House of Lords Journal Volume 6: 2 November 1643

DIE Jovis, 2 die Novembris.

PRAYERS.

Lords present this Day:

The Lord Grey of Warke, Speaker.

Lords that are in Town, to be attended with the Covenant.

Ordered, That the Clerk of the Parliament do attend such Lords as are in Town, and have not taken the Covenant of the Three Kingdoms, and offer it to them, and return their Answers to this House.

Count Egmont's Petition, for a Protection.

A Paper was presented to this (fn. 1) House, from Count Egmont, to desire the Protection of this House: It is Ordered, That Mr. Serjeant Whitfeild and Mr. Serjeant Fynch shall examine this Business, and certify the Truth thereof to this House.

Message to the H. C. that the Lords agree to several Things brought up from thence;

A Message was sent to the House of Commons, by Sir Rob't Rich and Mr. Page:

and with Persons Names to be added to the Assembly of Divines.

To let them know, that this House agrees to (fn. 1) the Agreements with our Brethren of Scotland, and the additional Instructions to the Committees in Scotland, and the Votes concerning the Cessation with the Rebels in Ireland, as they were brought up from them; and that their Lordships do agree to the Nomination of Mr. Dury to be of the Assembly of Divines, in the Place of Mr. Dr. Downing, deceased; and that their Lordships do nominate Mr. Goodwin in Coleman-streate, and Dr. Homes by Woodstreate, and Mr. Horton Divinity Lecturer at Gresham Colledge, wherein their Concurrence [ (fn. 1) is desired].

Lieutenant of The Tower to take Security for Mr. Walker's Return.

Ordered, That the Lieutenant of The Tower shall take Security of Mr. Walker, according to the former Orders of this House.

Earl of Exeter's Possession of Easton Woods disturbed.

Delinquents sent for.

Upon reading the Petition of the Countess of Exeter, in Behalf of the Earl of Exeter, and divers Affidavits, "That Thomas Cumbrey, Rob't Holt, Tho. Newton, and Wm. Dunch, have disobeyed the Order of (fn. 2) this House, dated 16 Junii, 1643, in disquieting the quiet Possession of the Woods called Easton Woods:" Hereupon this House Ordered, That the above Parties shall be sent for as Delinquents, to answer their Contempt to the Order of this House.

Message from the H. C. about the Power to be given the Committees going to Scotland;

A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Sir John Clattworthy and others:

1. To desire that the Committees lately added to be sent into Scotland may have the same Power as the First Committees sent thither have.

Agreed to.

and with a Letter and Order.

2. They desire their Lordships Concurrence in a Letter to be sent to the Officers of the English Forces in Ulster. (Here enter it.)

Agreed to.

3. To desire Concurrence in an Order concerning the Plantations. (Here enter it)

Agreed.

The Answer returned was:

Answer.

That their Lordships agree, that the Committees lately nominated to be sent into Scotland shall have the same Power as the First Committees have; and that their Lordships do agree to the Letter and Ordinance now brought up.

Commissioners for treating with the Scots.

Ordered, That the Lord Wharton be added to the Lord Viscount Say & Seale and the Lord Howard, who are appointed to treat with the Scotts Commissioners.

Sir O. Fleming to attend Ambassadors, in the Absence of the Master of the Ceremonies.

Ordered, That Sir Oliver Fleminge is hereby appointed to attend the French Ambassador, in the Absence of the Master of the Ceremonies; and this Ordinance, being drawn up, read, and approved of, was sent down to the House of Commons, by Sir Rob't Rich and Mr. Page, to desire their Concurrence therein.

Ordinance for the Government of the Plantations in The West Indies.

"Whereas many Thousands of the Natives and good Subjects of this Kingdom of England, through the Oppression of the Prelates and other ill-affected Ministers and Officers of State, have of late Years, to their great Grief and miserable Hardship, (fn. 3) been inforced to transplant themselves and their Families into several Islands, and other remote and desolate Parts of The West Indies, and having there, through exceeding great Labour and Industry (with the Blessing of God), obtained for themselves and their Families some competent and convenient Means of Maintenance and Subsistance, so that they are now in a reasonable well-settled and peaceable Condition; but fearing lest the outrageous Malice of Papists and other ill-affected Persons should reach unto them in their poor and low (but as yet peaceable) Condition, and having been informed that there hath been lately procured from His Majesty several Grants under the Great Seal, for erecting some new Governors and Commanders amongst the said Planters, in their aforementioned Plantations; whereupon the said Planters, Adventurers, and Owners of Land, in the said Foreign Plantations, have preferred their Petition unto this present Parliament, That, for the better securing of them, and their present Estates there, obtained through so much extreme Labour and Difficulty, they might have some such Governors and Government as should be approved of and confirmed by the Authority of both Houses of Parliament; which Petition of theirs the Lords and Commons having taken into Consideration, and finding it of great Importance both to the Safety and Preservation of the aforesaid Natives and Subjects of this Kingdom, as well from all Foreign Invasions and Oppressions as from their own intestine Distractions and Disturbances, as also much tending to the Honour and Advantage of His Majesty's Dominions, have thought fit, and do hereby constitute and ordain, Robert Earl of Warwicke, Governor in Chief and Lord High Admiral of all those Islands, and other Plantations inhabited, planted, or belonging to any His Majesty's the King of England's Subjects, or which hereafter may be inhabited, planted, or belonging to them, within the Bounds and upon the Coasts of America: And, for the more effectual, speedier, and easier Transaction of this so weighty and important a Business, which concerns the Well-being and Preservation of so many of the distressed Natives of this and other His Majesty's Dominions, the Lords and Commons have thought fit, that Phillip Earl of Pembroke, Edward Earl of Manchester, William Viscount Say & Seale, Phillip Lord Wharton, John Lord Roberts, Members of the House of Peers, Sir Gilbert Gerrard Knight and Baronet, Sir Arthur Heselrigg Baronet, Sir Henry Vane Junior, Knight, Sir Benjamine Rudyer Knight, John Pym, Oliver Cromwell, Dennis Bond, Miles Corbett, Cornelius Holland, Samuell Vassall, John Rolls, and William Spurstowe, Esquires, Members of the House of Commons, shall be Commissioners, to join in Aid and Assistance with the said Earl of Warwicke, Chief Governor and Admiral of the said Plantations; which Chief Governor, together with the said Commissioners or any Four of them, shall hereby have Power and Authority to provide for, order, and dispose, all Things which they shall from Time to Time find most fit and advantageous to the well-governing, securing, strengthening, and preserving of the said Plantations, and chiefly to the Preservation and Advancement of the true Protestant Religion amongst the said Planters and Inhabitants, and the further Enlargement and Spreading of the Gospel of Christ amongst those that yet remaineth there in great and miserable Blindness and Ignorance: And, for the better Advancement of this so great a Work, it is hereby further Ordained, by the said Lords and Commons, That the aforesaid Governor and Commissioners shall hereby have Power and Authority, upon all weighty and important Occasions which may concern the Good and Safety of the aforesaid Planters, to call unto their Advice and Assistance therein any other of the aforesaid Planters, Owners of Land, or Inhabitants of the said Islands and Plantations, which shall then be within Twenty Miles of the Place where the said Commissioners shall then be; and shall have Power and Authority to send for, view, and make Use of, all such Records, Books, and Papers, which do or may concern any of the said Plantations: And because the well-settling and establishing of such Officers and Governors, as shall be laborious and faithful in the right Governing of all such Persons as be resident in or upon the said Plantations, and due Ordering and Disposing all such Affairs as concern the Safety and Welfare of the same, is of very great Advantage to the Public Good of all such remote and new Plantations, it is hereby further Ordained and Decreed, That the said Robert Earl of Warwicke, Governor in Chief and Admiral of the said Plantations, together with the aforesaid Commissioners, Phillip Earl of Pembroke, Edward Earl of Manchester, William Viscount Say & Seale, Phillip Lord Wharton, John Lord Roberts, Sir Gilbert Gerrard Knight and Baronet, Sir Arthur Hasle rig Baronet, Sir Henry Vane Junior, Knight, Sir Benjamine Rudyer Knight, John Pym, Oliver Cromwell, Dennis Bond, Miles Corbett, Cornelius Holland, Samuell Vassall, John Rolls, and William Spurstowe, Esquires, or the greater Number of them, shall have Power and Authority, from Time to Time, to nominate, appoint, and constitute, all such subordinate Governors, Counsellors, Commanders, Officers, and Agents, as they shall judge to be best affected, and most fit and serviceable for the said Islands and Plantations; and shall hereby have Power and Authority, upon the Death or other Avoidance of the aforesaid Chief Governor and Admiral, or any the other Commissioners before named, from Time to Time to nominate and appoint such other Chief Governors and Admiral, or Commissioners, in the Place and Room of such as shall so become void; and shall also hereby have Power and Authority to remove any of the said subordinate Governors, Counsellors, Commanders, Officers, or Agents, which are or shall be appointed to govern, counsel, or negociate, the Public Affairs of the said Plantation, and in their Place and Room to appoint such other Officers as they shall judge fit: And it is hereby Ordained, That no subordinate Governors, Counsellors, Commanders, Officers, Agents, Planters, or Inhabitants whatsoever, that are now resident in or upon the said Islands or Plantations, shall admit or receive any other new Governors, Counsellors, Commanders, Officers, or Agents whatsoever, but such as shall be allowed and approved of under the Hands and Seals of the aforesaid Chief Governor and High Admiral of the said Plantation, together with the Hands and Seals of the aforementioned Commissioners or any Six of them, or under the Hands and Seals of such as they shall authorize thereunto: And whereas, for the better Government and Security of the said Plantations and Islands, and the Owners and Inhabitants thereof, there may be just and fit Occasion to assign over some Part of the Power and Authority (granted in this Ordinance to the Chief Governor and Commissioners aforenamed) unto the said Owners, Inhabitants, and others, it is hereby Ordained, That the said Chief Governor and Commissioners before mentioned, or the greater Number of them, shall hereby be authorized to assign, ratify, and confirm, so much of their aforementioned Authority and Power, and in such Manner, and to such Persons, as they shall judge to be fit for the better governing and preserving the said Plantations and Islands from open Violence and private Disturbance and Distractions.

"And lastly, that whosoever shall do, execute, or yield Obedience, to any Thing contained in this Ordinance, shall, by virtue hereof, be saved harmless and indemnified."

Sir O. Fleming to attend Ambassadors, &c. as Master of the Ceremonies.

"Whereas there are divers Ambassadors, and other Public Ministers from Foreign States, residing here, and the ordinary Way of their Introduction, and passing of all other Public Civilities, neglected, for the Want of a Master of the Ceremonies: It is therefore Ordered, by the Lords and Commons in Parliament, That Sir Oliver Fleminge Knight, a Person of great Experience and Integrity in Public Affairs, be authorized and enabled to execute that Place, with enjoying such Allowances, Rights, and Privileges, as hath at any Time or doth belong to any Master of the Ceremonies."

Letter to the Officers in Ulster, against the Cessation with the Rebels.

"The Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament have commanded us to signify unto you, that they take special Notice of your Courage and Vigilancy, in opposing the Fury of the barbarous Rebels, from the very Beginning of this Rebellion first raised in your Parts: They cannot but observe how many Difficulties you have conflicted withall in this Work; and (fn. 4) how long you gave a Check to that Insurrection before the Parliament could take Notice thereof, or provide for you; and that now, seeing God hath so blessed the joint Endeavours of the Forces within that Province, for the ridding of it of those Wretches who were a Burthen to the Earth, it so much the more imports the Parliament (to whom the Ordering of that War is solely committed) to have you in their particular Care; and especially at this Time, when other Parts of those Forces sent over to reduce the Rebels have so far degenerated and shamefully apostatized, that some of them have agreed to a destructive Cessation of Arms with them for a whole Year, the Copy whereof, together with what Sense the Two Houses of Parliament hath of it, is herewith sent unto you: They are confident you are deeply apprehensive of the Mischiefs which must necessarily follow this wicked Cessation; how it will render your Endeavours not only void, but expose you to their Malice and Cruelty, whom (having sharply chastised by your commendable Endeavours) you have sufficiently exasperated; therefore do not doubt but you will join Heart and Hand with those your Fellow Sufferers and Soldiers within that Province, and such others as shall consociate with you in so good a Cause, for the resolute opposing of this destructive Plot against you, and the Religion professed; and herein, as the Parliament disavows it in all respects, being so injurious to the Power committed to them, the Interest of this Kingdom, and the Adventurers therein, destructive to Religion, unmerciful to the poor Protestants (chiefly those cast out of their Estates by them), so also they disclaim it, as being dishonourable and disadvantageous to you, robbing you both of your Glory and Profit: The Parliament fully apprehends your Enemies, who are now at Leisure in other Parts, will unite themselves, and labour to annoy those Forces in Ulster that shall thus stand in the Gap against the Mischief common to you and themselves; and therefore thought it convenient to dispatch Captain Owen O Connelly to you, that you might be acquainted not only with their Apprehensions of this Cessation, and the Consequents thereof; but also what Course they have laid for your Provision, and that of the Scottish Army, whose joint Forces, firmly united against the common Enemy, will, through God's Blessing, render you very considerable amongst yourselves, and formidable to your Enemies: For that Purpose, they earnestly recommend unto you, as the only Expedient which will abundantly satisfy both Houses, that you join together, in taking this National Covenant, chearfully sworn and subscribed by both Houses, the City of London, and all Parts unto which it hath been commended; and that you improve all Advantages against the Enemy, in Way of Conduct, wherein you are, until the Houses shall send some Person of Eminency and Ability unto you, with full Instructions in this weighty and important Matter.

"The Two Houses of Parliament have laid a considerable Weekly Tax on all Parts within their Power, and (according to their Votes) are taking Order for the immediate transmitting very good Proportions of Victual for the Maintenance of the Soldiers under your and other Colonels Commands who are of that Country; as also for Supply for the Scottish Army, who, they doubt not, will join with you in this Covenant, so highly valued by all those that apprehends the Consequences thereof.

"And as the Two Houses are confident you will speedily dispose yourselves into a Way of giving them full Satisfaction in this Particular, so, on the certain Return thereof, there will be such further Provision made for all Necessaries, both for you that are Chief Commanders, and all other the Inferior Officers and Soldiers, as shall be for your Encouragement to proceed in this good Work, so successfully carried on by you in the whole Course of the War hitherto.

"This is all we have in Command to write unto you, and to desire that this Letter may be read to the Soldiers under your Command the first and fittest Opportunity; and that the Two Houses of Parliament hear from you of the State of your Affairs, which we all desire may be with Success and Prosperity. So we remain,

"Gray of Warke, Speaker of the
House of Peers pro Tempore.
William Lenthall, Speaker."

Westm. the (fn. 5) 4th of November 1643.

Adjourn.

House adjourned till 9^a cras.