In the nixt place, the grate and mother sin of this nation wee conceaue to be the backslydinge breache of couenant, and engagements wnto the Lord. It hath beine our maner in our troubles to call one wowes and resolutions aganist thesse sins, wiche haue beine looked vpone as causses of our affliction; wee haue [so] often leied wnto the Lord with our tounges, and flattered him with our lippes, that wee deserue to be no more trusted by him; and as wee purpois not to forgett our aueh breaches of couenant and sins of this sorte, so wee humblie desyre your Lops: to lay it to heart:—
1. How vnansuerable ze haue walked to your soleme ingagement to purge the judicatories and armies, and to fill the places of truste and power with men of knowin good affection to the causse of God, and of a blamles and Christian conuersation. Haue not some amongest you beine the cheiffe obstructors of the worke, by retarding conclusions, by studing to make them ineffectuall, quhen they haue beine takin; by your partiall dealling, differencing men according to ther intrests, countenancing, fauoring, keiping in and helping to places of power and trust, suche malignant and profane persons as might be subseruient to your deseinges; by your reckoning it qualificatione good aneuche, if a man be free of accession to the ingagement, thoughe he wer otherwayes malignant or prophaine; by your sparing of thosse in eminent places and truste in the judicatories and armies, and taking no trayell of the qualifications, according to your vowis, quhill you wer doing some deutie vpone them of lower degree, quherby it hath come to passe, that ther remaine zet spots in your judicatories wich diminishes your crydit and authority, and occasione is giuen to the enimies to blaspheme the causse of God!
For remedeeing quherof, may it pleis your Lops: to take zet are vnpartiall way of remowing from the King, the judicatories, and armies, all suche persons as haue not the qualifications conteind in the 7th desyre of the kirke to the parliament, 1648, and to the 10 and 12 pages [of] our soleme acknouledgement and ingagement, and in the acte of parliament for keeping the judicatories and places of trust free of corruptione. That your Lops: be not found walking still in [the] same way, sinning zet more quhen wrathe is gone in the gude land; lett it be farre from your Lops: to hold fast deceit, and to refusse to returne from that werey sin wich hath beine publickly acknowledged by you and all this kingdome.
2. Albeit nothing can be addit to that wich is spokin of the madnes and sinfullnes of complaying with malignants in the 5 and 6 page of the soleme acknouledgment and ingagement; zet maney of your Lops: haue sliden backe and returnid to the way wiche not longe since ze called sinfull befor God, by receauing malignants into intimat fellowschipe with yourselues, admitting them to your counsailles, and bringing in some of them to the parliament and comittees, and to be aboute the King; so that ther are maney pregnant presumptiones of a desinge in some of your Lops: to sett vpe and imploy the malignant partey againe, at least ther are demonstratiue euidences of a strong inclinatione to entrust them againe in the managinge of the worke of God.
When wee compare togider the assurances that wer giuen to the malignants that wer with the King in Holland; the bringing of thesse home; the studious indeuors that haue beine vssed to keepe some of them in the kingdome and aboute the courte; the admissione of all the malignant partie to resorte to the courte without aney effectuall restraint; the forshewing and grudging at the purgeing of the armey from malignant persons; the obstructing of the purging of the Kinges familey and the lyffe gaurd of horsse; the pleading of some in the judicatories for persons that are secludit from trust by the publicke resolutions; the profession of others in the Committee of Estaits of ther desyre and resolutione to put power in the hands of knowen and eminent malignants in Scotland, and of raissing the malignants in England in armes, vnder the name ef the kirkes partey. The conniwence of some amongest you, as the Kings correspondencies with the enimies of the causse abrod; the leawinge out vpone debait, in the orders for the new lewies, the qualifications of the acte of parliament for the lewies and posture; the endeuors that haue beine wssed to hastin the Kinges coronatione, and for putting him in the full exercisse of his power, notwithstanding that he hes not forsakin his eiuell counsellers and companey of malignants, according to the trettey.
And lastlie, quhen wee ioyne with thesse the assistancis and endeuors of maney in the Committee of Estaits for carrinng one the Kings lait oppositione of a coniunction with the malignant partie, and with the Clans and Heighelanders quho haue beine in rebellion; wee wounder that your Lops: are not ashamed so quickly to haue turned asyde, and forgottin your lait wowes, and the maney bands that are vpone you to abstaine from suche wayes. And wee humblie thinke that your Lops: giue too grate occasion to the enimie that hes inwadit our land to charge you with a malignant deseinge, and setting vpe the old malignant interest.
For remedie quherof, wee humblie proposse, not onlie that all suche backslydinges may be repented of, and all thosse coniunctions with the malignant partie forsakin and abhorred; bot that a speedie and a current way may be takin by your Lops: for discourey and remoweall of all suche persons as shall be found to haue contriued and actiuely promotted the forsaid desainge, from the Comittee of Estaites, the armey, the courte, and all wther places of trust, that the worke of the Lord and the kingdome may not be in hazard throughe ther influence wpon the publicke judicatories or wpone the armey.
3. Wheras the sinns of couetousnes, oppression, and selue-seiking haue beine oftin reproued in your Lops: and are enumerated with the sins of this land, and confessed, and wowes takin one for awoyding thesse sins the tyme to come, the soleme acknouledgement and ingagement; zet wee conceaue, amongest other sins, for the iniquitie of your couetousnes the Lord hath beine wrothe, and hath smittin the land, and for your selue-seeking and studinng your auen intrest and endis; becausse that notwithstanding you and wee haue said to the Lord, and suorne, that denaying ourselues, and our auen thinges, and laying asyde all selue interest and endis, wee shall aboue all thinges seeike the honor of God and wealthe of his people, zet quho knoweth not that some of your Lops: hath made your pouer, places, and imployments, rather a matter of gaine and interist to yourselues, then of seeking the good of the causse, and the wealthe of the people. Wher is the denayell of yourselues, and of your auen thinges, wich was promissed to the Lord? Hath not your litle finger beine heauier then the loynes of the worthey reweler, quho wold not eat the bread of the gouernour, that he might easse the peoples burden? How few are ther amongest your Lops: quho will emptie themselues for the good of the causse?
For remedie quherof, wee beseiche als maney of you as hath greidily gained, and made aduantage of the publicke and of the poore of the land; and by the lewies, Kinges rewenewes, fynnes, borrowed moneyes, and wtherwayes of fingring soumes, haue drawin vnto yourselues and frinds that wich did belonge to the publicke wsse, that you wold cleane your hands of your dishonest gaine, at wiche the Lord will smytte his hands, and wich will be mouthe to consume your housses. Let the extortioner and oppressor, oppress no more; and lett it be leuked vpone as your Lops: deutey, impartially to bring all men to the accompte for the wast soumes that haue beine misapplayed, and knowen oppressors brought to condigne punishment.
4. Notwithstanding wee haue acknouledged our sin, in follouing, for the most pairt, the counsells of fleche and blood, and walking more by the rewells of policey then pietie, hearkening more unto men than vnto God; and albeit that wee haue solemlie engaged ourselues, that forsaiking the counsells of fleche and blood, wee should depend vpone the Lord, walke by the will of his worde, and hearkin to the voyce of his seruants; zet it is too manifest that the Lord is exceidinglie prowoked by the pollitick way quherin maney of you walk still, not only imping your priuat intrests and endis with thosse thinges that concerne the publicke good, bot maney tymes preferring them, and opposing or retarding Gods worke, till you may carry alonges with you your auen interests and deseinges. Wee beseiche your Lops: to lay to heart your publicke way of walking, and as befor the Lord to examine yourselues, wither your waye hath not beine full of carnall wisdom and policie, in the matters of bringing home the King, disposing of places of trust aboute him, and ordering the cheiffe conducte and cheiffe officers in your forcis. Let your auen hearts speake, wither the reuell by wich you haue walked in all thesse, hathe not beine to establishe yourselues, rather than the worke of God, or King and kingdome; and how some of you may haue ane grate and predominant intreest in all thesse, it is euident some of your Lops: haue not cared how few frindes the Lords worke had in thesse places of trust, if so be ze might haue maney frindes to espousse your intrests, and politicke wayes and endis.