Charles R.
Right Trusty and Well-beloved Councellour,
and Reverend Father in God, We greet
you well.
Your Letter, and the rest of the Bishops, (sent by the Elect of Caithnes) to my Lord of Canterbury, hath been shown by him to Us; and after serious Consideration of the Contents thereof, We have thought fit Our Self to return this Answer to you, for Direction according to Our Promise, which you are to communicate to the rest of your Brethren.
We do in part approve of what you have advised concerning the Prorogating of the Assembly and Parliament, and must acknowledge it to be grounded upon Reason enough, were Reason only to be thought on in this Business; but considering the present state of Our Affairs, and what We have promised in the Articles of Pacification, We may not (as We conceive) without great prejudice to Our Self and Service, condescend thereunto; wherefore We are resolved, nay, rather necessitated, to hold the Assembly and Parliament at the time and place appointed. And, for that end, We have nominated the Earl of Traquair Our Commissioner, to whom We have given Instructions, not only how to carry himself at the same, but a Charge also to have a special care of your Lordships, and those of the inferiour Clergy, who have suffered for their Duty to God and Obedience to Our Commands. And We doe hereby assure you, that it shall be still one of Our chiefest Studies, how to rectifie and establish the Government of that Church aright, and to repair your losses, which We desire you to be most confident of.
As for your Meeting to treat of the Affairs of the Church, We do not see at this time how that can be done; for within Our Kingdom of Scotland, We cannot promise you any place of Safety, and in any other of Our Dominions We cannot hold it convenient, all things considered; wherefore We conceive that the best way will be for your Lordships to give in, by way of Protestation or Remonstrance, your Exceptions against this Assembly and Parliament to Our Commissioner, which may be sent by any mean man, so he be Trusty, and deliver it at his entering into the Church; but We would not have it to be either read or argued in this Meeting, where nothing but Partiality is to be expected, but to be represented to Us by him, which We promise to take so in consideration, as becometh a Prince sensible of His Own Interest and Honour, joined with the equity of your Desires; and you may rest secure, that, though perhaps We may give way for the present to that which will be prejudicial both to the Church and Our Own Government, yet We shall not leave thinking, in time, how to remedy both.
We must likewise intimate unto you, that We are so far from conceiving it expedient for you, or any of my Lords of the Clergy, to be present at this Meeting, as We doe absolutely discharge your going thither, and, for your absence, this shall be to you and every one of you a sufficient Warrant. In the interim, your best Course will be to remain in Our Kingdom of England, till such time as you receive Our further Order, where We shall provide for your Subsistence, though not in that measure as We could wish, yet in such a way as you shall not be in want.
Thus you have Our Pleasure briefly signified unto you, which We doubt not but you will take in good part; you cannot but know, that what We doe in this We are necessitated to. So We bid you farewell.
Whitehall, Aug. 6, 1639.
1639.—August 10 & 11.
64. Declinator by the Scotch Prelates, in obedience to the King’s Letter.[227]
Whereas His Majesty, out of His surpassing Goodness, was pleased to indict another National Assembly for rectifying the present Disorders in the Church, and repealing the Acts concluded in the late pretended Assembly at Glasgow, against all right and reason, charging and commanding in the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Scotland, and others that have place therein, to meet at Edinburgh the 12th of August instant, in hopes that, by a peaceable Treaty and Conference, matters should have been brought to a wished Peace and Unity; and that now we perceive all these Hopes disappointed, the Authors of the present Schism and Division proceeding in their wonted courses of Wrong and Violence, as hath appeared in their presumptuous Protestation against the said Indiction, and in the business they have made throughout the Country for electing Ministers and Laicks of their Faction to make up the said Assembly; whereby it is evident that the same or worse effects must needs ensue upon the present Meeting, than were seen to follow the former.