but with all the scum and dirt of this Nation, to put you to trouble. And, when I come to speak of the Remedies, I shall tell you what are the most apt and proper remedies in these respects. I speak now of the very time when there an Insurrection at Salisbury, your Wagstaffs and Penruddocks openly in arms." I doubt whether it be believed there ever was any rising in North Wales" at the same time”; at Shrewsbury; at Rufford Abbey, where were about Five hundred horse; or at Marston Moor; or in Northumberland and the other places,-where all these Insurrections were at that very time !-There was a Party which was very proper to come between the Papists and Cavaliers; and that Levelling Party hath some accession lately, which goes under a finer name or notion ! I think they would now be called "Commonwealth's men,"-who perhaps have right to it little enough. And it is strange that men of fortune and great estates should join with such a people. But if the fact be so, there will need no stretch of wit to make it evident, it being so by demonstration.

I say, this people at that very time, they were pretty numerous, and do not despise them!-at the time when the Cavaliers were risen, this very Party had prepared a Declaration against all these things that had been transacted" by us"; and called them by I know not " what names,' tyranny,' oppression," things, "against " the liberty of the subject, and cried out for justice," and "righteousness," and "liberty";—and what was all this business for, but to join the Cavaliers to carry on that Design? And these are things,-not words! That Declaration we got and the Penner of it we got and we have got intelligence also how the business was laid and contrived;which was hatched in the time of the Sitting of that Parliament. I do not accuse anybody but that was the time of it; -an unhappy time! And a plausible Petition had been penned, which must come to me, forsooth, "To consider of these things, and to give redress and remedies.” And this

was so.

Now indeed I must tell you plainly, we suspected a great deal of violence then; and we did hunt it out. I will not tell you these are high things; but at that time when the Cavaliers were to rise, a Party was to seize upon General Monk in Scotland, and to commit him to Edinburgh Castle, upon this

pretence of "liberty" and when they had seized him, and clapped him by the heels, "him" and some other true and faithful officers, they had resolved a number at the same time should march away for London; leaving a party behind them,-to have their throats cut by the Scots! Though I would not say they would have "purposely " brought it to this pass; yet it cannot be thought but that a considerable "part of the " Army would have followed them "hither" at the heels.And not only thus; but this same spirit and principle designed some little fiddling things upon some of your Officers, to an assassination; and an officer was engaged, who was upon the Guard, to seize me in my bed. This was true. And other foolish designs there were,-as, To get into a room, to get gunpowder laid in it, and to blow up the room where I lay. And this we can tell you, is true. These are Persons not worthy naming; but the things are true. And such is the state we have stood in, and had to conflict with, since the last Parliament. And upon this account, and in this combination, it is that I say to you, That the ringleaders to all this are none but your old enemies the Papists and Cavaliers. We have some "of them" in prison for these things.

Now we would be loath to tell you of notions mere seraphical! These are poor and low conceits. We have had very seraphical notions! We have had endeavours to deal between two Interests;-one some section of that Commonwealth Interest; and another which was a notion of a Fifth-Monarchy Interest! which "strange operation" I do not recite, nor what condition it is in, as thinking it not worthy our trouble. But de facto it has been so, That there have been endeavours ; -as there were endeavours to make a reconciliation between Herod and Pilate that Christ might be put to death, so there have been endeavours of reconciliation between Fifth Monarchy men and the Commonwealth men that there might be union in order to an end,-no end can be so bad as that of Herod's was-but in order to end in blood and confusion! And, that you may know, " to tell you candidly " I profess I do not believe of these two last, of Commonwealth men and Fifth-Monarchy men, but that they have stood at a distance "aloof from Charles Stuart." I think they did not participate. I would be so charitable, I would be, That they did not. But this I will tell you, That as for the others, they did not only

set these things on work; but they sent a fellow, a wretched creature, an apostate from religion and all honesty,—they sent him to Madrid to advise with the King of Spain to land forces to invade the Nation. Promising satisfaction that they would comply and concur with him to have both men and moneys; undertaking both to engage the Fleet to mutiny, and also your Army to gain a garrison on the coast" to raise a party "so" that if the Spaniard would say where he would land, they would be ready to assist him!-This person was sometimes a Colonel in the Army. He went with letters to the Archduke Leopoldus and Don John. That was an Ambassador "; -and gave promise of much moneys and has been soliciting, and did obtain moneys; which he sent hither by Bills of Exchange-and God, by His Providence, we being exceedingly poor, directed that we lighted on some of them, and some of the moneys! Now, if they be payable, let them be called for! If the House shall think fit to order any inspection into these things, they may have it.

We think it our duty to tell you of these things; and we can make them good. Here is your danger; that is it! Here is a poor Nation that has wallowed in its blood ;—though thanks be to God, we have had Peace these four or five years; yet here is the condition we stand in. And I think I should be false to you, if I did not give you this true representation of it.

I am to tell you, by the way, a word to justify a Thing which I hear, is much spoken of. When we knew all these Designs before mentioned; when we found that the Cavaliers would not be quiet-- No quiet; "There is no peace to the wicked," saith the Scripture (Isaiah, Fifty-seventh) : "They are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest; whose waters throw up mire and dirt." They cannot rest,-they have no Peace with God in Jesus Christ to the remission of sins! They do not know what belongs to that; therefore they know not how to be at rest; therefore they can no more cease from their actions than they can cease to live,-nor so easily neither !— Truly when that Insurrection was, and we saw it in all the roots and grounds of it, we did find out a little poor Invention, which I hear has been much regretted. I say, there was a little thing invented; which was, the erecting of your MajorGenerals To have a little inspection upon the People thus divided, thus discontented, thus dissatisfied, " split" into

divers interests, and the workings of the Popish party! "Workings of the Lord Taaff and others"; the most consisting of Natural-Irish rebels, and all those men you have fought against in Ireland, and have expulsed from thence, as having had a hand in that bloody massacre ;—of him and of those that were under his power; who were now to have gained in this excellent business of Insurrection!

And upon such a Rising as that was,-truly I think if ever anything were justifiable as to Necessity, and honest in every respect, this was. And I could as soon venture my life with it as with anything I ever undertook! We did find-I mean -myself and the Council did-That, if there were need to have greater forces to carry on this work, it was a most righteous thing to put the charge upon that party which was the cause of it. And if there be any man that hath a face averse to this, I dare pronounce him to be a man against the Interest of England! Upon this account, upon this ground of necessity; when we saw what game they were upon; and knew individual persons, and of the greatest rank, not a few, engaged in this business (I knew one man that laid down his life for it); and had it by intercepted Letters made as clear as the day; we did think it our duty to make that class of persons who, as evidently as anything in the world, were in the combination "of the insurrectionists," bear their share of the charge. "Bear their share," one with another, for the raising of the Forces which were so necessary to defend us against those Designs! And truly if any man be angry at it,—I am plain, and shall use an homely expression: Let him turn the buckle of his girdle behind him. If this were to be done again, I would do it.

How the Major-Generals have behaved themselves in that work? I hope they are men, as to their persons, of known integrity and fidelity; and men who have freely adventured their blood and lives for that good Cause,-if it "still" be thought such, and it was well stated, "this morning," against all the new humours and fancies of men !— And truly England does yet receive one day more of lengthening out its tranquillity, by that same service of theirs.

"

Well; your danger is as you have seen. And truly I am sorry it is so great. But I wish it to cause no despondency;as truly, I think, it will not; for we are Englishmen; that is one good fact. And if God give a Nation the property of

2-(2170)

valour and courage, it is honour and a mercy from Him." And much more than English!” Because you all, I hope, are Christian men, who know Jesus Christ, and know that Cause which hath been mentioned to you this day.

Having declared to you my sense and knowledge,—pardon me if I say so, my knowledge,-of the condition of these poor Nations, for it hath an influence upon them all, it concerned them all very palpably: I should be to blame if I did not a little offer to you the Remedies. I would comprehend them under two considerations. They are both somewhat general. The one is, The considering all things that may be done, and that ought to be done, in order [to] Security; that is one. And truly the other is a common head, “ a general, nay a universal consideration," the other is. Doing all things that ought to be done in order to Reformation: and with that I will close my discourse. All that has hitherto been hinted at was but to give you a sense of the danger; which "truly " is most material and significant; for which principally you are called hither to advise of the remedies.-I do put them, "the remedies," into this twofold method, not but that I think they are scarcely distinct. I do believe, truly, upon serious and deliberate consideration, that a true Reformation, as it may, and will thro' God's acceptance, and by the endeavours of His poor servants, be,--that that, "I say,' will be pleasing in His sight; and will prove not only what shall avert the present danger, but be a worthy return for all the blessings and mercies which you have received. So in my conscience, If I were put to show it, this hour, where the security of these Nations will lie ?-forces, arms, watchings, posts, strength; your being and freedom; be as politic and diligent, and as vigilant as you can be,-I would say in my conscience, and as before Almighty God I speak it; I think your Reformation, if it be honest, and thorough, and just, it will be your best security!

You

First, "however," with regard to Security outwardly considered. We will speak a little distinctly to that. see where your War is. It is with the Spaniard. You have Peace with all "other" Nations, or the most of them: Swede, Dane, Dutch. At present, I say, it is well; it is at present so. And so likewise with the Portugal, with France,-the Mediterranean Sea. Both these States; both Christian and Profane;