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<DATE>2007-10-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<VID>163421</VID>
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<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 18 -->
<HEAD>To His Highne&s;s my Lord Protector.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The humble Petition and Information of <HI>Godfree Goodman</HI> Bi&s;hop late of <HI>Glouce&s;ter.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER>Sheweth,</OPENER>
<P>THat your Petitioner doth give your Highne&s;s mo&s;t humble thanks, for your gracious Reference to his former Petition, though &s;uch was his unhappine&s;s that it took no effect, which occa&s;ioneth him once again to be trouble&s;ome, and to inform your Highne&s;s, That he was &s;eque&s;tred by the Committee of Plundered Mini&s;ters, for his Tithes of the Par&s;onage of <HI>We&s;t-Ilde&s;ley</HI> in the County of <HI>Berks;</HI> That for the&s;e &s;even years together he hath &s;uits in <HI>Chancery,</HI> and in &s;everall Committees to recover his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and arrears, wherein he hath &s;pent much time, found much trouble and expence, and now was upon the point of hearing, but in regard of your Highne&s;s Proclamation, which came forth the third of this in&s;tant <HI>July</HI> 1655, that &s;uits of &s;uch nature &s;hould cea&s;e; he therefore de&s;i&s;ts, in his obedience to your Highne&s;s command, onely he doth humbly crave leave, to appeal unto God, and under God to your Highne&s;s, <HI>for Ju&s;tice,</HI> this being his la&s;t and onely refuge, and to that end I will make a true relation of my Cau&s;e.</P>
<P>My private lo&s;&s;es were &s;uch, as I think no man &s;uffered more proportionably; and when nothing was left but <HI>We&s;t-Ilde&s;ley,</HI> in my ab&s;ence, having no &s;ummons to appear, nor ever admitted to &s;peak in mine own defence, I was &s;eque&s;tred, as it may be &s;uppo&s;ed, by the fal&s;e &s;ugge&s;tions of Mr. <HI>Humfrey Newbery,</HI> who was appointed to officiate the Cure. This Seque&s;tration for a time he kept &s;ecret, &s;uffered me to pay all Contributions for billetting of Souldiers, and for di&s;charge of the Cure, which in effect did amount to the full value of the Par&s;onage; and when the profits came in, then came Mr. <HI>Newbery</HI> with Souldiers, and took the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>Now for acquitting my &s;elf, and to &s;hew my own innocency, I procured the te&s;timonials of the high Sheriff, mo&s;t of the Ju&s;tices, together with the Governours of Ca&s;tles and Towns, and from all the parts where I was known, and had lived, (who &s;end up Members to the Parliament, being &s;ix &s;everall places at lea&s;t) they did all te&s;tify my peaceable carriage, and that I had not offended in the&s;e Wars; and the Com|mittee for Seque&s;trations in the Country where I lived did te&s;tify the &s;ame, and that I had paid all Contri|butions, which in effect tho&s;e Counties paid in lieu of Seque&s;trations.</P>
<P>Then it appears under the hand of Mr. <HI>Scobel</HI> Clerk of the Parliament, that I was freed from Seque&s;tra|tions by order of Parliament, and more particularly it appears under the hand of Mr. <HI>William Lenthal</HI> Spea|ker of the Parliament, that I was freed from the Seque&s;tration of the Tithes of <HI>We&s;t-Ild&s;ley.</HI> Upon the Cer|tificate of Major General <HI>Mitton,</HI> the Committee for Plundered Mini&s;ters, who did formerly &s;eque&s;ter me, were de&s;irous to re&s;tore me, as may appear by their &s;everal Orders; and in the interim they did allow me a fift part, which Mr. <HI>Newbery</HI> paid for two years, but ever after refu&s;ed. All the&s;e Certificates and Te&s;ti|monials. I have the originals, and am ready to produce them and (God knows) I cannot conceive, how it is po&s;&s;ible that a man can have fairer proofs.</P>
<P>My humble &s;uit is, That I may be put in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion by Souldiers, as I was outed by Souldiers; and that I may recover the arrears unju&s;tly detained; and that I may enter upon the profits as Mr. <HI>Newbery</HI> did: And whereas it is &s;aid that &s;ome of tho&s;e Mini&s;ters who hold other mens Benefices by Seque|&s;tration, have Petitioned your Highne&s;s to refer the Cau&s;e to &s;ome of your honourable Councel, to hear and determine according to Ju&s;tice and equity; I do likewi&s;e joyn with them in their Petition, that &s;eeing there is much difference in the &s;everal cau&s;es of Seque&s;tration, and indeed a great difference between the &s;eque&s;tring and &s;eque&s;tred Mini&s;ters, that men may not be left without remedy, but that your Honourable Councel, according to their own wi&s;dom, and as God &s;hall direct, them, may de|termine the controver&s;ies.</P>
<P>I &s;hall yet be bold to make one further motion in behalf of the Univer&s;ities: When Bi&s;hops did give holy Orders or In&s;titutions into Benefices, they did ever require the te&s;timonials for their learning and behaviour, from the Uni|ver&s;ity or College where they were bred; and now that there is no further u&s;e of Bi&s;hops, I de&s;ire that the Univer|&s;ities may not loo&s;e their right of giving their te&s;timonials, and do wi&s;h that none might receive holy orders, or be admitted into Benefices, but &s;uch as &s;hould be recommended by the Univer&s;ities or College. But if your Highne&s;s &s;hould appoint &s;ome of the chief and mo&s;t eminent men who re&s;ide in the Univer&s;ity, there publickly to admit Mini|&s;ters, and to give in&s;titutions (as by Law and their own privileges they do yearly licence &s;ome Preachers and pre&s;ent to the Benefices of convict Recu&s;ants, each of the Univer&s;ities having &s;everall Counties allotted them by Statute) it would prevent divi&s;ions and Sects; it would make much for the honour of Mini&s;ters, and procure much peace in the Church, when the per&s;ons &s;o promoted &s;hall be le&s;s &s;ubject to exception.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>July 9. 1655.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>And your Petitioner &s;hall daily pray &amp;c. GODFREE GOODMAN.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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