That the Petitioners were never unhappy in their Petitions or Supplications to His Majestie , whilest they desired any thing which was necessary or convenient for the preservation of Gods true Religion , His Majesties safety and honour , and the Peace of the Kingdome ; and therefore when those generall envious foundations are laid , His Majestie could wish some particular instances had been applyed . Let Envie and Malice object one particular Proposition for the preservation of Gods true Religion , which His Majestie hath refused to consent to what Himself hath often made for the ease of tender consciences , and for the Advancement of the Protestant Religion , is notorious by many of His Messages , and Declarations ; what regard hath been to His Honour and safecy , when He hath been driven from some of His Houses , and kept from other of His Towns by Force ; and what care there hath been of the peace of the Kingdome when endeavour hath been used to put all His Subjects in Arms against Him , is so evident , that His Majestie is confident , He cannot suffer by those generall imputations ▪ T is enough that the world knowes what He hath granted , and what He hath denyed .

For His Majesties raising Forces , and making preparations for War , ( whatsoever the Petitioners , by the ill Acts of the Enemies to His Majesties Person and Government , and by the calumnies and slanders raised against His Majestie by them , are induced to beleeve ) all men may know , what is done that way is but in Order to His Own Defence . Let the Petitioners remember That ( which all the world knowes ) His Majestie was driven : from His Palace of White-hall for fafety of His Life ; That both House of Parliament , upon their own Authority , raised a Guard to themselves , ( having gotten the Command of all the Train-bands of London to that purpose ) without the least colour or shadow of Danger ; That they usurped a Power , by their pretended Ordinance , ( against all principles and elements of Law ) over the whole Militia of the Kingdome , without and against His Majesties Consent ; That they tooke Possession of His Town , Fort , and Magazine of Hull , and committed the same to Sir John Hotham , who shut the Gates against His Majestie ; and by force of Arms , denyed entrance thither to His Own Person ; That they justified this Act , which they had not directed , and took Sir John Hotham into their protection for whatsoever He had done , or should do against His Majestie ; And all this whilst His Majestie had no other attendance , then His Own meniall Servants : Upon this , the duty and affection of this County prompted His Subjects here to provide a small Guard for His Own Person ; which was no sooner done , but a Vote suddenly passed of His Majesties intention to levie War against His Parliament ( which God knowes His Heart abhorreth ) and notwithstanding all His Majesties Professions Declarations , and Protestations to the contrary , seconded by the cleer Testimony of so great a number of Peers upon the place , Propositions and Orders for levies of Men , Horse , and Arms were sent throughout the Kingdome ; Plate , and Money brought in , and received ; Horse , and Men raised towards an Army , mustered , and under Command ; and all this contrary to the Law , and to His Majesties Proclamation : And a Declaration published , That if He should use force for the recovery of Hull , of suppressing the pretended Ordinance for the Militia , it should be held levying War against the Parliament ; and all this done before His Majestie granted any Commission , for the leavying , or raising a Man : His Majesties Ships were taken from Him , and committed to the custody of the Earle of Warwick , who presumes , under that Power , to usurp to himself the Soveraignty of the Sea ; to chase , fright , and imprison such of His Majesties good Subjects as desire to obey His lawfull Commands , although He had notice of the legall Revocation of the Earle of Northumberlands Commission of Admirall , whereby all Power derived from that Commission ceased . Let all the world now judge who began this War , and upon whose account the miseries which may follow must be cast , what His Majestie could have done lesse then He hath done ; and whether He were not compelled to make provision , both for the Defence of Himself and recovery of what is so violently , and injuriously taken from Him , and whether these Injuries , and Indignities are not just grounds for His Majesties Feares , and Apprehensions of further mischief and danger to Him : Whence the Feares and Jealousies of the Petitioners have proceeded hath never been discovered , the dangers they have brought upon His good Subjects are too evident ; what those are they have prevented , no man knowes : And therefore His Majestie cannot but look upon that charge , as the boldest , and the most scandalous hath been yet laid upon Him , That this necessary provision , made for his Own Safety and Defence , is to over-rule the judgement and advice of his great Councell , and by force to determine the questions there depending , concerning the Government ? and Liberty of the , Kingdome : If no other force had been raised , to determine those questions then by his Majestie , this unhappy mis-understanding had not been : And his Majesty no longer desires the Blessing , and Protection of Almighty God upon Himself , and His Posterity , then he and they shall solemnly observe the due execution of the Laws , in the defence of Parliaments , and the just freedome thereof .

For the Forces about Hull , His Majestie will remove them , when He hath attained the end for which they were brought thither ; when Hull shall be reduced again to His subjection , He will no longer have an Army before it ; and when He shall be assured , That the same necessity , and pretence of publike good , which took Hull from Him , may not put a Garrison into Newcastle , to keep the same against Him , He will remove His from thence , and from Tinmouth ; till when the example of Hull will not out of His memory .

For the Commissions of Array , which are legall , and are so proved by a Declaration now in the Presse ; His Majestie wonders why they should at this time bee thought grievous , and fit to be recalled ; If the feares of Invasion and Rebellion be so great , that by an illegall pretended Ordinance it is necessary to put His Subjects into a posture of defence , to Array , Traine , and Muster them , He knows not why the same should not be done in a Regular , Known , Lawfull way ; but if in the execution of that Commission any thing shall bee unlawfully imposed upon His Subjects , His Majesty will take all just and necessary care for their redresse .

For His Majesties coming nearer to His Parliament , His Majestie hath expressed Himself so fully in His severall Messages , Answers , and Declarations , and so particularly avowed a reall fear of His safety , upon such instances as cannot bee answered , that He hath reason to take Himself some what neglecsted , That sines upon so manifest reasons , it is not safe for His Majestie to come to them , both His Houses of Parliament will not come neerer to His Majesty , or to such a Place , where the Freedome and Dignity of Parliament might bee preserved . However His Majestie shall be very glad to hear of some such example in their punishing the Tumults , ( which He knowes not how to expect , when they have declared that they knew not of any Tumults , though the House of Peeres desired , both for the Dignity and Freedome of Parliament , that the House of Commons would joyne with them in a Declaration against Tumults ) which they refused ( that is , neglected to do ) and other seditious Actions , Speeches , and Writings , as may take that apprehension of danger from Him : Though , when He remembers the particular complaints Himself hath made of businesses of that nature , and that in stead of inquiring out the Authors , neglect of examination hath been , when offer hath been made to both Houses to produce the Authors , ( as in that treasonable Paper concerning the Militia ) and when he sees every day Pamphlets published against His Crown , and against Monarchy it self , as the Observations upon His late Messages , Declarations , and Expressions , and some Declarations of their own , which give too great encouragement in that Argument to ill-affected persons ; His Majestie cannot with confidence entertain those hopes which would be most welcome to Him .

For the leaving Delinquents to the due course of Justice , His Majestie is most assured He hath been no shelter to any such ; if the tediousnesse and delay in prosecution , the vast charge in Officers Fees , the keeping men under a generall Accusation without tryall a whole year and more , and so allowing them no way for their defence and vindication , have frighted men away from so chargeable and uncertain an attendance , the remedy is best provided where the disease grew . If the Law be the measure of Delinquency , none such are within His Majesties protection : But if by Delinquents such are understood who are made so by Vote , without any trespasse upon any known or established Law ; If by Delinquents those nine Lords are understood , who are made Delinquents for obeying His Majesties Summons to come to Him , after their stay there was neither safe nor honourable , by reason of the Tumults and other Violences , and whose impeachment , He is confident , is the greatest breach of priviledge that , before this Parliament , was ever offered to the House of Peeres ; If by Delinquents such are understood , who refuse to submit to the pretended Ordinance of the Militia ; to that of the Navie ; or to any other which His Majesty hath not consented to ; Such , who for the peace of the Kingdome , in an humble manner , prepare Petitions to Him , or to both Houses , as His good Subjects of London and Kent did , whilest seditious ones , as that of Essex , and other places , are allowed and cherished ; If by Delinquents such are understood , who are called so , for publishing His Proclamations ( as the Lord Major of London ) or for reading his Messages and Declarations ( as divers Ministers about London and elsewhere ) when those against him are dispersed with all Care and Industry , to poyson and corrupt the loyalty and affection of his people ; If by Delinquents such are understood , who have or shall lend his Majesty money in the Universities , or in any other places ; his Majesty declares to all the world , that he will protect such with his utmost power and strength , and directs , That in these Cases they submit not to any Messengers or Warrants , it being no lesse his duty to protect those who are innocent , then to bring the guilty to condigne punishment ; of both which the Law is to be judge : And if both houses do think fit to make a Generall , and to raise an Army for defence of those who obey their Orders and Commands , his Majesty must not sit still , and suffer such who submit to his just power , and are solicitous for the Laws of the Land , to perish and he undone , because they are called Delinquents . And when they shall take upon them to dispence with the attendance of those who are called by his Majesties Writ , whilst the send them to Sea to rob his Majesty of his Ships , or into the severall Counties to put his Subjects in Arms against him , his Majesty ( who onely hath it ) will not lose the power to dispence with them to attend his Own person , or to execute such Offices as are necessary for the preservation of himself and the Kingdome , but must protect them , though they are called Delinquents .

For the manner of the proceeding against Delinquents , his-Majesty will proceed against those who have no priviledge of Parliament , or in such , Cases where no priviledge is to be allowed , as he shall be advised by his learned Councell , and according to the known and unquestionable rules of the Law : it being unreasonable , that he should bee compelled to proceed against those who have violated the known and undoubted Law only before them who have directed such violation .

Having said thus much to the particulars of the Petition , though his Majesty hath reason to complain , That since the sending this Petition , they have beaten their Drums for Souldiers against him , armed their new Generall with a Power destructive to the Law and Liberty of the Subjects , and chosen a Generall of their horse ; his Majesty out of his Princely Love , Tendernesse , and Compassion of his People , and desire to preserve the peace of the Kingdom , that the whole force and strength of it may be united for the defence of it self , and the relief of Ireland , ( in whose behalf he conjures both his houses of Parliament , as they will answer the contrary to Almighty God , his Majestie , to those that trust them , and to that bleeding miserable Kingdome , that they suffer not any Moneyes granted and collected by Act of Parliament to be diverted , or imployed against his Majesty , whilest his Souldiers in that Kingdome , are ready to mutiny or perish for want of pay , and the barbarous Rebels prevail by that encouragement ) is graciously pleased once more , to propose and require :

That his Town of Hull be immediately delivered up to him ; which being done ( though his Majesty hath been provoked by unheard of Insolencies of Sir John Hotham , since his burning and drowning the Countrey , in seizing his Wine and other Provisions for his house , and scornfully using his Servant , whom he sent to require them , saying , It came to him by Providence and he will keep it ; And so refusing to deliver it , with threats , if he or any other of his fellow-servants should again repair to Hull about it ; and in taking and detaining Prisoners divers Gentlemen , and others , in their passage over the Humber into Lincolnshire , about their necessary occasions , and such other indignities , as all Gentlemen must resent in his Majesties behalf ) his Majestie , to shew his earnest desire of Peace ( for which he will dispence with his Own honour ) and how far he is from desire of Revenge , will grant a free and generall Pardon all persons within that Town .