put into his hands all that we had engaged for, and all our security should have been a little piece of Paper! That thing going off, you very well know how it kept this Nation still in broils by sea and land. And yet what God wrought in Ireland and Scotland you likewise know; until He had finished these Troubles, upon the matter,* by His marvellous salvation wrought at Worcester.

I confess to you, that I am very much troubled in my own spirit that the necessity of affairs requires I should be so short in those things: because, as I told you, this is the leanest part of the Transactions, this mere historical Narrative of them; there being in every particular; in the King's first going from the Parliament, in the pulling-down of the Bishops, the House of Peers, in every step towards that Change of the Government,-I say there is not any one of these things, thus removed and reformed, but hath an evident print of Providence set upon it, so that he who runs may read it. I am sorry I have not an opportunity to be more particular on these points, which I principally designed, this day; thereby to stir up your hearts and mine to gratitude and confidence.

I shall now begin a little to remind you of the passages that have been transacted since Worcester. Coming from whence, with the rest of my fellow Officers and Soldiers, we did expect, and had some reasonable confidence our expectations would not be frustrated, That, having such an history to look back unto, such a God, so eminently visible, even our enemies confessing that "God Himself was certainly engaged against them, else they should never have been disappointed in every engagement," and that may be used by the way, That if we had but miscarried in the least,† all our former mercies were in danger to be lost :-I say, coming up then, we had some confidence That the mercies God had shown, and the expectations which were upon our hearts, and upon the hearts of all good men, would have prompted those who were in Authority to do those good things which might, by honest men, have been judged fit for such a God, and worthy of such mercies; and indeed been a discharge of duty from those to whom all these mercies had been shown, for the true interest of this Nation! [Yes!]—If I should now labor to be particular in enumerating how businesses have been transacted from that time to the Dissolution of the late Parliament, indeed I should be upon a theme which would be troublesome to myself. For I think I may say

* Means 'so to speak;' a common phrase of those times; a perpetual one with Clarendon, for instance.

† los: one battle of these many.

for myself and my fellow Officers, That we have rather desired and studied Healing and Looking-forward than to rake into sores and to look backward, to give things forth in those colors that would not be very pleasing to any good eye to look upon. Only this we shall say for our own vindication, as pointing out the ground for that unavoidable necessity, nay even that duty that was incumbent upon us, to make this last great Change-I think it will not be amiss to offer a word or two to that [Hear, Hear!]. As I said before, we are loath to rake into businesses, were there not a necessity so to do.

Indeed we may say that, ever since the coming-up of myself and those Gentlemen who have been engaged in the military part, it hath been full in our hearts and thoughts, To desire and use all the fair and lawful means we could to have the Nation reap the fruit of all the blood and treasure that had been spent in this Cause: and we have had many desires, and thirstings in our spirits, to find out ways and means wherein we might be anywise instrumental to help it forward. We were very tender, for a long time, so much as to petition. For some of the Officers being Members; and others having very good acquaintance with, and some relations to, divers Members of Parliament, we did, from time to time, solicit such; thinking if there had been nobody to prompt them, nor call upon them, these things might have been attended to, from ingenuity* and integrity in those that had it in their power to answer such expectations.

Truly when we saw nothing would be done, we did, as we thought according to our duty, a little, to remind them by a Petition; which I suppose you have seen: it was delivered, as I remember in August last.f What effect that had, is likewise very well known. The truth is, we had no return at all for our satisfaction,-a few words given us; the things presented by us, or the most of them, we were told," were under consideration ;" and those not presented by us had very little or no consideration at all. Finding the People dissatisfied in every corner of the Nation, and 'all men' laying at our doors the non-performance of these things, which had been promised, and were of duty to be performed, truly we did then think ourselves concerned, if we would (as becomes honest men) keep up the reputation of honest men in the world. And therefore we, divers times, endeavored to obtain meetings with divers Members of Parliament;—and we did not begin those till about October last. And in these meetings we did, with all faithfulness and sincerity, beseech them that they would be mindful of their duty to God and men, n the discharge of the trust reposed in them. I believe (as there are

many gentlemen here know), we had at least ten or twelve meetings; most humbly begging and beseeching of them, That by their own means they would bring forth those good things which had been promised and expected; that so it might appear they did not do them by any suggestion from the Army, but from their own ingenuity: so tender were we to preserve them in the reputation of the People. Having had very many of those meetings; and declaring plainly that the issue would be the displeasure and judgment of God, the dissatisfaction of the People, the putting of 'all' things into a confusion: yet how little we prevailed we very well know, and we believe it's not unknown to you.

At last, when indeed we saw that things would not be laid to heart, we had a very serious consideration among ourselves what other ways to have recourse unto [Yea, that is the question!]; and when we grew to more closer considerations, then they 'the Parliament men' began to take the Act for a Representative* to heart, and seemed exceeding willing to put it on. And had it been done with integrity, there could nothing have happened more welcome to our judgments than that. But plainly the intention was, Not to give the People a right of choice; it would have been but a seeming right; that 'semblance' of giving them a choice was only to recruit the House, the better to perpetuate themselves. And truly, having been, divers of us, spoken unto to give way hereunto, to which we made perpetual aversions, indeed abominating the thoughts of it,—we declared our judgments against it, and our dissatisfaction with it. And yet they that would not hear of a Representative formerly, when it lay three years before them, without proceeding one line, or making any considerable progress,—I say, those that would not hear of this Bill formerly, did now, when they saw us falling into more closer considerations, make, instead of protracting their Bill, as much preposterous haste with it on the other side, and run into that ' opposite' extremity.

Finding that this spirit was not according to God; and that the whole weight of this Cause,--which must needs be very dear unto us who had so often adventured our lives for it, and we believe it was so to you,-did hang upon the business now in hand; and seeing plainly that there was not here any consideration to assert this Cause, or provide security for it, but only to cross the troublesome people of the Army, who by this time were high enough in their displeasures: Truly, I say, when we saw all this, having power in our hands, we could not resolve' to let such monstrous proceedings go on, and so to throw away all our liberties into the hands of those whom we had fought against [Presbyterian Rayalists; at Preston and elsewhere-"fought against," yea, and beaten. **

For a New Parliament and Method of Election.

ruin, your Excellency might add!] we came, first, to this conclusion among ourselves, That if we had been fought out of our liberties and rights, Necessity would have taught us patience; but that to deliver them ' sluggishly' up would render us the basest persons in the world, and worthy to be accounted haters of God and of His People. When it pleased God to lay this close to our hearts; and indeed to show us that the interest of His People was grown cheap, 'that it was' not at all laid to heart, but that if things came to real competition, His Cause, even among themselves, would also in every point go to the ground: indeed this did add more considerations to us, That there was a duty incumbent upon us, 'even upon us.' And, I speak here, in the presence of some that were at the closure of our consultations, and as before the Lord, the thinking of an act of violence was to us worse than any battle that ever we were in, or that could be, to the utmost hazard of our lives [Hear him!]: so willing were we, even very tender and desirous if possible that these men might quit their places with honor.

I am the longer upon this; because it hath been in our own hearts and consciences, justifying us, and hath never been yet thoroughly imparted to any; and we had rather begin with you than have done it before-and do think indeed that this Transaction is more proper for a verbal communication than to have it put into writing. I doubt he whose pen is most gentle in England would, in recording that, have been tempted, whether he would or no, to dip it deep in anger and wrath [Stifled cries from Dryasdust]. But affairs being at this posture; we seeing plainly, even in some critical cases,* that the Cause of the People of God was a despised thing;-truly we did believe then that the hands of other men 'than these' must be the hands to be used for the work. And we thought then, it was very high time to look about us, and to be sensible of our duty [Oliver's voice somewhat rising; Major General Harrison and the others looking rather animated!].

If, I say, I should take up your time to tell you what instances we have to satisfy our judgments and consciences, That these are not vain imaginations, nor things fictitious, but which fell within the compass of our own certain knowledge, it would bring me, I say, to what I would avoid, to rake into these things too much. Only this. If anybody was in competition for any place of real and signal trust, if any really public interest was at stake in that Parliament,' how hard and difficult a matter was it to get anything carried without making parties,-without practices indeed unworthy of a Parliament! When things must be carried so in a Supreme Authority, indeed I think it is not as it ought to

* "Things' in orig

be, to say no worse [Nor do I.] !-Then when we came to other trials as in that case of Wales, 'of establishing a Preaching Ministry in Wales,' which, I must confess for my own part, I set myself upon,-if I should relate what discountenance that business of the poor People of God there had (who had men* watching over them like so many wolves, ready to catch the lambs so soon as they were brought forth into the world); how signally that Business was trodden under foot 'in Parlia ment,' to the discountenancing of the Honest People, and the countenancing of the Malignant Party, of this Commonwealth-! I need but say it was so. For many of you know, and by sad experience have felt it to be so. And somebody I hope will, at leisure, better impart to you the state of that Business of Wales;' which really to myself and Officers, was as plain a trial of their spirits, 'the Parliament's spirits,' as anything, it being known to many of us that God had kindled a seed there [Such is the metaphor] indeed hardly to be paralleled since the Primitive Time.

I would these had been all the instances we had! Finding, 'however,' which way the spirits of men went, finding that good was never intended to the People of God, I mean when I say the People of God, I mean the large comprehension of them, under the several Forms of Godliness in this Nation;-finding, I say, that all tenderness was forgotten to the Good People (though it was by their hands and their means, under the blessing of God, that those sat where they did),—we thought this a very bad requital! I will not say, they were come to an utter inability of working Reformation,-though I might say so in regard to one thing: the Reformation of the Law, so much groaned under in the posture it now is in [Hear, hear !]. That was a thing we had many good words spoken for; but we know that many months together were not enough for the settling of one word, "Incumbrances" [Three calendar months! A grim smile on some faces.],-I say, finding that this was the spirit and complexion of men, -although these were faults for which no man should lift up his hand against the Superior Magistrate; not simply for these faults and failings, yet when we saw that this New Representative of theirs' was meant to perpetuate men of such spirits; nay when we had it from their own mouths, That they could not endure to hear of the Dissolution of this Parliament: we thought this an high breach of trust. If they had been a Parliament never violence was upon,† sitting as free and clear as any in former ages, it was thought, this, to be a breach of trust, such as a greater could not be.

† Had no Pride's Purge, Apprentice-riot or the like ever come upon them.