A COLLECTION Of Several LETTERS AND DECLARATIONS SENT BY General Monck Unto the Lord Lambert the Lord Fleetwood and the rest of the General Council of Officers in the ARMY AS ALSO Unto That part of the Parliament called the Rump The Committee of Safety so called The Lord Mayor and Common Council of the City of London The Congregated Churches in and about London LONDON Printed in the Year 1660. A LETTER FROM General Monck TO KING CHARLES May it plÌ„ease your Majesty SEeing it hath pleased God out of his gracious will and pleasure to cause me to cast my Eye upon this Common-wealth of England my native Country and your three Kingdomes and viewing there to behold the sad and lamentable condition that now and for many years past it hath been intangled in which as Reason and Conscience together perswades me is occasioned chiefly for want of its ancient and ever customed way of Government to wir a King and Parliament which hath been unsetled altogether amongst us ever since the unhappy death of your Majesties late father our King by reason whereof our ancient and accustomed wholesome Laws both of Church and State are most strangely torn and massacred and all through the self-seeking ends of some certain persons which at present I judge not fit herein to be communicated who having gotten the power of the sword in their hands thought for ever to rule and reign over their opposers I think in spight of God or man But of late some of those I hope I may truly bless the name of the Lord for it who were the chief Rulers of those unhappy Differences between our King and his three poor distracted Kingdomes are taken out of this World insomuch that the Power of those remaining is much weakened But yet they will I perceive seek to tread in the felf same steps of them that have gone before them as seeking only to set up their own Interest although to the utter ruine of the Nation Studying how of littleness to become great hating the name of a King but would joyfully imbrace the power thereof yea I may say they seek far more Power than ever our late King did take upon him and all this done under the zealous pretence of Saintship and Religion the form or manner whereof is plainly manifested by their tollerating and setting up of strange Sects of Relâ—gion as Anabaptists Quakers and such like seeking utterly to destroy and pull down our antient Orthodox Divines unless timely prevented I question not but your Majesty is very well knowing of the Power which for some few years past I have had in governing the English Army here in Scotland which Power when I had once obtained I did resolve as much as in me lay to keep until a fit time and opportunity should offer it self that I might imploy it for the glory of God and the good of your Majesty whose faithful Subject I humbly acknowledge my self to be Now so it is may it please your Majesty I plainly seeing and with a sad heart beholding the threatning hand of the Lords severe Judgements stretched forth against these three Kingdoms which forthwith must and will inevitably fall heavy upon us for ought as can be imagined to the utter ruin both of King and Subjects unless suddenly prevented by our humble submission to the Lord and an unfeigned Repentance of our former miscarriages May it also please your Majesty to give me leave to acquaint you that I humbly conceive I had never a better opportunity of doing my Country service in freeing them from their Egyptian bondage as I may term it and in restoring the Crown to the right owner thereof which if possible to be done shall be done with as much care safety and diligence as God shall enable me and that with as little wrong as may be either to King or Subjects which work when it is perfected I hope will tend to the settlement of our ancient Protestant Religion In tender consideration of all which Premises I most humbly beg that high favour of your Majesty that you will be graciously pleased to permit me to make these Proposals following First whether your Majesty will be pleased to accept of the real endeavours of me your unworthy Subject and Servant to be imployed in being a means in helping your Majesty to a quiet and safe possession of three Kingdoms which have with violence been so long time withheld from you If yea Then Will your Majesty be pleased to consent to a Treaty to be had between your Majesty and a free Parliament which shall be lawfully Elected and Chosen by the Country whose care I hope will be for the choosing of such honest godly and religious men as had no hand in the death of our late King or since his death have by any unlawful means whatsoever enjoyed any of his Lands Tenements or Rents or the Lands Tenements and Rents of the late Deans and Chapters or any of your late sequestred Subjects or which since his death have appeared violent in their acting against Kingship and consequently against your Majesty our lawful King Not in the least that I have any malice or evil will against such persons but for that my Conscience tells me that so long as self-interessed persons are suffered to sit in Parliament there is little good to be expected either for King or Kingdome for it is a hard thing for men to act against their own selves to the loss of their Lands and Livings which they suppose they have so honestly gained If your Majesty will be pleased to consent to such a Treaty and that thereupon it may be agreed upon that your Majesty shall be restored to your three Kingdoms which I question not but will be the event of such a Treaty Then I humbly beg that your Maj. would be pleased to think fit to declare what mercy and pitty you are pleased shall be shewn to all those that have been the chief of your enemies whose blood in severity of justice might deservedly be spilt upon their humble submission to your Majesty and their promise of future obedience for I hope you will judge that the onely way to joyn the hearts of the People of your three Kingdoms to pray for your happy success in all things and not only so but it will undoubtedly encourage them all to venter their Lives against all your opposers if any shall contest and also that your Majesty would be pleased to declare out of your gracious goodness what satisfaction shall be made to the poor Common Souldiery throughout your three Kingdomes who have been forced to take up Arms although against your Majesty for meer necessity to keep them and their Families from starving who indeed are much behind in their pay which will be utterly lost and undone unless your Majesty take compassion upon them which if you are pleased so to do I question not but you will find as much humility and submission from them as can
you sit your utmost endeavours may be to manifest your affectionate desires for the publick good of these Nations Our further desire is that those Regiments underyour consideration whose Officers are not may be spedily pass'd And in regard we find that the grand cause of the present heats and dissatisfactions in the Nation is because they are not fully represented in Parliament and seeing no other probable Expedient whereby to keep the Nation in peace then by filling up your Number we must therefore make this our main desire upon which we cannot but insist that you would proceed to issue forth Writts in order to Elections for the better effecting whereof we entreat that you would conclude upon due and full Qualifications that not only those who have been actually in Arms against the Parliament may be excluded but also such who in the late Wars betwixt King and Parliament have declared their dis-affection to the Parliament And because the distracted condition of this Nation is at this hour so evident and pressing we are constrained for the just maintenance of your Authority and the satisfaction of all true English men earnestly to desire that all the Writs may be issued forth by Friday next returnable at the usuall and legall time For we think it convenient to acquaint you that to pacific the minds of this great City in the prosecution of your late Command the chief of us did give an assurance thereof And we must not forget to remember you that the time hastens wherein you have declared your intended Dissolution which the people and our selves desire you would be punctual in Hereby the Suspition of your Perpetuation will be taken away and the people will have assurance that they shall have a Succession of Parliaments of their own Election which is the undoubted Right of the English Nation You have promised and declared no less both the people and your Armies do live in the hope and expectation of it That we may the better wait for your full and free Concurrence to these just desires on the Nations behalf upon Mature deliberation we have thought it our duty as to continue the usual Guards for the safety of your fitting so for the present to draw the rest of the Forces under Command into the City that we may have the better opportunity to compofe spirits and beget a good understanding in that great City formerly renowned for their resolute adhering to Parliamentary Authority and we hope that the same spirit will be found still to breath amongst the best most considerable and interessed persons there This Action of ours as we hope it will receive your favourable interpretation so we do believe it will through the blessing of God be of good use for the present peace and future settlement of these Nations These are our thoughts which we communicate to you in the Names of our selves and the Officers and Souldiers under our Commands we are Your Honours most Humble Servants GEORGE MONCK Colonels Tho. Randers Leon Litcot Io. Clobery Io. Hublethorne Tho. Read Ra. Knight Dan. Redman Ethelbert Morgan Lieut. Col. Nathaniel Barton Major Majors Tho. Johnson Ier. Smith Tho. Pryme Fra. Nichols Pet. Banister White-Hall Feb. 11. 1659. Saturday Feb. 11. UPon the reading of the Letter the House Resolved That the thanks of this House be given unto General Monck for his faithfull service in securing the City and that as to filling up of the House the Parliament were upon the Qualifications before the receipt of the said Letter and the same will be dispatch'd in due time THE SPEECH AND DECLARATION OF HIS EXCELLENCY The Lord Generall MONCK Delivered at Whitehall upon Tuesday the 21 February 1659. Ordered by his Excellency the Lord General that this Speech and Declaration be forthwith printed and published William Clarck Secretary GENTLEMEN YOu are not I hope ignorant what Care and Endeavours have been used and Means essayed for healing the broaches of our Divisions amongst our selves and that in order thereunto divers Conferences have been procured between you though to small effect yet having at length received fuller satisfaction from these worthy Gentlemen that were secluded then formerly I was bold to put you all to the trouble of this meeting that I might open my self to you all even with more freedome then formerly but least I might be mis-apprehended or mistaken as of late it besell me I have committed to writing the Heads of what I intended to discourse to you and desire it may be read openly to you all THE DECLARATION OF His Excellencie THE LORD General Monck Delivered at VVhite Hall upon Tuesday the 21 of Feb. 1659. GENTLEMEN IT appears unto me by what I have heard from you and the whole Nation that the Peace and happy Settlement of these bleeding Nations next under God lyeth in your hands And when I consider that Wisdom Piety and Self denial which I have reason to be confident lodgeth in you and how great a share of the Nations sufferings will fall upon you in case the Lord deny us now a Settlement I am in very good hopes there will be found in you all such melting bowels towards these poor Nations and towards one another that you will become healers and makers up of all its woful breaches And that such an opportunity may clearly appear to be in your hands I thought good to assure you and that in the presence of God that I have nothing before my eyes but Gods glory and the settlement of these Nations upon Common-wealth Foundations In pursuit whereof I shall think nothing to dear And for my own particular I shall throw my self down at your feet to be any thing or nothing in order to these great Ends As to the way of future Settlement far be it from me to impose any thing I desire you may be in perfect Freedom Onely give me leave to mind you That the old Foundations are by Gods Providence so broken that in the eye of Reason they cannot be restored but upon the ruines of the People of these Nations that have engaged for their Rights in defence of the Parliament and the great and main ends of the Covenant for uaiting and making the Lords name One in the three Nations And also the Liberty of the Peoples Representatives in Parliament will be certainly lost For if the People finde that after so long and bloody a war against the King for break ng in upon their Lâ—berties yet at last he must be taken in again it will be out of question and is most manifest he may for the future govern by his will dispose of Parliaments and Parliament-Men as he pleaseth and yet the people will never more rise for their assistance And as to the interests of this famous City which hath been in all ages the Bulwork of Parliaments and unto whom I am for their great affection so deeply engaged Certainly it must lie in a Commonwealth That Government onely being capable to make them through
the Lords blessing the Metropolis and Bank of Trade for all Christendom whereunto God and Nature hath fitted them above all others And as to a Government in the Church the want whereof hath been no small cause of these Nations distractions It is most manifest that if it be Monarchicall in the State the Church must follow and Prelacy must be brought in which these Nations I know cannot bear and against which they have so solemnly Sworn And indeed moderate not rigid Presbyterian Government with a sufficient Liberty for Consciences truly tender appears at present to be the most indifferent and acceptable way to the Churches Settlement The main thing that seems to lye in the way is the interest of the Lords even of those Lords who have shewed themselves noble indeed by joyning with the people and in defence of those just rights have adventured their dearest blood and large Estates To that I shall onely say that though the state of these Nations be such as cannot bear their sitting in a distinct House yet certainly the wisdom of Parliament will find out such Hereditary marks of honour for them as may make them more noble in after ages Gentlemen upon the whole matter the best result that I can make at present for the peace of these Nations will be in my opinion that you forthwith sit together in Parliament In order 1. To the setling the conduct of Armies of the three Nations in that manner as they may be serviceable to the peace and safty of them and not to its own and the Nations ruine by Faction and Division 2. To the providing sufficient Maintenance for them That is for the Forces by Land and for the Navy by Sea and all their Arrears of both and other contingencies of the Government 3. To the appointing a Council of State with Authority to settle the Civil Government and Judicatories in Scotland and Ireland and to take care for the issuing forthe Writs for the summoning of a Parliament of these three Nations united to meet at Westminster the 20. day of April next with such qualifications as may secure the Publick Cause we are all ingaged in and according to such Distributions as were used in the year 1654. Which Parliament so called may meet and act in freedom for the more full establishing of this Common-Wealth without a King single Person or House of Lords 4. To a Legal Dissolution of this Parliament to make way for succession of Parliaments And in order to these good ends the Guards will not onely willingly admit you but faithfully both my self and every the Officers under my command and I believe the O ficers and Souldiers of the three Nations will spend their blood for you and successive Parliaments If your Conjunction be directed to this end you may part honourably having made a fair step to the settlement of these Nations by making a way for successive Parliaments But I must needs say that if any different Councels should be taken which I have no reason to fear these Nations would presently be thrown back into force and violence and all hopes of this much desired establishment buried in disorder which the Lord in his great mercy I hope will prevent And so God speed you well together and unite your hearts for the preservation of Peace and settlement of these Nations to his own Glory and yours and all our Comforts A LETTER From His Excellency the Lord General MONCK And the Officers under his Command to the Parliament in the name of themselves and the Souldiers under them Mr. Speaker WE cannot but with thankfulnesse acknowledge the wonderful Goodnesse of God to you in your return to the Discharge of your remaining Trust to our selves and your Forces under our Commands after some difficulties in bringing of us by a tedious March in such safty to this place to wait upon you in asserting the freedoms of our native Country and being here as wee have to our utmost hazard and power been instrumental in your Return so we shall be 〈◊〉 ready to pursue your Commands so far as possibly we may To evidence which we have observed and executed your late Orders in relation to the Chains Posts and Gates of the City which was something grievous to Us and to the Officers and Souldiers under our Commands and that because we do not remember any such thing was acted upon this City in all these wars and we fear that many sober people are much grieved at it and apprehend further force to be offered to them while they seem principally to desire the speedy filling up of the House which you have declared for aswell as we have exprest our just desires of and are apt to doubt lest what we have done may be so far from answering the expected end as that it may increase the discomposure of mens spirits in the Nation Upon this occasion it comes fresh into our minds that when by the trechery of some Officers of the Army you were interrupted we declared to the world That the ground of our undertaking was not onely your return to your Trust but also the Vindication of the Liberties of the people and the Preservation of the Rights of our Country and protection and encouragement of the godly and faithful therein as the establishment of the peace of these Nations Which Declarations made before the Lord Angels and Men in the day of our extreamity we as we expect the blessing of the Lord upon our future undertakings cannot but still own and stand by We find that the asserting of the just Liberties of the People is that which the generality of the Nation is much in expectation of and that many sober people together with our selves are under fears lest this great price that God hath put into your and our hands as your Servants should not be improved but that we shall run in Confusion again Therefore we humbly crave leave to present before you some grounds of our fears We are afraid that the late wonderful and unparalel'd Deliverance is not so publickly and solemnly acknowledged as it might be that the Lord who wrought so stupendiously may have the Glory of all We are troubled that some as yet do sit in the House who are impeached of Treason We cannot but observe that divers Members of your House who contrary to their Trust acted in that illegal and Tyrannical Committee of Safety are not actually disabled from sitting there notwithstanding Colonel Lambert hath onely the Vote of Indemnity to secure him from as high Crimes as have been committed in this Nation and is not obedient to your Orders yet he seemeth to be winked at We understand that Sir Henry Vane upon bare pretence is permitted to stay about the City to the great dissatisfaction of your best Friends That there are dangerous Consultations and that of those who had a chief hand in your late Interruption and the hazarding of the whole Nations contrary to our expectation We find
continued in the Army some Persons of dangerous Principles and such who were active enough in the late Defection Though we are far from wishing the ruine of any yet we could desire that your signal indulgence to late notorious Offenders did meet with that candid reception from them as to be so much the more ingenuous in their professed repentance But we observe that many of them do seek to justifie themselves and are not without their Agents in print to palliate their soul Enormities which maketh us yet to suspect that we are in some danger of returning to the late distempers that You and the Nation are but newly delivered from We are not ignorant that there are those who lately struck at the Root of English Parliaments in Practice and Design thereby have inflamed the Nation and given great advantage to the Common Enemy yet they are not without a strange confidence to precipitate men into a belief that they are the onely Persons against the one and for the other With grief of heart we do remember and would lament over the too palpable Breach of Engagements in this Nation Therefore we should think it a duty rather to mourn over the same then to promote any new Oath to be taken at this time Yet we perceive that there is a designe to provoke the Parliament to enforce an Oath upon the Nation and do take notice that amongst others there are some who are most forward to promote the said design who have made the least if any Conscience in keeping Engagements already taken Here we must not silence our first resentment of a bold Petition and of dangerous consequence which was lately presented to you the consequence whereof if you should answer their desires would be to exclude many of the most conscientious and sober sort of men from serving under you in Civil and Military Imployments who have and will prove themselves most faithful and a Door would be opened in designe to retrive the Interâ—st of those who have by the just Hand of our Gracious God made themselves to apparently obnoxious Moreover which is not the least part of the venome of that Petition we clearly see the same spirit which of late would have pull'd away the by you declared just Maintenance from Ministers would now provoke you by an Oath to endanger the forcing away of many of the most Godly from their Maintenance In urging our fears from the premises that concerns some of different Principles from us we would not be thought to as we do not design any thing that may incur the censure of unjust rigidity We freely professe our desires that tendernâ—sse of Conscience may have its full just liberty but we cannot in judgment count that tendernesse of Conscience which will not scruple at treachery it self or any unrighteousnesse to carry on corrupt designes Having presented You with our fears we shall adde our Resolution That by the help of God we shall stand by you in the pursuance of what we have declared for And therefore do make this humble request to You. We could desire That whilst you sit your utmost endeavours may be to manifest your affectionate desires for the Publick Good of these Nations Our further desires is That those Regiments under your consideration whose Officers who are not may be speedily passed And in regard we find that the Grand Cause of the present Heats and Dis-satisfactions in the Nation is because they are not fully Represented in Parliament and seeing no other probable expedient whereby to keep the Nation in peace then by filling up your number We must therefore make this our main desire upon which we cannot but insiâ—t that you would proceed to Issue forth Writs in Order to Erections For the better effecting whereof we entreat That you would conclude upon due and full Qualifications that not onely those who have been actually in Arms against the Parliament may be excluded but also such who in the late Wars betwixt King and Parliament have Declared their Disaffection to the Parliament And because the distracted condition of this Nâ—tion is at this hour so evident and pressing we are constrained for the just maintenance of your Authority and the satisfaction of all true English-Men earnestly to desire That all the Writs may be issued forth by Friday next returnable at the usual and legal time For we think it convenient to acquaint you that to pacific the minds of this great City in the prosecution of your late Commands the Chief of Us did give an assurance thereof And we must not forget to rememeber you that the time hastens wherein you have Declared your intended Dissolution which the people and our selves desire you would be punctual in Hereby the Suspition of your perpetuation will be taken away and the People will have assurance that they shall have a Succession of Parliaments of their own Election which is the undoubted Right of the English Nation you have promised and Declared no lesse Both the People and your Armies do live in the hope and expectation of it That we may the better wait for your full and free concurrence to these just Desires on the Nations behalf upon Mature Deliberation we have thought it our duty as to continue the usual Guards for the safety of your sitting so for the present to draw the rest of the Forces under our Command into the City that we may have the better opportunity to compose Spirits and beget a good understanding in that great City formerly renowned for their resolute adhering to the Parliamentary Authority and we hope that the same Spirit will be found still to breath amongst the best most considerable and and interessed Persons there This Action of ours as we hope it will receive your favourable interpretation so we do believe it will through the blessing of God be of good use for the present Peace acd future settlement of these Nations These are our thoughts which we communicate to you in the Names of our selves and the Officers and Soulders under our Commands We are Your Honours most Humble Servants GEORGE MONCK Colonels Tho. Sanders Leon Litcot Jo. Clobery Jo. Hubblethorne Tho. Read Ra. Knight Dan. Redman Ethelbert Morgan Lieut. Col. Nathaniel Barton Major Majors Tho Johnson Jer. Smith Phil. Pryme Fra. Nichols Peter Banister White Hall Feb. 11. 1659. A LETTER From the Lord General MONCK And the Officers here to the several and respective Regiments and other Forces in England Scotland and Ireland Dear Brethren and Fellow-Souldiers YOU cannot be ignorant of the many endeavours and earnest Desires of many good men in these Nations to bring us to a Settlement which it hath pleased God to dis-appoint unto this day and leave us as a broken and divided people ready to run into Blood and confusion which that we might prevent so great Calamities impending after our earnest seeking God for his Direction and Assistance we find no Expedient so likely for the satisfaction of the good