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The Siege of Portsmouth August to September 1642.

Upon Thursday last, being the fourth of August, the Parliament received letters from Portsmouth, that Colonell Goring hath betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Parliament, and keepes Portsmouth now for his Majesty, and that one of his Captaines went about the Country and inticed divers men to go with him to Portsmouth, to doe an acceptable service, promising great rewards; but when they came there Colonel Goring tendred them a strict Oath to do service for the King, and such as refused to take it were turned back again, and he hath put the Towne in a posture of defence, and shut the Gates, and given command to the Garrison for keeping of the Towne for His Majesty, and he hath got above a 500 of Papists and others that are ill affected to the Parliament into the Towne to assist him, and that on Friday last there were carrying into the Towne 100 Carbines, Saddles, Pistols, and other Amunition, but the Parliament sent after to have them stayd, and that he hath kept 3000l. which he received from the Parliament to pay the arriers of the Garrison, and he refuses to give any money to those that will not take the Oath, and that he hath received 9000l. by the Earle of Portlands brother Master Weston, which Earle of Portland is committed into the custody of the Sherife of London, for feare he should comply with Colonell Goring, and command the Isle of Wight, but the Parliament hath given Order to the Earle of Warwick , to bring some ships hither to ly before it, with command for the safe guarding of the Seas against foraine invasion, and hath given orders that the Earle of Essex shall forthwith appoint Officers to levy Horse and Foote in those places, and forthwith to march with them before Portsmouth to kill, and slay all that oppose their passage, and to demand Portsmouth and the Castle top be delivered up to them, and to demand Colonell Goring, and to apprehend him as guilty of High Treason, and if he be denied to lay siedge against the Towne, and suppresse all that shall oppose them, and require aide of the next adjacent Countrys and the Isle of Wight if occasion requires; the Bishop of Winchester hath sent five Horses completely armed to Portsmouth, Sr. Kenelme Digby was suspected to have plotted, and confederated with Colonell Goring in betraying Portsmouth, and should have gon thither very sudenly, wherefore hee was by order by the House of Commons comitted to a Sergant at Armes. Also the Parliament hath appointed the Earle of Pembrook to the Governer of the Isle of Wight in the room of the Earle of Portland.

Whereas it may be collected by severall Declarations printed in the name of both Houses of Parliament, That the Kings sacred Person, the Protestant Religion, the Lawes of the Land, the Liberty and Propriety of the Subject, and priviledges of Parliament are all in danger.

We whose names are under-written doe voluntarily offer, and severally ingage our selves, according to the following Subscriptions, to assist His Majesty in defence of His Royall Person, the two Houses of Parliament, the Protestant Religion and the Lawes of the Land, the Liberty and Propriety of the Subject, and Priviledges of Parliament; when His Majesty shall have given Commission under the Great Seale, for levying of Forces for those purposes, against all power, Levies and Forces whatsoever, or to be raised upon any pretence whatsoever.

To pay Horses for three moneths, thirty days to the moneth, at two shillings and six pence per diem, still advancing a moneths pay, the first payment to begin so soon as the King shall call for it, after the Commissions shall be issued under the Great Seal. In this Number are not to be reckoned the horses of the Subscribers, or those that shall attend them.

	Horse			Horse
The Prince	200		L. Mowbray and Matravers	50
The Duke of York	120		L.Willoughby of Eresby	30
Lord Keeper	40		L. Rich	30
L.D. of Richmond	100		C. Ch. Howard of Charlton	30
L.M. Hertford	60		L. Newark	30
Earle of Lindsey	30		L. Paget	30
E. of Cumberland	50		L. Chandos	25
E. of Huntingdon	20		L. Thanet	100
E. of Bath	50		L. Fauconbridge: to come
E. of Southampton	60		L. Paulet	40
E. of Dorset	60		L. Lovelace	40
E. of Salisbury	40		L. Savile	50
E. of Northampton	40		L. Coventry	100
E. of Devonshire	60		L. Mohun	20
E. of Bristol	60		L. Dunsmore	40
E. of Westmoreland	20		L. Seymour	20
E. of Berkshire and L. Andover	30		L. Grey of Ruthin	20
E. of Monmouth	30		L. Capell	100
E. of Rivers	30		L. Falkland	20
E. of Newcastle	50		M. Comptroller	20
E. of Dover	25		M. Secretary Nicolas	20
E. of Carnarvan	20		M. Chancellor of the Exchequer	20
E. of Newport	50		L. Chief Justice Banks	20

Yorkshire doth raise, arme, and pay for three moneths		500
Leicestershire, levies, armes and payes		400
Lincolnshire, payes, armes and Levies foure troops or		300
Divers gentlemen of the Commons House of Parliament have voluntarily
subscribed to pay three moneths		464
Nottinghamshire, levies, armes, and payes three months		200
Herefordshire, raises, armes, and payes six moneths		169
The Kings Domestic servants pay for three months		100
The totall of the Horse	4284

Sir Bevill Grimfield undertakes for Cornwall	500.
The Bishopprick of Durham hath subscribed to contribute in money
3000l. hoping to make it up six thousand,
Newcastle are subscribing also with great chearfulness.
Hertfordshire hath sent in money	3000l.
Flintshire, Glamorganshire, and the whole Principality of Wales
hath likewise subscribed for great quantities of Horse and money.
Kent hath subscribed for	1000l.
The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, have already sent
His Majesty a voluntary summe of	6000l.

These were subscribed unto by the Gentry of the said severall counties, who was summoned by His Majesty to meete at Yorke on Thursday last, where the King and the Lords sat in the Chapter House, and the Gentry in the Deanery, being August 4, 1642