The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Council of the Camden Society For the Year 1890-91.
• Preface.
• The Clarke Papers.
• [ Letters From a Correspondent In London to a Friend In the Army. ]
• A Narrative of the Proceedings At Saffron-walden Since the Commissioners of Parliament Came Thither Concerning the Sending of Part of This Army Into Ireland.
• [ News-letter From London. ]
• [ News-letters From Saffron-walden. ]
• [ List of the Strength of the Army In Officers and Men. ]
• The Proceedings of the Army Under the Command of His Excellencie Sir Thomas Fairfax, Commencing May 1st, 1647.
• [ a Circular Letter to the Commanders of the Different Regiments. ]
• Letter Sent to the Collonells Or Cheife Officers of the Respective Regiments.
• [ News-letter From Saffron Walden. ]
• Advertisements For the Managing of the Councells of the Army. D
• Letter From a
• Relation From Walden.
• Letter From London.
• [ a Letter From London. ]
• [ Narrative of the Proceedings of Skippon and the Commissioners At Saffron Walden, May 6, 7, 1647 B ].
• [ Petition Enclosed In the Preceding Narrative ].
• Copie of the Letter From the Officers to the 8 Regiments.
• At the Convention of Officers At the Church In Saffron Walden Satturday May 15: 1647.
• Severall Speeches of Major Generall Skippon and Other Officers At the 2 D Meeting In Walden.
• ( the 4 Officers Advised Together. )
• ( the Letter Read. )
• Lettre From the Troopers In Sir Robert Pies Regiment.
• Heads of Proceedings In Walden Church. Sunday, 16 May, 1647. B (the Votes of Parliament Read.)
• [a Declaration From the Agitation of Eight Regiments of Horse.]
• To General Fairfax.
• Lettre From Sexby C to the Agitators.
• A Letter to the Agitators.
• Letter to the Agitators. B
• Letter From the Agitators to the Severall Regiments.
• [ Letter From the Agitators of Horse to the Horse In the North. ]
• Letter to the Agitators. B
• Letter From the 4 Officers to Mr. Speaker.
• The Heads of a Report to Be Made to the Honourable House of Commons By Lievtennant Generall Cromwell and Collonell Fleetwood In the Name of Themselves and the Best of the Officers In the Army and Members of That House Lately Sent Downe to the Army Whose N
• [ Letter to the Agitators. ] a
• Letter From Collonell White to the Generall a
• Lettre From a [         ] to the Agitators.
• [ Sir Thomas Fairfax to Field Marshal Skippon a .]
• Lettre From Derby House to the Generall.
• [ Letter From the Committee At Derby House to Sir T. Fairfax. ]
• [ to Sir Thomas Fairfax From the Committee At Derby House. ]
• [ Sir Thomas Fairfax to the Committee At Derby House. ]
• [ News-letter From London. a ]
• [ News-letter From London. ]
• [ a Letter From Cornet Joyce. C ]
• [ a Letter From Cornet Joyce. a ]
• [ a Letter From York. ]
• [ Colonel Whalley to Sir Thomas Fairfax. ] a
• [ Letter From Collonell Whalley to Sir Thomas Fairfax. a ]
• [ News-letter From Newmarket. a ]
• [ John Cosens to Alderman Adams. ]
• [ Letter to Skippon From Some One In the Army. ]
• [ Letter From Major Twistleton to His Excellencie. ]
• [ General Fairfax to Major Twistleton. ]
• [ Letter From Sir Thomas Fairfax to Collonell Whalley. ]
• [ Letter Intend [ Ed ] to Severall Counties Concerning the Armies Engagements. ]
• [ News-letter From London. ]
• [ News-letter From London. C ]
• [ News-letter From London June 14.]
• [ News-letter From London. ]
• [ Letter From the Earle of Warwick to the Generall ].
• [ the King to Sir T. Fairfax ].
• Letter to the Gentlemen of Severall Shires.
• Letter to Collonell Whalley [ From Sir Thomas Fairfax. a ]
• Letter to Collonell Whalley From Barkhamsted.
• [ News-letter From London to Sir T. Fairfax. ]
• [ Letter From General Poyntz to His Officers ].
• [ General Poyntz to Col. Lionel Copley. ]
• [ Fairfax to the Agitators of the Regiments of the Northern Association. a ]
• Passages the First Day of the Treaty.
• A Paper Read By Mr. Scawen With These Desires:
• First Paper Delivered By Our Commissioners ( After the Alteration Made to the Exception to the 2 D Offer ).
• [ News-letter From London. ]
• [ News-letter From London. ] a
• [ Letter From the Agitators Into Wales. ]
• [ Sir Thomas Fairfax to the Speaker of the House of Commons. ]
• [ News-letter From York. ]
• [ Letter From the Agitators In Yorkshire to Fairfax. ]
• [ Letter From the Agitators In the Northern Army to Fairfax. ]
• [ Letter From Fairfax to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of York. ]
• [ Articles Against General Poyntz. ]
• Representation of the Agitators Presented At the Generall Councill of Warr July 16, 1647.
• The Propositions Read. B
• [ News-letter From Head-quarters. ]
• [ Order Appointing Certain Officers to Perfect the Proposals of the Army. ]
• [ Order For Appointing a Committee of Officers. ]
• [ Letter From London, July, 26.]
• [ Speaker Lenthall to Sir Thomas Fairfax. ]
• [ News-letter From the Army ]
• [ the Earl of Warwick to Sir T. Fairfax. ]
• [ Major Huntington to Sir T. Fairfax. ]
• The Answer of the Agitators Read. a
• The Paper Called the Agreement Read.
• Att the Committee of Officers Appointed By the Generall Councill.
• [ Desires of the Army. ]
• [ Letter to a Commander In the North of England. ]
• Letter From Col. Robert Hammond.
• Appendix.
• Appendix A.: Colonel Wogan’s Narrative.
• Appendix B.: the Examination of the Three Troopers Who Delivered the Letter of the Soldiers to Major General Skippon, April 30, 1647.
• Appendix C.: A Letter of Col. Richard Grevis to Sir Philip Stapleton.
• Appendix D.: A List of the Agitators Elected In 1647.
• Appendix E.: Proceedings In the Council of the Army Between Nov. 3 and Nov. 8, 1647.
• Report of the Council of the Camden Society, Read At the General Meeting On the 2 Nd May, 1891.

[Letter from the Agitators into Wales.]

Honoured and Noble Friends and fellow Soldiers,

It being a time of contest for the just libertys of this Kingdom and Dominion annexed, with those unjust persons by whom they have been endeavoured to be subverted, wee, conceiving you lying under many of the same pressures as we doe, and so have just cause of complaint, and if so as little hopes of being heard as we have had, whose just petitions have been obstructed and we declared against as enemys to the State, and our fellow subjects have had theirs burnt; all which shews how they and we have been slighted in our most humble addresses, which to us seems to be the highest infringment of our undoubted priviledges that ever was by any acted professing to maintain them; and when our most clear and fundamentall priviledges shall be deneyed us, what may wee or can we expect? And whether all our lesser rights may not and be not at the present, by the arbitrary acting of these men totally cutt off, we leave you to judge. Especially considering the time when this was done; even immediately after the dear redemption of those precious priviledges out of the hand of our former enemys, with the expence of so much blood and treasure; and that in this very juncture of time, when we were expecting to see and reap the fruit of all our weary travails, they by this should in effect tell us, and the Kingdom with us, we should never reap any of them, but that we who had fought to sett our Selves and a Kingdom free should now in the issue be more compleatly slaves than ever, not having so much liberty as to petition in case of greivances. And thus are we dealt with, and while an Army having power in our hands, and they occasion to make further use of us; therefore you need not wonder tho’ you hear of such actings amongst us which at first view may seem strange, yet assure your selves that we are but acted by the very same principall we were at the first, by which we then endeavoured to keep our selves and the kingdom from being ruined by the exorbitant actings of prerogative Power, and shall still oppose the like power in any acting to the like ends; and this is all we aim at and are acting towards at this day, that the unjust oppressions lying upon the subjects of this Kingdom and other parts adjoyning might be removed, and that the just rights of all estates and persons therein might be restored, settled, and maintained, and this we desire and endeavour for every individuall person thereof. Which as soon as we have attained, according to the ends for which we were at first raised, we shall with all readiness and willingness lay down arms, or make use of them elsewhere, as the Parliament shall think fitt; but not till then can we in order to our own and the Kingdom’s safety. And thus have we thought fitt to communicate our condition to you (dear Friends) that so you might rightly inform your selves and others to the end you might still, (as formerly to your honour you have had) a share in pleading and maintaining of the just freedom of the nation at such a time when they were so much in question; and (truly) then to come in to assert and defend them, when others were endeavouring to suppress them. It is that which will sett a badge of honour upon such a people to posterity, that you should have your part in redeeming the kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales from oppression and slavery, and your children yet unborn shall bless God for you; which if not, consider what a blott of infamy will lye on you and us to after ages, if we shall sitt still in such a time as this, when it shall be said by them lying under oppression, ‘Our predecessors had a prize in their hands, and an opportunity offered to have freed us from it and have made us happy, but woe to us, through their neglects they have lett it slip, and left us in misery.’

Friends, our earnest desire is that you would seriously weigh and consider things in the ballance of Judgement according to truth, and to that end take heed of all false representations of our persons or actions by the suggestions of any given in to you, and judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgement, and then doubt not but you shall have the assistance of a righteous God, who hath promised to do more for you than all the unrighteous men in the world are able to do against you, and also the concurrent assistance of all just and rational men; and we trust the appearances of God will be such upon us as we shall see those characters of himself engraven upon us, and amongst us, even judgement, truth, and righteousness; and the contrary to these (in his own time) removed, which both by you and us we hope shall be jointly endeavoured. In the doing of which the Lord direct us, in whom we bid you heartily farewell.

Yours to use, acting in behalf of the Army
for the good of the Kingdom.

Cambridge,
12 July, 1647.

To our Honoured Freinds our fellow Soldiers, and others of the well affected in North Wales. These.a

[a ]Compare the letter from the Agitators to the Masters of Trinity House, June 18, 1647. Cary, Memorials, i., 237; Lords’ Journals, ix., 284. There is also amongst the Clarke Papers a letter of the Agitators dated 6 July, printed as “A Declaration from the Agitators in the name of the whole Army under. His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax (to their fellow-soldiers) of their Representations and Desires,” at the end of a pamphlet entitled “The King’s Majesty’s most Gracious Letter to his son James, Duke of York,” 1647.

There are also some other papers relating to Wales, and threatened disturbances there, in vol. xli. of the Clarke MSS. A paper delivered to Fairfax at St. Albans by Dr. Basset, on the grievances of Glamorganshire; a letter from Colonel Laugharne to Fairfax, June 18, 1647; the grievances of the County of Pembroke, articles against Colonel John Poyer, etc.