Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A96516
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The sope-patentees of Londons petition opened and explained. Or, The unmasking of these cruel sope-patentees deceitful petition, presented by them to the Honorable House of Commons. Wherein you have a discovery made (in part and but in part) of the great sufferings of this common-wealth: as also of the special sufferings of some free-born subjects in their liberties and estates, sustained by these cruel sope-monopolers. / By Richard Wilkins.
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Wilkins, Richard.
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1646
(1646)
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Wing W2216; Thomason E349_20; ESTC R201036
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16,626
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24
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parties did not recover nor did the Iury award in damages more no not so much as the Plaintiffs proved that they had sustained by these cruel Patentees I will now conclude speaking of and to the subject matter or body of their Petition with the observing some short notes that are deductable probably from the closier of this first general part of this Petition which is this That they have been serviceable and still desire to be to the King and Kingdom by great engaging of their Purses and Persons Their ends and intentions in this expression undoubtedly must of necessity be to render them Friends and not Enemies to King and Kingdom having hinted to you their end I will give you the Observations First if you consider how these Petitioners are Enemies as is above expressed and then take their being serviceable to King and Kingdom by way of co-â—nâ—ction then the probable result of these words may be this That they have given assistance to both sides And there is reason to be rendred Because that at the breaking up of the last Parliament May 1640. they did give the King Ten or Twelve thousand pounds to take up their Patent again which they had surrendred in hopes never to see Parliament more in England which money as was supposed was given as an additional assistance against the Scots Secondly if you consider That if the Parliament do prevail thay are accomptable for their Delinquency then their giving assistance probably is polity and not piety self-seeking not Gods glory themselves not the Kingdoms good Thirdly if you do consider That they do oppressively detain the other Petitioners Estate and the advantage they make of that detainer to the disabling of them which are cordial for the Parliament and have as far engaged their persons as those Patentees it affords these two Propositions 1. That it is not an ingaging of their own but other mens purses 2. That their ingaging of their purses is not an advantage but a damage to the Parliaments Cause I have done with the first general part I shall only observe some few things from the other two general parts and so conclude 1. That these Patentces are most ready and willing to make satisfaction to all that can make it appear that they have wronged them To this I answer That their willingnesse that satisfaction should be given doth not lye in their desire of making restitution but in this That they are most willing to be disburthened of the suits at Law against them commenced by the Parliament forcing their fellow Projectors thereunto 2. That of all the goods they have forcibly and oppressively taken and spoiled of the other Sope-boylers they never received one peny To this I Answer That all the goods that was by them seized and spoiled of the oppressed Sope-boylers was seized for the use of these Projectors one moity thereof and the other moity for the use of the Kings Majesty and was by these Projectors appointment and command seized and brought to their own houses and converted to their own use which is evident by their Patent by which Grant Col John Hardwick Captain John Hayes Iames Baker and Ionathan Mot Members of that illegal Corporation were constituted and ordained searchers of the said company some of them barbarously breaking into houses seizing and carrying away mens goods others receiving in the goods illegally seized and carried away witnesse the accompt that Col Iohn Hardwick made in the Exchequer upon his Oath who was one of the first searchers and most activest Member of that Patent There is one thing which I will relate to you which is not only an aggravation of this strange and I presume unparalleld presumption of theirs in daring to present to so Honorable an Assembly as the High Honorable House of Commons so deceiving and vain a Petition as this but also discovers to what a height of wickednesse what dangerous designs coveteousnesse will put men upon The Relation is this what these Petitioners have here untruly affirmed namely that not one peny of the goods seized came to them Anthony Whitwel one of these Sope-Patentees did falsly depose the same at a Tryal between Iohn Doughty Plaintiff and Col Iohn Hardwick and other Patentees Defendants which perjury was to the damage of the Plaintiff Doughty 200 l. as the Iury then confessed and hath been since proved at the Tryal of the Action upon a statute of perjury which the said Doughty did bring and proved against the said Anthony Whitwel and the Iury did at Tryal finde him guilty of perjury against the Plaintiff committed in the former Action to his damage of 200. l. and did finde in damages according to the limitation of the statute but there was a special Verdict found by the direction of the Iudge for that the Plaintiffs Attorney did not produce a copy of the Original in the former Action and since hath compounded for the same I have mentioned this to shew of what validity their words are and the rather for this reason because one of the Petitioners hath told me since his conviction that they all would take the same Oath Thus you see these men as they did not leave any way of cruelty unattempted and acted that might conduce to accomplish their covetous design though never so destructive to the Common-wealth and ruinous to their fellow subjects in their Estares and Liberties so now they will not cease covering their sins with lyes even with an Oath 3. That many of their company that had greater benefit by their patent then themselves refuse to joyn in making satisfaction To this I Answer 1. That there are not many that refuse had greater benefit 2. That this is in the most part of it rather a pretence then real matter of complaint for the petitioners dares not cause all those which they have nominated and presented to the Honorable Committee of the House of Commons for petitions to be compelled to joyn with them in making restitution Much more might be spoken to these three particulars to shew how they endeavour to deceive the Honorable House of Commons by these vain words but I will neither trouble my self or you because it is not materiall to the Iudge to hinder him in execution of Iustice whether the Malefactor be willing or not willing to be tryed whether a Malefactor do possesse any of the money which he hath stoln or not possesse whether the rest of the Malefactors be discovered or not discovered at present I will conclude with the words of Solomon Prov. 18. 17. He that is first in his own cause seemeth just but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him FINIS
Patentees by Suits in Star-Chamber caused them to be Fined in great Sums of money their persons imprisoned for divers years some dying in Prison their houses broken open their goods Seized to the Beds they lay on to their very great impoverishing and unexpressible damage being totally disabled from the use of their Trade to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sope-makers to forsake the Kingdom and live Exile in Foraign parts 3. Vnder which heavy burthen and bondage the Petitioners groaned divers years untill they and others of their Art were forced to buy their Trade and Liberty which they were born to by giving the King a greater yearly Revenue then the Projectors did 4. Neverthelesse many persons not having been brought up nor served as Apprentises in the Petitioners Art did use the making of Sope privately and secretly putting the same to sale even to the ruine of the Petitioners and great deceiving of the Kingdom by base Sope. 5. For remedy whereof and to secure the Revenue the Petitioners and the rest of the Company were injoyned by His Majesty and the Lords of the Privy Councel and bound in 40000. l. Bond to suppresse all such persons from the making Sope which indeed were prosecuted only but according to the tenour of the King and Lords Warrants 6. For so doing many Suits in Law have been prosecuted against the Petitioners upon the Statute of Monopolize to the expence of 1000. l. some of them recovering 1000. l. 500. l. 300. l. when the Petitioners proved they were not really dampnified ◠l. and many more Actions are brought and threatned to be brought against the Petitioners onely being but few to the many which were of their company which will tend to the great disinabling of the Petitioners in being serviceable to the King and Parliament as formerly and as they still desire in which cause they have greatly ingaged their purses and persons but now are like to be utterly undone if not relieved In tender consideration of the premises and in regard that your Petitioners are most willing and ready to make satisfaction to their utmost abilities to all that can make it truly appear they are damnified by your Petitioners they having paid divers to the value of 6000 l. for satisfaction of which their wrongs the Petitioners never received one peny And in regard many of the Petitioners company who received a far greater benefit by His Majesties said grant then the Petitioners did do refuse to make as is herein desired and leave the insupportable burthen totally upon the Petitioners who never acted any thing in the premises as private persons but only as Members of their Company for the general service and good of the same May it therefore please this Honorable Assembly to take the sad condition of the Petitioners into your Pious consideration and to appoint a Committee to call all such persons as aforesaid before them and to examine their particular damages and to compel all that had benefit by His Majesties said Grant to joyn with the Petitioners in giving such satisfaction without Suit in Law as to the same Committee shall seem most meet The parties who alleage themselves grieved by the Petitioners and their Company being greatly desirous to be relieved by the same means as by their humble Petition hereunto annexed appeareth whereby the Petitioners may be preserved from utter ruine And your Petitioners c. Having set down and presented to your view the Petition of the last Sope-Patentees the most ancient and most cruel Monopolers of the Art of Sope-boyling I shall first give you the parts of it and then explain it wherein I shall shew not only the greatnesse of their oppressing Patent but also their wilful being oppressors and invaders of the Subjects Liberties which being done will not only render them to be the greatest oppressors and most ancient Monopolers but also men covering the sins with lyes which at present I shall do it briefly yet satisfactorily because their more fuller declaring of their taking a Patent was not to gain their Trade but the inriching of themselves by oppressing their fellow-Subjects in their Liberties and Estates is more proper either in answering their Book Intituled A true Relation concerning the Sope businesse or in proof of the Charge which I shall exhibite against them in the High and Honorable Court of Parliament for their Delinquency not only in their taking of their oppressing Patent but also in their cruel barbarous and inhumane prosecution of it in both which I have made some progresse in and preparation for 1. The general parts of their Petition are three 1. The body or subject matter of their Petition which consists of six particular Branches 2. The Arguments on which the request of their Petition is grounded 3. The Requests of their Petition it self 2. The opening or explanation of this their Petition In the general part of this their Petition which is the body or subject matter of the Petition you shall finde these four things laid down First That these Patentees were by the Patent and practise of the white Sope-Patentees prohibited their Trade for divers years together Together with the sad consequences that did fall upon these Petitioners by reason of the Patent which they demonstrate by these five particulars 1. By vexatious Suits in the Star-Chamber 2. By the great Fines imposed upon them in that illegal Court 3. By the long Imprisoning of their persons 4. By breaking open their houses 5. By Seizing and carrying away their goods This first thing together with these five particulars declaring these Petitioners sufferings by the Patent and practise of the other Patentees are expressed in the two first Branches of this Petition The Answer is That thought it is an undeniable truth which they have set forth yet they are not to be thought or doth render them the more excuseable nor is their sin in taking their oppressing Patent extenuated thereby but aggravated and that for this reason Because they acted the sin of others against light namely the sin of Oppression not of an ordinary but of a scarlet dye not only acting unrighteous Decrees but procurers of them thus making their Prince an oppressor to his people by their false pretences in not only a Law destroying but a Land ruinating sin which they themselves have demonstrated unto us by four things in these first second Branches so that I may say unto them as Christ said to the unprofitable servant They may be judged out of their own mouth which being well confidered will render the Petitioners Enemies as well as the other Patentees not only to the Kings Majesty but also to the Law Liberties and Estates of the Subject in their taking of a Patent I will only give you one Scripture instance which doth aptly prove the Argument and render these Patentees greater offenders and sinners then the other and then I will name the four particulars by them expressed Adam sinned as well as the woman in eating the