Ten Queries Upon the Ten New Commandments of the General Council

TEN QUAERES, UPON THE TEN NEW COMMANDEMENTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE Officers of the Armies Decemb. 22. 1659.

NOW Declaring themselves, The only Supreme Legisers, and Absolute Sovereign Lord's of our Three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, by what just Title from God or Man, we yet understand not, unless it be from the Man of Sin, opposing and exalting himself above all that is called God and worshipped, by his own usurped Authority and Ambition.

1 WHether the Nobility, Gentry, Ministry, Citizens, Yeomen, and other Freemen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (the Supreme Authority and Legislators of the 3. Nations by the Army-Officers former Votes, Declarations, Agreements of the People, and the Rumps too) have not better Reason and Authority to Agree and Vote, That the Government of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging, shall be in the ancient legal, safe, honorable, known way of a KINGDOM, and MONARCHY, by an hereditary lawful King, according to the Fundamental Laws, Oaths, Protestation, League, Covenant, the Parl. and these Officers former numerous Declarations, Remonstrances, and Proposals, than in the way of an unknown, unborn Utopian Free-State and Commonwealth; the bare Notion whereof without any conception or production, hath involved us in 11. years dangerous Wars, Confusions, Distractions, Revolutions, without any probability of Ease, Tranquilliey, or Settlement?

2. Whether they might not with as good Authority and Reason have agreed, That they will not have God himself, and Jesus Christ (who are not excepted, but included in their Vote,) to exercise a Kingship in th • se Nations; nor any single Person to exercise the Office of Chief Magistrate over the City of London, or any other City or Corporation in our 3. Kingdoms: Or the Office of a General over any of our Armies, or Admiral over any of our Fleets; or of a Colonel or Captain over any Regiment, Troop, Company, Ship in the Armies, or Navies of these Nations; or one Speaker to sit in any Parliament, or one Chairman in any Committee, or one head to exercise any authority over the natural body of any Officer, Soldier, Man, Woman, Child within their new Kingless, Headless Free State and Commonwealth; As that they will nst have Kingship to be exercised in these Nations, nor any single Person (out of which Fleetwood, Lambert, & all other married, double-souled Officers are excepted, being no single persons) to exercise the office of Chief Magistrate over the same? And whether these Voters have not lost their heads or brains at least, & passed this Vote out of pure necessity, because for the present, their Chieftains cannot or da • e not claim a Kingship, or Monarchieal Protectorship over us, through others oppositions, though they ambitiously desire it, as well as their deceased ambitious bloody Tyrant Oliver?

3 Whether they had not with better Justice voted; That there shall be no L. Fleetwood, L. Lambert, L. Desbrow, L. H • wson, &c. nor any General Council of Lording lordly Officers of the Armies of England, Scotland and Ireland, nor Wailingford House, taking upon them a power which no Lord's House ever used, to impose Laws, not only on the Soldiers, but Lord's, Commons, and Freemen of our whole 3. Nations; Than that there be no House of Lord's, or Peers? And whether they may not order the Lord's House at Westminster, and all Lord's Houses within our 3. Realms to be demolished, by the letter of this Vote; and deprive the Lord's and Peers of their hereditary Mansion-Houses, Lands, as well as of their Honors, Peerage, and Session in Parliaments?

4. Whether the General Council of Officers •• y their former and late Instruments, Votes, and this their Agreement, whereby they usurp both the Legislative and Executive Power over our 3. Nations and Parliaments in the superlative degree, (which no Military Officers or Council under heaven ever did before them in any age or Nation) have not already contradicted this their Agreement, That the Legislative and Executive power be distinct, and not in the same hands? And whether either of these 2 Powers ought to be henceforth entrusted in their hands?

5. Whether Henry Garnet, Guy Faux, with the rest of the old Gun-powder-Traitors, who sat in Counsel together how to blow up the King, Lord's, and Parliament in the 3d. year of King James, and all those persons and everyone of them, who since the 1. of October 1659. have acted and executed any Treason, Murder, Rape, Robbery or Villany whatsoever for which they deserve execution at Tiburne; may not with as much Authority, Justice, Law, Equity, indemnify themselves and all their Confederates both in their Persons and Estates, for all such things as have been done by them, or any of them, or by any acting under them in pursuance of their authority; as the Council of Officers and their Committee of Safety can indemnifie one another, and those who have acted under them, for all such things as have been done by them or any of them, in pursuance of the instructions given them by the Council of Officers? Whether this be not an open in-let and encouragement to all Treasons and Villanies whatsoever, for these Officers and their Instruments to act new Treasons and Violences over and over against the Parliament, King, Lord's, Commons, Kingdom, People, with most daring impudency, and then to force and procure an Act of total Indemnity and final Oblivion for them, as to their Persons and Estates, when perpetrated and committed?

6. Whether such Persons as have acted, done or spoken anything before or since the first day of October, 1659. for Charles Stuart (their undoubted lawful King) in pursuance of their Oaths, Vows, Protestation, League, Covenant, the Laws of God and the Realm, the Declarations, Orders, Ordinances, Remonstrances of Parliament, and Army Officers themselves whiles in their right wits; do not better deserve an Act of Indemnity, and perpetual Oblivion both for Persons and Estates for all and every thing and things, acted, done, spoken, ordered, or suffered to be acted or done, with respect to raising of forces, issuing of money, and proceedings of any kind for his Service; than all and every of the Council of Officers of the Army, their Committees of Safety, or any other Person or Persons under them, for all and everything and things acted, done, spoken, ordered, with respect to raising of forces, levying or issuing monies, proceedings in any Courts of Law, or otherwise, against the Kings, Parliaments, Lord's, Commons, or Rumps Authority, and the known Laws, Liberties of our three Nations? Whether their voting such an Act of Indemnity and perpetual Oblivion for themselves & their Confederates alone be not an evident Confession and Proclamation of their own Guilt and Treachery to all the world; and their excepting of all such who have acted, done, or spoken anything for or on the behalf of Charles Stuart, out of their desired Act of Indemnity and Oblivion, a real Argument & Declaration of their innocence, loyalty, and legality of their actions; and the Unsaint-like malice, part • ality, injustice of these guilty Voters in indempnifying themselves and all their Adherents only against the highest Treasons and Rebellions, Crimes that possibly can be perpetrated by men; and yet exposing all Royalists to the extremity of Justice, (if Delinquents as they doom them) only for their loyalty to their Liege-Sovereign? Surely— Dat veniam Corvis, vexat censura Columbas, was never so really verified by any as these gracious Army Counselors.

7. Whether their extraordinary zeal & care in providing, That such who profess Faith in God by Jesus Christ, though differing from the Doctrine, Discipline, and 〈◊〉 publicly held forth, shall not be restrained from, but shall be equally protected and encouraged in the profession of the Faith and exercise of their Religion, so as they abuse not that liberty to the civil injury of oth • rs : doth not open a wide door to all damnable Heresies, Blasphemi •• , Sects, Opinions whatsoever, to the ruin of our Churches and Religion; and give a free toleration, encouragement, and protection to all Jesuits, Popish Priests, Friars, and Romish Emissaries whatsoever, under the disguises of other Sects, & separate Congregations, professing Faith in God by Jesus Christ, into which they creep to introduce the body of Popry and Jesuitis •• amongst us, both in Theory and Practice, (as they have done of late years) in a higher degree than ever? Whether any Doctrine, Worship or Discipline can be said, to be publicly held forth, when all of all sorts are thus equally protected and encouraged by their Agreement. How they can in conscience or Justice in words provide, that this Liberty be not extended to Popery or Prelacy, when they so freely allow it to all others, though Heretics or Blasphemers, far worse than bare Papists, or Prelacy? And whether their last restriction, nor to such, as under the Profession of Christ, hold forth and practice Licentiousness, extends not principally to themselves, who under the Profession of Christ, hold forth and practice the greatest Licentiousness, even to act all kind of Treasons, Rebellions, Violences, Rapines, Murders, Plunders, Oppressions, Perjuries, Hypochrisies, Atheistical Impieties, Sacrileges, Treacheries and Villanies, with greater Impudency, Indemnity, and Incorrigibility (after public and private seeming Humiliations for them) than they were ever yet acted in the world by men professing Faith in God by Jesus Christ, or the true reformed Religion?

8. Whether the impoverished, undone people of our three Nations, have not far juster cause and reason to detain the Arrears of pay pretended to be due to most of all the rebellious Officers and Forces of this Commonwealth, (as forfeited by their manifold Treasons, Rebellions, and Mutinies against their Superiors, and obeying only the wills, lusts, orders of their ambitious, mutinous chief Commanders, whose devoted Servants they are) than they thus peremptorily to demand, That the arrears of pay to the Armies and Forces of the Commonwealth, now due or incurred to them, or any of them (though never so treacherous, rebellious to their Lord's and Masters the Parliament and people, who must pay them) be with all convenient speed satisfied and paid; before their repentance, and declared future obedience to the Parliament and people, whose Servants and Mercinaries they only are and ought to be, in truth?

9. Whether the old secluded Members, Rump, Nobility, Gentry, free people of England, Scotland, and Ireland, or any free Parliament elected by them, can with honor, justice, or the public peace, safety, settlement, after so many former and late Rebellions, Treacheries, Perjuries, breaches of Protestations, Covenants, Commissions and Engagements of all sorts, by the Army and their Officers, condescend to their 9th Law; That the Armies, Forces and Navies of this Commonwealth, as the same stood upon the 9. of Octob. last, be continued and maintained under the same conduct, as the same stood upon the said 9. day of October, for the security, service, and Peace of this Commonwealth, and not to be disbanded, nor the condust altered until the cause contended for be secured (and what that is we know not, unless that the Army-Generals and their Council of Officers may be our only Kings, Lord's, and Parliament Legislators; call and dissolve Parliaments at their pleasures, vote & unvote what they will without punishment, and ruin our 3. Nations without opposition) and the Government of this Commonwealth, as is before proposed, be effectually settled: Be not a most unjust, unreasonable command, exempting the Army and Officers from all subordination and obedience to any Parliament, Council, or power of the Nation whatsoever? An absolute imposing of a perpetual uncontrollable Army, and Iron Yoak of Bondage upon the 3. Nations and their Parliaments galled necks, who must only pay and raise monies for them, and obey their Prescriptions? And whether the Officers and Conductors of this Army, who have so frequently disturbed, subverted the Security, Service, Peace and Settlement of our Nations both heretofore and at present, and been so treacherous, mutinous, can be continued undisbanded for any other end, but only to act over their former Tragedies and pranks of Rebellion at their pleasures, and then force a New Act of Indemnity and Oblivion to expiate them, and make themselves Monsters of Treachery, and Parliaments the very scorn, shame, dishonor of our Nation and the world?

10. Whether their 10th. and last Agreement, That we whose names are subscribed, do hereby promise and engage by the help of God (it had been truer, by the assistance of the Devil, the Spirit who ruleth in the children of disobedience) to stand by and assist each other in the obtaining of the things before mentioned, Be not a New Treasonable Engagement against the Laws, Liberties, Freedom, Privileges, Birthrights of our Nations and Parliaments; in opposition to the Cities and Common-Councils Declaration, Dec. • 0. well deserving all past arrears, and future pay, without disbanding? Whether those Officers who have subscribed this Engagement, be likely to observe it better, than they did their late and former Engagements, to be true, faithful, and constant to their New Lord's and Masters from whom they received their Commissions? the faith, property of an Army-Officer and Soldier, being now refined to this Quintessence of Atheism; to be faithless, treacherous, perfidious to all others, and faithful, loyal unto none, any longer or further than consists with his own interest and self-designs. Whether there can be any probable or lively hope of curing the manifold desperate Wounds, Fractures, Convulsions, Confusions in our expiring Church, State, or of establishing any lasting Peace, Government, Unity or Tranquillity in our distracted Nations, without an impartial restitution of all real Members of our English Parliaments to their ancient indubitable Privileges, to meet, sit, vote with all freedom and security, without the least forcible suspension or seclusion? And whether there be any possibility they should thus sit and act, till the prodigious Parliament-interrupting, secluding, securing-dissolving General Council of Officers of the Army, be totally dissolved, and the Army in some good measure purged from all mutinous Innovators, and masked Romish Emissaries? The Lord give them all grace unfeignedly to lament and repent the premised Exorbitances, and this their new Agreement, before they go hence and be seen no more. Amen.