times a year and more often if need be Also there shall be assigned good and lawfull men in every County to keep the peace And at the time of the assignments 33. Ed. 1 30. 20. Ed. 3. 6. Fitz. N. B. fo 251. 1. Ed. 3. 16. 18. Ed. 3. â— 34. Ed. 3. 1. 13. R. 2. 7. mention shall he made that such as shall be indicted or taken by the said keepers of the Peace shall not be let to mainprise by the Sheriffes nor by none other ministers if they be not mainpernable by the Law Not that such us shall be indicted shall not be deliveâ—ed but at the Common Law And the Iustices assigned to deliver the Gaoles shall have power to deliver the same Gaoles of those that shall be indicted before the keepers of the peace And that the said keepers shall send their indictments before the Iustices and they shall have power to inquire of Sheriffes Gaolers and other in whose ward such indicted persons shall be if they make deliverance or let to mainprise any so indicted which be not mainpernable and to punish the said Sheriffes Gaolers and others if they doe any thing against this Act. The 4. of Ed. 3. Ch. 10. fol. 122. Sheriffes Gâ—olers shal receive offenders without any thing taking ITem whereas in times past Sheriffes and gaolers of Gaoles would not receive theeves persons appealed indicted or found with the maner taken and attached by the Constables and townships without taking great fines and ransomes of them for their receit whereby the said Constables and Townships have been unwilling to take thieves and felons because of such extream charges and the theeves and the felons the more incouraged to offend It is inacted that the Sheriffes and Gaolers shall receive and safely keep in prison from henceforth such theeves and felons 3. E. 1. 26. 11. Ed 4. fol. 4. 32. H 6 10. by the delivery of the Constables and townships without taking any thing for the receipt And the Iustices assigned to deliver the Gaole shall have power to heare their complaints that will complain upon the Sheriffes and Gaolers in such case and moreover to punish the Sheriffes and Gaolers â—f they be found guilty The 4. of Edward the 3. Chap. 14. fol. 122. A Parliament shall be holden once every yeare ITem it is accorded that a Parliament shall be holden every yeare once and more often if need be Stat. 36. â—d 3. 10. The 14. of Edward the 3. Chap. 5. fol. 133. Delayes of iudgement in other Courts shall be redressed in Parliament ITem because divers mischiefes have hapned for that in divers places as well as in the Chancery as in the Kings Bench the common Bench and in the Eschequer before the Iustices assigned and other Iustices to heare and determine deputed the judgements have been delayed sometime by difficulty and sometime by divers opinions of the Iudges and sometime for some other cause It is assented established and accorded that from henceforth at every Parliament shall be chosen a Prelate two Earles and two Barons which shall have commission and power of the King 2 H. 7. fo 19 22. Ed. 3. fo 3. to heare by petition delivered to them the complaints of all those that will complain them of such delayes or grievances done to them and they shall have power to cause to come before them at Westminster or else where the places of any of them shall be the â—â—nor of records and processes of such judgements so delayed and to cause the same Iustices to come before them which shall be then present to heare their cause and reasons of such delayes Which cause and reason so heard by good advice of themselves the Chancellor Treasurer the Iustices â—f the one Bench and of the other and other of the Kings Councell as many and such as they shall thinke convenient shall proceed to take a good accord and make a good judgement And according to the same accord so taken the tenor of the said record together with the judgement which shall be accorded shall be remanded before the Iustices before whom the plea did depend And that they hastily goe to give judgement according to the same record And in case it seemeth to them that the difficultie be so great that it may not well be determined with out assent of the Parliament that the said tenor or tenors shall be brought by the said Prelates Earles and Barons unto the next Parliament and there shall be a finall accord taken what judgement ought to be given in this case And according to this accord it shall be commanded to the Iudges before whom the plea did depend that they shall proceed to give judgement without delay And to begin to doe remedy upon this ordinance It is assented that a commission and power shall be granted to the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury the Earles of Arundell and Huntington the Lord of Wake and the Lord Raise Basset to endure till the next Parliament And though the ministers have made an oath before this time yet neverthelesse to remember them of the same oath It is assented that as well the chancellor treasurer keeper of the privie seale the Iustices of the one Bench and of the other the Chancellor Barons of the Eschequer as the Iustices assigned and all they that doe meddle in the said places under them by the advice of the same Arch-Bishop Earles and Barons shall make an oath well and lawfully to serve the King and his people And by the advice of said Prelate Earls and Barons be it ordained to increase the number of Ministers when need shal be them to diminish in the same manner And so from time to time when officers shal be newly put in the said offices they shal be sworn in the same maner St. 27 El. 8 Regist fo 17. Rast Pla. fo 30â— The Oaths of the Iustices being made Anno 18. Ed. 3. Anno Domini 1344. fol. â—44 YE shall sweare that well and lawfully ye shall serve our Lord the King and his people in the office of Iustice and that lawfully ye shall councell the King in his businesse and that ye shall not councell nor assent to any thing which may turne him in damage or disherison by any maner way or colour And that ye shall not know the damage or disherison of him whereof ye shall not cause him to be warned by your selfe or by other and that ye shal doe equall Law and execution of right to all his subjects rich or poore without having regard to any person And that ye take not by your self or by other prively nor apartly gift nor reward of gold nor silver not of any other thing which may turne to your profit unlesse it be meat or drinke and that of small value of any man that shall have any plea or processe hanging before you as long as the same processe shall so be hanging nor after for the same cause And that ye take no see
resident within the Shire where they shall be chosen the day of the date of the Writ of the summons of the Parliament And that the Kniâ—hts and Esquires and other which shall be choosers of those Knights of the Shires be also resident within the same Shires in manner and forme as is aforesaid Rast pl. fo 446. And moreover it is ordained and established that the Citizens and Burgesses of the Cities and Boroughs be chosen men Citizens and Burgesses resiant dwelling and free of the same cities and boroughs and no other in any wise 7. H. 4. 15. 8 H. 6. 7. 10. H. 6. 2. 23. H. â— 15. The 2. of Henry 5. Chap. 1. and 3. fol. 282. What sort of men shall be Iustices of the Peace FIrst that the Iustices of the peace from henceforth to be made within the Counties of England shall be made of most sufficient persons dwelling in the same counties by the advice of the Chancellor and of the Kings Councell without taking other persons dwelling in forain Counties to execute such office except the Lords and Iustices of Assises now named and to be named by the King and his Councell 1. Ed. 3. 16. 34. Ed. 3. 1. And except all the Kings chiefe Stewarde of the Land and Seigniories of the Duchie of Lancaster in the North parts and in the South for the time being 13. R. 2. 7. Chap. 3. Of what estate those Iurors must be which are to passe touching the life of man plea reall to forty markes damages ITem the King considering the great mischiefes and disherisons which daily happen through all the realm of England as well in case of death of a man as in case of freehold and in other cases by them which passe in enquests in the said cases which be common Iurors and other that have for little to live upon but by such inquests and which have nothing to loose because of their false oaths whereby they offend their conscience the more largely and willing thereof to have correction and amendment 2. H. 7. fo 13. 10. H. 7. fo 14. 9. H. 5. fo 5. 10. H. 6. fo 7. 8. 18. 7. H. 6. fo 44. Dyer fo 144 Cook Inst part 1. 272. a. Rast pl. fo 117. hath ordained and established by assent of the Lords and Commons aforesaid that no person shall be admitted to passe in any enquest upon tryall of the death of a man nor in any enquest betwixt party and party in plea reall nor in plea personall whereof the debt or the damage declared amount to forty marks if the same person have not Land or Tenements of the yearly value of forty shillings above all charges of the same so that it be challenged by the party that any such person so impanelled in the same cases hath not Lands or tenements of the yearly value of forty shillings above the charges as afore is said 28. Ed. 3. 13. 8. H. 6 29. The 8. of Henry the 6. Chap. 7. fol. 304. What sort of men shall be choosers and who shall be chosen Knights of the Parliament ITem Whereas the election of Knights of Shires to come to the Parliament of our Lord the King in many Counties of the Realm of England have now of late been made by very great outragious and excessive number of people dwelling within the same Counties of the Realm of England of the which most part was of people of small substance * * This is a Statute of bondage and lesse of liberty 1. H. 5. 1. 10. H. 6. 2. 6. H. 6. 4. 11. H. 4. 1. 23. H. 6. 15. Rast pla fo 440. and of no value whereof every of them pretended a voice equivalent as to such elections to be made with the most worthy Knights and Esquires dwelling within the same Counties whereby manslaughters riots batteries and divisions among the Gentlemen and other peoples of the same Counties shall very likely rise and be unlesse convenient and due remedy be provided in this behalf Our Lord the King considering the premisses hath provided ordained and established by authority of this present Parliament that the Knights of the Shires to be chosen within the same Realm of England to come to the Parliaments of our Lord the King hereafter to be holden shall be chosen in every County of the Realm of England by people dwelling and resident in the same Counties whereof every one of them shall have land or tenement to the value of forty shillings by the year at least above all charges and that they which shall be chosen shall be dwelling and resident within the same Counties And such as have the greatest number of them that may EXPEND FORTY SHILLINGS by yeare and above as afore is said shall be returned by the Sheriffes of every County Knights for Parliament by Indentures sealed betwixt the said Sheriffes and the said choosers so to be made And every Sheriffe of the Realm of England shall have power by the said authority to examine upon the Evangelists every such choosâ—â— how much he may expend by the yeare And if any Sheriffes reâ—urn Knights to come to the Parliament contrary to the said Ordinance the Iustices of Assises in their Seasions of Assises shall have power by the authority aforesaid thereof to enquire And if by enquest the same he found before the Iustices and the Sheriffes thereof be duly attainted that then the said Sheriffe shall incuraâ—â— pain of an hundred pound to be paid to our Lord the King and also that he have imprisonment by a yeare without being leâ— to mainprise or baile And that the Knights for the Parliament returned contrary to the said Ordinance shall loose their wages 10. H. 6. 2. Provided alwayes that he which cannot expend forty shillings by yeare as afore is said shall in no wise be chooser of the Knights for the Parliament And that in every writ that shall hereafter goe forth to the Sheriffes to choose Knights for the Parliament mention be made of the said Ordinances The 18. of Henry the 6. Chap. 11. fol. 332. Of what yearely value in lands a Iustice of Peace ought to be ITem whereas by Statutes made in the time of the Kings noble Progenitors it was ordained that in every County of England Justices should be assigned of the most worthy of the same counties to keep the peace and to doe other things as in the same Statutes fully is contained 1. Ed. 3. 16 18. Ed. 3. 2. 13. R. 2. 7. 17. R. 2. 10. which Statutes notwithstanding now of late in many Counties of England the greatest number have been deputed and assigned which before this were not wont to be whereof some be of small behaviour by whom the people will not be governed nor ruled and some for their necessity doe great extortion and oppression upon the people whereof great inconveniences be likely to rise daily if the King therefore doe not provide remedy The King willing against such inconveniences to provide
other Court shall directly or indirectly or by any art shift colour or device have take or receive any money fee reward covenant obligation promise agreement or any other thing for his report or Certificate by writing or otherwise upon pain of the forfeiture of 100. l. for every such Report or Certificate and to be deprived of his office and place in the same Court the one moity of the said forfeitures to be our Soveraign Lord the King his heires and successors the other moity to the party grieved which will sue for the same at any time during the said suit or within one yeare after the same cause discontinued or decreed and in his default of such suit to him or them that will sue for the same by originall Writ Bill plaint or Information in his Majesties high Court of Star Chamber or in any his Majesties Courts of Record at Westminster in which suit by Writ Bill plaint or Information no wager of Law Essoin Priviledge Supersedeas Protection or any other delay shall be suffered or admitted Provided neverthelesse that it shall be lawfull for the Clerke to take for his paines for writing of every such Report or Certificate 12. d. for the first side and 2. for every side after and no more upon paine to forfeit 10. s. for every peny taken over and above the said summe to be had and recovered as aforesaid Having given you the most materiall Statutes that I conceive at present makes for your most advantage that I can find in the Statutes at large I shall here insert three or foure Statutes made this present Parliament that in my judgement is extraordinary well worth your knowledge and understanding the first thus followes Anno 17. Caroli Regis An Act for regulating of the Privie Councell and for taking away the Court commonly called the Star Chamber WHereas by the GREAT a a 9. H. 3. 29. CHRTER many times confirmed in Parliament It is inacted that no freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised of his free hold or Liberties or free Customes or be Outlawed or exiled or otherwise destroyed and that the King will not passe upon him or condemne but by lawfull judgement of his Peers or by the Law of the Land And by another Statute made in the b b 5. E 3. 9. fifth yeare of the Reigne of King Edward the third It is inacted That no man shall be attached by any accusation nor fore-judged of life or lim nor his Lands Tenements Goods nor Chattels seised into the Kings hands against the forme of the GREAT CHARTER and the law of the land And by another Statute made in the five and twentieth year c c 25 E. 3. 4. of the reigne of the same King Edward the third It is accorded assented and established that none shall be taken by petition or suggestion made to the King or to his Councell unlesse it be by Indictment or Presentment of good and lawfull people of the same Neighbourhood where such deeds be done in due manner or by Processe made by Writ originall at the Common Law and that none be put out of his Franchise or Free-hold unlesse he be by duty brought in to answer and fore-judged of the same by the course of the Law and if any thing be done against the same it shall be redressed and holden for none And by another Statute made in the 28 year d d 28. E. 3. 3. of the Reign of the same King Edward the third It is amongst other things inacted that no man of what estate or condition soever he be shall be put out of his Lands or Tenements nor taken nor imprisoned nor disinherited without being brought in to answer by due processe of Law And by another Staâ—â—te made in the 42. yeare e e 42. Ed. 3. 3. of the Reign of the said King Edward the third It is enacted that no man be put to answer without presentment before Iustices or matter of Record or by due Processe and Writ originall according to the old Law of the Land and if any thing be done to the contrary it shall be void in Law and holden for error And by another Statute made in the 36. year of f f 36. Ed. 3. the same King Edward the third It is amongst other things inacted That all Pleas which shall be pleaded in any courts before any the Kings Iustices or in his other places or before any of His other Ministers or in the Courts and places of any other Lords within the Realm shall be entred and enrolled in Latine And whereas by the Statute made in the third yeare of King Henry the seventh power is given to the Chancellour the Lord Treasurer of England for the time being and the Keeper of the Kings Privie Seale or two of them calling unto them a Bishop and a Temporall Lord of the Kings most honourable Councell and the two chiefe Iustices of the Kings Bench and common Pleas for the time being or other two Iustices in their absence to proceed as in that Act is expressed for the punishment of some particular offences therein mentioned And by the Statute made in the one and twentieth yeare of King Henry the eighth The President of the Councell is associated to ioyne with the Lord Chancellour and other Iudges in the said Statute of the third of Henry the seveth mentioned But the said Iudges have not kept themselves to the points limited by the said Statute but have undertaken to punish where no law doth warrant and to make Decrees for things having no such authority and to inflict heavier punishments then by any law is warranted And forasmuch as all matters examinable or determinable before the said Iudges or in the Court commonly called the Star-Chamber may have their proper remedy and redresse and their due punishment and correction by the Common Law of the Land and in the ordinary course of justice elsewhere And forasmuch as the reasons and motives inducing the erection and continuance of that Court doe now cease and the proceedings Censures and Decrees of that Court have by experience been found to be an intolerable burthen to the Subiect and the meanes to introduce an Arbitrary power and Government And forasmuch as the Councell Table hath of late times assumed unto it self a power to intermeddle in Civill causes and matters only of private interest between party and party and have adventured to determine the Estates and Liberties of the Subiect contrary to the Law of the Land and the rights and priviledges of the Subiect by which great and manifold mischiefes and inconveniencies have arisen and hapned and much incertainty by meanes of such proceedings hath been conceived concerning mens rights and estates For setling whereof and preventing the like in time to come Be it Ordained and Enacted by Authority of this present Parliament That the said Court commonly called the Star-Chamber and all Iurisdiction power and authoritie belonging unto or exercised in
the same Court or by any of the Iudges Officers or Ministers thereof be from the first day of August in the yeare of our Lord God 1641. clearly and absolutely dissolved taken away and determined and that from the said first day of August neither the Lord Chancellour or Keeper of the great Seale of England the Lord Treasurer of England the Keeper of the Kings Privie Seale or President of the Councell nor any Bishop Temporall Lord Privie Councellor or Iudge or Iustice whatsoever shall have any power or authority to heare examin or determin any matter or thing whatsoever in the said Court commonly called the Star-Chamber or to make pronounce or deliver any Iudgment Sentence Order or Decree or to doe any Iudiciall or Ministeriall Act in the said Court And that all and every Act and Acts of Parliament and all and every Article clause and sentence in them and every of them by which any Jurisdiction power or authority is given limited or appointed unto the said Court commonly called the Star-Chamber or unto allâ— or any the Iudges Officers or Ministers thereof or for any proceedings to be had or made in the said Court or for any matter or thing to be drawn into question examined or determined there shall for so much as concerneth the said Court of Star-Chamber and the power and authority thereby given unto it be from the said first day of August repealed and absolutely revoked and made void And be it likewise enacted That the like jurisdiction now used and exercised in the Court before the President and Councell in the Marches of Wales and also in the Court before the President and Councell established in the Northern parts And also in the Court commonly called the Court of the Duchy of Lancaster held before the Chancellor and Councell of that Court And also in the Court of Exchequer of the County Palatine of Chester held before the Chamberlain and Councell of that Court The like iurisdiction being exercised there shall from the said first day of August 1641 be also repealed and absolutely revoked and made void any Law prescription custome or usage Or the said Statute made in the third yeare of King Henry the seventh Or the Statute made the one and twentieth of Henry the eighth Or any Act or Acts of Parliament heretofore had or made to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding And that from henceforth no Court Councell or place of Iudicature shall be erected ordained constituted or appointed within this Realm of England or Dominion of Wales which shall have use or exercise the same or the like Iurisdiction as is or hath been used practised or exercised in the said Court of Star-Chamber Be it likewise declared and enacted by authority of this present Parliament That neither his Majestie nor his Privie Councell have or ought to have any Iurisdiction power or authority by English Bill Petition Articles Libell or any other Arbitrary way whatsoever to examine or draw into question determine or dispose of the Lands Tenements Hereditaments Goods or Chattels of any the Subiects of this Kingdome But that the same ought to be tryed and determined in the ordinary Courts of iustice and by the ordinary course of the law And be it further provided and enacted That if any Lord Chancellor or Keeper of the great Seale of England Lord Treasurer Keeper of the Kings privie Seale President of the Councell Bishop Temporall Lord Privie Councellor Iudge or Iustice whatsoever shall offend or doe any thing contrary to the purpâ—rt true intent and meaning of this Law Then he or they shall for such offence forfeit the summe of five hundred pounds of lawfull money of England unto any party grieved his Executors or Administrators who shall really prosecute for the same and first obtain judgement thereupon to be recorded in any Court of Record at Westminster by action of Debt Bill Plaint or Information wherein no Essoine Protection Wager of Law Aid Prayer Priviledge Injunction or Order of restraint shall be in any wise prayed granted or allowed nor any more then one Imparlance And if any person against whom any such Iudgement or Recovery shall he had as aforesaid shall after such Iudgement or Recovery offend again in the same then he or they for such offence shall forfeit the summe of one thousand pounds of lawfull money of England unto any partie grieved his Executors or Administrators who shall really prosecute for the same and first obtaine Iudgement thereupon to be Recorded in any Court of Record at Westminster by action of Debt Bill Plaint or Information in which no Essoine Protection Wager of Law Aid Prayer Priviledge Injunction or Order of Restraint shall be in any wise prayed granted or allowed nor any more then one Imparlance And if any person against whom any such second Iudgement or Recovery shall be had as aforesaid shall after such Iudgement or Recovery offend againe in the same kind and shall bee thereof duly convicted by Indictment Information or any other lawfull way or meanes that such persons so convicted shall be from thenceforth disabled and become by vertue of this Act incapable Ipso facto to beare his and their said Office and Offices respectively and shall be likewise disabled to make any Gift Grant Conveyance or other disposition of any his Lands Tenements Hereditaments Goods or Chattels or to make any benefit of any Gift Conveyance or Legacy to his own use And every person so offending shall likewise forfeit and loose unto the party grieved by any thing done contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Law his trebble dammages which he shall sustain and be put unto by meanes or occasion of any such Act or thing done the same to be recovered in any of His Majesties Courts of Record at Westminster by Action of Debt Bill Plaint or Information wherein no Essoine Protection Wager of Law Aid Prayer Priviledge Injunction or Order of Restraint shall be in any wise Prayed Granted or Allowed nor any more then one Imparlance And be it also provided and enacted That if any person shall hereafter be committed restrained of his liberty or suffer imprisonment by the Order or Decree of any such Court of Star-Chamber or othâ—r Court aforesaid now or at any time hereafter having or pretending to have the same or liâ—e jurisdiction Power or Authority to commit or imprison as aforesaid Or by the Command or Warrant of the Kings Maiestie his Heires or Successours in their own person or by the Command or Warrant of the Councell-board or any of the Lords or other of his Majesties Privie Councell that in every such case every person so committed restrained of his libertie or suffering imprisonment upon demand or motion made by his Councell or other employed by him for that purpose unto the Iudges of the Court of Kings Bench or Common Pleas in open Court shall without delay upon any pretence whatsoever for the ordinary Fees usually paid for the same
as long as ye shall be Iustice nor robes of any man great or small but of the King himself And that ye give none advice nor councell to no man great nor small in no case where the King is party And in case that any of what estate or condition they be come before you in your sessions with force and armes or otherwise against the peace or against the forme of the Statute thereof made to disturb execution of the common law or to menace the people 2. Ed. 3. 3. that they may not pursue the Law that yee shall cause their bodies to be arrested and put in prison And in case that be such that yee cannot arrest them that ye certifie the King of their names and of their misprision hastily so that he may therof ordain a convenable remedy And that ye by your selfe nor by other privily nor apertly maintain any plea or quarrell hanging in the Kings Court or elsewhere in the country And that ye deny to no man common right by the Kings letters not none other mans not for none other cause and in case any letters come to you contrary to the law that ye doe nothing by such letters but certifie the King thereof and proceed to execute the law notwithstanding the same letters And that yee shall doe and procure the profit of the King and of his Crown with all things where ye may reasonably doe the same And in case ye be from henceforth found in default in any of the points aforesaid ye shall be at the Kings will of body land and goods thereof to be done as shall please him as God you help and all Saints The 20. of Edward the 3. Chap. â— fol. 14â— The Iustices of both Benches Assise c. shall doe right to all men take no fee but of the King nor give councell where the King is party FIrst we have commanded all our Iustices that they shall from henceforth doe equall Law and execution of right to all our subjects rich and poore without having regard to any person and without omitting to doe right for any letters or commandement which may come to them from us or from any other or by any other cause And if that any letters writs or commandements come to the Iustices or to other deputed to doe law and right according to the Usage of the Realm in disturbance of the Law or of the execution of the same or of right to the parties the Iustices and other aforesaid shall proceed and hold their Courts and processes where the pleas and matters be depending before them as if no such Letters Writs or Commandements were come to them And they shall certifie us and our Councell of such Commandements which be contrary to the Law as afore is said And to the intent that our Iustices should doe even right to all people in the manner aforesaid without more favour shewing to one then to another we have ordained and caused our said justices to be sworne that they shall not from henceforth as long as they shall be in office of Iustice take fee nor to be of any man but of our self and that they shall take no gift nor reward by themselves nor by other privily nor apertly of any man that hath to doe before them by any way except meat and drink and that of small value and that they shall give no councell to great men or small in case where we be party or which doe or may much us in any point upon pain to be at our will body Lands and goods to doe thereof as shall please us in case they doe contrary And for this cause we have increased the fees of the same our Iustices in such manner as it ought reasonably to suffice them St. 2. Ed. 3 8. St. 11. R. 2. 10. Regist fo 1â—6 The 25 of Edward the 3. Chap. 8. fol. 155. None shall be bound to find men of armes but by tenure or grant by Parliament ITem it is accorded and assented that no man shall be constrained to find men of Armes hoblers nor Archers other then those which hold by such services if it be not by common assent and grant made in Parliament St 1. Ed. 3. 5. St. 4. H 4. 13. The 28. of Edward the 3. Chap. 7. fol. 172. No Sheriffe shall continue in his office above one yeare ITem it is ordained and established that the Sheriffe of the Counties shall be removed every yeare out of their offices so that no Sheriffe that hath been in his office by a yeare shall abide in the same office the year next following 2. H. 7. fol. 5. And that no Commission be made to him thereof or renued for the same yeâ—â—e following St. 14. 8. 3 7. 32. Ed. 3. 9. 23. H. 6. 8. Rast pl. fo 202. The 34. of Edward the 3. Chap. 4. fol. 180. What sort of people shall be returned upon every Iurâ— ITem because that Sheriffes and other ministers often doe array their panels in maner of Inquests of people procured and most far of from the Counties which have no knowledge of the deed whereof the Inquest shall be taken it is accorded that such panels shall be made of the next people which shall not be suspect nor procured And that the Sheriffes Coroners and other ministers which doe against the same shall be punished before the Iustices that take the said Inquest according to the quantity of their Trespasse as well against the King as against the party for the quantity of the damage which he hath suffered in such maner St. 21 〈◊〉 1. St. 28. E. 1. 9. 20. Es 3. 6. 42. Ed. 3. 11. Regist fo 178. Regist pla fo 117. THe 36 of Edward the 3. chap. 10. fol. 186. A Parliament shall be holden once in a yeare ITem for the maintenance of the said Articles and Statutes and redresse of divers mischiefs and grievances which dayly happen d Parliament shall be holden every yeare as an other time was ordained by a Statute St. 4 Ed. 3. 14. The 36. of Edward the 3. chap. 15. fol. 187. Pleas shall be pleaded in the English tongue and inrolled in Latine ITem because it is often shewed to the King by the Prelats Dukes Earles Barons and all the Comminalty of the great mischiefes which have happened to divers of the Realme because the Lawes Customs and Statutes of this Realme be not commonly holden and kept in the same Realm for that they be pleaded shewed judged in the French tongue which is much unknown in the said realm so that the people which do implead or be impleaded in the Kings Court and in the Courts of other have no knowledge nor understanding of that which is said for them or against them by their Serjeants other Pleaders And that reasonably the said Lawes and Customes the rather shall be perceived and known better understood in the tongue used in the said Realm by so much every man of the said Realm
be named in the said Commissions shall be bound by force of this Statute to hold the said Sessions foure times in the yeare as the other Commissioners the which be continually dwelling in the Country but that they shall doe it when they may best aâ—ound it The 13. of Richard the 2. Chap. 6. fol. 225. How many Serieants at Armes there shall be and with what things they shall meddle ITem at the grievous complaint made by the Commons to our Lord the King in this Parliament of the excessive and superfluous number of Serjeants at Armes and of many great extortions and eppressions done by them to the people The King therefore doth will that they shall be discharged and that of them and other there shall be taken of good and sufficient persons to the number of thirty and no more from henceforth And more over the King prohibiteth them to meddle with any thing that toucheth not their office And that they doe no extortion nor oppression to the people upon pain to loose their office and to make a fine and ransome at the Kings pleasure and full satisfaction to the party The 20. of Râ—chard the 2. Chap. 3. folio 243. No man shall sit upon the Bench with the Iustices of Assise ITem the King doth will and forbid that no Lord nor other of the Country little or great shall sit upon the Bench with the Iustices to take Assises in their Sessions in the Counties of England upon great forfeiture to the King and hath charged his said Iustices that they shall not suffer the the contrary to be done The 2. of Henry the 4. Chap. 23. fol. 253. The fees of the Marshall of the Marshallsey of the Kings house ITem whereas the Marshall of the Marshallsey of the Court of our Lord the Kings house in the time of King Edward grand father of our Lord the King that now is and before was wont to take the fees which doe hereafter follow that is to say of every person that commeth by Capias to the said Court foure pence and if he be let to mainprise till his day two pence more and of every person which is impleaded of trespasse and findeth two mainpernors to keep his day till the end of the plea to take for that cause two pence of the defendant and of every person committed to prison by judgement of the Steward in whatsoever manner the same be foure pence of every person delivered of felony and of every felon let to mainprise by the Court foure pence which fees were wont to be taken and paid in full Court as the King hath well perceived by the complaint of the said Commons thereof made in the said Parliament The same our Lord the King to avoid all such wrongs and oppressions to be done to his people against the good customes and usages made and used in the time of his progenitors by the advice assent of the Lords Spiritual Temporal at the supplication of the said Commons hath ordained and established that if the said Marshall or his Officers under him take other fees then above are declared that the same Marshall and every of his Officers shall loose their Offices and pay treble damages to the party greeved and that the party greeved have his suit before the Stewards of the said Court for the time being Also it is ordained and established that no Servitor of Bills that beareth a staffe of the same Court shall take for every mile from the same Court to the same place where he shall do his service any more then one penny and so for 12. miles twelve pence and for to serve a Venire facias 12. homines c. or a Distringes out of the same Court the double And if any of the said Servitors of Bills doe the contrary he shall be punished by imprisonment and make a fine to the King after the discretion of the Stewards of the same Court and also be fore judged the Court and the same Steward shall have power to make proclamation at his comming to the said Court in every Country from time to time of all the articles aforesaid and thereof to execute punishment as afore is said 9. R. 2 5. The 4 of Henry the 4 Chap. 23. fol. 259. Iudgements given shall continue untill they shall be reversed by attaint or error ITem where as well in plea reall as in plea personall after judgement given in the Courts of our Lord the King the parties be made to come upon grievous pain sometime before the King himself sometime before the Kings Councell and sometimes to the Parliament to answr therof of new to the great impoverishing of the parties aforesaid and in the subversion of the Common law of the land it is ordained and established that after judgement given in the Court of our Lord the King 19. H. 6 fo 39. Dyer fo 315. 321. 376. the parties and their heires shall be thereof in peace untill the judgement be undone by attaint or by error if there be errors as hath been used by the Lawes in the time of the Kings progenitors The 5. of Henry the 4. Chap. 5. fol. 261. It shall be felony to cut out the tongue or pull out the eyes of the Kings liege people ITem because that many offenders doe daily heat wound imprison and maime divers of the Kings liege people and after purposely out their tongues or put out their eyes It is ordained and stablished that in such case the offenders that so cutâ—eth tongues or puts out the eyes of any the Kings liege people and that duly proved and found that such deed was done of malice prepensed they shall incur the pain of felony The 5. of Henry the 4. Chap. 10. fol. 263. Iustices of peace shall imprison none but in the Common Gaole ITem because that divers Constables of Castles within the Realme of England be assigned to be Iustices of Peace by Commission of our Lord the King and by colour of the said commissions they take people to whom they beare evill will and imprison them within the said Castles till they have made sine and ransome with the said Constables for their deliverance It is ordained and established Cook li. 9. fo 119. that none be imprisoned by any Iustice of the Peace but only in the common Gaole Saving to Lords and other which have Gaoles their franchise in this case Now comes in some Statutes of palpable Bondage about chusing Parliament men c. The first I shall give you is the 1. of Henry the 5. Chap. 1. fol. 274 What sort of people shall be chosen and who shall be the choosers of the Knights and Burgesses of the Parliament FIrst that thâ— Statuts of the election of the Knights of the Shirs to come to the Parliament be holden and kept in all points adioyning to the same that the Knights of the Shires which from henceforth shall be chosen in every Shire be not chosen unlesse they be
unto the power of the House in committing me J stooped but at their doore desired to be committed by a legall Warrant which by their own Law published in Sir Edward Cooks institutes Votes and Ordinances all warrants of commitments whatsoever ought expresly to containe the certaine particular case wherefore a man is committed and ought to conclude and him safely to keep till he be delivered by due course of Law and for the full proof of this read the 68 69. pages of the following discourse and the 11 12 13 14 15 pages of Mr. Iohn Wildmans late defence called Truths Triumph or Treachery anotamised But if the Warrant be in generall words and be also to keep him during their pleasure and made by the Parliament the prisoner is murthered and destroyed by such an imprisonment For he must either stoop to their wills and so betray his liberties and sin against his own soule or else he must remaine in prison till he starve and rot before any Iudge in Westminster Hall will grant him a Habeas Corpus to bring him up to the barre of Justice either to receive his punishment according to Law or else his liberties as uniustly imprisoned and this made me the other day at the House of Commons to contest for a legal warrant before I would go to Prison but that mercinary Turkish Ianisary Col. Baxster laid violent hands upon me telling me expresly he was not either to reason or dispute the Houses commands but to obey them caused his Soldiers to draw their swords upon me in halling of me away by force violence he stabed Magna Charta the Petition of Right c. to the very heart and soule did asmuch as in him lyes by that act destroy all our Lawes and liberties for if authority must be backt with the sword to put in execution all their unjust commands then farwell all law and liberty forever and accursed be the day that ever the Parliament raised an Army to fight for the preservation of our lawes and liberties if now they convert their power and turne their swords and guns against us by force of armes to destroy our lawes and liberties John Lilburne 6. Feb. 1647. In the third yeare of the reign of Charles King of England Scotland France and Ireland AT the Parliament begun at Westminster the seventeenth day of March An. Dom. 1627. in the third yeare of the reigne of our most gracious Soveraigne Lord Charles by the grace of God of England Scotland France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith c. And there continued untill the 26. day of Iune following and then prorogued unto the 20. day of October now next ensuing To the high pleasure of Almighty God and to the weale publique of this Realme were enacted as followeth The petition Exhibited to his Majestie by the Lords Spirituall and Temporall and Commons in this present Parliament assembled concerning divers Rights and Liberties of the Subiect with the Kings Majesties royall answer thereunto in full Parliament To the Kings most Excellent Majestie HVmbly sheweth unto our Soveraigne Lord the King the Lords Spirituall and Temporall and Commons in Parliament assembled That whereas it is declared aâ—d inacted by a Statute made in the time of the reigne of King Ed. the first commonly called Statutum de Tallagio non concedento a a 34. Ed. 1. chap. 1. That â—o tallage or aid shall be laid or levied by the King or his Heires in this Realme without the good will and assent of the Arch Bâ—shops Bishops Earles Barons Knights Burgesses and other the free men of the Commonalty of this Realme And by authority of Parliament holden in the five and twentieth yeare of the reigne of King Edward the third b b 25. Ed. 3 Rot. Par. it is declared and inacted That from thenceforth no person should be compelled to make any loanes to the King against his will because such loanes were against reason and the franchise of the Land And by other Lawes of this Realme it is provided that none should be charged by any charge or imposition called a Benevolence nor by such like charge c c 25. Ed. 1. 6. 1. Ed. 3. 6 11. R. 2. 9. 1. R. 3. 2. by which the Statutes before mentioned and other the good Lawes and Statutes of this Realme your Subjects have inherited this Freedome That they should not be compelled to contribute to any tax tallage aid or other like charge nor set by common consent in Parliament 1. R. 3. 2. Yet neverthelesse of late divers Commissions directed to sundry Commissioners in severall Counties with instructions have issued by meanes whereof your people have been in divers places assembled and required to lend certaine summes of money unto your Majestie and many of them upon their refusall so to do have had an oath administred unto them not warrantable by the Lawes or Statutes of this Realme * * Oaths Ex Officio unlawfull and have been constrained to become bound to make appearance and give attendance before your privie Councell and in other places and others of them have been therefore imprisoned confined and sundry otherwayes molested and disquieted And divers other charges have been laid and levied upon your people in severall Counties by Lord Lievtenants Deputy Lieutenants Commissioners for Musters Iustices of Peace and others by command or direction from your Maiesty or your privie Councell against the Lawes and free customes of the Realme * * All Magistracy in England is bounded by the law thereof e e 28. Ed. 3. 3. And where also by the Statute called THE GREAT CHARTER OF THE LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND d d 9 H. 3. 29. It is declared and enacted f f 25. Ed. 3. That no free man may be taken or imprisoned St. 37. Ed. 3. 18. St. 38. Ed. 3. 9. St. 42. Ed. 3. 3. St. 17. R. 2. 6. or be disseized of his Free hold or Liberties or his free Customs or he outlawed or exiled or in any manner distroyed but by the lawfull iudgement of his PEERS or by the Law of the Land And in the eight and twentieth yeare of the reigne of King Edward the third e it was declared and enacted by authority of Parliament That no man of what estate or condition that he be should be put out of his Land or Tenements nor taken nor imprisoned nor disherited nor put to death without being brought to answer by due processe of Law Neverthelesse against the tenour of the said Statutes and other the good Lawes and Statutes of your Realme to that end provided f divers of your Subiects have of late been imprisoned without any cause shewed * * Imprisonment without cause shewed is illegall See also Cooke 2. part institutes upon the 29. chap Magna Charta And when for their deliverance they were brought before your Iustices by your Majesties Writs of Habeas corpus there to undergoe and receive as the
may the better govern himself without offending of the Law and the better keepe save defend his heritage and possessions and in divers regions and countryes where the King the Nobles and other of the said Realm have been good governance and full right is done to every person because that their Lawes and Customes be learned and used in the tongue of the Country The King desiring the good governance and tranqullity of his people and to put out and eschew the harmes and mischiefs which do or may happen in this behalf by the occasions aforesaid hath ordained and established by the assent aforesaid that all Pleas which shall be pleaded in any Courts whatsoever before any of his Iustices whatsoever or in his other places or before any of his other ministers whatsoever or in the Courts and places of any other Lords whatsoever within the Realme shall be pleaded shewed defended answered debated and iudged in the English tongue and that they be entred and inrolled in Latine And that the Lawes and Customes of the same Realme Termes and Processes be holden and kept as they be and have been before this time and that by the ancient tearmes and formes of Pleaders 46 Ed. 3. fo 21. Dyer fo 2 99. Cooke li. 8. fo 163. li. 10 fo 132. Co. inst 304. no man be prejudiced so that the matter of the action be fully shewed in the Declaration and in the Writ And it is accorded by the assent aforesaid that this ordinance Statue of pleading begin and hold place at the fifteenth of S. Hillary next coming The 37. of Edward the 3. chap. 18. fol 190 The order of persuing a Suggestion made to the King ITem though it be contained in the great Charter that no man be taken or imprisoned nor put out of his freehold without processe of the Law never the lesse divers people make false suggestion to the King himselfe as wel for malice as otherwise whereof the King is often grieved St. 9. H 3.29 and divers of the Realm put in damage against the forme of the same Charter Wherefore it is ordained that all they which make such Suggestions shall be sent with the same suggestions before the Chancellor Treasurer and his grand Counsell and that they there finde surety to pursue their suggestions and incurre the same paine that the other should have had if he were attainted in case that his Suggestion he ' found evill St. 38. Ed. 3. 9. And that then processe of the Law be made aganst them without being taken and imprisoned against the form of the said Charter and other Statutes St. 25. Edward 3. 4. 42. Ed. 3. 3. The 42 of Edward the 3. Chap 1. â—093 A confirmation of the great Charter and the Charter of the Forest And a repeale of those Statutes that be made to the contrary AT the Parliament of our Lord the King holden at Westminster the first day of May the two and fortieth yeare of his reigne It is assented and accorded That the great Charter and the Charter of the Forest be holden and kept in all points and if any Statute be made to the contrary that shall be holden for none The 8. of Richard the 2. Chap. 2. fol. 217. No man of Law shall be a Iustice of Assise or Gaole delivery in his own Country ITem it is ordained and assented That no man of â—â—w shall be from henceforth Iustice of Assises or of common deliverances Gaoles in his own Country And that the chiefe Iustice of the common Bench be assigned amongst other to take such Assises and deliver gaoles but as to the chiefe Iustâ—ce of the Kings Bench it shall be as for the most part of an hundred yeares last past was wont to be done St. 13. H. 4 2.33 H. 8.24 The 8. of Richard the 2 Chap. 4. fol. 218 The penaltie if a Iudge or Clerke make any false Entry rase a Roll or change a verdict ITem at the complaint of the said Communalty made to our Lord the King in the Parliament for that great disherison in times past was done of the people and may be done by the false entring of Pleas rasing of Rolles and changing of verdict It is accorded and assented that if any Iudge or Clerkâ— be of such default so that by the same default there ensueth disherison of any of the parties sufficiently convict before the King and his Councell by the manner and forme which to the same our Lord the King and his Councell shall seem reasonable and within two yeares after such default made if the partie grieved be of full age and if he be within age then within two years after that he shal come to his ful age he shal be punished by sine and ransome at the Kings wil and satisfie the party And as to the restitution of the inheritance desired by the said Commons the party grieved shall sue by Writ or otherwise according to the Law if hee see it expedient for him St. 8 H. 6.82 The 12 of Richard the 2. Chap. 10. fol. â—23 How many Iustices of peace there shall be in every County and how often they shall keep their Sessions ITem it is ordained and agreed that in every Commission of the Iustices of Peace there shall be assigned but six Iustices with the Iustices of Assises and that the said six Iustices shall keep their Sessions in every quarter of the yeare at the least and by three dayes if need be upon pain to be punished according to the discretion of the Kings Councell at the suit of every man that will complain And they shall inquire diligently amoâ—g other things touching their offices if the said Majors Bailifes Stewards Constables and Gaolers have duly done execution of the said Ordinances of servants and labourers beggars and vagabonds and shall punish them that be punishable by the said paine of an hundred shâ—llings by the same paine and they that be found in default and which be not punishable by the same pain shall be punished by their discretion And every of the said Iustices shall take for their wages foure shillings ††36. Ed. 3. 12. 14. R. 2. 11. See also the wages of the Clerke of the peace in the Statutes of 27 H. 8. 16. and 5. Eliz. 12. and 13. Eliz. 25. the day for the time of their foresaid Sessions and their Clerke two shillings of the fines and amerciaments rising and comming of the saâ—e Sessions by the hands of the Sheriffes And that the Lords of franchises shall be contributary to the said wages after the rare of their part of sines and amerciaments aforesaid And that no Steward of any Lord be assigned in my of the said Commissions And that no association shall be made to the Iustices of the peace after their first Commission And it is not the intent of this Statute that the Iustices of the one Bench or of the other nor the Serjeants of the Law in case that they shall
protection of the Law and ought not to be condemned unheard neither agreeth it with the honour and justice of this Court to deny Councell to plead and open their Clyents cases as was done in your petitioners case which your petitioner hopes you will rectifie and alow his Councel to be reheard and to set forth the sufficiencie in Law of his Plea and Answer whereby your petitioner may not have cause or occasion to Appeale from this Court or complaine of you to the Parliament for obstructing of Justice which if your petitioner receive not timely redresse and reliefe in the Promises he must be constrained to do That without ever any order or further processe serving the said Mr. Hoyle for want of further answer hath prosecuted severall processes of contempts against your petitioner and threatned to lay your petitioner in Goale upon a Commssion of Rebellion for the same and hath served your petitioner with a Subpena for forty shillings cost upon your petitioners first plea and answer which Mr. Hoyle will without doubt do if your honour give not present order for stay of further proceedings upon the said last Subpena and processe of contempt already taken out against your petitioner Your Petitioner therefore humbly prayeth that you wil be pleased for the love and honour of justice and removeing the cause of your petitioners appeale from this Court and complaining of you that you will give direction for stay of the said cost and proceedings upon the said processes of contempts against your petitioner and that you wil declare and order that your Petitioners councel may be reheard without check or offence and allowed freely to shew out to the Court the sufficiencie in Law of your petitioners plea and answer to the end there may not be a failer of justice through you and your petitioner left without relief or remedy by being denied to be heard upon the mirit and equity of his cause according to Law which in the worst of times by the worst Iudges was never done to any either in the case of ship-money or any other cause as Burton Prinn and Bastwicks cases all which your petitioner refereth to your honourable consideration And prayeth as before he hath prayed c. William Browne To the right honourable the Commmons assembled in Parliament the humble petition of Will. Brown of Stepney alias Steben heath in the County of Midlesex SHEWETH THat Josua Hoyle Vicar of the parish of Stepney aforesaid in Michaelmas terme last exhibited his bill in the Court of exchequer against your petitioner and divers other parishioners there for substraction of tythes to which bill your petitioner by his learned councell pleaded and answered the same terme but the said Mr. Hoyle obtained an order from that Court for your petitioner to shew cause why his plea and answer should not be taken of the file as scandalous That your petitioner according to the order of that Court the 18. May last by his counsell Mr. NORBERY and Mr. KING offered to the Court to maintaine his said plea and answer to be good and sufficient in Law but Baron Atkins one of the Barons of that Court would not suffer your petitioners councel to open your petitioners cause in a threatning manner telling them that the Councellour who subscribed your petitioners Plea and answer should never be allowed in that Court and if they meaning Mr. NORBERY and Mr. KING or any other Councellour did appeare in any such cause they should never againe plead in that Court and so your petitioners said councell were overawed and silenced that without further heareing or debate the Court adjudged your petitioners plea and answer scandalous and futher ordered Mr. Fage who signed the same his hand should never be allowed to any pleadings in that Court and your petitioner to pay forty shillings cost to Mr. Hoyle as by the order in the Court in that cause will appeare which doing of the said Baron Atkins and the said last recited Order are contrary to the rule of justice and the great Charter of Liberty wherein it is said Iustice and Right shall de denied to no man That the said Mr. Hoyle since without ever serving the said Order upon your Petitioner having procured severall processes of contempts against him for want of further answer and served him with a Subpena for the 40. s. cost your petitioner thereupon having petitioned the Barons of that Court for justice and to have libertie to shew forth to the Court the sufficiencie in law of the said plea and answer which Mr. NORBERY and Mr. KING had before undertaken to your petitioner to doe and offered to the Court if they might have been heard as they were not to have maintained for good and sufficient in law which petition hereunto annexed Baron Trevers having read and acquainted his Brother Atkins with the contents thereof Baron Atkins replyed and said let Brown complain if he will I have done him justice his businesse shall be no more heard And thus your Petitioner being deprived and destitute of all meanes of obtaining right and justice in that Court is constrained for his own safetie to forsake his own house and familie and live as an exile and fugitive Mr. Hoyle threatning to cast him into prison upon the said Barons Order which doubtlesse he will doe to your petitioners undoing unlesse your petitioner be protected by the justice of this honourable house That your petitioner hath largely and many wayes manifested his good affection to the Parliament in his free and voluntary gifts and contributions over and above his abilitie and by his ready payment of all taxes and assessements having long voluntarily served the Parliament in this war against the enemy to the often endangering his life and the much impoverishing his estate having lost 16. Horses in the Parliaments service for which he hath not had one penny satisfaction besides almost 200. l. due to him in Arrears for his service as a Wagoner That as your Petitioner is informed Mr. Hoyle by law cannot sue your petitioner in any Court for substraction of Tyths then in the Court Christian so called * * 2. 3. Ed. 6. 13. Coo. li. 2. fol. 43. the same being now taken away by authority of Parliament * * See the act of the 17. of C.R. for abolution of Ecclesiastical jurisdiction And so Mr. Hoyle if in case the same were due as they are not he hath no meanes or the recovery of the same but by the Ordinance of this present Parliament which your petitioner did never oppose whensoever the said Mr. Hoyle did take your petitioners goods upon the same as sometimes he did amounting to a considerable value Your Petitioner therefore humbly prayeth this honourable House will be pleased to take your Petitioner under protection to stay the contempts and illegall proceedings of Mr. Hoyle in that Court against your petitioner and to call the said Barons of the Exchequer and in particular Baron
Atkins before you to answer this Petition to the end according to your many Declarations Promises and Protestations iustice may not be obstructed or your Petitioner denyed the benefit of the law or priviledge of a free borne Denizon And the said Barons receive such condigne punishment for their uniust dealing and proceedings against your Petitioner as shall seeme meet and agreeable to the wisedome and iustice of this honourable House The like not any of the Iudges in the worst of times durst ever doe that ever your Petitioner heard of And your Petitioner if he may be protected and allowed by this honourable House to prosecute this Petition he will give securitie to make good the contents thereof And as in duty bounden your Petitioner shall ever pray c. Will. Brown Take notice and marke it well that though tyths are by law to be sued for in Ecclesiasticall Courts only yet trebble damages for none payment of tyths are to be sued for by the same Statute of the 2. and 3. Ed. 6 13. in Civill Courts at the Common Law and therefore the best plea to a bill of trebble damages is that you owe the Parson c no tyths at all and put him to prove the first Here you see what gallant Iustice is to be found amongst the Iudges at Westminster Hall that the pleaders of honest causes cannot be suffered to presse the law freely for their Clyents but must be threatned and commanded to hold their peaces before they have pressed fully either law or reason for those that hire them to be their mouths to doe it for them Is this to performe their oath which you may read before pag. 10. In which they sweare to doe equall law and execution of right to all kinds of men rich and poore without having regard to any person or persons whatsoever And that they shall deny to no man common right by the Kings letters nor none other mans nor for no other cause and in case any letters or commands shall come to them contrary to the law that they shall doe nothing by such letters or commands but proceed to execute the law notwithstanding Or is not this their dealing with Mr. Brown and his Councell a cleare demonstration of their breaking their Oaths and absolutely forswearing themselves And therefore seeing neither Mr. Brown not no man else that complains to the parliament against the injustice of the Iudges can get the least justice against them is not this and other of their visible breaking of their Oaths a true and legall cause to indict them for perjury upon which if conviction follow they are ipso facto disabled for ever to sit Iudges any more or to be witnesses in any causes whatsoever betwixt party and party For this is to be taken notice of that if a Iury bring in a false verdict against the expresse evidence given in unto them that thereupon by law they are to have their houses rased down to the ground and never to be built againe their trees puld up by the roots their ground to lye follow and wast without tillage or use their names and their childrens to be infamous reproachfull and contemptable c. And therefore without doubt the Iudges punishment for palpable iniustice must needs be much more then theirs And an excellent piece of justice and worth the highest commendation it was in King Alfred to hang 44 Iustices in one year as murtherers for their false judgments * See Andrew Horns mirror of iustice in English chap. 5. Sect. 1. pag. 239 240 241. 242. c printed for Maâ— Walbank at Grays Inne gate 1646 where all their crimes are set down which book is most extraordinarily well worth your reading But seeing the Parsons Vicars curates cannot recover their tyths by law they have unjustly illegally got up a custom to come or send their illegall Agents into mens grounds or houses to take away their goods and chattells and men are so foolish as to let them although by law if any man under any pretenc of authority whatever shall dare to endeavour by force to come into a free-mans house unlesse it be under pretence of Treason or Felony committed or suspition of Treason or Felony or to serve an execution after Iudgement for the King the free man may stand upon his guard as against so many Theeves and Robbers and if he shoot or kill them every one I know nothing to the contrary but they have their mends in their own hands and they nor none for them can iustly requâ—e any of him or them that so in his or their own legall defence destroyes them And if they take away your goods as usually they doe you have your remedy at law by way of Replevie to get * Which writs of Replevy you may have out of the Cusitore office belonging to every County but get at one and the same time a writ of Replevin a writ of Al as and a writ of Pluries which last Writ runs with a penaltie and if the Sheriff doe not execute it there lyes an attachment against him and in case he return that the goods are sold and gone before he could repleve them or drove into another County then you may have a Capias in withernam to distrain and take the parties own goods that caused the first goods to be distrained or any of those that had a hand in distraining and no supersedeas whatsoever will lye to controule or dam the writ or hinder the execution of it which writs with all other in force you may read in the Law book called the Register by the help of which you may make all the Parsons in England goe whistle for their Tyths Which Register doth very well deserve your care and pains by authority to be translated into English your goods againe putting in baile to the Sheriffe to answer the law against him that distrained your goods so you shall bring him to a tryal at law to prove his title or clame to your goods and this I conceive to be cleare from the Statutes of Marle bridge in the 52. H. 3. Anno 1267. Chap. 1 2 3 4. 15 21. and 3. 8. 3. Chap. 17. Compared with Sir Edward Cooks Exposition upon those severall Statutes in the 2. part of his Institutes fol. 103 104 105 106 107. 131 132 133. 139 140 141. 193 194. and his discourse in his first part Institutes lib. 2. chap. 12. Sect. 219. fo 143. But that you may not rest in an implicite beliefe I shall give you the fore mentioned Statutes verbatum which thus followeth Chap. 1. fol. 16. The penaltie for taking a distresse wrongfully WHereas at the time of a commotion late stirred up within this Realme and also sithence many great men and divers other refusing to be justified by the King and his Court like as they ought and were wont in the time of the Kings noble progenitors and also in his time but took great revenges and distresses
Lord or for him that tooke them Bro. Riot 2. 3. 52. H. 3. 3. 13. Ed. 1. 39. V. N. B. fo 43. 44 Regist fo 85. 52. H. 3. 21. Regist fol. 81. Fitz. N.B. fo 68. F. for to answer and make the deliverance after such time as the Lord or taker shall be admonished to make deliverance by the Sheriffe or Bailiffe if he be in the Country or neere or there whereas he may be conveniently warned by the taker or by any other of his to make deliverance if he were out of the Countrey when the taking was and did not cause the Beasts to be delivered incontinent that the King for the trespasse and despite shall cause the said Castle or Fortresse to be heaten down without recovery And all the damages that the plaintife hath sustained in his beasts or in his gainure or any otherwise after the first demand made by the Sheriffe or Bailiffe of the beasts shall be restored to him double by the Lord or by him that tooke the beasts if he have whereof and if he have not whereof he shall have it of the Lord at what time or in what manner the deliverance be made after that the Sheriffe or Bailiffe shall come to make deliverance And it is to wit that where the Sheriffe ought to return the Kings writ to the Bailife of the Lord of the Castle or Fortresse or to any other to whom the return belongeth if the Bailife of the Franchise will noâ— make deliverance after that the Sheriffe hath made his return unto him then shall the Sheriffe doe his office without further delay and upon the foresaid paines And in like manner deliverance shall be made by Attachment of the plaintife made without writ and upon the same paine And this is to be intended in all places where the Kings writ lyeth And if that be done in the Marches of Wales or in any other place where the Kings Writs be not currant the King which is soveraign Lord over all shall doe right there unto such as will complain Now after this businesse of Tyths which by the universall complaint against it all over the Kingdome appeares to be an intollerable and insupportable burthen I shall a little open unto you another mischiefe of far more dangerous consequence and that is the subvertion of our fundamentall lawes and liberties and the exercising of an Arbitrary Tyrannicall government which I find to be the principall crime laid to the charge of the late Earl of Strafford for which he lost his head upon the Tower Hill at London in the yeare 1641. And that it was his principall crime appeares clearly to me by his Bill of Attainder which you may read before pag. 29. and by the fiâ—st Article of his impeachment which as I find it printed in the 117. pag. of a book called Speeches and Passages of this Parliament from the 3. of Novemb. 1640. to Iune 1641. printed for Will. Crook at Furnifalls Inne gate in Holbourne 1641. The very words of which thus followeth That he the said Thomas Earl of Strafford hath traiterously endeavoured to subvert the fundamentall lawes and government of the Realmes of England and Ireland and in stead thereof to introduce an Arbitrary and Tyrannicall Government against law which he hath declared by trayterous words councells and actions and by giving His Majestie advice by force of Armes to compell his loyall Subiects to submit thereunto Now whether this very traiterous crime of the Lord of Strafford be not really acted since the warres ended both by the present House of Lords and by the present Grandees in the Army I thinke is obvious to every knowing rationall understanding unbiosed mans eye in England in that both of them have taken upon them to meddle with things not within their cognizance or jurisdiction and to out men of their lives liberties and properties without any legall processe and proceeding all the ordinary Courts of Iustice in England being open where only and alone all causes whatsoever between party and parties desidable by the lawes of this land are to be tryed and determined and no where else it being as lawfull for a Iudge Iustice of peace or a Constable to make Laws as for a House of Lords to execute Laws their legall and proper work at most upon their own usurped principalls being to make new laws repeal old laws to give their consent to raise mony for the preservation of the publique and to see it be rightly disposed of but they themselves ought not in the least to finger it much lesse by votes to give it to each other it being contrary to the Law of England for Fofees in truâ—t which they would have us to believe they * And it â— but a bâ— belief sâ— I say anâ— wil maintain it against aâ— the procâ—ers of thâ— present â— House oâ— Lords havâ— in England thaâ— they have no more right to their pretended legislative â— power theâ— a thiefe that by force takâ— my purseâ— from me Nor no more right to bâ— called thâ— legislatorâ— of England theâ— a man to be called an honest womans husband that by force and violence robs her of her virginitie and so commits a rape upon her and by threat to save her life compells her to hold her peace And I desire all the Commons of England seriously to consider how the Lords that flow from William the Conquerers sword and the meer will of his successors can rationally pretend to a legislative power when in their joynt Declarations with the present House of Commons they have declared the King their Creator hath none but is bound by his Coronation oath to passâ— all such lawes as the folk or Commons shall chuse and what greater evill can there be in the world theâ— seeing that all legislative power in the nature of it is Arbitrary that for life an arbitrary power should bâ— placed in the Lords and heriditary in their sons be they fooles or knaves therefore up with them by the roots and let no power hereafter be exercised in England but what acknowledgly flowes as a trust from thâ— people or their Representatives and who are subiect as other men to the Lawes are to give any thing to themselves to punish all mayle Administrators of Iustice and to heare and redresse all appeares upon eronious judgements given or made in any of the Courts in Westminster-Hall or elsewhere Yet notwithstanding have they Arbitrarily and Tyrannically summoned and convened men before them for things desideable and determinable only at Common Law without any due processe of Law and have taken upon them contrary to all law Iustice equitie and conscience to be both Informers Prosecutors Witnesses Parties Iurie and Iudges and thereupon have past most illegall arbitrary and tyrannicall censures upon the free Commons of England and thereupon have distroyed and outted them of their lives liberties properties free holds and estates when as by the fundamentall law of the Land no Iudge
That the government of the Army by Law Marshall is only necessary when the Kingdome is invaded by a forraign enemie or in a generall hurly burly in it self being ready to march against a declared professed enemie ready to destroy it with fire and Sword and thereby shut up the legall administration of iustice upon Transgressors and Offenders in the ordinary course thereof But now there is no forraigne enemie upon the march against England nor no generall Hurly Burly in the Kingdome by professed and declared enemies against the peace thereof ready to destroy it with fire and sword but all at the present is visibly in peace and quietnesse and the Courts of iustice all open to punish all manner of offenders whatsoever yea Souldiers in Armes that have taken the States pay * * For whom the Statute law in such a condition hath appointed punishments to be inflicted upon them in the ordinary Courts of iustice either for false musters cheating the Soldiers of their pay or for lucer giving them leave to depart or for the Souldiers going from their Cullours without lawfull leave or for imbeasing Horse or Armes c. See the 18. H. 6. 19. and 2 and 3. Ed. 6. 2. and 4. and 5. P. and M. chap. 3. and 5. Eliz. 5. and 5. Iames. 25. who only in times of peace as this is are solely to be punished by the rules and proceedings of the known and declared law of England and by no other rules whatsoever And therefore it being now time of peace there is no need of Marshall Law neither can your Excellency nor any other under you upon any pretence whatsoever derived from any power whatever execute it upon paine of being esteemed and iustly iudged to be absolute executers of an Arbitrary and tyrannicall power and grand destroyers of our Lawes and liberties and so in time may receive the Earle of Straffords doome one of whose principall crimes I understand was That he in Ireland in time of peace when he was Generall of an Army on foot shed the blood of Warre by executing a Souldier by Marshall Law when the Courts of iustice were open And therefore I doe absolutely protest against the name and power of your pretended Court Marshall And doe further declare that I iudge my self bound in conscience with all my might power and strength both by words actions and gestures now I know so much as I doe to oppose as the case now stands all Marshall Courts whatsoever and to judge my self a Traytor to the lawes and liberties of England if I should doe any action that might but seeme to support or countenance that law and liberty destroying power of Marshall Law and can neither esteem nor iudg him an honest iust truobred English man that now hereafter so much in print being declared against it either executes it or stoops unto it So with my humble service rendred to your Excellency I commend you to the tuition of the just and powerfull God and rest From my uniust captivity and imprisonment in Windsore which is both against the Law of England and our Agreement at New Market the 4. and 5. Iune last this 20. of Decemb. 1647. Your honours faithfull servant and Souldier to the death so you turn not the mouth of your own Cannons against me to destroy me Iohn Crosseman The forementioned Letter or Plea of Captain John Ingram thus followeth To his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax these present May it please your Excellency I Was condemned the 20. Decemb. 1647. by divers Officers assembled together in the manner of a Court Marshall for speaking before them my own Conscience and judgement with sobernesse about Maior Cobits businesse Now in justification of my self I must declare unto your Excellencie that in all Councells whatsoever the members thereof ought without check controule molestation or feare of ruine and destruction freely to speak and declare the dictates of their iudgement and consciences And undoubtedly the denyall thereof would render all Councells whatsoever uselesse and vaine And it s no lesse then the hight of tyranny in any prevailing partie in a Councell to usurp such a power as by terrors censures or force to stop the mouths of those who are of different opinions and against whose arguments or saying they offer no reasons And it s no lesse against law and justice yea the common light of nature for the members of that Councell who were the only offended parties to assume to themselves to be prosecutors witnesses Iury and Judges as they did in my case And therefore I am resolved in the strength of God never to betray my innocencie by acknowledging an offence according as the censures of my accusers require when my conscience beares me witnesse that as in the fight of God I did my duty so I doe freely declare that I am still clearely satisfied That since our association by mutuall Ingagement at New-Market to stand as free Commons of England for common right and freedome And since our constituting a new Councell to be our directer in the manner of prosecuting those publique ends of justice right and freedome there is no assembly but that new constituted Councell only which is a competent Iudge of the Actions of any Member in the Armie and in his prosecution of the ends aforesaid And of this nature I conceive was Maior Cobits case ††Whom those godly pious and righteous Gentlemen of the Councell of Warre tryed for his life for no other crime but for his honesty in prosecuting that just paper called The Agreement of the People and his life was saved but by two voices O malicious and bloody men And I must further declare that I am not only willing but I account it my honour to be under your Excellencies conduct so long as you shall act according to the first principles manifested in the Commission received from your Excellency according to the publique declaration of the Souldiery upon Triplo Heath for Iustice Iustice And according to the Solemn Ingagement neither shall any man be more obedient to your Excellencies commands tending to those ends then my self But I must declare that I clearely apprehend the highest injustice of executing Marshal Lawe in time of peace those lawes are appointed for cases of necessity and extremitie when the Armie is marching against an enemie and it s then only justifiable either because other Courts of justice are not open or there cannot be a timely prosecution of offenders in those Courts But when all other Courts of justice are open and no enemie in the field to obstruct a free accesse to them and when every Souldier is punishable in those Courts and by the known lawes of the land for any crime or offence I conceive common justice dictates Marshall Lawes to be null otherwise two Courts not subordinate each to other claiming the iurisdiction over a Souldier supposedly offending when the Known Lawes shall have acquitted him he may suffer by the will
of God or England no plea can save their lives in any one of whose condition in the eye of the Law to be tyed to live in England that had a hand in that mans willful murder I would not be for al the gold in England and let me without contempt give this advice to the two great forementioned Nimrods of the Army whose present power is bent to suppresse our fundamental laws and liberties and to build up and establish the highest of Tyranny and protect Tyrants to turne over a new leafe and turne honest if they have any graines thereof left with in them and bend not their parts and power to plead for and protect the present tyrannicall House of Lords in their unjust usurpations and to destroy me in my unjust imprisonment which I know is only continued by their power and meanes for doing my duty to my selfe country and posterity to oppose them therein least they necessitate and compell me for the preservation of my selfe wife and children to finde out a man that shall dare in the hight of all there unlimited potency and unbounded greatnesse to indict them both for murderers at the Kings bench barre or elsewhere and shall dare to indict the Iudges for perjury c. if they shall dare to obey any command in England that shall command them not to doe iustice and right in that particular And now O unworthy and dishonourable Cromwell that I averre and will justifie to thy face that brought and drew me into my first contest with the Earle of Manchester and when thou hadest served thy ends of me viz. to helpe to pull him downe from his Major Generall-ship left me in the Bryers to be worried and torne in peeces by him and now keepest me in Prison to the apparent hazard of my totall destruction by thy power and influence for being true to those principles of reason truth and iustice that I will iustifie to thy face thou wast as high in as my selfe when thou engaged me against Manchester the Earle of Essex c. though now thou art visably and desperatly apostatized from them to thy shame eternall dishonour be it spoken but seeeing as my owne soule tells me by thy meanes I cannot get one dram of iustice at the hands of the House of Commons upon my complaint against the prest he tyrannicall usurping house of Lords I here proclame an open defiance to thee as a professed enemy to the fundamentall lawes and liberties of my native country to doe the worst thou came to me a man in some sence almost devoured by the Tyranny of thy fellow grand Tyrants in England under which I have transendantly suffered this cleaver yeares together and therefore seeing that thou and the rest of thy Tyrannicall confederates in the present house of Lords and there 〈◊〉 Speaker Sr. John and Nat. Fines c in the house of Commons necessituously compells me to 〈…〉 â—â—â—dent straits and extremities as you do and 〈◊〉 all my own subsistance from me * For the Parliament owes me for my just arreares the greatest part of a 1000. pound and my Ordinance for 2000. l. reparations against my uniust Star-chamber Iudges hath layd dorment in their house this two yeares although since then I know severall of there owne Members to whom out of the publique money they have given 5000 l. a peece unto that I wil upon the losse of my life evidently make it good never suffered one hundreth part of that which I did before this Parliament and yet I am told some of them have received all there 5000. pounds yet according to Law the iust custom of the Tower where am Prisoner wil not allow me a subsistance according to my quality out of the publique treasure or those that most vniustly and illegally committed me by meanes of which in the eye of reason I am likely shortly to perish and be destroyed yet in these great straits in the might and strength of God I say to thee O Cromwell with an undaunted resolution as the the three children did to that grand Tyrant Nebuchad-nezzar when he was ready to throw them into the hot fiery furnace O Cromwell I am not carefull for all thy greatnesse to tell thee thy owne and to let thee to know that the God whom I serve is able to deliver me from thy power and greatnesse But if not be it known unto thee O Cromwell that I will not serve thee nor worship or stand in feare of thy tyrannicall power or that golden or painted Image the present House of Lords which in thy Imaginations and fancy thou hast lately set up that so in time thou mayest be one thy selfe Now upon these Pleas and Protestations of the forementioned honest men comming so thick upon them with the gallant and heroicall carriage of divers of the other prisoners at Windsore with the late thunders of Mr. Sidgwick and precious Mr. Saltmarsh these new Tyrants the Grandees had such a curb put into their mouth that it so stopped the furiousnesse of their bloody and murthering Carreare that they were as my often Intelligence gives me to understand confounded and amazed amongst themselves and therefore set their Imps and underhand pentionary Agents at worke to perswade the honest Agent Prisoners to close in love and union with some litle kind of though it were but seeming reluctancy of spirit †And then they and some of there Pencionary Imps lyingly get their Diurnall Mercuries to print to the view of the whole Kingdome that they all had acknowledged their faults and cry'd peccavie when as some of them that are named in the Diurnall so to doe have told me that it is the falsest lye in the world for they never did any such thing but ever did and still doe abhorre the thoughts of such a base and wicked acknowledgement and then the Generalls almightinesse in whom those ficosantising Grandees place as great an omnipotency as ever the Courtiers or Cavialeers did in the King the more to serve their wicked and desperate ends for this I dare confidently say if his Excellency would not let his Creator Cromwell rid him he should shortly and as fearcely charge him with as impeachment of Treason and breach of trust as ever he did the Earle of Manchester by meanes of which his Lordship hath of lare been very raâ—e and gentle to his greatnesse Lievt Gen. Cromwell should pardon all their iniquities and passe by all their transgressions and forthwith one of Ahabs fosts is called that so they may more closely and cowardly smite with the fist of wickednesse that being too much the apparent end of all their howling lamentations Which God amount but mockings unto him and without amendment of wayes and doing justice and iudgement reliving the afflicted and oppressed and breaking all the heavie yoaks are odious and abominable in his sight Esay â—8 4 5 6 7. and Micah 5 6 7 8. And after the fist which was by
in Hillary Tearm Anno 16. Caroli Regis after a verdict obtained a Iudgement in his Maiesties Court of Kings Bench of 7000. l. debt and 7. l. 12. d. dammages against Thomas Wright who afterwards was charged in execution for the same in the custodie of Sir Iohn Lenthall Knight then and yet Marshal of the said Court and the said Wright being so in execution for Composition offered your Petitioner above 2000. l. and security for the residue of the said debt all the same appearing to be true by Records and by proceedings in Chancery under the Great Seale of England but before any part thereof satisfied the said Sir Iohn Lenthall suffered the said Wright to escape out of Execution Your Petitioner therefore in Hillary Terme 17. Caroli Regis Ten dayes before the end of that Terme caused an action of debt to be brought for the said 7007. li. 12 d. at your Petitioners suit for the said escape and then filed a declaration against the said Sir Iohn Lenthall for the same But the said Sir Iohn to deprive your petitioner of the said debt and all remedie for the same 10 Trin. 18. Caroli Regis notwithstanding your Petitioner had severall Rules against Sir Iohn Lenthall for judgement upon his declaration so filed in Hillary 17. He the said Sir Iohn Lenthall procured an Order to be made by Sir Iohn Brampston Knight and Sir Thomas Mallet Knight in open Court that your petitioners Declaration filed in Hillary 17. should be filed as of Easter Tearme the 18. contrary to justice the law of this Kingdom the libertie of the Subjuct and the rules of the said Court as your petitioner is advised And for that your petitioners being so advised that the said Order doth utterly barre your petitioner of his said debt Your Petitioner severall times publiquely in Court and otherwise moved the Iudges to alter the same but could not prevaile as appeareth by the Order of the said Court and for that that notwithstanding your petitioner earnest solicitation for his judgement due by the rules of the said Court for the space of above foure yeares together and his great expence after 15. Orders made in the said Court the now Iudges of the said Court Mr. Iustice Bacon and Mr. Iustice Roll hath confirmed the same as appeareth by an Order by them made per Hillar 22. Caroli Regis now readie to be shewed In tender consideration of the premises that your petitioner according to the Law filed his declaration in Hillary 17. when the prisoner was escaped and at liberty and for that the said Iudges Order contrary to Law barreth your petitioner from prosecuting upon that declaration and bindeth your petitioner to file his declaration as of Easter terme 18. Caroli when the said Marshall aleadged that he had retaken the said prisoner again and that he was dead and that your petitioners debt is destroyed by the said Iudges Order to your petitioners dammage above 10000 l. And for that other debts may be destroyed by the like If men be barr'd from the benefit of their just Records duly fil'd as the petitioner is contrary to the Lawes of the Kingdome and the libertie of the Subiect which appeares to be done in this Cause by the Orders themselves Your Petitioner humbly craveth releife according to his damages And your Petitioner shall pray Henry Moore Which petition the said Moore delivered to Col. Henry Martin and divers other Parliament men but can not so much as get his petition read in †Jt is worth the taking notice the Speaker is Sir John Lenthalls brother and it is almost grown to a common proverb in England that Parliament mens neer Allyes as well as themselves are above the reach of all law and justice which I am sure if they look not speedily well about them will destroy them every man the House upon whom he hath long attended and still waiteth most earnestly and deplorably cryeth out to be releived from this intollerable oppression by which the said Moore is damnified as in his printed complaints to the House he declares above ten thousand pound to the hazzard of his utter ruine Now I shal here crave the liberty to insert the epittomy of my own cruel barbarous sufferings with this desire to al that reads it seriously to consider that what hath befaln me by the cruell tyrany of by past Tyrants and oppressors if not strongly remedied and repaired may for future be incouragement for the present Tyrants to inflict when they dare for fear of being dismounted the like if not worse upon the first Nown-Substantive Englishman that shall resolutely stand in their way * And it is the clearest demonstration to me in the world that the present men in power alwayes intended to walk in the oppressive tyranous ways of the Star-chamber High commission councel board in that they have done no man effective iustice or right that suffered by them least their own Acts should be binding presidents to pay their own Acts should be binding Presidents to pay themselves by in future times The summe of what I have here to insert I shall lay down in the very words that J delivered in print to the Members of the House of Commons at the House doore the 23. Novemb. last which thus followeth A new complaint of an old grievance made by Lievt Col. Iohn Lilburne Prerogative prisoner in the Tower of London Novemb. 23. 1647. To every Individuall Member of the Honourable House of Commons SIR MY exceeding urgent necessities and my extraordinary sufferings by your neglect in doing me justice and right according to your many oaths and declarations presseth me above measure still to play the part of the poore importunate widdow mentioned in the Gospel and to resolve whatever befalls 〈◊〉 never to give over till I have attained her end viz. Iustice You may please truly to take notice and the rather because many of you are new Members that in the year 1637. and 1638. I suffered a most barbarous sentence by the Star Chamber occasioned by two false oaths sworne against me by Edmond Chillington ††The substance of which with my defence against them in open Star Chamber and when I stood upon the Pillory at Westminster you may largely read in the relation of my first sufferings called The Christian mans tryall reprinted by Will. Larner 1641. now dwelling at the black boy within Bishops-Gate now a Lievtenant under Col. Whaly and by my refusing to answer interrogatories against my self in executing of which sentence the 18. of April 1638. I was tyed to a Carâ—â— tayle at Fleet bridge and whipt through the streets to Westminster and had given me above the number of 500. stripes with a threefold knotted corded whip the weeles made in my back thereby being bigger then Tobacco pipes c. And set two houres upon the Pillory bare head in an extraordinary hot day and a gag put into my mouth above an houre to
which imprisonment besides my large expences there I lost at London in debets c. my Debtors taking the advantage of my araignment for treason would as they said pay us Traytors debts about 600. l. every penny of which lay upon mine own particular shoulders And comming out with the same Principles I went in I betook my selfe to my sword againe having refused here at London divers places of ease profit honour with much resolution integritie in the midest of many discouragements I fought under the Earle of Manchesters command so long tell by his and others visible apostatising from the first declared ends and by the wjckednesse treachery basesse and perfidiousnesse J found there I had lost all my principles and could not for all the world any longer kill Caveleeres in whose service I was plundered the third time at Newarke to the value almost of 100 l. besides many scores of pounds of my owne mony in that â—â—vice I spent * * Which I did upon this ground at the first modalizing of Sir Tho. Fairfaxes Army the Parliament voted that none should beare office in that new Modell but he that would take the Covenant whereupon though I was profered better imployment then before I ever had yet I told Liev. Generall Cromwell whose white Boy then I was that upon them tearmes I scorned to be so base as ever againe to draw my sword for the Parliament for hâ—itherto I had served them faithfully and uprightly out of principles of Conscience and not as a Mercenary for their money and what â—â—â—â—soever he was that should grow iealous of me without a cause I would never againe upon my tearmes in the world serve that Master any more As for the Covenant every Knave and Rascal that had no more conscience then a dog would take either it or any other oath whatsoever for his own advantage and for his gaine and profit breake it as soon as he had taken it but J told him I for my part was compelled to be honest out of a principle of conscience and not out of the forcâ— of Oaths And besides I for my particular would never be such a Traytor to the lawes of my God and to the liberties of my native Country as to take such an insnaring intangling dishonourable Scotch Oath more then ever there I received there being due unto me at this day for my arreare there the greatest part of a thousand pounds as I doubt not upon just and 〈◊〉 grounds clearely when you please to make appear That at the laying down my command J rigorously with all the interest J had in England betook my selfe to an earnest prosecution to obtaine at the hands of your house my iust and long expected and promised reparations from my cruell Star-Chamber Iudges one of which viz. old Sir Henry Vaine sits in your House at this day in the following of which I met with such hard and unreasonable measure not only from the hands of your hâ—â—se it self * * Who by Mr. Speakers meanes Committed me at eight a clock at night without hearing me though at your doore or without seeing those that accused me and afterward made an Order to arraign me for my life at Newgate Sessions and yet releast me without telling me wherefore I was imprisoned See my book called Innocency and Truth iustified but also from its Committees in being causlesly tossed and tumbled out of the hands of one Messenger to another and from one Goale to an other that it made me almost as weary of the Land of my nativity as ever the Jsraelitas were of Aâ—gipt when the cruell Tyrant Pharoah made them to make bricks without straw especially when I considered that all this was done unto me by those for the saving alive and preserving of whom J had so often freely and resolutely with my sword in my hand adventured my life and in the dayes of their greatest straights and calamities been as faithfull to them as ever Jonathan was to David when he hazzarded ruine and distruction from his father for siding with him Yea and if it had then been in my power could have done a thousand times more then I did verily believing they would have performed their just Declarations to the Kingdome But before the storm of your indignation was well blown over the fearcenesse of which had almost overwhelmed me behold such a furious tempest the 10. of Iuly 1646. ariseth against me by the House of Lords as if it would have blown me into an other Horzian or have Metamorphased me into the shape and habit of a bruit beast and have robbed me of all things that might give me the denomination of a man LEVELLING thereby the Liberties and freedomes of all the Commons of England unto their arbitrary Lordly wills And having about 18. moneths ago fled unto you as justly I might for shelter protection and justice against them which by my severall Pleas before your Committees I have proved you ought long since to have afforded me and having the 11. of this instant in halfe a sheete of Paper presented here at your doore as now I doe to your hands an abstract of the Lords tyrannicall illegall dealing with me And of all by way of Plea I have for my selfe to say with a desire to stand or fall under your Judgement thereupon which yet J cannot obtaine from you and therefore referring you to that Abstract and to my Grand Plea before Mr. Maynard upon the 20. October last and my Additionall Plea annexed unto it for all the particulars â— crave and challenge at your hands as my right and due I adjure you before Heaven and Earth and before the Lord Iehovah and his mighty and glorious Angells without any more delay to adjudge my cause betwixt the Lords and me either to my justification or condemnation and to doe me Justice and right by helping me to my owne kept from me by you and doe not by your 7. yeares delay of justice lay more provocations upon me then my strength and ability is able to beare and then go about to distroy me for my crying out of your oppression when in the eye of â—eason I have no other remedie left me in this world but that or to distroy my selfe wife and Children which even nature it self abhorâ—s or else to live upon the kindnesses of those that in future time to my reproach shall as some from whom I should little have expected it have lately done hit me in the teeth with it which makes the proffer of their courtesies a scorn unto me and the thoughts of not being able to â—epay them againe a burthen to my spirit And therfore to conclude let me in the bitternesse of my spirit say unto you as the unrighteous Judge said unto himselfe although by your actings towards â—â— you declare that you neither feare God nor reverence 〈◊〉 yet for my necessitie and pressing importunities take now at last to doe just and right
for if I must dye by yours and the Lords murthering oppression I am resolved if I can helpe it I will not dye alone nor in a corner in silence Therefore helpe me unto my owne to leave subsistance unto my Wife and Children that they may not beg their bread when I am dead and gone And if nothing but my blood will serve my cruell adversaries if they be men I challenge the stoutest of them in England 〈◊〉 unto hand with his sword in his hand like a man to put a period to my dayes being ready to â—nswer any man in England Lord or Commoner that hath any thing to lay to my charge Either First as a rationall man Or Secondly as a resolved man Or Thirdly as an English man In the last of which I shall desire no more favour then every Traytor Rogue or Murtherer that is arraigned for his life at Newgate Sessions injoyes viz. the benefit of the declared known law of England And so at present I rest Your oppressed friend that loudly cryes out to you for iustice and right Iohn Lilburne From my most illegall starving and murthering tyrannical imprisonment in the Tower of London this 23. Novem. 1647. going into the eight yeare of my fruitlesse expecting justice from the deafe and hard hearted house of Commons Be pleased to take notice that divers hundreds of this halfe sheete of paper I delivered the day of the date of it to the Parliament mens own hands at their doore and the Soldiers and the by Standers and while I was delivering them at there doore out came Mr Iohn Ashe the clothier to me a man that hath fingered about ten thousands pounds for his pretended losses of the States mony besides what he hath got as Chair man to the Committe for composition at Gold-Smiths Hall which if common fame be not a lyar hath been largely profitable to him as well as other of the like places are said to be to others of his bespoted bretheren and told me to this effect that he had formerly honoured me for my great sufferings but I had of laâ—â— Ioyned with David Ienkins to destroy this Parliament which he was pleased to say was the bases and foundation of the peace and being of this distressed Common-wealth for which I very well deserved to be executed as he said unto which with a good resolution I replyed having my back against their house doore to this purpose Sir I scorne your wordâ—s and charge of joyning with Iudge Ienkins or any other whatsoever either to destroy this Parliament or the Common wealth for I am the same man in principles that ever I was and as true to mine as Iudge Ienkins is to his though you and the most of the Members of your House be changed from yours Sir I tel you that before ever I see Judg Jenkins face I had law enough to deale with twenty such as you are though I confesse I have lost nothing in the particular by my acquaintance with him but have gained much by my imprisonment with him in the knowledge of the Law but Sir I retort your owne words back upon you and averre that it is you and such as 〈◊〉 are by that palpable injustice that so acted by you that will not only destroy this House but hazzard the totall distruction of the whole Kingdome for I my selfe have waited upon you seaven yeares for Iustice to my large expence but yet cannot obtain one dram of right from your hands although you can finde time enough to shaire the Common-wealths money amongst your selves by thousands and ten thousands wheras you say that I deserve to be executed I would have you to know I scorne your courtesie or mercy and desire you from me to tell your house that I am ready to answer the whole house or any particular Member in it according to the Law of the Kingdome at any barre of Iustice in England when and where they please without craving or desiring the least drame of favour or 〈◊〉 at their hands and here upon the Gentleman want away as though he had had a flee in his Eare. And by and by came out of the House an ancient man as I was told called Mr. Jenner and he rusly demanded where the man was that delivered those bookes one of which he had in his hand and I having my back fast against their doore and looking him full in the face told him after this manner that I was he that not only delivered them but also made them and would justifie them to the death saith he can you expect any good at our hands to give as such language as at the conclusion of it you doe unto which I replyed Sir I wish you had not given me too much cause by your delaying to doe me justice and right and tossing and tumbling â—â— as you have done from our Goale to another to give you a great deale 〈◊〉 whereupon hee departed and left me and I went on giveing away the aforesaid papers But now in regard I can neither obtaine law nor justice at the hands of the House of Commons either upon my Star-chamber Iudges nor yet upon nor against the present House of Lords most barbarous tyrannicall arbitrary and murdering dealing with me and seeing it is clearely discovered every day more then other and obvious in my apprehesion to every rational mans eye that the designe of the present seeming sanctified swaying faction which who they principally are I have named before is totally to subject the freemen of this Kingdome to vassaledge and slavery and subdue there fundamentall lawes and liberties by crushing in peeces arbitrarily and tyrannically euery cordial hearted and Noun-Substantive English man that dare peepe out in the least to owne his freedomes and liberties or stand for them thereby demonstrating that they have learned their lesson well from that old guided Fox the Lord Say whose maxime it is if he be not wronged that it is as dangerous to let the people know their liberties and freedomes as to let a stomackt Horse know his strength and therefore it is that my Lord and the rest of his new factionated Independents who in my Judgement are grown more tyrannicall already then either the Episcopalls of old or the late swaying Presbyterians have so many Beagles and Cur-dogg not only to sharlar but to bite the shins of every man they can find out that dare presume to write print or publish any light or information to the people and if they hold on but a little longer as they have begun it is to be feared they will make it death as the great Turke doth for any man to keep a printing presse And seeing they have in my eyes laid aside the studying the Gospell of truth and peace or practising any thing that is commended by it and are totally studying and practising of Machievell and are closing and dabbing with the interest of the publique Priests to make the publique pulpits sound forth
Court should order and their Keepers commanded to certifie the causes of their detainer no cause was certified but that they were detained by your Maiesties speciall command signified by the Lords of your privie Councell and yet were returned back to severall prisons without being charged with any thing to which they might make answer according to law And whereas of late great companies of Soldiers and Marriners have been dispersed into divers Counties of the Realme and the inhabitants against their wills have been compelled to receive them into their houses and there to suffer them to sojourne against the Lawes and Customes of this Realme ††Compulsive billiting of Soldiers unlawfull and it is very observable that the King at the time of this complaint had warres with France and to the great grievance and vexation of the people And whereas also by authority of Parliament in the five and twentieth yeare of the reigne of King Edw. the third g g 25 Edw. 3. 9. it is declared and inacted that no man should be fore iudged of life or limbe against the form of the Great Charter and the Law of the land And by the said Great Charter and other the Lawes and Statutes of this your Realme no man ought to be adâ—udged to death but by the Lawes established in this your Realme h h No man ought to be adiudged but by the established lawes 9. H. 3. 29. 5. Ed 3. 9. 25. Ed 3 4. 28. Ed. 3. 3. either by the Customs of the same Realme or by acts of Parliament And whereas no offender of what kind soever is exempted from the proceedings to be used and punishments to be inflicted by the Lawes and Statutes of this your Realme Neverthelesse of late divers Commissions under your Majestes great Seale have issued forth by which certaine persons have been assigned and appointed Commissioners with power and authority to proceed within the land according to the Iustice of Martiall Law against such Soldiers and Marriners or other dissolute persons joyning with them as should commit any murther robberie felony mutinie or other outrage or misdemeanor whatsoever and by such summary course and order as is agreeable to Martiall Law and as is used in Armies in time of warre to proceed to the tryall and condemnation of such offenders and them to cause to be executed and put to death according to the Law Martiall By pretext whereof some of your Maiesties Subjects have been by some of the said Commissioners put to death when and where if by the Lawes and Statutes of the Land they had deserved death by the some lawes and Statutes also they mâ—ght and by no other ought to have been iudged and executed ††Marshall law altogether unlawfull in England in times of peace especially and therefore that Soldier of Col. Robert Lilburnes Regiment that was lately shot at the Rendezvouz neere Ware was meerely murthered And also sundry grievous offendors by colouâ— thereof claiming an exemption have escaped the punishments due to them by the Lawes and Statutes of this your Realme by reason that divers of your officers and Ministers of Iustice have uniustly refused or forborne to proceed against such offendors according to the same Lawes and Statutes upon pretence that the said offendors were punishable only by Martiall law and by authority of such Commissions as aforesaid which Commissions and all other of like nature are wholly and directly contrary to the said Lawes and Statutes of this your Realme They doe therefore humbly pray your most excellent Maiestie that no man hereafter be compelled to make or yeeld any gift loane benevolence tax The Petition or such like charge without common consent by act of Parliament And that none be called to make answer or take such oath or to give attendance or be confined or other ways molested or disquieted concerning the same or for refusal thereof And that no Freeman in any such manner as is before mentioned be imprisoned or detained And that your Maiestie would be pleased to remove the said Soldiers and Marriners and that your people may not be so burthened in time to come And that the foresaid Commissions for proceeding by Martiall Law may be revoked and annulled And that hereafter no Commissions of like nature may issue forth to any person or persons whatsoever to be executed as aforesaid lest by colour of them any of your Maiesties Subiects be distroyed or put to death contrary to the lawes and franchise of the land All which they most humbly pray of your most excellent Maiesty as their rights and liberties according to the Lawes and Statutes of this Realme And that your Maiestie would also vouchsafe to declare that the awards doings and proceedings to the prejudice of your people in any of the premisses shall not be drawn hereafter into consequence or example And that your Maiestie would be also graciously pleased for the future comfort and safety of your people to declare your royall will and pleasure That in the things aforesaid all your officers and Ministers shall serve you according to the Lawes and Statutes of this Realme ††All the administrators of the law are to execute their places according to the law and not otherwise as they tender the honour of your Maiestie and the prosperity of this Kingdome Which Petition being read the second of Iune 1628. The Kings answer was thus delivered unto it THe King willetâ— that right be done according to the Lawes and customes of the Realme And that the Statutes be put in execution that his Subiects may have no cause to complaine of any wrong or oppression contrary to their iust Rights and Liberties to the preservation whereof he holds himself in conscience as well obliged as of his Prerogative But this answer not giving satisfaction †And the reason was because in this his first answer he doth not grant that the things claimed in the Petition as they are laid down are the lawes rights and liberties of England and so had left it in the Iudges breasts to have given their Iudgements as well against as with the Petition but his second answer let right be done as is desired is full to the purpose the King was againe petitioned unto that he would give a full and satisfactory answer to their Petition in full Parliament Whereupon the King in person upon the seventh of Iune made this second Answer My Lords and Gentlemen THe answer I have already given you was made with so good deliberation and approved by the iudgements of so many wise men that I could not have imagined but that it should have given you full satisfaction but to avoid all ambiguous interpretations and to shew you that there is no doublenesse in my meaning I am willing to please you in words as well as in substance Read your Petition and you shall have an answer that I am sure will please yoâ— And then causing the Petition to