Concerning the Armys Force and Violence Part 2

THE SECOND PART Of the Narrative concerning the Armies force and violence upon the COMMONS-HOUSE and MEMBERS.

V Pon Thursday the Army▪ engaged Members of the House of Commons [most of them being Treasurers, Great Accountants, Purchasers of Bishops Lands, or such as hold Great Offices by the Houses gift, or received great sums of money upon pretence of great Losses never yet appearing or made good upon Oath] above one hundred Members being secured, or violently kept out of the House, by that insolent Colonel Pride [which usually goeth before destruction] after their Hypocriticall Fast was ended, were pleased to adjourn the House till Tuesday; that the General and his grand Council, (of which there is scarce one Gentleman of quality, but poor Mechanics of small or broken fortunes before the Wars) might possess themselves of the City, plunder all their Treasures to pay the Soldiers, secure their Gallant Sheriff Brown a Member of the House, and act their parts with other Members, to new▪ modle the house, according to their hearts desire) adjourned til Tuesday. In the mean time the General and his Agents under pretences of favor and respect to some of the imprisoned Members, endeavored by subtlety to engage them to give their parol to him to continue at their Houses or Lodgings in or near the Town till the House should command their attendance, and in the mean time, not to act against the Parliament or the Army: Which most of them upon debate refused to accept of, conceiving it to be a voluntary confinement of themselves and subjecting of them to the Generalls power inconsistent with the Honor or privilege of Parliament, and thereupon refused to remove upon any such restrictive terms unless absolutely discharged without any condition or restriction whatsoever. Whereupon the General continues them still Prisoners, they having liberty only to remove their lodgings to places more convenient. On Tuesday morning the Army placed Guards of their own upon the Commons House again, and though they had secluded and driven away near two hundred Members before, yet they had a List of more Members fit to be excluded and purged out▪ Whereupon Mr. Edward Boys one of the Knights of the shire for Kent (a great friend of theirs) Sir Humfrey Tuston, and some six more Members entering into the house to discharge their duty, were violently kept back by Col. Pride and his Officers; and Sir Edward Martin Knight of the shire for Devon being in the house it self, was kept out and secluded the house. O the tender regard of the privileges of the House, which these Saints of the Army boast of in the very first line of their late Remonstrance: and The restitution of the Houses to a condition of Honor, Freedom and safety, and preserving them therein, which they so much vaunted of, and for which they and both Houses kept a solemn Thanksgiving [mocking both God and men thereby, who hath justly rewarded them for that damnable Hypocrisy] in August 1647. It seems these Parliament Savior's and Protectors then, are turned Parliament destroyers and Subverters now, as they profess to the world in print in their proud and treasonable, (which they style Humble) Proposalls and Desires, Dated Decemb. 6. 1648. A New Jesuitical Gun, powder Treason to blow up Parliaments▪ As soon as the House was set, Mr. Nathaniel Stephens Knight of the shire for the County of Gloucester, reported to the house the violence offered to Mr. Ash and other Members of the house who were imprisoned and forcibly secluded by the Officers of the ARMY, and thereupon moved the HOUSE to vindicate their Privileges and right their Members, and not to proceed in any business till that was done; else he could not in consciecne or honor join with them, but must and would withdraw. Yet the engaged faction (who formerly fled from the house to the Army for security when there was no actual force upon the houses in July 1647. and passed an Ordinance by a greater force from the Army, for nulling and vacating all Ordinances, Orders and proceedings in Parliament, during their absence from the House upon a mere pretext of force) not only continued sitting in the House without flying from it, when under such an horrid force of the Army as this upon their Members, but also proceeded to act, though not above 45. in number; and to vote the votes for no more addresses to the King to be revived, and unvote the Votes for the Treaty with the King, as prejudicial and dishonorable to the Kingdom, and likewise unvoted the votes for restoring the ten impeached Members.

These votes being passed, the General by a party of Horse and foot violently seized upon Sheriff Brown a Member of the House, and secured him prisoner in St. James, to a room without hangings or bedding: And about 4. of the clock at night Captain Lawrence the Marshall of the Army brought a message from the General and his Council to remove Sir William Waller, Major Gen. Massey, Sir John Clotworthy, and Commissary Copley, from the Kings Head in the Strand, where they were six days imprisoned, to St. James. Upon which they expostulating with the Marshall desired him to bring an order in writing from the General or his Council for their removal, they having never seen nor heard of any warrant from them in writing for their former restraint: Whereupon he repaired to the Gen. & returned with a warrant under his hand for their removal to St James about 6 of the clock. Upon reading whereof, they read a Protestation drawn up in writing and signed with all their hands to this effect: That they being Members of Parliament and Free men of England did protest before God, Angels and Men, that neither the General himself nor his Council of War, had any power or authority to seize, detain, imprison, or remove their persons, nor to try them by a Council of War: And that they had usurped to themselves a greater Arbitrary power over the Members of Parliament, and Freemen of this Realm then ever this or any other King of England had arrogated to himself &c. And that though they neither would nor could submit to their usurped power, yet they would always be ready to submit themselves to any trial by a free Parliament, for any crime that could or should be suggested against them. Which when they had read, they tendered to the Marshall to deliver it to the General and his Council, who refused to receive and left it upon the Table. Some other Members there present, alleged to the Marshall, That these proceedings of the Army against the Members by mere power without any Authority at all, (by which alone the Marshall there openly affirmed the General and Officers now proceeded) was as bad or worse then that of the Great Turk or Ianizaries. That it was a far more arbitrary and tyrannical power then ever the King or his evil Counselors, or the most persecuting Courts and Prelates usurped or exercised, and that all their tyranny, oppression and injustice was not comparable to theirs: That this was that the Officers and Army protested against in all their Declarations, and professed they had fought against, and therefore it was monstrous themselves should exercise such Tyranny, and injustice now even upon Members themselves, and how then would they tyrannize it over others? The standers by were deeply affected with this new monstrous tyranny and persecution of Gallant Members and Commanders, who had done such brave services for their Country, and were thus tossed up and down at the lawless pleasure of ignoble and degenerous usurpers of more then regal power, from prison to prison, and accompanying them to the coach and there taking their farewells of them, they were guarded with Musquetiers and carried in the dark to Saint James prisoners, and there shut up in a foul room where the Soldiers had layne some nights before, without hangings or bedding to rest their heads upon, where they must lie all night upon the boards as they did in Hell, if not otherwise provided for.

Certainly if these proud Officers of the Army, and Monsters of Tyranny had not cast off all Humanity, all Christianity, all fear, all love of God or men, and that Noblenesse and ingenuity, which is incident to the rudest Soldiars towards Soldiers and Gallant Commanders in the Wars as these Gentlemen have been, and quite degenerated, into beasts, they could not show such unheard of cruelty and inhumanity to these Honorable Members and Patriots of their Country, and use them more barbarously though their masters and friends, then usually they did the worst Cavaliers, or then the King himself and his soldiers would have treated them, had they taken them Prisoners in the field.

Doubtless this most execrable tyranny of these new Kings & Tyrants at White-hall will engage both Heaven & earth unanimously against them, and bring them unto fearful ends and speedy ruin, if they repent not, and return to their pristine obedience. And their Commissions being forfeited & nulled, the Soldiers absolutely discharged from any obedience to them, the Parliament from any protection of them, the Kingdom from all contributions and taxes towards them, and the Members, Kingdom and God himself enraged against them; for this their exorbitant and matchless Tyranny, and horrid Rebellion in levying w • rre upon the Houses, forcing and imprisoning their Members, and casting them into Hell and other inconvenient places without any fitting accommodations, they must of necessity suddenly fall, perish & become like dung upon the earth, and of a most glorious and victorious Army, laden with Honor and Booty, become the very scorn, sink and scum of men, which God give them hearts and grace to consider, before it be too late: and to remember that of the Psalmist Psal. 140. 11. Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. It overthrew violent Strafford, and Laud this very Parliament and cost them their heads and it will overthrow the Gen. & Council of war to, Who far exceed them in violence and Tyranny of all sorts, and in overturning Parliaments, Laws, Liberties, and the ancient Government of the Kingdom, which have ever overturned those who have endeavored to subvert them, and brought them to a dishonorable and shameful end.

Wednesday the 13 of December, the Officers of the Army kept out Sir John Hippesley and Mr. Packer, and would not permit them to enter the House; where they repealed the vote of the Commons on Monday the 4. of December, That the King was removed from the Isle of Wight without the Privity or consent of the House: There were out 45. in the house to repeal this vote passed by 240. and those 45 are very eminent for their extreme honesty, and public receipts of the Kingdoms Treasure. After which the Army Hackneyes repealed likewise the vote of the fifth of December last passed by above 141 votes, that the Kings Answer to the Propositions were a sufficient ground for them to proced to the settlement of the Kingdom, which they desire to embroyle in perpetual wars and broils, that they may keep their Offices, and what they have gotten into their hands by hook or crook: whiles those who have spent their estates and adventured their lives in these wars and have more honesty in their little fingers, then those that sit in their whole bodies, are imprisoned and restrained from the House by a company of Rebells, against their Superiors, to give them no worse Title.

Thursday the 4th. of December, the fagge end of the Commons being about 43. in number, considering that all the best and honest men were secluded from them by the Army, and protested they were no House, moved that they might send to the General to know upon what accompt their Members were restrained and secluded by the Army, but with this unworthy addition, that they should carry with them the Votes that passed the day before, for his Council of Wars approbation, repealing what the excluded Members had formerly Voted a thing so dishonorable and below A Parliament (if they were worthy the name of one) that they deserve eternally to be excluded all future Parliaments, ex Cauda Draconem, you may see what beasts they are by this Dragons tail.

The 20. of December the General sent for 16. of the imprisoned Members to his lodging: where coming, Commissary Ireton, Col. Whaley, and Col. Rich acquainted them that the General was fallen suddenly ill, and kept his Chamber, and thererefore left them to acquaint them with his mind. That they were all absolutely discharged; and had freely liberty to go to their lodgings and houses; but did expect they should act nothing contrary to the present actings; and if they did it would be the worse for them. To which they gave no present answer, and will advise how they accept of Liberty upon such conditions.