2. That His Majestie, from his tender care of the preservation of our religion and lawes, will be graceouslie pleased to declaire and assure that it is his royall will, that all matters Ecclesiasticall be determined by the Assemblies of the Kirk, and matters civill by Parliament, which are for His Majisties honour, and keeping peace and order amongst the subjects in the tyme of His Majesties personall presence.
3. That a blessed pacification may be speedilie brought about, and His Majesties subjects may be secured, our humble desire is, that His Majesties schippes and forces by land may be recalled; that all persons goods and schipps arreasted, may be restoired; the losses which we have sustained by the stoping of our trade and negotiating, be repaired, and we made safe from violence and invasion; and that all excommunicat persons, all incendiaries and misinformation against the kingdome, who hes, out of malice, caused these commotions for their owne privat ends, may be returned to suffer their deserved punishment, and the Proclamations sent abroad by them under His Majesties name, to the dishonouring of the King and defameing of the kingdome, may be suppressed; as these are our humble desires, so it is our griefe that His Majestie should have been provoked to wrath against us His Majesties most humble and loyall subjects, and shall be our delight, upon his Majesties assurance, of the preservation of our religion and lawes, to give example to uthers of all civill and temporall obedience which be required or expected of loyall subjects.
That our desires are only the injoying of our religion and liberties, according to the ecclesiasticall and civile lawes of his Majesties kingdome, to cleare by sufficient grounds that the particulars which we humbly crave are such, and shall not insist to crave any pairt which is not so warranted, and that we humblie offer all civill and temporall obedience to his Majestie which can be required or expected by loyall subjects.
Reasons and grounds of our humble desires.
I. We did first desire a ratification of the late General Assembly in the insuing Parliament.
First, Becaus the civill power is keeper of both Tables; and, wherever the Kirk and Kingdome are ane bodie, consisting of the same members, there can be no firme peace nor stabilitie of order, except the ministers of the Kirk, in their way, presse obedience of the civill law, and magistrate and their civill power, and their sanction and auctoritie of the constitutions of this Kirk.
2. Secondlie, Becaus the late Generall Assemblie, indicted by his Majestie, was lawfullie constitut in all the members, according to the institution and orders prescryved by the Acts of former Assemblies.
3. Thirdlie, Becaus no particular is inacted in the late Assemblie which is not grounded upon the Acts of preceding Assemblies, and is either expressly contained in them, or, by necessarie consequent, may be deduced from them: That the Parliament be keeped without prorogation, his Majestie knowes how necessar it is, since the peace of the Kirk and Kingdome call for it without longer delay.
II. We did secondlie desire that his Majestie would be pleased to declaire and assure, that it is his royall will that all matters ecclesiasticall be determined by the Assemblies of the Kirk, and matters civile by the Parliament, and other inferior judicatories established by law; becaus we know no other way of preservation of our religion and lawes, and becaus matters so different in nature ought to be treated respective in their owne propper judicatories. It was also desired that Parliaments might be holden at sett tymes, as once in two or thrie years, by reason of his Majesties personall absence, which hindereth his subjects in their complaints and grievances to have immediat accesse to his Majesties presence.