A letter from Sir George Booth to a friend of his shewing the reasons of his present engagement in defence of his countries liberties, &c. Delamer, George Booth, Baron, 1622-1684. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A82295 of text R211231 in the English Short Title Catalog (Thomason 669.f.21[66]). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 5 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-IV TIFF page image. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2017 A82295 Wing D871 Thomason 669.f.21[66] ESTC R211231 99869961 99869961 163561 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A82295) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 163561) Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 247:669f21[66]) A letter from Sir George Booth to a friend of his shewing the reasons of his present engagement in defence of his countries liberties, &c. Delamer, George Booth, Baron, 1622-1684. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n., [London : 1659] Sir George Booth = Baron Delamer. In support of a free Parliament. Signed and dated at end: George Booth. Chester Aug. 2. 1659. Imprint from Wing. Annotation on Thomason copy: "August 5.". British Library copy cropped at head, with some loss of print. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. eng England and Wales. -- Parliament -- Early works to 1800. Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1649-1660 -- Early works to 1800. A82295 R211231 (Thomason 669.f.21[66]). civilwar no A letter from Sir George Booth to a friend of his; shewing the reasons of his present engagement in defence of his countries liberties, &c. Delamer, George Booth, Baron 1659 869 2 0 0 0 0 0 23 C The rate of 23 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the C category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-10 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-10 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-11 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2007-11 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion 〈…〉 present Engagement in Defence of his Countries Liberties , &c. ●IR , I Think my self , and the Gentlemen and others you know to be now engaged with me , have no hopes by new Troubles to better our present condition ; with thankfulness we may say it , God hath made our Lot larger than our Desires in that kind ; and we suppose by that blessing , put an obligation upon us , as we are considerable Members of our Countrey , to have more sober and couragious thoughts in time of extremity than other men have : And though the Indifference that lies upon other mens spirits might flat ours , yet we tannot think , but if it were represented to them , how the present Power doth obliege us to put out our right Eyes , when they require us to acknowledge them as a Parliament , and lay upon us such heavy and grievous Burthens , and such deceitful ones , as a Years Tax in Three Moneths , besides the many other Impositions of Excise , &c. And by raising among us a Militia , they cut off our right Hand , by subjecting us under the meanest and most fanatick Spirits of the Nation , under pretence of Protection ; their spirits would be warmed into the same zeal and indignation that ours are kindled with . Now consider what it is we ask , and consider whether it be not the same thing we have asserted with our Lives and Fortunes ? A Free Parliament : And what a slavery it is to our Understandings , that these men that now call themselves a Parliament , should declare it an act of Illegality and Violence in the late aspiring General Cromwell , to dissolve their Body in 1653. and not make it the like in the garbling the whole Body of the Parliament from 400 to 40 , in 1648. What is this , but to act what they condemne in others ? Why do they associate themselves to the present Army , or indeed to the present Commanders in chief , and keep out their numerous and fellow-Members , if committing Violence on a Parliament be so notorious a crime ? And how do they teach the Souldiers boldly to do that , which themselves practise , and make them Instruments of ? What is this , but under another shape to act the condemned acts of Usurpation and Tyranny in their old General ? What is this , but to necessitate men to complain ? and upon Complaints , to be invaded by their power , so to raise ( if the English Spirits be not dissolved into baseness and aptitude for Slavery ) a Civil War , and to endevour to water their owne root with the blood of many thousands of their Countrey-men ; or to gape after those Confiscations , which by a Victory , upon presumption of the unity of their Army , they hope to gain over all those that dare with danger assert their Liberties , ( which presumption yet may fail them ; for the Souldier hath , and may declare himself , no Mercenary but an English Freeman ; which indeed , thought it be now contrary to his actions , may return into his thoughts again : ) And what will be the issue of all this ? A mean and Schismatical party must depress the Nobility and Understanding Commons ; the Land must waste it self , and Forainers , or others , must take the advantage of all . I dare say , I profess for my self , and the greatest part with me , we have no aspect but this singly , that we be not possest , as Waste Ground is , only by the title of Occupancy , or that the next that gets into the Saddle ride us . Let the Nation freely choose their Representatives , and they as freely sit without awe or force of Souldiery ; and whatever in such an Assembly is determined , shall be by us freely and cheerfully submitted unto . If this satisfie you , I am glad of it , for you are my noble Friend . I use it not as an Artifice either to engage you , or to make other Counties follow our Example . Which if they doe not , let their posterity judge their action and ours : For we were born for our Countrey ; and our Countrey , our Religion and Laws are in danger , and we will not be unconcerned : But we are faithful and peaceful in the Land , and if they in Authority will decline hostility , and agree of a means to admit the old Members of both Houses , or to call a new Free Parliament , Let him be ( and he only is truly ) a Traitor , that resolves not his Judgement and Obedience into their Determinations . I am ( SIR ) Chester Aug. 2. 1659. Your humble Servant GEORGE BOOTH .