<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2007-11-03</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B071016.apex.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A82163">
<STC T="W">D685</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.15[21]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99870091</BIBNO>
<VID>163096</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 15 -->
<HEAD>A Declaration of the Grounds and Rea&s;ons why we the Poor Inhabitants of the Town of <HI>VVellinborrow,</HI> in the County of <HI>Northampton,</HI> have begun and give con&s;ent to dig up, manure and &s;ow Corn upon the Common, and wa&s;te ground, called <HI>Bare&s;hanke</HI> belonging to the Inhabitants of <HI>VVellinborrow,</HI> by tho&s;e that have &s;ub&s;cribed, and hundreds more that give Con&s;ent.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1 _WEE find in the Word of God, that God made the Earth for the u&s;e and comfort of all Mankind, and &s;et him in it to till and dre&s;&s;e it, and &s;aid, That in the &s;weat of his brows he &s;hould eat his bread; and al&s;o we find, that God never gave it to any &s;ort of people, that they &s;hould have it all to them&s;elves, and &s;hut out all the re&s;t, but he &s;aith, The Earth hath he given to the children of men, which is every man.</P>
<P N="2">2. We find, that no creature that everGod made was ever deprived of the benefit of the Earth, but Mankind; and that it is nothing but covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, pride, and hardne&s;&s;e of heart, that hath cau&s;ed man &s;o far to degenerate.</P>
<P N="3">3. We find in the Scriptures, that the Prophets and Apo&s;tles have left it upon Record, That in the la&s;t days the oppre&s;&s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> and proud man &s;hall cea&s;e, and God will re&s;tore the wa&s;te places of the Earth to the u&s;e and comfort of Man, and that none &s;hall hurt nor de&s;troy in all his holy Mountain.</P>
<P N="4">4. We have great Encouragement from the&s;e two righteous Acts, which the Parliament of England have &s;et forth, the one again&s;t Kingly Power, the other to make England a Free Common-wealth.</P>
<P N="5">5. We are nece&s;&s;itated from our pre&s;ent nece&s;&s;ity to do this, and we hope that our Actions will ju&s;tifie us in the gate, when all men &s;hall know the truth of our nece&s;&s;ity: We are in Wellinborrow in one Pari&s;h 1169 per&s;ons that receive Alms, as the Officers have made it appear at the Quarter Se&s;&s;ions la&s;t: we have made our Ca&s;e known to the Ju&s;tices, the Ju&s;tices have given Order that the Town &s;hould rai&s;e a Stock to &s;et us on work, and that the Hundred &s;hould be en|joyned to a&s;&s;i&s;t them; but as yet we &s;ee nothing is done, nor any man that goeth about it; we have &s;pent all we have, our trading is decayed, our wives and children cry for bread, our lives are a burden to us, divers of us having 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. in Family, and we cannot get bread for one of them by our labor; rich mens hearts are hardened, they will not give us if we beg at their doors; if we &s;teal, the Law will end our lives, divers of the poor are &s;tarved to death already, and it were better for us that are living to dye by the Sword then by the Famine: And now we con&s;ider that the Earth is our Mother, and that God hath given it to the children of men, and that the common and wa&s;te Grounds belong to the poor, and that we have a right to the common ground both from the Law of the Land, Rea&s;on and Scriptures; and therefore we have begun to be&s;tow our righteous labor upon it, and we &s;hall tru&s;t the Spirit for a ble&s;&s;ing upon our labor, re&s;olving not to dig up any mans propriety, until they freely give us it; and truly we find great comfort already, through the goodne&s;&s;e of our God, that &s;ome of tho&s;e rich men among&s;t us, that have had the greate&s;t profit upon the Common, have freely given us their &s;hare in it, as one Mr John Freeman, Thomas Nottingam and John Clendon, and divers others; and the Country Farmers have proffered divers of them to give us Seed to &s;ow it, and &s;o we find that God is per|&s;wading Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem: and rruly tho&s;e that we find mo&s;t again&s;t us are &s;uch as have beencon&s;tant enemies to the Parliaments Cau&s;e from fir&s;t to la&s;t.</P>
<P>Now at la&s;t our de&s;ire is, That &s;ome that approve of this work of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, would but &s;pread this our Decla|ration before the great Councel of the Land, that &s;o they may be plea&s;ed to give us more encouragement to go on, that &s;o they may be found among&s;t the &s;mall number of tho&s;e that con&s;iders the poor and needy, that &s;o the Lord may de|liver them in the time of their troubles, and then they will not be found among&s;t tho&s;e that <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;peaks of, which withhold the Corn (or the Land) from the Poor, which the people &s;hall cur&s;e, but ble&s;&s;ing &s;hall be upon the heads of tho&s;e Rulers that &s;ell Corn, and that will let the poor labor upon the Earth to get them Corn, and our lines &s;hall ble&s;&s;e them, &s;o &s;hall good men &s;tand by them, and evil men &s;hall be afraid of them, and they &s;hall be counted the Repair|ers of our Breaches, and the Re&s;torers of our Paths to dwell in. And thus we have declared the truth of our nece&s;&s;ity; and who&s;oever will come in to us to labor with us, &s;hall have part with us, and we with them, and we &s;hall all of us endeavor to walk righteou&s;ly and peaceably in the Land of our Nativity.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM>Richard Smith.</ITEM>
<ITEM>John Avery.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Thomas Fardin.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Richard Pendred.</ITEM>
<ITEM>James Pitman.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Roger Tuis.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jo&s;eph Hichcock.</ITEM>
<ITEM>John Pye.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Edward Turner.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>LONDON, <HI>Printed for</HI> Giles Calvert. 1650.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
