Warrants, or any other Warrants of the like nature granted or issued without Our Ex­presse Consent, and such as by colour of such Authority have assembled together, that they immediately disband and repaire to their houses. And We doe once more renew Our offer of a free and gratious Pardon to all Our Subjects of Our said three se­verall Counties, excepting those whom We before excepted in Our severall Proclamations concerning those Our Counties, and excepting Sir Edward Bainton, who hath exercised such cruell traiterous and unheard of Insolencies over his fellow Sub­jects, as cannot be paralelled, against all which We shall proceed according to the Rules of the Law, as against Persons guilty of high Treason. And whom We doe hereby require all Our Officers and Ministers of Iustice, and all Our loving Subjects what­soever, to apprehend and cause to be kept in safe Custody. And Our Expresse Pleasure is, and We doe hereby will and Com­mand all the severall Tenants of the Persons excepted in Our Proclamation, for those three Counties of Glocester, Somerset, and Wilts, and all other persons who are any wayes indebted unto them, and all the Tenants to any other person of any of the said Counties, who is now in Actuall and open Rebellion against Vs, or who after the publishing of this Our Proclamation shall contribute to the maintenance of the Armies now in Rebellion against Vs, under the Conduct of Robert Earle of Essex, the said Earle of Stanford, or of any other Person or persons, That they forbeare to pay any Rents or Debts due to the said severall Persons, but deteine the same in their hands towards the maintenance of the Peace of the Counties, and the reparation of such men who have suffered by the violence of the others. And if any Souldier or Souldiers now under Command against Vs, in either of Our said three Counties, shall within sixe dayes after the publishing of this Proclamation, apprehend and bring before Vs or any Officers of Our Army, or any other Our Minister of Iustice, so that the Person apprehended be kept in safe Custody, the bodies of any of the Persons so excepted by Vs, or of any of the Commanders or Officers now in Rebellion against Vs in any of the said three Counties, such Souldier or Souldiers, besides their Pardons, shall receive such liberall Rewards by Pensions or otherwise, as their severall Services in respect of the qualities of the Persons so apprehended shall deserve. And if any Commander or Officer (except the Persons before excepted) now in Rebellion against Vs in any of the said three Counties, shall within five dayes after this Our Proclamation published, being convinced in his Conscience of his damnable offence against God and Vs, in assisting this odious Rebellion, returne to His Allegiance, and repaire to Our Army, and commit no hostile Act in the meane while against Vs, We shall not only Pardon him, but so farre imploy him as his quality and demeanour shall de­serve. And We doe hereby require all Our Loving Subjects of what degree or quality soever, within Our said three severall Counties, upon their Allegiance, and as they tender the cause of God, the Protestant Religion, being invaded and threatned to be rooted up by Anabaptists, Brownists, and Atheists, of Vs, and Our Posterity, (Our Life being sought after by this Rebelli­on, and of themselves the Law and Liberty of the Subject being in apparant hazard to be subjected to an Arbitrary Lawlesse power, of a few Schismaticall, Factious and ambitious Persons) to assist Us in Person, or with the Loane of Money, Plate, and Horses, in this Our great necessity. And having said thus much out of Our tender regard of Our Subjects of those Our Counties; If they shall henceforward be guilty of the premisses, and shall either by Loane or Contribution assist the said Ar­my of Rebells, assemble and Muster themselves in Armes without Authority derived from Vs under Our Hand, or shall enter into any Oath of Association for opposing Vs and Our Army, and so compell Vs to send part of Our Forces thither, to reduce them to their Obedience, they must answer the miseries, that must follow, to God, and their Countrey. And Our Pleasure is, That this Our Proclamation be read in all the Parish Churches and Chappells in the said three severall Counties.

¶ Given at Our Court at Oxford, the eight and twentieth day of December, in the Eighteenth yeare of Our Reigne.

God save the King.