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<DATE>2008-11-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080923.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A78136">
<STC T="W">B753</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">43663168</BIBNO>
<VID>171897</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<PB REF="1"><!-- PDF PAGE 7 -->
<HEAD>The Petition of Mr. <HI>Prai&s;e-God Barebone,</HI> and &s;everal others, to the PARLIAMENT.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Pre&s;ented on <DATE><HI>Thur&s;day</HI> the 9^t^h of <HI>February,</HI> 1659.</DATE></HEAD>
<P>THE Hou&s;e being informed that divers Petitioners wer at the Door, they were called in, and Mr. <HI>Prai&s;e-God Barebone</HI> in the name of the re&s;t, being come to the Bar, addre&s;&s;ing him&s;elf to Mr. Speaker, &s;aid, we are come to wait upon this Honourable Hou&s;e with a Petition from &s;uch as are lovers of the <HI>Good Old Cau&s;e;</HI> the Petitioners are &s;uch as have adhered to this Parliament, and &s;uch as are lovers of Ju&s;tice, Righteou&s;ne&s;s, Freedom, and lovers of a Common-wealth, accounting it the be&s;t Government: There are many Sub&s;criptions, I may &s;ay thou&s;ands, and in their names I do humbly pre&s;ent it to you: And thereupon pre&s;ented the Petition, who being withdrawn, the Petition was read, and is as followeth;</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="text of petition">
<HEAD>To the PARLIAMENT of the Commonwealth of <HI>England.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>The Repre&s;entation and Addre&s;s of the Well-affected Per&s;ons, Inhabitants of the Cities of</HI> London <HI>and</HI> We&s;tmin&s;ter, <HI>and places adjacent, being faithful and con&s;tant Adherers to this Parliament, who are re&s;olved (by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Almighty God) to &s;tand by, a&s;&s;ert, and maintain their Authority, again&s;t all oppo&s;ers, notwith&s;tanding the pre&s;ent confidence and bold attempts of the Promoters of Regal Intere&s;t, by the declared Enemies of their Cau&s;e and Authority.</HI></P>
<P>WHereas <HI>the good Old Cau&s;e</HI> was for Civil and Chri&s;tian Liberty, again&s;t Oppre&s;&s;ion and Per&s;ecution; The Oppre&s;&s;ors and Per&s;ecutors, were chiefly the King, his Lords and Clergy, and their Adherents, who to effect their de&s;igns, rai&s;ed War again&s;t the <HI>Parliament.</HI></P>
<P>Whereupon the <HI>Parliament</HI> in defence of Civil and Chri&s;tian Liberty, call the oppre&s;&s;ed and per&s;ecuted to their aid, by who&s;e a&s;&s;i&s;tance the Oppre&s;&s;ors and Per&s;ecutors have been &s;ubdued, King&s;hip and Peerage aboli&s;hed, and per&s;ecution checkt; by which the number of con&s;cientious Friends to the <HI>Parliament,</HI> have been &s;o exceedingly encrea&s;ed, that they are now (by Gods a&s;&s;i&s;tance) in a far more able capacity of keeping down their enemies, than they were in tho&s;e times when they &s;ubdued them.</P>
<P>Neverthele&s;s, &s;o watchful hath the re&s;tle&s;s enemy been to make advantage, that what (time after time) he hath lo&s;t in the Field, he hath endeavoured to regain, even in the Parliaments Council; where becau&s;e he had not the Face openly to bring in the King, with the former oppre&s;&s;ions and per&s;ecutions, they &s;hrowded and vailed them&s;elves, one while under a Per&s;onal Treaty, another while, under a Cloak of Zeal, again&s;t Bla&s;phemy and Here&s;ie, their endeavours being to bring in the King upon any terms; to cheri&s;h the per&s;ecuting party, and to brow-beat their mo&s;t con&s;cientious Oppo&s;ers.</P>
<P>Upon which pretences, neverthele&s;s they have, through tract of time, and the un&s;ettledne&s;s of Government, pre|vailed &s;o far, as under the notion of a moderate Party, to get the &s;ubtille&s;t of their Friends into many places of Tru&s;t and Command, both Civil and Military, through who&s;e countenance and encouragement, albeit the Parliament upon good Grounds, Voted the Government by King and Lords u&s;ele&s;s, burden&s;om and dangerous; and declare very large|ly for Liberty of Con&s;cience, yet of late a general boldne&s;s hath been taken, to plead a nece&s;&s;ary of returning to the Go|vernment of King and Lords, a taking in of the Kings Son, or which is all one, for a return of the ju&s;tly &s;ecluded Mem|bers, or a Free Parliament, without due Qualifications, whereby the Good Old Cau&s;e of Liberty, and Freedom (&s;o long contended for again&s;t Regal Intere&s;t&punc; with the expence of much Blood and Trea&s;ure) and the a&s;&s;ertors thereof, will be pro&s;tituted to &s;ati&s;fie the lu&s;ts of the Enemies of the Common-wealth, where in they have prevailed &s;o far, that unle&s;s all con&s;cientious per&s;ons in Parliament, Army, Navy and Common-wealth, do &s;peedily unite, and watchfully look about them, as the Sword will certainly (though &s;ecretly and &s;ilently) be &s;tolen out of their hands; &s;o al&s;o will they find all Civil Authority fall &s;uddenly into the hands of their enraged enemies, and a return of all tho&s;e violences, oppre&s;&s;ions and per&s;ecutions which have co&s;t &s;o much Blood and Trea&s;ure to extirpate.</P>
<P>The Serious apprehen&s;ions whereof, hath &s;tirred up your cordial friends to de&s;ire you to u&s;e all po&s;&s;ible endeavours to prevent the Commonwealths adver&s;aries in this their mo&s;t dangerous Stratagem; And as the mo&s;t effectual means thereunto; We pray,</P>
<P N="1">I. <HI>That you will admit no per&s;on or per&s;ons to Sit,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The&s;e Petiti|oners declare them&s;elves di&s;|affected to con&s;cientious men in Civil &amp; Military im|ployment, and al&s;o to godly Mini&s;ters, as his Excellency the L. Gen. <HI>Monck</HI> doth take no|tice in the 9 &amp; 10 <HI>pages</HI> of his Letter, dated from <HI>Whitehall Febr.</HI> 11. 1659.</NOTE> <HI>or Vote in this, or any future Parliament, or Council of State, or to be in any Office or Judicatory, or any Publick Tru&s;t in the Commonwealth, or Command in the Army, Navy, or Garri&s;ons, or to be a publick Preacher to the people at Sea or Land, or any In&s;tructer of youth, except &s;uch only as &s;hall ABJURE, or by Solemn Engagement renounce the pretended Title, or Titles of</HI> Charles Stewart, <HI>and the whole Line of the late King</HI> James; <HI>and of every other per&s;on, as a &s;ingle per&s;on, pretending, or which &s;hall pretend to the Crown or Government of the&s;e Nations of</HI> Eng|land, Scotland <HI>and</HI> Ireland, <HI>or any of them, and the Dominions and Territories belonging to them, or any of them, or any other &s;ingle per&s;on, King&s;hip, Peerage, or any power co-ordinate with the peoples Repre&s;entatives in Parliament; And all coercive power in matter of Religion, according to a Vote of a Grand Committee of this Parliament, of the</HI> 11 <HI>of</HI> Sept. 1659.</P>
<P N="2">II. <HI>We further pray, That it may be Enacted, That who&s;oever &s;hall move, offer, or propound in Parliament, Council, or any other Court, or publick meeting, any matter or thing, in order to the introducing of</HI> Charles Stewart, <HI>or any of that Family as afore&s;aid, or any other &s;ingle Per&s;on, Hou&s;e of Lords, Coercive power in matters of Religion, or any power co-ordinate with the peoples Repre&s;entatives in Parliament, may be deemed and adjudged guilty of High Trea&s;on, and may &s;uffer the pains and pe|nalties thereof. And that who&s;ever &s;hall in Parliament, Council, or any other publick Court, or meeting, move for, or propo&s;e the revocation of this Law (when by you Enacted) may be deemed and judged guilty of High Trea&s;on, and &s;uffer the pains and penalties thereof.</HI></P>
<P><HI>In the pro&s;ecution whereof, we &s;hall &s;tand by You, with our E&s;tates and Lives, to a&s;&s;ert and maintain your Authority, again&s;t all oppo&s;itions what&s;oever: Notwith&s;tanding the pre&s;ent Confidence, and bold Attempts of Yours and our Enemies.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Signed by, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></SIGNED>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P><HI>Re&s;olved,</HI> That the Petitioners have the thanks of the Hou&s;e for the expre&s;&s;ion of their good affections to the Parliament.</P>
<P>The Petitioners being again called in, Mr. Speaker gave them this an&s;wer.</P>
<P>Gentlemen, <HI>The Hou&s;e have read your Petition, and they do find that you have been &s;uch as have constantly born them good affections, and that your affections are the &s;ame &s;till, and for the expre&s;&s;ions of your good affections, the Hou&s;e hath commanded me to give you Thanks, and in their Names I do give you Thanks accordingly.</HI></P>
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