A Remonſtrance from His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, and his Councell of VVarre.

THat ever ſince the Engagement of the arrmy at New­market Heath, his Excellency, with the Generall Offi­cers, and Generall Councell of the Army [to which that Engagement refers] have beene doing their duty and b•ſt endeavours for the good of the army & king­dome, according to the ends of that Engagement, and the Declarations and other Papers that have ſince paſt from the army: and in this [according to their conſciences, and the beſt of their un­derſtandings] they have done the utmoſt they could without preſent deſtruction to the Parliament, which in their opinions would inevita­bly have put the Kingdom into bloud and confuſion, and ſo both the Army and Kingdom into an incapacity or paſt all rationall hopes of at­taining or enjoying that ſatisfaction or ſecurity, for which the Engage­ment was entred into: and if they have neglected any thing, wherein they might have done better, They have been ready (as ſtill they are) to be convinc'd thereof, and to amend the default, and to hearken to what any man would ſoberly offer for that purpoſe, or to lead them to any thing better.

That while they have thus been doing their duty [beſides many o­ther interruptions or diverſions, by the deſignes and workings of Ene­mies] they have of late found the greateſt interruption to their pro­ceedings, by a few men, Members of the army, who [without any au­thority or juſt cauſe thereunto that we know of, aſſuming the name of Agents for ſeverall Regiments] have [for whatends we know no•] taken upon them to act as a divided party from the ſaid Councell and army, and aſſociating themſelves with, or rather [as we have juſt cauſe to believe] giving themſelves up to be acted or guided by divers pri­vate perſons that are not of the army] have endeavoured by various falſhoods and ſcandals, raiſed & divulged in Print, & otherwiſe againſt the Generall, the General Officers and Councell, to poſſeſſe the Army & kingdome with jealouſies of them, & prejudice againſt them [as if they were taln from their principles, had broken their Engagements & Declarations, & thereby forfeited their Truſt, & were in their whole proceedings falſe and treacherous both to the army and Kingdome. ] and by theſe & other practiſes, the ſaid agents & their aſſociates, have laboured to make parties and factions in the army, to raiſe diſcontents, muti•ies, and diſorders therein, to divide the ſouldiers from the Offi­cers, & both Officers & ſouldiers amongſt themſelves, and to withdraw ſeverall parts of the army from their duty & obedience to the Gene­rals Orders (and that) in things moſt neceſſary for the ſafety of the ar­my and Kingdome.

And thus while they cauſeleſly cry out againſt breach of Engage­ments, and dividing the army, they themſelves have made, or endeavou­red to make the greateſt breaches of the Engagements, & greateſt divi­ding of the army that can be; a dividing moſt truly contrary to the Engagement: a dividing, which is as bad & deſtructive, as disband­ing; even the diſſolution of all that Order, Combination, and Govern­ment, which is the Eſſence of anarmy: and under falſe deluſive preten­ces [that the Engagements have been broken] they have endeavoured really to looſen and draw the army off from its former Engagements, and to draw it into new Engagements, different from, and (in ſome things) deſtructive to the former; and have thus endangered the grea­teſt forfeiture of the Faith and Honour of the army, that ever it incur­red.

And whileſt they cry out, that there is nothing done, they themſelves have made the greateſt obſtructions, to the doing of any good for the army or Kingdome, both in the hinderances and delayes to our procee­dings, and the expence of time, which their workings have occaſioned (either to have ſatisfied them, (if it had been poſſible) or elſe to ſolve and quiet thoſe diſcontents and diſtractions which they have raiſed in the army) and alſo by the occaſions which the Parliament and King­dome (yea even our beſt friends in both) have thus received, to diſcou­rage them from complyance with, or confidence in, an army, ſo uncer­tain, ſo unſetled, ſo divided.

For theſe Cauſes, the Gen. hath thought fit to Randezvouz the Army or ſuch parts of it as are not fixt uppon neceſſary duty elſewhere. And having (with advice of the generall Councell,) ſent to the Parliament more importunately then before, for ſpeedy ſatisfaction to the Army in their juſt deſires (eſpecially in point of proviſion for conſtant pay, to a­void free Quarter, and of ſecurity for Arreares. ) thought it beſt (with the ſame advice) to diſmiſſe moſt of the Officers, and Agitators from the Head Quarters for a fortnight unto their reſpective Regiments to ſatisfie and compoſe thoſe diſcontents and diviſions which have thus been raiſed in them; and for eaſe to the Countrey and accomodation to the Souldiery (with reſpect to the ſeaſon of the yeare) thought fit to contract the Quarters of the Army in three Brigades, and to draw them to three ſeverall Randezvouzes, not far from each other, and this in order to one generall Randezvouz, if there ſhould be any occaſion: And, in this, the ſeverall Regiments of Horſe and Foote have been ap­pointed to conſtant Quarters in order to thoſe ſeverall Randezvouzes taking them directly in order as their ſeverall Quarters lay before, without any other reſpect or conſideration; but even theſe things the ſaid pretended Agents and their Aſſociates have laboured to pervert, &c. and make advantage of, to the aforeſaid ends of diſcontent and di­ſtraction, and to repreſent the ſame to the ſeverall Regiments as done in purſuance of the ſame treacherous Councells and deſi•n•s which they had before ſuggeſted, and what good they could not deny to be in the things, they aſſume to themſelves, as gained by their procurement, and ſo greedily catched at the ſole credit of it, as if the Gen. and his Councel, (but for them) had not done it, and by letters or Meſſages, contradicting the generall order, they have (under ſuch ſcandalous pre­tenc•s) laboured to draw divers Regiments from the Quarters and Randezvouzes to which they were ordered; unto the firſt Randezvouz neare Ware, in a diſorderly and confuſed manner to the oppreſſion of the Countrey and diſaccomodation (if not quarrelling and diſtraction) of the Souldiery quartering.

That without redreſſe of theſe abuſes and diſorders, his Excellency cannot nor will, any longer undergoe or undertake further to diſcharge his preſent Truſt to the Parliament, the Army and Kingdom.

That though he is farre above any ſuch lowe thoughts as to Court or wooe the Army to continue him their Generall, yet, to diſcharge himſelfe to the utmoſt, and bring the buſineſſe to a clear and certaine Iſſue, his Excellency does now declare.

That he is yet willing to adheare to and to conduct a•d live and dy with the Army in the lawfull proſecution of theſe things following viz.