<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2008-10-07</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080920.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A76439">
<STC T="W">B2004</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.20[63]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99870761</BIBNO>
<VID>163479</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 18 -->
<HEAD>To his Highne&s;s the Lord Protector of <HI>England, Scotland, and Ireland,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The humble petition of Capt. <HI>John Bernard</HI> now pri&s;oner in Newgate, <HI>LONDON,</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER>Shewing!</OPENER>
<P>_THat Collonel <HI>Wenthrop</HI> being under &s;ome dangerous delu&s;ion and temptation, hath with others continued a Con&s;piracy to de&s;troy your Petitioner ever &s;ince <HI>December</HI> 1651. and did Ju&s;tifie three fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es the 13. of this in&s;tant <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> in open Court: and whi&s;pered with the Magi&s;trates upon the Bench, and &s;o &s;urpri&s;ed both Magi&s;trates, and Jurors; that they would not &s;uffer all the per&s;ons who were in Col. <HI>Wenthrops</HI> family when the pretended Robbery was committed to bee &s;ent for, and examined; nor would they &s;uffer the three fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es to bee kept at a di&s;tance from each other, and examined a part, whereby your innocent Petitioner hath &s;entence of death pronounced upon him, and hath his ju&s;t Rights and Priviledges apparently taken from him by the afore&s;aid proceedings, contrary to Law, which your Highne&s;s hath bound your &s;elf by oath to maintain and pre&s;erve.</P>
<P>In tender Con&s;ideration of the premi&s;es and for the rea&s;ons following, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. Collonel <HI>Wenthrop</HI> hath made your Petitioner odious unto your Highne&s;s, de&s;ignedly to prevent your Highne&s;&s;es promi&s;ed hearing of him, and your Petitioner face to face, upon a Chri&s;tian-like charge pre&s;ented by Doctor <HI>Wells,</HI> again&s;t the &s;aid Collonel and others, for mo&s;t apparent partiality and inju&s;tice: before the pretended Robbery was committed.</P>
<P N="2">2. Before &s;entence was pa&s;&s;ed, your Petitioner importuned the Court to &s;u&s;pend the &s;ame at pre&s;ent, and to re-examine the &s;aid witne&s;&s;es; your Petitioner having found out the ground of their malice again&s;t him, and al&s;o four per&s;ons of Col. <HI>Wenthrop's</HI> family, who were in the hou&s;e the &s;ame night that the Robbery, was &s;aid to be committed, who&s;e Information upon oath wilfully clear the truth for your Petititioners Vindica|tion.</P>
<P REND="italic">May it therefore plea&s;e your Highne&s;s to grant your Petitioner a Reprieve, and to call Collonel <HI>Wenthrop</HI> and the per&s;ons which were in his hou&s;e the <HI>15</HI> of <HI>May</HI> la&s;t before your Highne&s;s; and examine them again&s;t your Petitioner face to face, that truth may be brought to light, and that your Petitioners innocent blood may not be brought upon your Highne&s;&s;es head, through want of your Highne&s;&s;es mainteining the Ju&s;t Rights, and Priviledges of your Petitioner according to your Oath; your inferiour Magistrates having greatly failed; and your Petioner de&s;ires no mercy but the extremity of Ju&s;tice from your Highne&s;s, if in the &s;pirit of meekne&s;s he doth not make all this good before your Highne&s;s.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>And your Petitioner &s;hall ever pray, &amp;c. <HI>John Bernard.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To the right Honourable, the <HI>Lord Maior,</HI> and the re&s;t of the <HI>Bench,</HI> at the <HI>Old-Baily:</HI> The Humble Petition of Capt. <HI>John Bernard,</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SHFWETH!</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THat Collonel <HI>Wenthrop,</HI> and many other great Officers of the Army, have maliciou&s;ly con&s;pired to de&s;troy your Petitioner ever &s;ince <HI>December,</HI> 1651. And have damnified him already, far above 10000 ^l And upon your Petitioners Appeal to his Highne&s;&s;e, pre&s;ented by one Doctor <HI>Wells,</HI> about 10 a Clock, on <HI>Friday</HI> 15. <HI>May</HI> la&s;t, (being the day before Col. <HI>Wenthrops</HI> Robbery was named,) His Highne&s;&s;e graciou&s;ly promi&s;ed to heare Col. <HI>Wenthrop,</HI> and any other accu&s;er, and your Peti|tioner face to face But the &s;aid Collonel hath made your Petitioner odious unto his Highne&s;&s;e, and other good men, by accu&s;ing him fal&s;ly, and producing fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es to take away your Petitioners Life apparent|ly, and de&s;ignedly to prevent his Highne&s;&s;es promi&s;ed hearing.</P>
<P>Moreover, divers of Col. <HI>Winthrops</HI> fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es did de&s;perately &s;wear again&s;t one <HI>Bryan Harpur</HI> Gent. for the &s;ame pretended Robbery: and though M^r^. <HI>Harpur</HI> did pre&s;ently cleer his Innocency, and cloath the faces of Col. <HI>Wenthrop,</HI> and his fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es with &s;hame, &s;o that he was con&s;trained to get M^r. <HI>Harpur</HI> di&s;charged at the la&s;t &s;e&s;&s;ions at <HI>Hicks's Hall.</HI> Yet he doth &s;till keep the &s;ame fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es to &s;wear again&s;t your Petitioner.</P>
<P>In tender Con&s;ideration of the premi&s;es: and that your Petitioner is utterly ignorant of the Law, and of the proceeding in this Honourable Court:</P>
<P REND="italic">May it therefore plea&s;e your Honours to Plead your Petitioners cau&s;e: and Order that Col. <HI>Wen|throps</HI> whole Family (who are Capable of an Oath, and were in the Hou&s;e when the pretended Rob|bery was committed) may all appear before your Honours, to give Te&s;timony again&s;t your Petitioner, and that tho&s;e witne&s;&s;es who are here pre&s;ent, may be kept a part out of the Court, and from each other, and then be examined apart, for your better finding out of truth for your Petitioners Vindi|cation or Condemnation.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>And your Petitioner &s;hall ever pray, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Jo. Bernard.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To every Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, and Officer and Souldier of the Army, and Citizen of <HI>London</HI> or <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and all other Men and Women who fear God, and love righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>I Do earne&s;tly and humbly be&s;eech you, and every one of you, as you will an&s;wer it at the great day of Account, forthwith to pray fervently to the Lord, that he would vindicate his truth from forged lies, and fal&s;e te&s;timony in this ca&s;e concerning my life, related in the enclo&s;ed Petitions: And then forth|with move five or &s;ix of the chiefe&s;t Speakers out of the &s;everal Congregations you belong unto, forthwith to go to <HI>Hampton-court</HI> unto the Protector, to procure me a Reprieve, and an Order for his Highne&s;&s;es &s;peedy Examination of this horrid intended murther of me under colour of a Legal-trial which I had not, both magi&s;trates and Jurors being &s;urpri&s;ed, as a cloud of witne&s;&s;es then pre&s;ent at the trial; &s;ome of the Life-guard, others of the City are ready to prove upon his Highne&s;&s;es hearing who is now the proper Judge thereof, and mu&s;t pre&s;erve or murder me; and you will be acce&s;&s;ary to the murther, if you do not improve your utmo&s;t Intere&s;t to have the truth brought to light, which is all that is de&s;ired by</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your friend and &s;ervant in the Lord, under great affliction for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;ake,</HI> John Bernard.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>15 <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> 1657.</DATE></DATELINE>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P>Monday morning next is appointed the time when I mu&s;t be murthered, unle&s;&s;e the Lord be &s;een in the Mount: Pray therefore with faith, and act with patience while there is any time, and wait to &s;ee the &s;alvation of God, unto whom belong the i&s;&s;ues from death.</P>
</POSTSCRIPT></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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