consequence purposely to authorise them hereafter Moreouer in that which was one of the most important points and the chiefest motiues of our resumption of Armes to wit the subsistance of the Fort before Rochell they would expresse nothing in the Declaration touching the promise made to vs for the razing and demolishing thereof And that promise which was yet giuen vs by the Ambassadour of the King of Great Britaine as also of the Lords States Generall was couched in such ambiguous and generall tearmes that it manifestly appeared the intent of those who gaue them was not to obserue and keepe them because by their artificiall prouidence they prepared the way to euasions which they haue since practised and would thereby inferre and pretend that they had promised vs nothing So that in what estate soeuer our affaires then were finding more safetic in a weake resistance then in a peace which publikely cuts our throats we therefore refused to accept it vpon those conditions which we held would infallibly draw after it our fatall ruine and destruction But at length we found our selues obliged yea we dare affirme almost enforced by the vrgent and reiterated assummons which were made vs by the aforesaid Embassadours who in the name of those they represented were established vnto vs as Pledges and Sureties that we were proceeded with sincerely and especially for the demolition of the said Fort whereof they alleaged they had expresse promise and assurance As also that this peace was not of the qualitic and nature of the precedent peaces which had beene treated onely with vs whereas this was properly not so much with vs as with the King of Great Britaine and the Lords States so as whosocuer violated or infringed it the infraction and iniury thereof was properly offred to them who would not spare either their intercession or other meanes to make good their words to vs. And although this were very preualent and powerfull to induce vs to accept and admit thereof they yet further represented to vs That our Armes was the onely obstacle that the King imployed not his against the inueterate Enemy of our Estate and Religion and why he did not so soundly wed himselfe to the affaires of Germanie with the King of Great Britaine so that whatsoeuer ill successe betided it would be iustly imputed to our obstinacy and would occasion all those who hitherto haue wished vs well wholly to abandon and forsake vs. To these important reasons we suffred our selues to be vanquished and although we then foretold them that they would finde themselues deceiued as well in the assurance which was giuen them to conferue peace vnto vs as also so to ioyne their designes and Armes with them against Spaine yet we would no longer oppose against their requests and instances but sacrifized vp our selues and all our common interests to the aduantages of the King of Great Britaine and his Allyes and so accepted the peace in the same manner and forme as it was giuen vs onely we drew an Act from the Embassadours of Great Britaine verifying all which was formerly alleaged the which because it is the foundation of the Iustice of his and our Armes it is requisite we doe here insert it VVE Henry Rich Lord of Kensington Earle of Holland Captaine of the Guard to the King of Great Britaine Knight of the Order of the Garter and Priuie Councellour to his Maiestie And Dudley Carleton Knight Priuie Councellour and Vice-Chamberlaine to his said Maiestie extraordinary Ambassadors for him to the most Christian King to all present or to come Greeting Whereas Monsieur Montmartin and Monsieur Maniaâ—…d Generall Deputies of the reformed Churches of France together with other particular Deputies of my Lords the Dukes of Rhoan and Soubize as also of many Townes and Prouinces which haue ioyned their Armes with those of the said Lords hauing made Peacewith the Most Christian King by our aduice and interuentions agreed and consented by the said Most Christian King their Soueraigne and that the said Deputies haue yeelded to and cut off many things which they esteemed to be most important for their safetie euery way conformable to their Edicts and Records which they were expresly charged to obtaine in the Treatie of peace and wherein they had powerfully persisted but that the Obedience which they owe and will render to their King and Soueraigne and the consideration and regard which they will yeeld to the expresse requests and intrauentions of the King of Great Britaine our Master in whose name wee haue exhorted and councel'd them to condescend to the Conditions offred and giuen them by the said Peace in fauour and for the prosperity of this Kingdome in particular and the content and assistance of Christendome in generall To which causes Wee declare and certifie That in the words which were heretofore giuen vnto vs for the accomplishing of the said Treatie and proffered by the Lord Chancellour at the acceptance of the peace containing that through their long seruices and continuall obedience they may expect that from the goodnesse of the King which they could not else obtaine by any other Treatie and in those very things which they esteeme the most important and pressing in conuenient time they might heare and prouide for their Supplications made with respect and Humilitie There was a cleerer interpretation brought vnto vs from his Maiestie and the Lords his Ministers by those who were the Agents and Negotiators of the peace being Men of Honour and qualitie ordained and established with power from his Maiestie and his Priuie Councell whereof the sence and meaning is That they vnderstand to speake of the Fort Lewes before Rochell and therby to giue assurance of its demolition in conuenient time and in the interim some remedies of other matters which should remaine by the said Treatie of Peace to the preiudice of the Libertie of Rochell Without the which assurance of Demolition and the ease and exemption of Garisons the said Deputies protested vnto vs that they would neuer haue consented to the subsistance of the said Fort being commanded and resolued to conserue the right of that Demolition As they doe by this present declaration with assurance that the King of Great Britaine will labour by his intercessions ioyn'd with their most humble supplications to hasten the time of that demolition whereof we haue giuen them all the royall promises and words which they can desire after we had shewed them that they might and ought to remaine satisfied and contented In witnesse of all which now formerly expressed we haue signed and sealed this present with our names and armes and haue caused it likewise to be vnder-signed by one of our Secretaries Dated in Paris the 11. day of February 1626. And so signed Holland D. Carleton with seales vnder euery signe and vnderneath by the commandment of the said Lords signed Augier This Act so dressed and finished the Deputies carry it home to their Prouinces to serue for comfort and
steed them for their restoration or produce any other fruits or effects then the immense charges of their vnprofitable solicitation Iniustice which hath not onely been practised in those Townes subdued by the violence of Armes and where this hard measure might peraduenture be imputed to the seuerity and sharpnesse of the Roman-Catholicks against vs for hauing committed some acts of hostilitie but also in those places who refused to ioyne to the resistance of their brethren and had stooped the most â—…ruily vnder their yoake and in those places also where ours haue no power to agitate any thing Particularly we may here remember the Church of Tours whereof the Temple hauing been burnt in the mid'st of peace before the troubles of the yeeres 1620 and 1621 and during the two Edicts of Peace which haue beene since establshed and published they cannot hetherunto reedifie and repaire it And although the king with his own mouth hath ordained the restablishment thereof and to that end granted out a commission to see it performed the last yeere yet notwithstanding the malice and wickednesse of his Officers hath rendered it vaine and vnprofitable to whom the execution thereof was giuen and belonged so that for the tearme of 7 whole yeeres more than 2000 Soules haue there languished in a miserable captiuitie of Conscience without hauing permission or liberty to seruâ—… God And for asmuch as some-times they haue assayed to assemble secretly to administer the Sacrament of Baptisme to some Children and not to suffer so great a number of Soules without some exercise of Religion they haue followed them closely and seuerely haue publickly abused the Minister and condemned him in a great Fine for lending of his House for so piousan Action Yea so far it is that those poore troopes of Christians so pitifully dispersed and so long time depriued of the food of their Soules could be assembled or gathered together that the insolencie and crueltie of our Enemies haue begat and perpetrated new dissipations The yeere 1622 the Duke of Ventadour formerly held to be a moderate Prince hath in a setled peace demolished the Temple of Chailar in Vizaretz and forbidden all this poore Towne wherein there are not 10 Families of a contrarie religion to ours the exercise of their religion authorising by this remarkeable example in regard of his dignitie all those of his gouernment to an implacable hatred against vs and euen to outraged with a licentious furie and boldnesse The Baron of Perant Gouernor of Beucaire in Languedoc imboldned by this insolencie after he had taken from vs vsurped the Temple of God wherein we were accustomed to serue God in the Church of Vezenobre in Sezennes he not only contented himselfe to depriue vs thereof and to dedicate it to Idols but to leaue a perpetuall memoriall of his outragious and violent iniustice caused there a Bell to be founded with this Inscription That Such a day he had chased Heresie thence And not long since when the Nationall Synod was held at Castres the Cardinall of Sourdis came furiously rushing vpon a troope of harmlesse and innocent Soules going to Montrauell with the great incommodities and laboures of their bodies to seeke the Food of their Soules where violently he pursued the Pastor whom it pleased God to preserue shut vp a great number of women and small children into a barn where he held them a long time captiues in the feares and apprehensions of death euerie minute threatned to set fire to them and burne them and in the end by a prophanation full of horror conuerted to a stable this Temple where these seruants of the Lord were accustomed frequently to serue him and which had continued without interruption since the furie of the Masacres And in this manner it is that Our Enemies doe accomplish that which his Maiesties Declaration had promised vs concerning the reestablishing of our dissipated Churches that is to say by new inuented outrages and performed by great and noble personages against whom it is vnpossible for vs to obtaine any Iustice yea not lawfull to frame or exhibit a complaint Enery one may iudge of what a dangerous and pernicious consequence these examples are and what we may attend or expect from people already exasperated and animated with implacable hatred against vs hauing before their eyes those and the like great personages which serue for fire-brands and incendraries to their rage and indeede they are growne to so boundlesse and licencious a rage that they can make vs suffer no more and in imitation of others they triumph and glory to abuse vs and doe openly depresse vs with their outrages So that almost euery where to be knowne to be of our Religion is to be marked and distinguished for Monsters and those who are of the sweetest and most temperate inclinations doe thinke they extreamly gratifie vs if they doe but simply abhorre vs and eschew our companies and meetings as people who are infected with the pestilence especially in those places where they preuaile in number and it is almost throughout the whole Kingdome that we cannot goe to our Diuine Exercises but either in going or returning the vulgar doe assemble to hush and shout at vs with publike out-cries throw stones at vs and beat vs downe with iniuries so that in the Capitall Citie of Paris it selfe it is not long since that there were some slayne vpon the place without that the presence of the King the respect of that famous Parliament there resident could preuent or hinder that this blood was not spilt before their eyes and themselues to be almost destroyed therewith Yea they aduance so far in this insolencie as they rush into particular mens houses to execute the excesse of this their crueltie And the example is resent fresh of that which hapned in the aforesaid Church of Vezenobre where a furious number of Asasins breake by night into the house of the Minister and clapt a rope about his necke purposely to strangle him if miraculously he had not escaped their tallents by leaping out at a window from whence he secretly crept along to som neighbouring cottage almost dead with the blows and wounds he receiued of them Those whom they cannot force in their houses the seduce forth by subtiltie as an Aduocate of Sommieres who being fallen into some reuolt during the last ciuill combustions but then immediatly after return'd againe into the Church he was sent for to the Castle vnder a false pretext errand there was surprised and seized on by a multitude of furious Fryers and appointed Souldiers who there drew him into the Fryerie where he was forced to endure all that which could be expected from the humanitie of those pitifull fathers Our children are often surprised stollen from vs by publicke violence to bring them vp in their Cloysters as many times there remaines nothing to the poore fathers desolate mothers but their vnprofitable teares to haue ingendred them to Idolatry
out in Rubrikes those who are best affected to the Church of God to oppose good men to support wicked and to intimidate shake the weaker sort of people and in fauour of some miserable reward to make them fall off from themselues To be short for the heaping vp of oppression in that which concernes our consciences they will force vs to that which is more bitter and insupportable then death itselfe and which with abhomination we abhor detest as a most expresse and grosse Idolatry that is to bow our knees before the Host or Agnuâ—… dei of the Roman-priests I say they will inforce vs thereto and the decrees thereof haue bin newly dated and published in many places more particularly at Diepe where there are so great a number of our Religion that it is impossible they are not often engaged with this fatall meeting And in this sort they haue performed executed the declaration of peace in regard of the chiefe point thereof which concernes the free libertie and exercise of our Religion they haue not established it in infinite places where it ought to be they haue expelled and banished it from diuers others where it lawfully subsisted and if any where they haue left it it is in the manner and tearmes as we haue here formerly expressed As for the regard of the offices dignities whereunto we ought to be indifferently admitted with our other Country men and fellow Citizens it is this which our Enemies haue impugned and preuented with all sorts of passion and violence In many places where those of our contrary Religion make not the tenth person they haue wholly taken from vs that part and portion which we had in the Consuls Court as at Bagnols Or if in any place they haue left vs any thing it hath beene the very least and meanest part as at Montelimard There hath beene bribery combination or corruption employed almost euery where to introduce in the Towne houses or seats of Iustice and Iudicature those which most maligne vs and consequently to expell all honest men Very lately cotrary to the exclude priuiledges of the City of Nismes the Commissioners of the Chamber of Besiers by a Decree of their Councell would there assist at the election of the Consuls to make it fall on people wholly to their deuotion and because the Baron of Aubais who was not of their crue was there lawfully elected and accepted the Dignitie they granted out a power to arrest his Body and most cruelly ransack'd his houses The order hitherto inuiolably obserued calling Monsieur le Cocque Councellour of the Parliament of Paris to enter into the Great Chamber the doore was shut against him in hatred of his Religion and the long seruices of this venerable old man whose probity and merits are apparantly knowne to all men could not preuaile with their passion against vs nor secure him from their outragious Iniustice Generally there is seldome granted out any Office whatsoeuer though it be but of a poore Sergeant to any that is of our Religion if they doe not first abiure it or promise those seruices which is required of them which is hereafter to betray vs in the midst of our selues so that Monsieur de Russan hauing many yeeres since paid for the Office of Generall of the Court of Aydes at Monpellier hath not as yet beene receiued because he will not performe the one nor promise the other And now againe in the Towne of Rochell there hauing beene many Offices and dignities vacant whom many of the said Towne haue sought to obtaine and purchase these suits of theirs hath beene in vaine because they will not play false play to their consciences in betraying their Countrie and in this manner it is that the Faith hath beene kept and practised with vs in this regard It may be that being contented to haue bereaued and dispoyled vs of our honours they will be then more iust to restore vsto our goods and to secure vs from iniuries and generally to conserue our Rights in matter of Iustice which was solemnly promised vs. So here it is that some enraged passion hath strangely blinded them that trampling vnder their feet all manner of diuine and humane Lawes they haue wretchedly abused the authority which gaue them Lawes euery way to afflict and oppresse vs. When grounding our selues and Actions on the Edict of Peace we would question before Iudges the vniust detainers of our goods whereof they so violently possessed themselues during the fury of the Warres and so to demand the Principall which was due to vs before the taking of Armes all our Law suites and Processes haue beene reiected or adiudged against the Plaintiffes to their great cost and charges and our Enemies the Desendants still maintaind in their vsurpation so that to the Prouince of Languedoc alone is owing more then two millions of Livres which is 100000. li. sterling and to the towne of Rochell immense and infinite sums and it is so far off from restoring vs what is due to vs as by Acts of palpable iniustice they haue many where 's condemned vs to restore those prises which we had taken during the warres and among others there was a sentence giuen thereon in the Chamber of the Edict at Besieres against deceased Mrnsieur de St Blancard Our processes are iudged by the ticket on the bagges so that those of a contrary religion boldly sue all manner of actions against vs how vniust so euer being confident that the contrary Iudge of our Religion will make them gaine their Causes And so at the Great Councell The Earle of Beanfort was ouerthrowne in a greatl uite he followed against some Communalites and which imported him the greatest part of his whole Estate although the equitie and iustice of his cause was perfectly cleere and that in confirmation thereof he had heretofore obtaind sentence vpon sentence but notwithstanding the onely remembrance of troopes of assistance which he conducted into Montauban and his perseuerance and constancy in the true Religion haue preuailed with his Iudges that his Right was vniust But might it please God that they did not abuse their power but in disployIing vs of our goods and that their cruelty would at least leaue vs our liberty and liues that their seats of Iustice were onely Courts established vniustly to grant and giue away our goods to our Enemies and that they became not scaffolds expresly erected to draw innocent bloud from vs. It is a horror of the bloudy Decrees and Iudgements which euery day they pronounce against vs and whereby they manifest and demonstrate to all the world that their soules are far redder then their Scarlet gownes The least fault which any of vs commits is a crime which can neither hope nor obtaine pardon and in the whitest innocency it selfe their hatred makes them finde out lawfull causes to condemne vs. A yong man of Auignon named William Astier for hauing framed and collected some reasons which moued