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<DATE>2008-07-31</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<HEAD>MAGNA CHARTA: <HI>Containing that which is very much the Sence and Agreement of the good People of the&s;e Nations, notwith&s;tanding their Differences re|lating to Wor&s;hip.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>Humbly tendered to tho&s;e that are in Eminent Place, both in a Civil and in a Military capacity, and earne&s;tly de&s;ired that it may be by them al&s;o (in this juncture of Affaires) speedily concurred with, re&s;olved upon, and vigorou&s;ly Pro&s;ecuted, for the e&s;caping of the &s;ade&s;t, and for the enjoying of the joyfulle&s;t dayes and &s;tation, that</HI> England <HI>hath &s;een.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>By an unfeined lover of his Countrys welfare, and a Sincere Promoter of the</HI> Common-wealth <HI>and ju&s;t concernments of all men.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>As &s;ome further</HI> E&s;&s;ay <HI>in order to a well grounded Vnity, Peace and Settlement, of the&s;e poor &s;haken and &s;hattered Nations, upon that &s;ure and durable foundation of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, which will without doubt, according to the wi&s;e mans experience, not only e&s;tabli&s;h, but exalt a Nation.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. FIr&s;t, Let it be in the fear of the Lord re&s;olved; That &s;ingular care &s;hall be taken forthwith, and &s;o from time to time, that the Arrears of the poor Souldiers, the Pentions of the poor Pentioners, and the Publick faith debts, of the poor Creditors of the&s;e Nations, (who&s;e &s;traights pre&s;&s;eth them &s;ore, and makes them to &s;igh, and who&s;e &s;ighs and cryes goe up unto Heaven, and will have their returns) may be &s;peedily and out of the fir&s;t receipts di&s;charged and cleared.</P>
<P N="2">2. Secondly, That &s;ingular care &s;hall be taken forthwith, and &s;o from time to time, that the poor in general thorowout the&s;e Nations, which are very numerous now, (by rea&s;on of the decay of Trade, and other wayes) &s;hall be &s;o provided for, and in &s;uch &s;ort, that all the Impotent &s;hall be releived, and all the able &s;hall be imployed.</P>
<P N="3">3. Thirdly, That there &s;hall be a &s;peedy and effectual cour&s;e taken to rectifie the Laws, and the male-Admini&s;tration thereof, by bringing them into a Brief, Plain, and ea&s;ie Method and Form; and as neer the Laws of that famous Common-wealth of I&s;rael, as the nature and Con&s;titution of a Gentile State (under the pre&s;ent di&s;pen&s;ation of light and grace) will admit; and &s;o, that as much &s;trife and contention between man and man as may be, by plain and brief Records, Regi&s;ters, and Peace-makers, might be prevented, and what by &s;uch a Provi&s;ion cannot be prevented, might be with as much ea&s;e and &s;peed, and with as little expence of Money and irritation of &s;pirit as may be, fully redre&s;&s;ed; &s;o that loving kindne&s;s, judgment and righteou&s;ne&s;s, which the righteous Lord him&s;elf delights to be exerci&s;ed in on the earth, may be found and felt in our Land, to the great contentment and rejoycing of the inhabitants thereof.</P>
<P N="4">4. Fourthly, That &s;ingular care &s;hall be forthwith taken about that perplexing bu&s;ine&s;s of Tythes, which being continued as now it is, &s;tands but as a relict of Monarchy, and as a witne&s;s again&s;t the&s;e Nations, as if they denyed the change of the Prie&s;t-hood that was under the Law, or that Chri&s;t Je&s;us is come in the fle&s;h; is al&s;o a thing that looks much unlike the maintenance of a true Go&s;pel Mini&s;try, and which is as &s;ome conceive the very fomenter, and nouri&s;her of a Per&s;ecuting, and impo&s;ing Spirit in the&s;e Nations; by rea&s;on whereof, even under the greate&s;t Profe&s;&s;ion of liberty, many tender Con&s;ciences have been daily perplexed, and very much of the Land of the Nation hath laine unimproved, which is rendred by many, as a great rea&s;on of the &s;carcene&s;s of Corn, which hazards a Famine oft times in this Nation. Let this be done by altering the Title thereof, and bringing it to a Pound rate, <HI>Sci.</HI> to eight or &s;ix in the hundred, which may be from time to time without any further charge paid into the publick, and &s;o di&s;po&s;ed to the proper u&s;e and end to which it belongs.</P>
<P N="5">5. Fifthly, That the very much decayed Trade of this Nation, both in the&s;e famous Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and other Places (&s;o univer&s;ally complained of) and by the many &s;ad effects, &s;o fully Demon|&s;trated, may now thorow &s;pecial care be forthwith revived, by ea&s;ing the trouble&s;ome and vexatious burdens that lies upon it, and by putting it under a good regulation and Government; That the Seas may be &s;o guarded, that being propounded as the ground of the Cu&s;tomes; that the Trade, Trea&s;ure, and &s;trength of the&s;e Nations, may not &s;o often fall into the hands of the enemies.</P>
<P N="6">6. Sixtly, That all the Relicts and Props of corrupt Monarchy, thorowout the&s;e Nations, which do but wait and &s;erve for its return, and have entrencht upon the free-born Peoples Rights and Liberties, upon a Civil account, &s;hall be forthwith diligently enquired into, and &s;peedily removed.</P>
<P N="7">7. Seventhly, That all the Relicts and Props of &s;uper&s;titious Hierarchy thorowout the&s;e Nations, which do but wait and &s;erve for its return, and have entrenched upon the Peoples Rights and Liberties, upon a Religious account, &s;hall be forthwith diligently enquired into, and &s;peedily removed.</P>
<P N="8">8. Eightly, That all tho&s;e horrible corruptions, abu&s;es, and mi&s;chiefs, which have crept into hou&s;es that have been erected and maintained by free Donation of per&s;ons for Charitable u&s;es, and al&s;o all tho&s;e corrup|tions and abu&s;es, That are found in Pri&s;ons thorowout the&s;e Nations, and e&s;pecially tho&s;e of the Kings Bench, the Fleet, Newgate, and Ludgate, &s;hall be forthwith diligently enquired into, and &s;peedily removed.</P>
<P N="9">9. Ninthly, That none &s;hall be for&s;t upon any Publick imployment in this Common-wealth again&s;t his will and con&s;ent; and that who&s;oever is imployed from time to time in the management of the affairs thereof, from the highe&s;t unto the lowe&s;t, &s;hall receive out of the publick Revenue, a &s;utable recompence and incouragement for his &s;ervice therein: and then in ca&s;e any &s;hall be found taking bribes, either directly, or indirectly, or otherwi&s;e unfaithful in the tru&s;t committed to him, he &s;hall be &s;everely puni&s;hed, and forthwith ca&s;hiered.</P>
<P N="10">10. Tenthly, that &s;ome &s;ub&s;tantial Laws, relating to Liberty and Freedome, both upon a Civil, and upon a Religious account, whereby every man may be pre&s;erved &s;afe in his per&s;on, name and e&s;tate, from the vio|lence of another, under what pretence &s;oever, may be laid as Fundamentals in the bottome of your Government, as that which hath been gotten in the late wonderful and hazzardous engagements with very much difficulty, and is the price of very much bloud and trea&s;ure; Let the&s;e be known to be as the Laws of the <HI>Meads</HI> and <HI>Per&s;ians,</HI> that cannot be altered, no not by future Repre&s;entatives; and among other, let this be one; That in ca&s;e any Repre&s;entative of the people, &s;hall by the Major vote, alter or make void the&s;e or any of the&s;e fir&s;t Fundamentals, they &s;hall be lookt upon as violating the tru&s;t committed to them, and &s;uch act and acts of theirs, &s;hall be deemed void and null to all intents and purpo&s;es, as if the &s;ame had never been, and &s;hall be no wayes obleiging upon the con&s;ciences of the good people of the&s;e Nations. And moreover, that the per&s;on, or per&s;ons, who fir&s;t moved therein, &s;hall be judged Traitors to the Liberties of the people, &amp; of their country in the highe&s;t degree, &amp; proceeded again&s;t accordingly.</P>
<P N="11">11. Eleventhly, That none of the free-born People of the&s;e Nations, &s;hall be arre&s;ted, impri&s;oned, bani&s;hed, condemned, or &s;entenced to the lo&s;s of Life, Limb, E&s;tate, or Liberty, or be any otherwayes mole&s;ted, or di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, after a very &s;hort time prefixt, but by the lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by vertue of, and according to &s;ome known, approved, publi&s;hed Law, or Laws of the&s;e Nations.</P>
<P N="12">12. Twelfthly, That all the Publick Revenue of the&s;e Nations, &s;hall from time to time be brought into the Publick Trea&s;ury, as entire and with as little abatements and unnece&s;&s;ary charges and expen&s;es as may be; and to the end it may be &s;o, among other things, That there &s;hall be &s;pecial care u&s;ed that all Per&s;ons who are or &s;hall be imployed about the cu&s;tomes, and all other places relating to money, &s;hall be &s;uch as have a clear and full character given of them, that they are indeed able provident men, men of truth and hating covetou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P N="13">13. That for the more certain, &s;peedy and thorow effecting hereof, whereby deeds may demon&s;trate, that the&s;e are re&s;olves by the finger of God &s;et on your hearts; Let it be in the fear of the Lord further re&s;olved, That Seventy men &s;hall be found out, pitcht upon, and &s;et a part to be imployed, of a &s;uitable Spirit to the&s;e re&s;olves, with whom you will in the name and fear of the Lord engage to &s;tand, or fall, live or die together, in a thorow pur&s;ute thereof, in order to the putting of all &s;orts of men into a better and more flouri&s;hing capacity then that wherein now they are; &s;o that intere&s;t may engage them there to remain, and as one man to ri&s;e up and with&s;tand a return; and al&s;o in order to the enjoying (as in ancient times) their free Repre&s;entatives; That the Per&s;ons &s;hall be according to <HI>Iethro's</HI> Coun&s;el, able men, fearing God, men of truth, hating covetou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;uch as are in a good mea&s;ure freed by the Spirit of the Go&s;pel, from impo&s;ing upon the con&s;ciences of others, in things that relate to the wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God, as having learned by experience, that it is not by might, nor by power, that things of that nature are carried on, and that the wrath of man doth not at all accompli&s;h the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God.</P>
<P N="14">14. That the&s;e Seventy Per&s;ons thus qualified, &s;ingled out, pitcht upon; and ingaged to carry thorow the former re&s;olves, in order to the bringing the hone&s;t Conquering Party, yea, all the free-born people of the&s;e Na|tions, into a fit Capacity, to enjoy (as in ancient dayes) their free Repre&s;entatives, &s;hall be called by the name of the great Council, and for the more &s;peedy di&s;patch of that bu&s;ine&s;s, which by the whole Nation in a very &s;hort &s;ea&s;on, may be made &s;en&s;ible of the advantage thereby, they &s;hall ca&s;t them into 10. Committees. That the fir&s;t, &s;hall be for the preparing, well ordering, and managing of the bu&s;ine&s;s that relates to the Poor; A &s;econd, for that which relates to the Law; A third, for that which relates to Tythes; A fourth, for Trade; A fifth, for finding out and removing the Relicts, and Props of corrupt Monarchy; A &s;ixt, for find|ing out and removing the Relicts, and Props of Super&s;titious Heirarchy; A &s;eventh, for the finding out and rectifying the corruptions, and abu&s;es in Pri&s;ons, and in donations for charitable u&s;es; An eighth, for draw|ing up &s;ome &s;ub&s;tantial, and fundamental Laws, which &s;hall not be altered; A ninth, for Con&s;idering of grievances, and ordering the publick Revenues; And the la&s;t, for the Receiving of all Petitions that relates to the former re&s;olves, or concerning any thing that may be pre&s;ented, and to refer the Con&s;ideration of them to the &s;everal Committees to which they belong, and what cannot properly be referred to any of them, to let that be their care &s;o to manage, and prepare the &s;ame, as the re&s;t of the Committees, for the Con&s;ideration, and determination of the great Council.</P>
<P N="15">15. That out of this great Council con&s;i&s;ting of Seventy, Twenty one &s;hall be cho&s;en, and called the Council of State, of the mo&s;t able, and mo&s;t eminently qualified for this great work, wherein the Lord, his peo|ple, and this whole Nation are &s;o greatly concerned, that their work &s;hall be to treat with forrain <HI>Emba&s;&s;adors,</HI> to have the management of the executive part of the Power and Authority of the&s;e Nations, and of the Do|minions, and Territories thereto belonging; &s;o that the placing, and di&s;placing of all Officers, both Civil, and Military (the chief of both only excepted) &s;hall &s;pring from thence, Re&s;erving notwith&s;tanding a door of Appeal open to the great Council, in point of di&s;placing the next great Officers both in a Military, and Civil capacity.</P>
<P N="16">16. That &s;ingular care &s;hall be forthwith taken by the great Council, to declare to the Nation, that the&s;e or &s;uch like, are the good things which they have re&s;olvedly upon their hearts, by the help of the Lord, with all po&s;&s;ible &s;peed they can, to bring forth, for the putting the whole, and &s;o far as is po&s;&s;ible, every Member thereof into a happy flouri&s;hing State, and there upon to incite, and provoke the good people of the&s;e Nations, to a patient waiting for the effecting thereof, and to a chearful Concurrance therein, warning withal the unruly Spirited, and evil Affected per&s;ons of the&s;e Nations, again&s;t any tumultuous a&s;&s;emblings, ri&s;ings, or actings to the di&s;quieting thereof, or to the hindering, and retarding of &s;o good a work as is on the wheele, which being perfected, will undoubtedly prove advantagious to all; adding this, that in ca&s;e they take not warning hereby, they &s;hall be puni&s;hed with exemplary puni&s;hment.</P>
<P N="17">17. That &s;ingular care &s;hall be taken by the great Council, forthwith to put the well affected in the&s;e Nations, in &s;uch a po&s;ture of defence, placing al&s;o the Power of the Militia in confiding hands, whereby they may be incouraged, and al&s;o &s;trengthened, as one man to joyn together, not only for the with&s;tanding the common enemy (in ca&s;e he prove turbulent) but for the bringing forth of common Righteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;o that judgment, and ju&s;tice, and mercy, may run down like a mighty &s;tream, to the great refre&s;hing and cheering of the&s;e poor Nations.</P>
<P N="18">18. That &s;ingular care &s;hall be taken by the Council of State, that able men &s;o qualified as is above &s;pecified, &s;hall be forthwith nominated, and appointed for the Office of Sheriff in every County, thorowout the&s;e Nations, who&s;e care it &s;hall be to keep the re&s;pective Counties to which they belong in peace, and free from ri&s;ings, and commotions, and for that end &s;hall proclaim, or publi&s;h the Declaration above &s;pecified in the mo&s;t noted places thereof, and in ca&s;e notwith&s;tanding this, there &s;hould be ri&s;ings, or tumultuous A&s;&s;emblings, that then they &s;hall call to their a&s;&s;i&s;tance, the County Troops, or the Power of the County &s;peedily to &s;uppre&s;s the &s;ame.</P>
<P N="19">19. That &s;ingular care &s;hall be taken, that able men &s;o qualified, as is above&s;aid, &s;hall be forthwith, and &s;o from time to time nominated, and appointed by the Council of State, for Con&s;ervators, or Ju&s;tices of the Peace, in the &s;everal Counties thorowout the&s;e Nations, and that in ca&s;e, &s;uch cannot be found among tho&s;e that have their thou&s;ands a year, they &s;hall be cho&s;en out of tho&s;e that have but their hundreds, and where &s;uch cannot be found among tho&s;e that have their hundreds, they &s;hall be cho&s;en out of tho&s;e that have but their tens, bearing in mind what the wi&s;e man &s;aith, <HI>&s;ci. That a righteous man [be he never &s;o poor] is more excellent than his neighbour, [were he never &s;o Rich.]</HI> That their work &s;hall not only be to pre&s;erve the Peace among their neighbours, and to hear and determine their Controver&s;ies in the publick Se&s;&s;ions; but to be as Peace-makers, in a friendly way if they can by them&s;elves, or by others whom the Parties &s;hall chu&s;e, to compo&s;e the differences without any further charge or trouble, and before they be brought to a pub|lick debate.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, That &s;ingular care &s;hall be taken by the Ju&s;tices of Peace, in their publick Se&s;&s;ions, that able men &s;o qualified, as is above&s;aid, &s;hall be nominated, and appointed out of every Hundred thorowout the Counties, to &s;erve in grand and petty Jnque&s;ts, who may be able to under&s;tand the matters brought before them, and give in a &s;peedy, judicious and ju&s;t verdict in the ca&s;e: Thus &s;hall judgment return to righteou&s;ne&s;s, and all the up|right in heart in the&s;s Nations &s;hall follow it; which that the Lord of Ho&s;ts will graciou&s;ly grant, is and &s;hall be the humble, earne&s;t, and con&s;tant Prayer and Reque&s;t of His, Their, and Your unworthy Ser|vant, <HI>I. C.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL>Jer. 9 23, 24.</BIBL> <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, let not the wi&s;e man glory in his wi&s;dom, neither let the mighty man, glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he under|&s;tandeth, and knoweth me that I am the Lord, which exerci&s;e loving kindne&s;s, judgment, and righteou&s;ne&s;s in the earth, for in the&s;e things I delight, &s;aith the Lord.</HI></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Jer. 22. 15, 16.</BIBL> <HI>Did not thy Father eat and drink and do judgment, and ju&s;tice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cau&s;e of the Poor and needy, then it was well with him: was not this to know me? &s;aith the Lord.</HI></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Prov. 14. 34.</BIBL> <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s exalteth a Nation, but &s;in is a reproach to any people.</HI></Q>
<Q><BIBL>2 Chron. 20. 20.</BIBL> <HI>Believe in the Lord, your God, &s;o &s;hall you be e&s;tabli&s;hed: believe his Prophets &s;o &s;hall ye Pro&s;per.</HI></Q>
<Q>Con&s;ider what I &s;ay, and the Lord of Ho&s;ts give you under&s;tanding, Re&s;olution, and Courage to do his Will.</Q>
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<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Francis Smith,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Shop, at the <HI>Elephant</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;tle</HI> near <HI>Temple-Barre,</HI> 1659.</P>
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