[A1650/11/8]¹

[The parliament's answer to the remonstrance submitted by the commissioners from the general assembly]

Answer to the remonstrance from the commissioners of the general assembly²

The king's majesty and estates of parliament, having, after mature deliberation, considered the remonstrance tendered to them upon 30 November 1650 by the commissioners of the general assembly, do with all thankfulness acknowledge their zeal and tender affection in giving so seasonable a warning to the parliament and judicatories to be humble for their sins in this time of sad affliction and trouble, which are the effects and fruits thereof. And albeit in the paper of 13 December 1650 from the parliament in answer to the said remonstrance it was incumbent to them to clear several points of truth in matter of fact and to remove prejudices off the public judicatories and members thereof which might arise from misinformation and mistakes and was thereupon offered to be a ground of conference, yet it was in no way thereby intended to extenuate their faults nor to justify themselves before God, in whose sight they profess and declare their unfeigned desire to be truly humbled, not only for the sins of the kingdom, but likewise for their own sins in the public administration of their places and for their personal guiltiness, especially that they have not as they ought valued the inestimable benefit of the Gospel or submitted themselves to the obedience thereof, that they have not received Christ in their hearts and walked worthy of him in their lives, which is the fountain and cause of other sins and failings, as was more fully held forth in the causes of the late public humiliation of the kingdom.

As they do think the addresses made to the king in his low condition and the using of lawful means to beget a right understanding between his majesty and this nation, that he might join in covenant with God and his people for the good of religion and of his kingdoms as the most powerful and probable means to restore him to his just rights, was a necessary duty, so if any who were employed in the managing of that great business and trust out of their forwardness and zeal to have the same speedily effectuated did use precipitancy in carrying on or closing of the treaty before full and perfect assurances of every condition demanded by this church and kingdom, they are confident when the same shall be made to appear they will be most willing to make an ingenuous confession and be sincerely humble for the same, and do bless God who moved the king to grant all that was desired so soon as he came to this kingdom. And although we have in this time of extreme danger to the cause and kingdom, after advice had from the commissioners of the general assembly, admitted many who were formerly excluded to be employed in the army in this defensive war against that army of sectaries, who, contrary to covenant and treaties, have most perfidiously invaded and are destroying this kingdom, not daring to omit so necessary a duty for fear of a future danger which may ensue upon the employment of such, yet it shall be our care so far as God shall give us power and strength that the cause be not thereby wronged, but carried on according to our first principles and grounds of the covenant, trusting that God will in the worst of times have a care of his own work and may make the present dangers and troubles to be a means of true repentance to those who have failed and to unite us the more strongly together in this just and necessary defensive war against the common enemy.

We confess our guiltiness for our slowness in purging the king's family from scandalous and disaffected persons and for not debarring malignant and disaffected persons from access to his majesty, which is of most dangerous consequence, and shall endeavour according to our power that the king's family may be constituted of persons of known integrity and affection to the cause and covenant and faithful to the king and kingdom, knowing that the counsels and practices of such as are in trust about his majesty and have access to his royal person may have great influence upon both.

We do acknowledge the oppressions of the officers and soldiers by exorbitant quarterings, by unjust exactions, for supernumeraries, plunderings and taking of money for men, the applying of the same to their own use, and wanting the men they should have for defence of the kingdom, to be a very grievous sin and betraying of the trust reposed in them, of which we do not hold ourselves guiltless in so far as (notwithstanding the many acts made for punishing these crimes and oppressions) the committers thereof are not yet brought to trial and appropriate punishment, which we shall, God willing, endeavour to amend.

The oppressions of many poor tenants which cries loud in the ears of the Lord has been a sin much abounding in the land, from which we dare not purge ourselves to be free in exacting more from poor tenants than they could well pay, even in the time of peace, without leading a poor and miserable life, and not relieving them from public burdens in time of war, so much as we ought, whereof, though some be less guilty than others, yet there has not been such tenderness and compassion herein as should have been, which is a just cause of public humiliation.

Upon serious and impartial examination of our own ways and conversation, we do ingenuously confess (besides the public sins of our administration in our places) that we have the guiltiness of many domestic and personal sins to be humbled for before God. We have fallen from our first love. We have not that zeal, unity and courage we had for the cause at the renewing of our covenant in the beginning of this work of reformation. Our former amity and unity are turned into jealousy and division. There is not that self denial nor that publicness of spirit and sincere walking that ought to be in the cause of God and of public work as we are honoured to be actors in. And if beside these faults there be any accusation or particular challenge against us or any one of us, we are most willing and desirous that any man that can give evidence of our faults and failings in an orderly and legal way may be pleased to do the same, and we shall not shun any just trial or censure, praying that the Lord may turn us from the evil of our ways and that he may turn away his wrath and heavy indignation from the land, and that we may in his strength go actively about the speedy performance of these duties we owe to religion, our king and bleeding country which have been clearly represented and seriously recommended to us by the reverend commissioners of the general assembly, and to which we are so strictly bound by our solemn vows and covenant.