This laid religion, liberty, and all, at the mercy of absolute
power and popish tyranny; and still more and more cut off the people of
God from having any hopes of mercy from their bloody enemies; on the
contrary, the duke of _York_, in his letter to his first parliament,
recommends and requires them to leave no means unattempted, for the
extirpation of the poor wandering sufferers, whom he brands with the
odious names of murderers and assassins, wild and inhuman traitors, &c.
And these his ready servants and bloody executioners, came nothing short
of his orders in the execution of them; so that there were more murdered
in cold blood in the open fields, without all shadow of law, trial or
sentence, more banished and sold as slaves, condemned and executed, &c.,
in the time of this usurper, than in all the time of the former tyrant.
As the honest sufferers, consistent with their testimony for truth, in
opposition both to the secret and open subvertors of the cause and state
of Zion's quarrel with her enemies, could not concur in _Argyle's_
declaration (although there were many things in it materially good, and
commend-worthy), nor join in a military association with him, on account
(among other things) of the too promiscuous admission of persons to
trust in that party, who were then, and afterward discovered themselves
to be, enemies to the cause.
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