BEing satisfied in our Iudgment and Consciences of the present necessity to take up Armes for the defence of our native Rights & Freedomes , which are wholy invaded & swallowd up in the pride & ambition of Oliver Cromwell who calls himselfe Lord Protector of England , and hath rendered all English-men no better then his Vassals , wee expect to be branded with the infamous name of Rebells and Traitors , or to be misrepresented both to the Army Citty and Countrey as common enemies , disturders of the publicke peace , arbitrary Cavileeres , Lewellers , or under some other odious notion , that may provoake the Army and People to endeavour our destruction ; but if wee may prevaile to be heard before wee be condemned and executed , wee shall submit our cause and righteous End wee seeke to the judgment of the Army and every honest English-man , and if the army it selfe according to their many Engagements will undertake ( and their strength be sufficient ) to redeeme us from our present slavery , and setle that Right and Freedome , unto which our Birth gave us title , wee shall readily lay down our present armes .

The whole Christian world knowes , that our English earth hath been drunke with blood these twelve yeares through the great contest for Right and Freedome , and the whole Treasure of the Nation exhausted in that quarell , how then can any man whose hand or heart hath been ingaged in that bloody contest either acquit himselfe to God his Conscience or his Countrey in yeilding up tamely and silently all the Lawes Rights and Liberties of England into an Vsurpers hand . Wee have for many yeares patienly borne all kinds of oppression , arbitrarines and tyranny , and suffered under such heavy burthens of Excise and Taxes , as England never knew in former ages , having been fed by him that now calls himselfe Lord Proctor and his army with speacious pretences and most alluring promises ( seconded with many appeales to God for their integrity of heart in them ) that true English Liberty should be setled and secured , impartiall Instice provided for , arbitrary powers abolished , and every yoake of oppression broaken , and every burden eased : and wee did beleive ( as they tould us ) that our present sufferings were only like a rough stormy passage to the Haven of Iustice , Right , and Freedome , wee could not suspect these ambitious Designes in Cromwell and his confederates , that are now proclaimed to the world : wee could not thinke it possible , that a man of such a meane quality and estate as he should aspire to make himselfe an absolute Lord and Tyrant over three potent Nations , but above all his pretended zeale for God and his People , his high professions of Godlinesse , simplicity , and integrity , his hypocriticall prayers and dayes of fasting to seeke the Lord , his dissembled humility and meekenesse , and his frequent compassionate teares upon every occasion : wee say , these things together with his Engagements publicke and private , his most sollemne protestations with imprecations of vengance upon himselfe and family if he dissembled , and his most frequent appeales to God for the truth of his professions and Declarations that he designd nothing but securing the liberty of Gods people , and administration of impartiall justice , and sought no power honour riches or greatnesse to himselfe or any particular party or interest : we say , these things rocked us so asleepe with the pleasant dreames of liberty and justice , untill he hath made a sacrifice of all our Lawes , Liberties , and Properties unto his owne ambition , and now is not afraide to owne what he before disclaimed and declared against : He that formerly protested before the dreadfull God and to the long Parliament , that he and his army should be wholy subject to their Civill Authority , and that whosoever should attempt any violence against them should make his way through his blood , he now ownes the breakeing them in peices with scorne and contempt : He that Declared so much humility and selfe deniall , claimes and ownes a power Supreame to Parliaments , and exerciseth an absolute Dominion over the Lawes and Estates of three Nations : he that seemed so zealous for Liberty , now dares owne every private English-man his Vassall , and their Parliaments his Slaves : he publisheth in his Printed speeches to his Parliament that the benefit that all English men have in the execution of any Lawes amongst them is from him , & the Authority that their Parliaments have & shal have is wholy deridved from him ; he hath published to the whole world , that he hath dissolved all Civill Government , and that he had in himselfe an absolute unlimited arbitrary power without checke or controull untill he put some limits upon himselfe , if he may be beleived in his paper of Government : Now what Patroone in Argeire ever claimed more Mastery over his Slaves bought in the Market then this Claime of Cromwells extends unto over us ? If wee have the benefit of the execution of no Lawes but from him , then all the Rights Priviledges and Estates wee have , are enjoyed by his mercy only : without the execution of Lawes no man hath more right to Lands or goods then an other , nor is any mans life under any security , if an other be stronger then he : So that Cromwell ownes and prosesses , that the bread that every man eates , is by his mercy : and if his power was without limit ( as he sayes ) untill he had put some bounds then t is of his grace and favour only that all English men have now a seeming Right in their Wives , Children , Seruants , Lives and Estates , if his owne limits of his power gives any such right , and if he please to throw away , ( or burne by the hand of the haug man ) his limits in his paper of Government , who can controll him ? he may doe what he list with things of his owne makeing , t is the old English Proverbe , He that can bind , can loose : and he may doe what he list also with the authority of Parliaments , if it be as he saies , of his owne giving : Now wherein doth a Patroones power over his purchased Slave exceede this , which Cromwell ownes over us ? The Patroone can but give the Slave his Lawes , his cloathes , his meate , his life , and all those Cromwell ownes to have given to us , only he speakes it in such language at sounds not so harshly .

Now after the expence of so much preatious Christian blood for the setling the Rights and Liberties due unto us as men and Christians , when he that was trusted with an Army for that purpose , hath so unworthely betraved his trust , spilt innocent , blood like water , falsified all his Declarations , Promises , Protestations , and Oathes , and assumed to himselfe such a Dominion over our Countrey , as is destructive unto all Right and Liberty , and renders us and our posterities Slaves to him and his Successors , with a payment of a fifth or their abouts of our Estates certaine in Taxes , to be intailed upon our posterities , besides other burthens , wee appeale to the conscience of every honest man , whether a present necessity and an incumbent duty be not upon us to arme our selues in defence of our antient Lawes , and dearest Birth rights against the present Imposture and Vsurper ; and we hope most of the present Army have not extinguished their love to their Countryes Freedome ( although Cromwells hypocriticall Professions , Prayers , and Teares , have much deluded them ) but that they will readily concur with us , and other honest English-men in our present attempt by force of Armes to redeeme our Countrey out of the Vsurpers bonds , and to seeke those righteous ends , which wee doe hereby Declare to bee those , for which we now hazard our lives , and with which we shall rest satisfied , and returne to our homes in peace and they are these following , viz.

1. That all assumed and usurped Powers and Authorities over our Countrey may be utterly abolished .

2. That the Government may be setled upon a just basis with due bounds and limits to every Magestrate .

3. That the antient Liberties of England setled by Magna Charta , the Petition of Right , and other Lawes may be secured inviolably : That no mans person may be molested , imprisoned , restrained , or touched without a Legall Cause shewne in the warrant , whereby he is molested or restrained , and that also in a due course of the Lawes known proceedings , without Countermands from the will of any man ; whereas now mens persons are trobled and restrained at will , and destroyed by long imprisoments , no man knowes for what . And also that no mans Estate may be liable to any disposall or prejudice but by the known Lawes of the Land , and the lawfull Iudgment of his equalls .

4. That free successive Parliaments may be setled with times of their beginning and ending , and with their antient power and priviledges .

And that the Jurisdictive powre which Parliaments have taken upon them to excercise in these times of warre and destraction by taking upon them the Iudgment of particular Causes concerning mens persons and estates , somtimes by their Committees and somtimes by themselves , contrary to the knowne Proceedings of the Law , that such power ( we say ) may be Declared against , and secure provision made against the same , that thereby Parliaments may be free from the temptations of profit , freinship , and all private Interests , by which only they can be corrupted .

5. That the Militia of the Nation may be so disposed , that no man may be able to be Master of Parliaments , and also that secure provision may be made , that no Parliament shall make it selfe perpetuall and inslave the people to them .

And that such a setlement may be made of Right and Freedome , and these our ends obtained , and a peace firmely established , we know no meanes under God but a truly free Parliament ,

Now for the defence of these our Rights and Liberties we are resolved to expose our Lives to the utmost hazards , and we shall neither wronge nor oppose any man , who doth not ioyne himselfe to the present Vsurper , to destroy or prevent these our righteous ends ; and though we have reason to beleive , that no person fearing God , or of Conscience , Honour , or Reason can satisfie himselfe to shed our innocent blood for seeking these things ; yet however we shall commit our selues and our just Cause to the tuition of the righteous God , and hope in his mercy , that our endeavours may procure Iustice , Freedome , Peace , and Setlement unto this distracted Nation .