<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2008-12-05</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B081011.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A72256">
<STC T="S">12967.5</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99898883</BIBNO>
<VID>150946</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 3 -->
<HEAD>To the Honourable, the Knights, Citizens, and Burge&s;&s;es of the <HI>Commons Hou&s;e of Parliament. The Humble Petition of Ierom Hawley E&s;quire, for</HI> and on the behalfe of Phillip Sture an infant, the &s;onne and heire of Tri&s;tram Sture.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Phillip Sture.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Iohn Sture.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Henry</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Henry, who died without i&s;&s;ue.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Frances a daugh|ter</HI> 15. <HI>yeeres old.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Tri&s;tram</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Phillip, &s;ix yeeres olde</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>_HVmbly &s;heweth, That <HI>Phillip Sture</HI> the common ance&s;ter, 21. <HI>Eliz.</HI> vpon the marriage of <HI>Iohn Sture</HI> his &s;on and heire, with <HI>Elizabeth</HI> one of the daughters of Sir <HI>Robert Denis,</HI> made a conueyance of his Lands, whereof the greate&s;t part he limited by that conueyance, to the heires males, &s;ome to the heyres of the body of <HI>Iohn Sture.</HI> And the re&s;t he &s;uffered to di&s;cend in fee-&s;imple.</P>
<P>This e&s;tate taile, hath bin found in foure &s;euerall &s;ucceeding Offices, vpon the &s;euerall deaths of <HI>Phillip Sture, Iohn Sture, Henry Sture,</HI> &amp; <HI>Henry Sture,</HI> wherof in the 2. fir&s;t offices the deeds are found in <HI>hec verba.</HI></P>
<P>There are fifty Lea&s;es, all re&s;eruing rent to the heires males, whereof the fir&s;t Lea&s;e recites a power contained in the deed of intaile to make Lea&s;es.</P>
<P>Yet Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood,</HI> hauing gotten the Ward&s;hip of <HI>Frances</HI> the heire generall, and to aduance a marriage for his &s;onne af|ter 35. yeeres peace, that is to &s;ay, <HI>Hil.</HI> 12. <HI>Iac.</HI> to draw into que&s;tion this intaile again&s;t <HI>Tri&s;tram</HI> then heire male, did &s;o farre pre|uaile, as that <HI>Hil.</HI> 13. <HI>Iac.</HI> he obtained a Decree.</P>
<P>This Decree hath the&s;e parts.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. It doth direct a Iury in matter of fact, and commandeth them to finde, that the mo&s;t part of the Lands li|mited to the heires male, did not pa&s;&s;e by the conueyance.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It re&s;traines a Iury to finde otherwi&s;e then is thereby directed.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. It inioynes the defendant from giuing of euidence vnto the Iurie.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. It forbids the Commi&s;&s;ioners to take any verdict offered by the Iury, if it pur&s;ue not the directions of the Decree.</ITEM>
</LIST>
Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood</HI> vpon this Decree tooke forth three &s;euerall Commi&s;&s;ions, 18. <HI>Martij,</HI> 13. <HI>Iac.</HI> a Iury was impannelled in the Country, heard their euidence, were agreed for the heire male. Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood,</HI> a iudiciall officer in the Court, did pro&s;ecute this cau&s;e in per&s;on, and di&s;couering the opinion of the Iury, did publikely chide them, and with much importunity per&s;waded the Iury to craue further time to con&s;ider of their euidence: and thereuppon at the in&s;tance of Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood</HI> they were ad|iourned ouer vnto the next Se&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P>But in the meane time, Sir <HI>Miles</HI> got that Iury to be di&s;charged vpon a bare &s;ugge&s;tion, that the Iury was too meane to trie &s;o great a matter: whereas M. <HI>Thomas I&s;acke</HI> the Foreman, is a wi&s;e vnder&s;tanding Gentleman, and hath aboue 800. li. Land <HI>per annum,</HI> and 14. of the re&s;t of that Iury, he that had lea&s;t, was worth 3000. li.</P>
<P>In Ea&s;ter Terme, 14. <HI>Iac.</HI> a new Iury of E&s;quires and Gentlemen was returned, in Iuly 14. <HI>Iac.</HI> they heard their euidence in the Country (Sir <HI>Miles</HI> &s;til pro&s;ecuting in per&s;on.)</P>
<P>But Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood</HI> afterward perceiuing, that the Iury had declared them&s;elues to be again&s;t his pretended Title, got that &s;econd Iury likewi&s;e to be di&s;charged, and a new Iury of Knights and E&s;quires to be returned, who were enioyned to appeare at the barre. Which Iury accordingly appeared in Ea&s;ter Terme, 15. <HI>Iac.</HI> the heire male brought his witne&s;&s;es out of <HI>Deuon,</HI> &amp; his Councell to the barre. But none were heard, the Iury was &s;ent from the barre, and charged to find according to the Decree. This matter being notorious to the Country, the Iury returned an&s;wer, that the Decree alone gaue their con&s;ciences no &s;atisfaction, &amp; vnle&s;&s;e they might receiue euidence, they could finde no office. Whereupon after 3. or 4. dayes attendance, they were adiourned ouer til Michaelmas Terme following. No. 3. they appeared againe at the barre, continued &s;till of the &s;ame minde, were bound to appeare <HI>de die in diem,</HI> were examined vpon Interrogatories, were threatned with fines and impri&s;onment, were continued &s;o from day to day, aboue 3. weekes, and then M. <HI>Hing&s;ton</HI> dying in that &s;eruice, the re&s;t of the Iury were di&s;charged.</P>
<P>By this time Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood</HI> did perceiue, that able and vnder&s;tanding men were not for his purpo&s;e; and therefore it was deui&s;ed, that a meaner Iury would be found more tractable, and thereupon a fourth Iury was returned, but that was &s;o meane, as that vpon the Commi&s;&s;ioners certificate, 8. of them were di&s;charged for in&s;ufficiency, and 8. others put into their roomes.</P>
<P>This Iury was often &s;ummoned, but the example of the precedent Iury &s;o terrified them, as that &s;o long as there was any order to force them vp to the bar, they could neuer be drawne to appeare: but that order being di&s;continued, the Iury pre&s;ently appea|red, were &s;worne and charged in the Country: the heire-male brought his witne&s;&s;es and Councell; pre&s;&s;ed the Commi&s;&s;ioners to proceed, but the Councell for Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood</HI> pretended they were not ready, and therefore de&s;ired, that the Iurie might be di&s;continued, which vpon their motion was done accordingly.</P>
<P>This Iury being thus di&s;charged, Sir <HI>Miles</HI> inuented a new proiect, got an order for the re&s;ummoning of the &s;ame Iury againe, drew paper draughts of &s;uch offices as he de&s;ired to be found, procured the Court to &s;igne tho&s;e paper draughts, and by order to giue directions vnto the Commi&s;&s;ioners, not onely to fine the Iury, but likewi&s;e to binde them ouer to the barre, if they refu&s;ed to finde the &s;aid offices.</P>
<P>Depending this Iury, the heire male was a &s;utor to the Court to review the Decree, &amp; vpon a long &s;uit, and many daies hearing in Court, by the honorable Iu&s;tice of the now Ma&s;ter, the heire male was &s;et at liberty from that Decree.</P>
<P>Onely this inconuenience &s;till re&s;ts vpon the heire male, That there is a &s;ixt Iury returned, and by the &s;olicitation of S. <HI>Miles</HI> they are enioyned to appeare at the bar, there to heare their euidence. This cour&s;e is conceiued to be,</P>
<P N="1">1. A great taxation to the Country, to draw Iurors to London, almo&s;t 200. miles from their dwellings, to finde offices.</P>
<P N="2">2. A great mi&s;chiefe to the heire male. For by this deuice, he &s;hall lo&s;e the benefit of his witne&s;&s;es, they being many in num|ber, and &s;ome of them blinde and very old, and cannot be brought to London, be&s;ide the great charge hee hath already &s;u&s;tay|ned, amounting to 1200. li. by meanes of this vexation.</P>
<P>Sir <HI>Miles Fletwood</HI> hath bin finding of an office now full 7. yeares and more. He hath had 14. &s;euerall Commi&s;&s;ions, and 6. &s;e|uerall Iuries. Tho&s;e Iuries haue attended aboue 20. &s;euerall adiournments. The Wards rents are &s;eque&s;tred. His Maie&s;tie is kept by the&s;e &s;uits, from the compo&s;ition and benefit of Ward&s;hip.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="petition proper">
<P>Therefore it is humbly prayed, That by the wi&s;edome of this honourable Parliament, &s;ome proui&s;ion may be made:
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. That the con&s;cience of Iurors be not from henceforth re&s;trained in que&s;tions of fact.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. That the &s;ubiect may be at liberty to giue euidence.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. That no Iury be drawne to the Barre, out of the proper Countie to finde any office.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. That no Office be an informer in the &s;ame Court.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
</DIV2>
<GAP DESC="missing" REASON="page cropped" EXTENT="1 span">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
