HIS MAJESTY'S DECLARATION, IN ANSWER TO A DECLARATION Of the LORDS and COMMONS assembled in PARLIAMENT,  
For the raising of all Power, and Force, as well Trained Bands as others in several Counties of this Kingdom, to lead against all Traitors and Their ADHERENTS, etc.  
Printed at Oxford by His MAJESTY'S COMMAND.  
By LEONARD LICHFIELD, Printer to the University. 1642.   

HIS Majesty's Declaration, in Answer to a Declaration of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, etc.  
AS much experience as We have had of the inveterate rancour, and high Insolence of the Malignant Party against Us, We never yet saw any expression come from them, so evidently declaring it, as the Declaration, entitled, A Declaration of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, for the raising of all power and force, as well Trained-bands as others in several Counties of this Kingdom, to lead against all Traitors, and their Adherents. etc. In which, that faction hath, as it were distilled, and contracted all their Falsehood, Insolence, and Malice. There being in it not one Period, which is not either slanderous, or Treasonable. And nothing can more grieve Us, then that by their infinite Arts, and Subtlety (employed by their perpetual and indefatigable Industry) and by that Rabble of Brownists, and other schismatics, declaredly ready to appear at their Call, they should have been able so to draw away some, and drive away others of Our good Subjects from Our Parliament, as to prevail with the Major part remaining of both Houses (how much soever that Major part be the smaller in comparison of the whole) to suffer that name (whose Reverence by all means We desire to preserve) to be so soiled, as to be prefixed to a paper of this unsufferable nature; that tends not only to the Destruction of Our Person, but to the Dissolution of this Government, and of all Society; If at least this Declaration (which We rather see cause to hope it hath not) have so much as been seen in the Houses, and be not the single work of the same Omnipotent Committee, to which is devolved the whole power of the Parliament, and which, as We understand, is trusted (without acquainting the Houses) to break up any man's house, and take away the Arms, and money intended to defend and feed him (if they shall see cause to suspect, that he meant to assist his Sovereign with them) and may well be as fully and implicitly trusted to Declare, as to Act, whatsoever they please. And though We doubt not, but to their utmost, they will continue that Injury to Us, and that violation of the Subjects Liberty, and of public Right, to vex and imprison those, who shall publish any of Our Answers to their Declarations, (and indeed whilst they affirm against all truth, and command against all Law, it concerns them to take care, that nothing be heard but what they say) yet Our comfort is, that Our Jntentions, and the Duty of Our Subjects, are so well, and so generally known to Our People, that we cannot fear (from whomsoever it come, and though no Answer came out with it) that either, what is there said, should be believed, or what is there commanded, should be obeyed. Who knows not that Our Commissions for horse and foot were not granted out, till not only Our Prerogative, but Our Propriety, Our Goods, Arms, Towns, Militia, and negative voice were taken from Us, and all the Kingdom commanded to be in Arms, and invited to bring in horse, plate, and money to frame an Army against Our command, and Proclamation, and till horse were raised and mustered accordingly, and then, with no Intention (nor hath any Action in any of our Ministers given the least suspicion of such an Intention) by them to compel Our subjects to submit to Our Commissions of Array, or make use of them against the Parliament, but to regain Hull, held out in Rebellion against Us; And to suppress all such, as without Our Authority, and against Our Commands should raise forces in this Our Kingdom, and levy war against Us, under pretence of any order or ordinance of one or both Houses: & such traitorous Assemblies and Marches have been the only lawful and necessary Occasions of Our good subjects, which have not been so much as interrupted by any Troops of Ours; And what is affirmed of the spoiling and killing them, as they were so travelling under Our Protection, and according to law, is a most malicious Affirmation, as well without truth, as without instance, invented at once to make Our Troops terrible, and Us odious to Our People. What care have we taken that by this means the power of the sword should not come into the hands of Papists, who have by Our Proclamation strictly charged that no Papist should presume to list himself, either as Officer, or Soldier in this Our Army, having directed how he should be discovered, if he did presume, and suffer, if he were discovered? What care have We taken to avoid Combustion, and Civil war, offering to lay down Our Arms, when they shall have laid down theirs, in whom it was Treason to take them up, and restored Us those things, which could not without Treason, as well as injustice be forced away, and kept from Us, Our Arms, Ships, Town, etc. And when we might meet both Our Houses in a safe and secure place to debate freely of all the differences in a Parliamentary way. And by whose Influences these Propositions were received, & whether the Proposer, or rejecters were most careful to avoid this ruin and Desolation of the Kingdom, we leave all the world to judge, and whether they, who divert the men and money, collected for the relief of distressed Ireland, to raise forces against their Prince, (who asks the nothing, but what is legal, nor will deny them any thing that is) do not join with the Popish and Jesuitical faction in the bloody Massacre of many Thousand Protestants in that miserable Kingdom. We propose likewise to every man's judgement, whether the declaring those to be Traitors, who execute Our Commission of Array (issued in so many Kings Reigns, agreed upon by Parliament, and there yielded to by the King, to be settled, as now it is, as a matter of great grace. And since that time which was in the 5ᵒ Hen. 4. In no Parliament complained of) whilst our good Subjects are vexed and imprisoned, not only for resisting, but for humbly petitioning so, as may seem but to insinuate something against their most illegal Commands concerning the Militia. (To which power of commanding no Title can be made by any Statute, or any Precedent, nor can we ever find by search, nor obtain to be told, what those fundamental Laws are, by which it is pretended. So deep those foundations are laid, beyond all means of discovery.) And the Declaring that those, who raise men, by virtue of Our Command, & Commission (the only legal way) traitorously and rebelliously levy war against the King, and ordaining it to be lawful for all Our Subjects by force of Arms to resist them, and their Accomplices, and the raising of forces by Authority of Parliament (that is, by the remaining part of both Houses) never in the most outrageous times before attempted, & commanding several Persons, whom they call Lieutenants to lead, and giving them power to transport from one County to another, the forces of several of Our Counties against them; and to kill and slay all such, as by force shall oppose them, Ourselves not excepted, commanding all Our Officers and Subjects to be assisting to them, and undertaking to secure them for so doing, by the power and Authority of Parliament (which is first to allow, and next to command, & then to pardon Treason) be not to have already subverted, as much as in them lies, the Liberty of the Subject, the law of the Land, and altered the ancient government of the Kingdom, leaving Our Subjects without all Rule to walk by, when the most clear Laws cannot direct and secure them, and they see all those ancient bounds passed over, which were ever as much known to be the Duty of both Houses to observe, as it was Evident, that there were, and that it was necessary that there should be Two Houses of Parliament; and at once behold the law (which is to defend and protect the Subject) and Us, (who are to protect and defend the Law) need Defence, and Protection; We doubt not therefore, but all Our good Subjects will come in to Our Assistance, and that this wicked charge of intending to introduce Popery, Idolatry, and Arbitrary Government, laid by Implication upon us (because we defend Ourselves, and would recover Our own) will be so fare from being a Motive against Us, that this intolerable Indignity, and damnable scandal, (so daily and visibly confuted by all Our Professions and Actions) will increase Our good Subjects zeal towards Us, and their Indignation against the Contrivers; And they will esteem themselves obliged by the Religion of Almighty God, to oppose this war, so impiously, so treasonably, and so groundlessly made upon Us their King, and his Anointed.  
We therefore require all Our Commissioners of Array, Sheriffs, and all Our other Officers and Ministers to raise all the power and forces of their several Counties to assist the marquis of Hertford, the Earl of Northampton, the Lord Willoughby of Eresby, the Lord Dunsmore, the Lord Pawlett, the Lord Seymour, Henry Hastings Esquire, Sir john Stowell, Sir Ralph Hopton, john Digby Esquire, and all other in the legal and necessary Execution of Our Commissions of Array, and in the raising and conducting of such Horse and Foot, as shall be raised by Our Commission: and by force of Arms to oppose the Earl of Essex, the Lord Say, and all other, that shall raise, or conduct any Forces raised by pretence of Authority of both Houses, and the Persons of all such Traitors, and their Adherents, and Accomplices to Arrest and Imprison, to the end they may be brought to a fair and legal trial, by their Peers, and according to the Law. And this we require from them, as they tender the Defence of Our Person, the true Religion, the Law of the Land, the Liberty, and Property of the Subject, and the true and just Privileges of Parliament. And for so doing, they shall be defended and secured by Us, and by the Law; with whom, and with which, we doubt not but Our Subjects will sooner choose to live and die, them with the Earl of Essex and his Adherents.  
FINIS.