C.R.
From Oxford the 21ᵗʰ April,
1643.
1643.—April 21.
16. His Majesties Declaration to all his loving Subjects in his Kingdom of Scotland.[319]
Charles R.
As there hath been no mean left unattempted which the malice and wit of Rebellion could devise, to infect and poyson the Affections and Loyalty of Our good Subjects of Our Kingdom of England, and to withdraw their Hearts from Us by the most pernicious and desperate Calumnies, that could be invented to under-value and lessen Our Reputation with Foreign Princes, by Injuries and Affronts upon their Publick Ministers, and by presuming to send Agents qualified for Negotiation without Our Consent, and in truth, to expose Us, and Our Royal Authority to Scorn and Contempt, by assuming a Power over Us; so the pernicious Contrivers of these bloody Distempers have not delighted in any Art more than in that, by which they have hoped to stir up Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdome of Scotland to joyn with them, and to infuse in them a jealousie and disesteem of Our true Affection, and Our Gracious Intentions towards that Nation. To this purpose they have used great Industry to convey into that Our Kingdom, and to scatter and disperse there divers Seditions Pamphlets, framed and contrived against Our Person and Government, and have sent Agents of their own to reside there; and to promote their Designs, one of whom, lately resident there, one Pickering, by his Letters of the 9ᵗʰ of January to Mr Pym, assures him of the Concurrence of that Kingdom, and that the Ministers in their Pulpits, do in downright terms press the Taking up of Arms, and in another of his Letters to Sir John Clotworthy, sayes, that the Trumpet sounded to the Battel, and all cryed, Arm, Arm, with many other bold, scandalous, and seditious Passages, very derogatory from the Duty and Affection, which We are most confident Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdom bear to Us. To this purpose they traduce Us with raising and making War against Our Parliament, of having an Army of Papists, and favouring that Religion; of endeavouring to take away the Liberty and Property of Our Subjects: and upon these grounds they have presumed by a Publick Declaration to invite Our good Subjects of Our Kingdom of Scotland to joyn with them, and to take up Arms against Us their Natural Liege Lord. Lastly, to this purpose they endeavour, as well in Publick as by secret Insinuations, to beget an apprehension in them, that if We prevail so far here, as by the blessing of God to preserve Our self from the Ruine they have designed to Us, the same will have a dangerous influence upon that Our Kingdom of Scotland, and the Peace established there; and that Our good Laws lately established by Us for the Happiness and Welfare of that Our Native Kingdom will be no longer observed, and maintained by Us, than the same Necessity, which they say extorted them from Us, hangs upon Us, but that We will turn all our Forces against them: a Calumny so groundlessly and impiously raised, that if We were in any degree conscious to Our Self of such wicked Intentions, We should not only not expect a dutiful Sense, in that Our Native Kingdom, of Our Sufferings; but should think Our Selves unworthy of so great Blessings, and eminent Protection as We have received from the hands of the Almighty, to whom We know We must yield a dear Accompt for any Breach of Trust, or failing of Our Duty toward Our People.
But as We have taken special Care, from time to time to inform Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdom of the Occurrences here, particularly by Our Declaration of the 12th of August, wherein is a clear, plain Narration of the beginning and progress of Our Sufferings to that time; so the bold and unwarranted Proceedings of these Desperate Incendiaries, have been so publick to the World, that Our good Subjects of Scotland could not but take notice of them, and have observed, that after We had freely and voluntarily consented to so many Acts of Parliament, as not only repaired all former Grievances, but also added whatsoever was proposed to Us, for the future benefit and security of Our Subjects; insomuch as in truth there wanted nothing to make the Nation compleatly Happy, but a just sense of their own excellent Condition, a few discontented, ambitious, and factious Persons so far prevailed over the Weakness of others, that instead of receiving that return of Thanks and Acknowledgment, which We expected and deserved, Our People were poysoned with Seditious and Scandalous Fears and Jealousies concerning Us; We were encountered with more unreasonable and importunate Demands, and at last were driven through Force and Tumults to flee from Our City of London, for the Safety of Our Life. After which We were still pursued with unheard-of Insolences and Indignities, and such Members of either House as refused to joyn in these unjustifiable Resolutions, were driven from these Councils, contrary to the Freedom and Liberty of Parliament, insomuch that above four parts of five of that Assembly was likewise forced, and are still kept from thence; Our Forts, Towns, Ships, and Arms, were taken from Us, Our Money, Rents, and Revenues, seized and detained; and that then a powerful and formidable Army was raised and conducted against Us, (a good part of which was raised and mustered, before We had given Our Commissions for Raising One Man) that all this time We never deny’d any one thing, but what by the known Law was unquestionably Our Own; That We earnestly desired and pressed a Treaty, so that We might but know at what price We might prevent the Miseries and Desolation that were threatened; That this was absolutely and scornfully refused and rejected, and We compelled with the assistance of such of Our good Subjects as came to Our Succour, to make use of Our Defensive Arms for the Safety of Our Life, and Preservation of Our Posterity. What passed since that, Battel hath been given Us, Our Own Person and Our Children endeavoured to be destroyed, those unheard-of Pressures have been exercised upon Our poor Subjects by Rapine, Plundering, and Imprisonment, and that Confusion which is since brought upon the whole excellent Frame of the Government of this Kingdome, is the Discourse of Christendom. We are very far from making a War with or against Our Parliament, of which We Our Selves are an essential part: Our principal Quarrel is for the Priviledges of Parliament, as well those of the Two Houses as Our Own; if a few Persons had not, by Arts and Force, first awed, and then driven away the rest, these Differences had never arisen, much less had they never come to so bloudy a Decision. We have often accused those Persons against whom Our Quarrel is, and desired to bring them to no other Trial than that of the Law of the Land, by which they ought to be tried. As We have been compelled to take up these Defensive Arms for the Safety of Our Life, assaulted by Rebellious Arms, the Defence of the true Reformed Protestant Religion, scornfully invaded by Brownists, Anabaptists, and other Independent Sectaries, (who in truth are the principal Authors, and sole Fomenters of this unnatural Civil War) for the Maintenance of the Liberty and Property of the Subjects, maliciously violated by a vast unlimited Arbitrary Power, and for the Preservation of the Right, Dignity, and Privileges of Parliament, almost destroyed by Tumults and Faction: so what hath by Violence been taken from Us, being restored, and the Freedom of Meeting in Parliament being secured, We have lately offered (though We have not been thought worthy of an Answer) to Disband Our Army, and leave all Differences to the Tryal of a full and peaceable Convention in Parliament, and We cannot from Our Soul desire any Blessing from Heaven more, than We do a peaceable and happy End of these unnatural Distractions.
For the malicious groundless aspersion of having an Army of Papists; though in the Condition and Strait to which We are brought, no man had reason to wonder if We received assistance from any of Our Subjects of what Religion soever, who by the Laws of the Land are bound to perform all offices of Duty and Allegeance to Us; yet it is well known, that We took all possible Care, by Our Proclamations, to inhibit any of that Religion to repair to Us, which was precisely and strictly observed (notwithstanding even all that time We were traduced as being attended by none but Papists, when in a Month together there hath not been one Papist near Our Court) though great numbers of that Religion have been with great alacrity entertained by that Rebellious Army against Us, and others have been seduced, to whom we had formerly denied Imployment, as appears by the examination of many Prisoners, of whom We have taken Twenty and Thirty at a time, of one Troop or Company, of that Religion. What Our Opinion is of that Religion, Our frequent Solemn Protestations before Almighty God, who knows Our Heart, do manifest to the World; And what Our Practice is in Religion, is not unknown to Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdom. And as We have omitted no way, Our Conscience and Understanding could suggest, to be for the promoting and advancing the Protestant Religion; so We have professed Our readiness in a full and peaceable Convention of Parliament, to consent to whatsoever shall be proposed by Bill, for the better Discovery and speedier Conviction of Recusants, for the Education of the Children of Papists by Protestants in the Protestant Religion, for the prevention of the Practices of Papists against the State, and the due Execution of the Laws, and true Levying of Penalties against them; so We shall further embrace any just Christian Means to Suppress Popery in all Our Dominions, of which Inclination and Resolution of Ours, that Our Native Kingdom hath received good evidence.
For the other malicious and wicked Insinuations, that Our Success here upon the Rebellious Armies raised to destroy Us, will have an influence upon Our Kingdom of Scotland, and that We will endeavour to get loose from those wholsom Laws which have been enacted by Us there, We can say no more, but Our good Subjects of that Kingdom well remember, with what Deliberation, Our Self being present at all the Debates, We consented to these Acts: and We do assure Our Subjects there, and call God Almighty to witness of the uprightness and resolution of Our Heart in that point, that We shall always use Our utmost Endeavours, to defend and maintain the Rights and Liberties of that Our Native Kingdom, according to the Laws established there, and shall no longer look for Obedience, than We shall govern by the Laws. And We hope that Our zeal and carriage, only in Defence of the Laws and Government of this Kingdom, and the subjecting Our Self to so great hazard and danger will be no argument, that when the Work is done, We would pass through the same Difficulties to alter, and invade the Constitutions of that Our other Kingdom. We find disadvantages enough to struggle with in the Defence of the most upright, innocent, just Cause of Taking up Arms; and therefore, if We wanted the Conscience, we cannot the Discretion to tempt God in an unjust Quarrel. The Laws of Our Kingdom shall be always Sacred to Us; We shall refuse no hazard to defend them, but sure We shall run none to invade them.
And therefore We do conjure all Our good Subjects of that Our Native Kingdom, by the long happy and uninterrupted Government of Us, and Our Royal Progenitors over them, by the Memory of those many large and publick Blessings they enjoyed under Our dear Father, by those ample Favours and Benefits they have received from Us, by their Own Solemn National Covenant, and their Obligation of Friendship and Brotherhood with the Kingdom of England, not to suffer themselves to be misled and corrupted in their Affections and Duty to Us, by the cunning Malice and Industry of those Incendiaries and their Adherents, but to resist and look upon them, as Persons who would involve them in their Guilt, and sacrifice the Honour, Fidelity and Allegiance, of that Our Native Kingdom, to their private Ends and Ambition. And We require Our good Subjects there, to consider that the Persons who have contrived, fomented, and do still maintain these bloody Distractions, and this unnatural Civil War, what pretence so ever they make of their Care of the true Reformed Protestant Religion, are in truth Brownists and Anabaptists and other Independent Sectaries; and though they seem to desire an Uniformity of Church-Government with Our Kingdom of Scotland, do no more intend, and are so far from allowing the Church-Government by Law established there (or indeed any Church-Government whatsoever) as they are from consenting to the Episcopal: and We cannot but expect greater sense of Our Sufferings, since the obligations We have laid on that Our Native Kingdom, are used as arguments against Us here, and Our free consenting to some Acts of Grace and Favour there (which were asked of Us by reason of Our necessary residence from thence) have encouraged ill-affected Persons, to endeavour by Force to obtain the same here where We usually reside. To conclude, We cannot think that Our good Subjects there will so far hearken to the Treason and Malice of Our Enemies, as to interrupt their own present Peace and Happiness; and God so deal with Us and Our posterity, as We shall inviolably observe the Laws and Statutes of that Our Native Kingdom, and the Protestations We have so often made, for the Defence of the true Reformed Protestant Religion, the Laws of the Land, and the Just Priviledges and Freedom of Parliaments.