THE PRESENT MEANS

AND

BRIEF DELINEATION

OF

A FREE COMMONWEALTH,

Eafy to be put in Practice, and without Delay.

IN A LETTER TO GENERAL MONK.

Published from the Manufcript.

IRST, all endeavours fpeedily to be used, that the enfuing election be of fuch as are already firm, or inclinable to conftitute a free commonwealth, (according to the former qualifications decreed in parliament, and not yet repealed, as I hear) without fingle perfon, or houfe of lords. If these be not fuch, but the contrary, who forelees not, that our liberties will be utterly loft in this next parliament, without fome powerful courte taken, of speedieft prevention? The speedieft way will be to call up forthwith the chief gentlemen out of every county; to lay before them (as your excellency hath already, both in your publifhed letters to the army, and your declaration recited to the members of parliament) the danger and confufion of readmitting kingship -in this land; etpecially againft the rules of all prudence and example, in a family once ejected, and thereby not to be trufted with the power of revenge: that you will not longer delay them with vain expectation, but will put into their hands forthwith the poffeffion of a free commonwealth; if they will firft return immediately and elect them, by fuch at leaft of the people as are rightly qualified, a ftanding council in every city and great town, which may then be dignified with the name of city, continually to confult the good and flourishing state of that place, with a competent territory adjoined; to affume the judicial laws, either thofe that are, or fuch as they themfelves

themfelves fhall new make feverally, in each commonalty, and all judicatures, all magiftracies, to the adminiltration of all juftice between man and man, and all the ornaments of public civility, academies, and fuch like, in their own hands. Matters appertaining to men of feveral counties or territories, may be determined, as they are here at London, or in fome more convenient place, under equal judges.

Next, That in every fuch capital place, they will choole them the ufual number of ableft knights and burgeffes, engaged for a commonwealth, to make up the parliament, or (as it will from henceforth be better called) the Grand or General Council of the Nation: whofe office muft be, with due caution, to difpofe of forces, both by fea and land, under the conduct of your excellency, for the prefervation of peace, both at home and abroad; muft raife and manage the public revenue, but with provident infpection of their accompts; must adminifter all foreign affairs, make all general laws, peace or war, but not without affent of the ftanding council in each city, or fuch other general affembly as may be called on fuch occafion, from the whole territory, where they may, without much trouble, deliberate on all things fully, and fend up their fuffrages within a fet time, by deputies appointed. Though this grand council be perpetual (as in that book I proved would be beft and moft conformable to beft examples) yet they will then, thus limited, have fo little matter in their hands, or power to endanger our liberty; and the people fo much in theirs, to prevent them, having all judicial laws in their own choice, and free votes in all thofe which concern generally the whole commonwealth, that we fhall have little caufe to fear the perpetuity of our general fenate; which will be then nothing elfe but a firm foundation and cuftody of our public liberty, peace, and union, through the whole commonwealth, and the tranfactors of our affairs with foreign nations.

If this yet be not thought enough, the known expedient may at length be ufed, of a partial rotation.

Laftly, if thefe gentlemen convocated refuse these fair and noble offers of immediate liberty, and happy condi

tion, no doubt there be enough in every county who will thankfully accept them; your excellency once more declaring publicly this to be your mind, and having a faithful veteran army, fo ready, and glad to affift you in the profecution thereof. For the full and abfolute adminiftration of law in every county, which is the difficulteft of thefe propofals, hath been of moft long defired; and the not granting it held a general grievance. The reft, when they fhall fee the beginnings and proceedings of thefe conftitutions propofed, and the orderly, the decent, the civil, the fafe, the noble effects thereof, will be foon convinced, and by degrees come in of their own accord, to be partakers of so happy a government.

THE

READY AND EASY WAY

TO ESTABLISH A

FREE COMMONWEALTH,

AND THE EXCELLENCE THEREOF,

Compared with the

INCONVENIENCIES AND DANGERS

Of readmitting KINGSHIP in this NATION.

Et nos

Confilium dedimus Syllæ, demus populo nunc.

LTHOUGH, fince the writing of this treatise, the

face of things hath had fome change, writs for new elections have been recalled, and the members at firft chofen readmitted from exclufion; yet not a little rejoicing to hear declared the refolution of those who are in power, tending to the establishment of a free commonwealth, and to remove, if it be poffible, this noxious humour of returning to bondage, inftilled of late by fome deceivers, and nourished from bad principles and falfe apprehenfions among too many of the people; I thought beft not to fupprefs what I had written, hoping that it may now be of much more use and concernment to be freely published, in the midft of our elec tions to a free parliament, or their fitting to confider freely of the government; whom it behoves to have all things reprefented to them that may direct their judgment therein; and I never read of any state, scarce of any tyrant grown fo incurable, as to refufe counfel from any in a time of public deliberation, much lefs to be offended. If their abfolute determination be to inthrall us, before so long a Lent of fervitude, they may VOL. III. permit

DD

permit us a little throvingtime first, wherein to speak freely, and take our leaves of liberty. And because in the former edition, through hafte, many faults efcaped, and many books were fuddenly difperfed, ere the note to mend them could be fent, I took the opportunity from this occafion to revife and fomewhat to enlarge the whole difcourfe, especially that part which argues for a perpetual fenate. The treatise thus revised and enlarged, is as follows.

The Parliament of England, affifted by a great number of the people who appeared and stuck to them faithfulleft in defence of religion and their civil liberties, judging kingship by long experience a government unneceffary, burdenfome, and dangerous, juftly and magnanimoufly abolished it, turning regal bondage into a free commonwealth, to the admiration and terrour of our emulous neighbours. They took themselves not bound by the light of nature or religion to any former covenant, from which the king himfelf, by many forfeitures of a latter date or difcovery, and our own longer confideration thereon, had more and more unbound us, both to himfelf and his pofterity; as hath been ever the juice and the prudence of all wife nations, that have ejected tyranny. They covenanted "to preserve the king's perfon and authority, in the preservation of the true religion, and our liberties;" not in his endeavouring to bring in upon our confciences a popish religion; upon our liberties, thraldom; upon our lives, destruction, by his occafioning, if not complotting, as was after difcovered, the Irish maffacre; Iris fomenting and arming the rebellion; his covert leaguing with the rebels against us; his refufing, more than feven times, propofitions moft juft and neceflary to the true religion and our liberties, tendered him by the parliament both of England and Scotland. They made not their covenant concerning him with no difference between a king and a God; or promised him, as Job did to the Almighty, "to truft in him though he flay us:" they understood that the folemn engagement, wherein we all forfwore kingship, was no more a breach of the covenant, than the covenant was of the proteftation before, but a faith

ful