King CHARLES his Answer thereunto.

WORTHY FRIEND,

TH

HIS is to let you understand, that I have received yours of the Twentieth of December, the Twenty-fifth of the fame Month. The Contents whereof, do caufe me, to judge you deferving, of the Title that I have given you, and I hope, the further Events of your intended Proceedings, may e'er long merit a greater; and forafmuch, as I conceive it neceffary, to give you the fpeedy Refult of my Mind in Answer thereunto, I think fit to let you know in the firft Place, that I freely pardon you for all Offences or Crimes, whatfoever committed (or which you know yourfelf guilty of) against my late. dear Father, and myself; I befeech the Lord to forgive you likewise; I must confefs, I am not ignorant of the Power, that you for fome Years past, have had over the English Army in Scotland; and I do likewife blefs God, who hath now opened your Eyes, to behold the Miseries of my three poor diftreffed Kingdoms; and alfo for that he hath made you fo far fenfible of his heavy Judgments (ready to be fhowered down upon them, by reafon of the grievous and lamentable outcrying Sins of the People) as to caufe you, to make fo fair and feasonable a Proffer of the tender of your Service, both for the Glory of God, and the Good of me and my People. The Lord open your Heart, couragiously, to go on in the perfecting of fo great a Work, as you have intended to fet on foot, you having now fo fit an Opportunity; and for the answering the Propofals therein containing, in order as they lie, I do declare that I fhall with a willing and joyful Heart, accept of your faithful and honeft Endeavours to be employed, for the Glory of God, and the manifest Good of me and my Subjects; not fo much for the Profit or worldly. Advantage that I think to receive thereby, but that which I fhall chieflieft rejoice in, is, only for the Glory of God, and the Good of my three Kingdoms. I mean in freeing them from their Slavery, in preferving them from any farther Effufion of Blood, and for the fettling amongst them their ancient way of Church and State Government, for the Advancement of the true Proteftant. Religion; and alfo for the quafhing of all Herefies, Hypocrines, Sects and Schifms, that are lately crept into our Proteftant Church; whereby we are become a mere laughing Stock to all Nations; and as for my confenting to a Treaty,, to be had between me and a Parliament, to be chofen by a free Confent of my People, I am fure there is not a thing that I can embrace with a greater Joy, and efpecially, if my Subjects make Choice of Perfons fo qualified, as you have mentioned in your Letter to me, then of Neceffity, there can nothing but good come of fuch a Treaty. But if otherwise, it may be doubted, but however my Truft fhall be in the Lord; and whereas it was your Defire, for me to declare what Mercy and Pity, I would should be fhewn towards thofe who are my manifeft Enemies, in cafe I should come quietly to be reftored to my three Kingdoms; I do therefore for the fatisfaction doth of you and my Subjects, declare the Thoughts of my Heart,

touching

touching my faid Enemies, in manner following. That as for fuch, who fhall humbly fubmit themselves unto me, and expreffing their Sorrow for all their former Actings against me and my late Father, and upon Promise of their future Obedience, I will freely pardon them of their Lives; and as for their Eftates, those who have lawfully purchased any from my Subjects, I will that they enjoy fuch their Eftates, according to their Purchase, they only paying (for the Space of five Years) the Moiety of the Profits of fuch their Eftates towards Satisfaction of the publick Debts, that my poor Subjects may be fome what eafed of their Taxes, which have been fo heavily impofed upon them for these many Years. And as for fuch who have gotten or purchased by any means whatsoever any of my Lands (to wit) any of the King's Lands or Liv ings, or the Lands and Livings of the Bishops, late Deans and Chapters, or of any of my Subjects, fequeftered or taken from them for their Delinquency

(fo accounted), my Will is, that fuch Estates fo gotten, fhall be by them. furrendered into the Hands and Poffeffion of the right Owners as formerly, being contented to reft quiet and fatisfied with the Gain and Profit they have received thereby for the time past, and to lose the Profit for the time to come, which my Confcience tells me, is but plain Reason; and as for those who shall perfift and continue in their Rebellion against me, I fhall defire, that fuch Course may be taken with them, as my Parliament and Council fhall think fit, and their Eftates to be difpofed of towards Payment of the publick Debts which fhall be judged neceffary, and. fit to be difcharged, which I fhall refer to my Parliament and Council; who I fhall humbly defire, and I queftion not, but it will be their Care, in being fparing in fpilling as little Blood as may be. And as for the poor common Soldiers, they who will fubmit themfelves to me, I'freely pardon them; and my Will is, that their Arrears fhall. be paid as fpeedily as conveniently may be, although it be for their Service in fighting against me, but I impute all to their Neceffity; what I have here above declared, I fhall labour to make good, to the utmost of my power. I fhall not, neither do I in the least, question your Reality, in the faithful Performance of what you have declared. God profper you in all your Undertakings therein; and I fhall own you in every thing that you shall act, for God's Glory, and the Good of my People, which I defire may be done with as much Expedition as may be. I render you very many Thanks for Love..

your

C.R.

Alderman,

91

Alderman BUNCE his Speech to the Lord-Maior, Aldermen, and Common-Council of LONDON, touching the KING's Refolution to accept of honourable Conditions from a Free Parliament for his Admitment. Printed 1660.

My Lord, Gentlemen, and Fellow-Citizens,

TH

tell

HAT I am after fo long a time of Banifhment, and almoft Defpair, returned again without fear into my native Country, I need not, I think, you how much I rejoice at; but I cannot indeed tell you that unexpreffible Joy which I feel within my Bofom, to find my poor diftreffed and distracted Country in fome Hopes of Settlement and Reftoration to her priftine Giory, even then, when the feemed to be most overwhelmed and fwallowed up, under the Ufurpation and Tyranny of the moit mean and fanatick Spirits of the Nation.

Nor can I here forbear to burst out into Praifes and Thanks to God for his fo great a Mercy and Deliverance, that he hath at length been pleased to withdraw his afflicting Hand in fome measure from us; that he hath opened the Eyes of the greatest part of this Nation, except those who are wilfully and obftinately blinded by their own pernicious and covetous Interests; that after we had wilfully run head-long into the Ditch of Ruin, he is pleased to lay to his Hand to help us out.

TO

It is well (my Lord) that though we have bought our Knowledge and Repentance at fo dear a rate, at the Expence of fo much Blood and Treasure, yet that we can repent at laft, that we are at laft fenfible of our Distractions, that we now are able to bear no more, we have one who will help us to throw off our Burthens, that we can now fee our Blindness, our Errour, our Folly, that whilft we endeavoured to free ourselves from the pretended Tyranny of our lawful King, Soveraign, and Superiour, we fubjected ourselves under the arbitary Will and Power of our Equals, if not Inferiours,

I must confefs (my Lord) though it is well known to you all Gentlemen, that I was at the beginning of the late unhappy Wars, blinded as well as others, yet I utterly difown that I ever had Defign or Intention to wrong my Prince, though I accounted it then the Duty of every freeborn Englishman to stand for the Privilege of Parliament, as for his native Birthright; fo far I durft go, but no farther; for when I faw thofe, who before they had got the Power into their Hands, pretended to maintain Parliamentary Privileges, pretended to settle the King in Glory, violently infringe the firft, and murder the fecond, I could not but in Reafon and Confcience proteft against them.

Nor was the murdering of their King, or infringing the Privileges of Parliament, the furtheft thofe Men went who had then got the Power into their Hands, and ruled

ruled only by Sword-Law; but having given the Name of a Parliament to a felect Number of their Creatures, and fome who durft do no other wife than obey their Commands, they made Laws at their Pleasure, difinheriting the lawful Heir, and abolishing the Power of the Houfe of Lords, the chief Part of a Parliamentary Grand Council; they fold the King's, Queen's, Bishops, Deans and Chapters Lands, to maintain their Violencies and Villanies, or to enrich themselves, making a Prey of thefe Nations, and overthrowing the fundamental Laws of the Land.

This, my Lord, you very well know was the Pramunire we had run ourselves into. This was that we fought for; this was that for which we confumed for much Blood and Treafure: In fhort, we fought for Liberty that we might be enflaved; we fought for Religion that we might nourish Herefies, Sects and Schifms in the Church; we spent our Eftates freely, to maintain a War amongst ourselves under fpecious Pretences, that we might have them prey'd upon by ravenous Wolves.

But when we had run ourselves into all these Miferies, under a Piece of a Parliament, who had endeavoured all that lay in their Power to establish their own Government, yet were they themselves at length turned out by their Servant, their General, (the juft Reward of their Treachery to their Mafter) who eftablifhes in himself that Power, which he had before avowed as tyrannical; and ufurps to himself, though not fully the Title, yet more than the Power of any King of England; fo it fairly proved that he only defamed Kingship as Tyrannical, that he might be a Tyrant.

The many Changes and Alterations fince in the English Government, are fo new, that they need no Recital, only thus much, that as they in whofe Hands the Government was, were equally guilty of the forementioned Crimes, fo though they did oppofe one another, yet they all agreed together in continuing and adding to the Nation's Distractions, in Preferment to Employments, either in Church or State, fuch only as were either as guilty as themfelves, or elfe poffeft with their Fanatick Opinions, in defaming the lawful Heir, and endeavouring by Calumnies, to engender an Odium of him in the People's Minds, which might have found its defired Effect, had not the People for their Cheats and Delufions, conceived a juft Odium of them, fo that the Arrow they fhot, returned again upon their own Heads.

But many of the good People of England are still poffeft with their Calumnies, and believe many of them for Truth, though against fuch clear and certain Evidences; many understanding People of the Nation, convincing themfelves by imaginary Circumftances, that not only his Majefty, but his Brothers, the thrice noble Dukes of York and Gloucester, have left the Religion of their Fathers and Country, and are turned to the Fopperies of Romife Superftition and Idolatry, which how falfe it is, the God of Heaven knows, and myfelf can witnefs, his and his Brothers conftant use and practice of the English Liturgy, and other Cuftoms of the beft Reformed Church of England, his conftant Encouragement of fuch Servants of his, as profefs the true Proteftant Religion, whether in Epifcopacy or Prefbytery, and his contrary Difcoragement of all fuch, who permit themfelves to be inveigled into Popish or Jefuitical Opinions and Tenets, being fuf'ficient Evidence, that he is fo far from leaving of his true and mother Church,

that all poffible Encouragement is, will certainly be at all times given by him, to the true and found Profeffors of the Proteftant Religion.

For thofe other Calumnies laid upon, and only fettled in the Hearts of the common Souldiers, (whom their Officers here have made believe, that they must expect nothing but Death, if he should be admitted to his Crown) viz. that he is revengeful, cruel, never forgetting Injuries, but though foothing for a,. time, yet at fit Opportunities refolute in his Revenge, all that know him, know to be falfe, for he is gentle, merciful, peaceable, and rather inclined to fuffer Injuries, than either to give or avenge them.

That he intends (as fome fay) to come with a forein Force to regain his Right, and fettle himself in his Throne, would be but what we might in Juftice expect, who have so long exposed him to the Miseries of the wide World, and made him the Pattern of Patience to future Generations, it being lawful both by the Laws of God and Man, for any one to use all means and endeavours for, the Recovery of his own; yet for meek and patient hath he been, that it hath not fo much as entered into his Thoughts to acquift his Kingdom by Force or Violence, whilft he can hope to have it by the Love of his Subjects; he therefore is refolvedly bent to attend the Pleasure of a free Parliament, and wholly intent to accept of fuch Conditions, as fhall be propofed with Honour by them, rather refolving to part with fome of his Right, than to let thefe Nations run on into: further Distractions, or his Subjects be oppreffed.

That we might as a Judgment of God, have expected a forein Force here. amongst us for our Obftinacy, we cannot but be fenfible of; but that we have fo merciful a Prince, who rather waves his Right, and endures with Patience his Expulfion, than feeks or attempts to invade us, by a forein Power, by which,. though he might gain Revenge and Satisfaction to himfelf, yet muft it neceffa-, rily be with our utter Ruin, and deferved Destruction, we must acknowledge as a great Mercy of God's.

It is not unlikely, that you my Lord, and these other Gentlemen my FellowCitizens, may admire fomewhat, that I, who was once fo far drawn on the other fide, fhould now declaim fo much againft it; but Experience hath now undeceived me, I was for the maintaining, not the infringing Privileges of Parliament was for the reftoring, not nurthering of the King; I was for them fo long as they ftood faft to the Oath they took in the Solemn League and Covenant, to maintain the King and his Pofterity, not for them, when they had beheaded him, and banifhed his Pofterity; I was for the Moderation of a KingJy Government, not fot the erecting of Anarchichal Tyrannies, or Governments ad libitum.

But when I faw that thofe, who pretended that they acted only for the Nations good, intended only for their own, to diftract and ruin thefe Nations, to deprefs the Nobility and Gentry, only to raise themselves; that they began to opprefs and force unheard of Impofitions and Burthens upon the Commonalty, to maintain their Villanies, and enrich themfelves, to confound and overthrow all Religion, under a Pretence of fettling and maintaining it, it was time to withdraw myfelf from, nor could my Confcience proceed any further with them; it was they (my Lord) that are changed, and not I.

What