House of Lords Journal Volume 5: 28 November 1642

DIE Lunæ, videlicet, 28 die Novembris.

Prayers.

Earl of Manchester, Speaker this Day.

A Letter written to the Speaker of this House was read, as followeth: videlicet,

Letter from Lord Falkland, with the King's Answer to the Parliament's last Petition.

"My Lord,

"I am commanded, by His Majesty, to return this His inclosed Answer to the Petition of both Houses lately sent to His Majesty, inclosed in a Letter from your Lordship, and directed to me. I am,

Reddinge, Nov. 27th 1642.

"My Lord,

"Your Lordship's humble Servant,

"Falkland.

"For the Right Honourable the Earl of Manchester, Speaker of the House of Peers pro Tempore."

Sent to the H. C.

Ordered, That this Message be communicated to the House of Commons presently; which accordingly was done, by Message, by Sir Edw. Leech and Doctor Childe; and to desire that the Original might be returned.

Earl of Lindsey, Prisoner at Warwick, desires to be moved to London.

The Earl of Bedford signified to this House, "That the Earl of Lyndsey, being a Prisoner at Warwicke, sent to the Lord General, to desire that he might be brought to London, and remain a Prisoner there, in regard it will be more convenient for him to look to divers Occasions that concern his Estate. The Lord General thinks (his Lordship being a Person of Honour) that, if he does give his Word to render himself a Prisoner at London here, he is confident he may be trusted."

Ordered, That the Manner and the Thing itself is referred to the Lord General, to do therein as he shall think fit.

His Sister's Goods in the Earl of Rutland's House not to be molested.

Ordered, That the Goods of the Sister of the Earl of Lyndsey, being in the House of the Earl of Rutland, shall remain there, and the House be exempted from any Search, being the House of a Peer.

Ordered, That Mr. Serjeant Whitfeild hath Leave to be absent for (fn. 1)

The King's Answer to the last Petition from both Houses.

"CHARLES R.

"We expected such Propositions from you, as might speedily remove and prevent the Misery and Desolation of this Kingdom; and that, for the effecting thereof (We now residing at a convenient Place, not far from Our City of London), Committees from both Our Houses of Parliament should attend Us (for you pretended, by your Message to Us at Colebroke, that those were your Desires): Instead whereof (and thereby let all the World judge of the Design of that Overture) We have only received your humble Petition, That We would be pleased to return to Our Parliament with Our Royal not Our Martial Attendance: All Our good Subjects, that remember what We have so often told you and them upon this Subject, and what hath since passed, must with Indignation look upon this Message, as intended by the Contrivers thereof for a Scorn to Us, and thereby designed by that malignant Party (of whom We so often complained, whose Safety and Ambition is built upon the Divisions and Ruins of this Kingdom, and who have too great an Influence upon your Actions) for a Wall of Separation betwixt Us and Our People. We have told you the Reasons why We parted from London; how We were chased thence, and by whom. We have often complained that the greatest Part of Our Peers and of the Members of Our House of Commons could not, with Safety to their Honour and Person, continue and vote freely among you; but, by Violence and cunning Practices, were debarred of those Privileges, which their Birthrights, and the Trust reposed in them by their Countries, gave them; the Truth whereof may sufficiently appear by the small Number of those that are with you. We have offered you to meet both Houses in any Place free and convenient for Us and them. But We could never receive the least Satisfaction in any of these Particulars; nor for those scandalous and seditious Pamphlets and Sermons which swarm amongst you. That's all one, you tell Us: It is now for Our Honour, and the Safety of Our Royal Person, to return to Our Parliament, wherein your formerly denying Us a negative Voice gives Us just Cause to believe that, by giving yourselves that Name without Us, you intend not to acknowledge Us to be a Part of it.

"The whole Kingdom knows, that an Army was raised, under Pretence of Orders of both Houses (an Usurpation never heard of before in any Age), which Army hath pursued Us in Our own Kingdom, gave Us Battle at Kenton, and endeavoured to take away the Life of Us and Our Children; and yet (these Rebels being newly recruited, and possessed of Our City of London) We are courteously invited to return to Our Parliament there; that is, into the Power of this Army. Doth this signify any other Thing than that, since the traiterous Endeavours of those desperate Men could not snatch the Crown from Our Head (it being defended by the Providence of God, and the Affections and Loyalty of Our good Subjects), We should now tamely come up and give it them, and put Ourselves, Our Life, and the Lives, Liberties, and Fortunes of Our good Subjects, into their merciful Hands? Well, We think not fit to give any other Answer to this Part of your Petition: But, as We impute not this Affront to both Our Houses of Parliament, nor to the major Part of those that are now present there, but to that dangerous Party We and the whole Kingdom must cry out upon; so We shall, for Our good Subjects sake, and out of the most tender Sense of their Miseries, and the general Calamities of this Kingdom, which must (if this War continue) speedily overwhelm this whole Nation, take no Advantage of it; but, if you shall really pursue what you presented to Us at Colebrooke, We shall make good all that We then gave you in Answer to it; whereby the Hearts of Our distressed Subjects may be raised with the Hopes of Peace; without which, Religion, the Laws and Liberties, can no Ways be settled and secured. Touching the late and sad Accident you mentioned, if you thereby intended that of Braintford, We desire you once to deal ingenuously with the People, and to let them see Our last Message to you, and Our Declarations to them concerning the same (both which We sent to Our Press at London, but were taken away from Our Messenger, and not suffered to be published); and then We doubt (fn. 2) not but they will be soon undeceived, and easily find out those Counsels, which do rather persuade a desperate Division than a good Agreement betwixt Us, Our Two Houses, and People."

Adjourn.

House adjourned till 10 ^a cras.