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<DATE>2007-10-24</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<STC T="T">669.f.14[76]</STC>
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<VID>163063</VID>
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<HEAD>A Salva Libertate, Sent to Collonell <HI>FRANCIS WEST</HI> Leiutenant of the <HI>TOWER</HI> of LONDON, on Fryday the fourteenth of September 1649. by Leiutenant Collonell <HI>John Lilburne,</HI> vnju&s;tly, and illegally impri&s;oned, in the &s;aid <HI>Tower,</HI> ever &s;ince the 28. of <HI>March,</HI> 1649. Occa&s;io|ned by the receipt of a Verball Command (which in Law is nothing, nor &s;ignefies nothing) whereby the &s;aid Leiut. was &s;eemingly authorized, to carry the &s;aid <HI>John Lilburne</HI> before Mr. <HI>Prideaux</HI> the nicknamed, and fal&s;ly &s;o called Atturney Generall on <HI>Fryday 14. Sept.</HI> 1649</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>BEtwixt eight and nine a clock la&s;t night you &s;ent your &s;ervant to me, who de&s;ired me in your name to come and &s;peak with you, which I accordingly did, and you told me to his effect, That you being out of Town in your ab&s;ence the Atturney Generall had &s;ent to you: to bring me up to him to the Temple in the morning by eight a clock, which you thought good to acquaint me with; and to know of me whether I would go or no, and you would go with me your &s;elfe.</P>
<P>Vnto-which I an&s;wered to this effect, Alas, Sir, go with you? I mu&s;t, for I know, if I refu&s;e, you can compell me by your Guards and therefore I mu&s;t&punc; <HI>nolens, volens</HI> go, which I would not do, were I rationably able to re&s;ii&s;t you; but being I am not I &s;hall go, but this I mu&s;t tell you aforehand, that I know no &s;uch man as Mr. Atturney Generall, neither when I come before him &s;hall I &s;o much as put off my hatt unto him, or give him any reverence or re&s;pect; but &s;light him, and contemne him with the greate&s;t &s;corne I can imagine. And withall I gave unto you a new book of mine not then publi&s;hed to the view of the world, though the cheefe&s;t part of it was pen'd many weeks agoe, which I read to Sir <HI>Arthur Ha&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">eriggs</HI> one Leiut. Collonell <HI>Paul Hob&s;on,</HI> at his Inne at the Bull in Bi&s;hop&s;gate-&s;treete divers weeks ago, intituled, <HI>A preparative to an Hue and Cry after Sir</HI> Arthur Ha&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">erigge, <HI>for his &s;everall waies attempting to murther and by ba&s;e plots, con&s;piracyes, and fal&s;e witne&s;&s;e to take away the life of Leiut. Col</HI> John Lilburn. VVhich book I entreated you &s;eriou&s;ly to read, becau&s;e there was &s;omthing in it which did a little concerne you. And in the way as I came from you, I was mu&s;ing upon the frame of a <HI>Salva Libertate</HI> to &s;end to you, in the na|ture of my <HI>quondam</HI> fellow pri&s;oners. Sir <HI>Iohn Minard,</HI> Alderman <HI>Adams,</HI> Alderman <HI>Langham,</HI> and Alderman <HI>Bunch,</HI> their <HI>Sal|va Libertate</HI> in the Ca&s;e of the Hou&s;e of Lords unju&s;t dealing with them in &s;ummoning them up to their Barre, which they &s;ent to your late predece&s;&s;our Col. <HI>Tichburne,</HI> who&s;e &s;aid <HI>Salva's</HI> are Recorded in Sit <HI>Iohn Maynards</HI> Ca&s;e truly &s;tated, intitu|led, <HI>The Laws &s;ubver&s;ion. pag.</HI> 36. 37. and in the Aldermans printed and excilent Petition pre&s;ented to the Lords, 25. of <HI>Aprill</HI> 1649. But before I got up into my Chamber, I came back and told you, I had forgot to demand of you a &s;ight of the VVarrant by vertue of which you were to carry me up, and you told me, you had received none in writing, but only there was &s;ent unto you a verball command, unto which I an&s;wered, That was higher then the Kings own practi&s;es, and was &s;o vi&s;&s;ibly imperious, and arbitrary, that I could not but &s;corne to be &s;uch a &s;counderill as to &s;toop unto, or obey any &s;uch command, although I ap|parantly hazarded my life in re&s;i&s;ting of it, and therefore told you, if you would have me go upon them tearms, you &s;hould car|ry me by the neck and heeles, for I would find no leggs to go; but if you would produce unto me a written warrant, which had &s;ome more face of legall Maje&s;tracy in it then verball commands, and according to my Right and Priviledge let me read it, I would go with you either by land or water as you plea&s;ed; becau&s;e I was in no capacity to re&s;i&s;t you, although I then told you I judged a paper warrant (although in words never &s;o formall) coming from any pretended power or Authority in <HI>England</HI> now vi&s;&s;ible, to be altogether illegall, becau&s;e the intruding Generall <HI>Fairfax</HI> and his forces, had broak and annhilated all the for|mall and Legall Mage&s;tracy, of <HI>England</HI> yea the very Parliament it &s;elf, and by his will and &s;word (ab&s;olute conqueror like) had mo&s;t tyrannically erected and &s;et up, and impo&s;ed upon the free people of this Nation, a Juncto <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">o Mock power&s;itting at <HI>We&s;t|min&s;ter,</HI> whom he and his a&s;&s;ociates call a Parliament; who like &s;o many Armed theeves, and robbers upon the high-way, a&s;&s;ume a power by their own will mo&s;t traterou&s;ly to do what they like; yea, and to fill the land with their mock, or pretended Ma|ge&s;trates, among&s;t the number of which is the pretended Atturnney Generall, in perfect oppo&s;ition of whom, to the utmo&s;t of my might, power and &s;trength, I am re&s;olved by Gods gracious a&s;&s;i&s;tance, to &s;pend my blood, and all that in the world is deare unto me, &s;uppo&s;ing him not really and &s;ub&s;tantially worth the name of an <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Free-man, that in &s;ome mea&s;ure in this par|ticular is not of my mind.</P>
<P>But upon my fore-going An&s;wer to you, you were plea&s;ed to tell me, upon a verball command you would not force me; but you would acquaint the Atturny Generall with my An&s;wer which I intreated you to do, conceiving your practi&s;e therein abundantly every way more &s;afe for your &s;elf, then to execute verball commands, as is legally illu&s;trarted in the 16. <HI>pag.</HI> of my forementioned book I gave unto your hands.</P>
<P>And Sir, accidentally, &s;eeing you betwixt 11. and 12. a clock to day, I de&s;ired to know if you heard any more of the bu&s;ines, and you &s;hewed me a pretended warrant the Copy of which thus, followeth.</P>
<P>The&s;e are to will and requite you to bring before me at my Chamber in the Inner Temple, this pre&s;ent day at 3. of the clock in the afternoone, the body of Col. <HI>Iohn Lilburne,</HI> to an&s;wer to all &s;uch matters as &s;hall be objected again&s;t him, and here|of you are not to faile. <HI>Given under my hand this 14. day of Sept.</HI> 1649.</P>
<LETTER>
<HEAD>To <HI>Francis VVe&s;t</HI> E&s;q. Leiutenant of the Tower of <HI>London.</HI> Edmond Prideaux.</HEAD>
<P>VVhich &s;aid pretended warrant is not only illegall in him that makes it, who is no Atturney Generall either in Law, or Rea|&s;on; but if he were Atturney Generall, I am &s;ure he hath no power in Law to &s;end his warrant for me, or any man in <HI>Eng|land,</HI> to an&s;wer to all &s;uch things as &s;hall be objected again&s;t me, and therefore I am con&s;trained, to inform you hereby, that my per&s;on ought not to be hurried to and fro, or di&s;turbed at the plea&s;ure of any man, neither can I yeeld obedience to the com|mands of any which are not ju&s;t and Legall; and therefore in ca&s;e you di&s;turb me by &s;uch an illegall warrant, I doubt not but though I &s;hould in a &s;udden peri&s;h (which as to this life, I doe herby acquaint you, I &s;hortly expect) but &s;ome well wi&s;her to <HI>Englands</HI> Freedoms, will hereafter call you to a &s;trict account for your illegall dealings with me; for I mu&s;t let you know here|by, I cannot voluntarily go to the Inner Temple to the pretended Atturney Generall, but &s;hall &s;uffer you to carry me if you &s;hall &s;end force which I cannot re&s;i&s;t; And be-cau&s;e I know not whether ever I &s;hall have opportunity to write another line, by rea&s;on of the blody un&s;atiable rage of my tyrannicall adver&s;aries after the la&s;t drop of my bloud.</P>
<P>I can not chu&s;e but acquaint you, that I have long &s;ince drawn, and publi&s;hed my plea again&s;t the pre&s;ent power, in my 2. E|dition of my book of the 8 of <HI>Iune</HI> 1649. intituled, <HI>The Legall Fundamentall Liberties of the people of England, revived, a&s;&s;erted, and vindicated,</HI> which you may in an e&s;peciall manner read in the 43. 44. 45. to the 59. pag. which by the &s;trength of the Lord. God Omnipotent, my large experienced, help in time of neede I will &s;eale with the la&s;t drop of my blood: &s;o being in Po&s;t ha&s;t by rea&s;on of the &s;hortne&s;&s;e of time that I have had knowledg of your pretended warrant, I re&s;t,</P>
<P><HI>As much a Chri&s;tian and an Engli&s;hman as ever,</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>From my Chamber in the <HI>Tower</HI> of <HI>London</HI> <DATE>this 14. of <HI>Sept.</HI> 1649.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>JOHN LILB&V;RNE.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
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