330 HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. Aflei consultation with the ambassadors, who j " And the better to open your understandings brought him no other news than he expected be- in this affair, the king hvilh commanded me to say fore, though he would not seem to know it till then, somewhat to you from him, of the persons that do he presently summoned his parliament, and in j intervene in this business ; and somewhat of the open parliament propounded the cause of Britain consequence thereof, as it hath relation to this lo both houses, by his chancellor, Morton, Arch- kingdom, and somewhat of the example of it in iishop of Canterbury, who spake to this effect. general; making nevertheless no conclusion or My lords and masters, the king s grace, our judgment of any point, until his grace hath re- sovereign lord, hath commanded me to declare unto you the causes that have moved him at this time to summon this his parliament ; which I shall do in few words craving pardon of his grace, and you all, if I perform it not as I would. " His grace doth first of all let you know, that he retaineth in thankful memory the love and loyalty shown to him by you, at your last meeting, in establishment of his royalty; freeing and dis charging of his partakers, and confiscation of his traitors and rebels; more than which could not come from subjects to their sovereign in one action. This he taketh so well at your hands, as he hath made it a resolution to himself to communicate with so loving and well-approved subjects, in all affairs that are of public nature at home or abroad. " Two therefore are the causes of your present assembling : the one a foreign business, the other matter of government at home. " The French king, as no doubt ye have heard, maketh at this present hot war upon the Duke of Britain. His army is now before Nantz, and holdeth it straitly besieged, being the principal city, if not in ceremony and pre-eminence, yet in strength and wealth of that duchy. Ye may guess at his hopes, by his attempting of the hard est part of the war first. The cause of this war he knoweth best. He allegeth the entertaining and succouring of the Duke of Orleans, and some other French lords, whom the king taketh for his enemies. Others divine of other matters. Both parts have, by their ambassadors, divers times prayed the king s aids : the French king aids or neutrality ; the Britains aids simply ; for so their case, requireth. The king, as a Christian prince, and blessed son of the holy church, hath offered himself as a mediator to treat of a peace between them. The French king yieldeth to treat, but will not stay the prosecution of the war. The Britains that desire peace most hearken to it least ; not upon confidence or stiffness, but upon distrust of true meaning, seeing the war goes on. So as the king, after as much pains and care to effect a peace as ever he took in any business, not being able to remove the prosecution on the one side uor the distrust on the other, caused by that pro secution, hath let fall the treaty ; not repenting of it, but despairing of it now as not likely to suc ceed. Therefore by this narrative you now under stand the state of the question, whereupon the king prayeth your advice ; which is no other, but whether he shall enter into an auxiliary and de fensive war for the Britains against France ? ceived your faithful and politic advices. "First, for the king our sovereign himself, who is the principal person you are to eye in this busi ness ; his grace doth profess, that he truly and constantly desireth to reign in peace. But his grace saith he will neither buy peace with dis honour, nor take it up at interest of danger to en sue; but shall think it a good change, if it please God to change the inward troubles and seditions wherewith he hath been hitherto exercised into an honourable foreign war. And for the other two persons in this action, the French king and the Duke of Britain, his grace doth declare unto you, that they be the men unto whom he is of all other friends and allies most bounden : the one having held over him his hand of protection from the tyrant; the other having reached forth unto him his hand of help for the recovery of his king dom. So that his affection toward them in his natural person is upon equal terms. And where as you may have heard that his grace was en forced to fly out of Britain into France for doubts of being betrayed, his grace would not in any sort have that reflect upon the Duke of Britain in de facement of his former benefits ; for that he is thoroughly informed, that it was but the practice of some corrupt persons about him, during the time of his sickness, altogether without his con sent or privity. " But howsoever these things do interest his grace in this particular, yet he knoweth well that the higher bond that tieth him to procure by all means the safety and welfare of his loving sub jects, doth disinterest him of these obligations of gratitude otherwise than thus; that if his grace be forced to make a war, he do it without passion or ambition. " For the consequence of this action towards this kingdom, it is much as the French king s in tention is. For if it be no more, but to range his subjects to reason, who bear themselves stout upon the strength of the Duke of Britain, it is no thing to us. But if it be in the French king s purpose, or if it should not be in his purpose, yet if it shall follow all one, as if it were sought, that the French king shall make a province of Britain, and join it to the crown of France ; then it is worthy the consideration, how this may import England, as well in the increasement of the great ness of France, by the addition of such a country, that stretcheth his boughs unto our seas, as in de priving this nation, and leaving it naked of so i firm and assured confederates as the Britains have
