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<DATE>2007-04-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Jonathan Blaney</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>proofed text and revised markup</ITEM>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<P><PB REF="1" MS="y">
The Copy of the Petiti|on pre&s;ented to the Honourable Hou&s;es of Parliament, by the Lord Arch-Bi&s;hop of Canterbury, &amp;c.</P>
<P>VVherein the &s;aid Arch-Bi&s;hop de&s;ires that he may not be tran&s;ported beyond the Seas into New England with Ma&s;ter <HI>Peters,</HI> in regard of his extraor|dinary age and weakene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>portrait of william laud with city background</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
<P>London printed for <HI>Io. Smith,</HI> neare the new exchange. 1643.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
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<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>THE Humble Petition of <HI>William Laud</HI> Arch-bi&s;hop of Canterbury, and now pri&s;oner in the Tower. To the Lords and Commons a&s;&s;embled in Parliament, that this grave A&s;&s;embly would permit or give way, that the Peti|tioner might not be tran&s;ported into New England with Mr. <HI>Peters</HI> in regard of his age.</HEAD>
<OPENER>Humbly &s;heweth,</OPENER>
<P>_THat your Petitioners con&s;tant &s;oli|tude here in this place, hath given him time to con&s;ider of Your Peti|tioners &s;elf and his actions, e&s;pecially the latter, which as they had divers motives and ends from whence they &s;prung and whither they tended, &s;o according to them your
<PB REF="3">
Petitioner was generally cen&s;ured; your humble Petitioner therefore will here lay downe what your Petitioner did labour for, and upon what grounds, that every one may &s;ee that humane in|tents are not alwaies pro&s;perous in their events, for which your Petitioner is now exceedingly troubled and grieved, humbly de&s;iring that your Petitioners pre&s;ent &s;ufferings and &s;orrow may bee con&s;idered in mercy and compa&s;&s;ion. And where|as it is chiefly laid unto your Petitioners charge that your Petitioner &s;ought and endeavoured to change the pre&s;ent Religion, and in&s;tead thereof to introduce Innovation and Popery; which pur|po&s;e was &s;o odious and hatefull to the people, that being once po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of this opinion, they generally cryed downe your Petitioners purpo&s;es and intents, who knowing the great diver&s;ity of Religions which have beene and are in the World, and the &s;trange fanta&s;ticall exorbitancy of &s;ome of them, which agreeing in many things and in their chiefe principles and foundations, doe yet exceedingly differ in many points and Tenets which they doe &s;everally hold and maintaine.</P>
<P>Vpon tho&s;e con&s;iderations your Petitioner
<PB REF="3">
thought it would become his place being Arch-Bi&s;hop of Canterbury, and Primate of all Eng|land, to &s;hew a fervent zeale to Chri&s;tianity, in reconciling as much as might bee the Prote&s;tant and Cotholique Religion together, that though the principles of both were incon&s;i&s;tent, and in many things farre different, yet they might be in &s;ome &s;ort made conformable the one to the o|ther, and be brought at lea&s;t to as neare a di|&s;tance as po&s;&s;ible could any way bee devi&s;ed, that &s;o they &s;hould agree in &s;uch points as for|merly they varied about. And your Petitioner having made this the Ground-worke of your pe|titioners labours, hoping that if your petitioner could effect that which your petitioner had pro|pounded, her Maje&s;ty &s;eeing that all differences of opinion are not Fundamentall and of Faith, might be reconciled in &s;ome &s;ort, her Maje&s;ty would more ea&s;ily be drawne to adhere and joyn with our Church; &s;o your petitioners end and purpo&s;e of all your petitioners endeavours was not Innovation of Religion, but to worke &s;uch a conformation and likene&s;&s;e in both, that her Maje&s;ties opinion might be drawne on and indu|ced to embrace the Truth, holding thereby to be
<PB REF="4">
a &s;peedy meanes of her Maje&s;ties conver&s;ion. If therefore your petitioners hearty zeale to Gods glory, and her Maje&s;ties conver&s;ion to the pro|te&s;tant Faith by that meanes and may which your petitioner intended, did not worke that great and good effect in her Maje&s;ty as was ex|pected, nor the petitioners endeavours in that kind were held fitting and agreeable to the peti|tioners dignity and place: your petitioner doth emplore this grave and Honourable A&s;&s;embly, that in Mercy, not in Iudgement your compa&s;&s;i|on may be &s;hewed, in pardoning tho&s;e errours wherein your petitioner hath offended. For all men, e&s;pecially &s;uch as are advanced to the&s;e emi|nent Honours, (which your petitioner lately en|joyed) are &s;ubject to the common condition of humane frailety in matters of Judgement, &s;hewing them&s;elves in the greate&s;t e&s;tate to bee but men ready to erre, and fall from the happi|ne&s;&s;e wherein time and favour had inve&s;ted them, and that mo&s;t commonly in age, wherein your petitioner deeply &s;tepped forward even to the yeares of 68. all his de&s;ires having proceeded con|trary and thwart to tho&s;e grounds whereon they were builded.</P>
<P><PB REF="4">
Your Petitioner therefore humbly be&s;eeches, that in his age and la&s;t part of his Life, this grave and Honourable Coun&s;ell, now A&s;&s;embled in high Court of Parliament would looke upon him in mercy, and not permit or &s;uffer your Petitioner to bee tran&s;ported, to endure the hazard of the Se<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">s, and the long tediou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Voyage into tho&s;e tran&s;marine parts, and cold Countries, which would &s;oone bring your Petitioners life to a period; but rather that your petitioner may abide in his Native Coun|try, untill your petitioner &s;hall pay the debt which is due from him to Nature, and &s;o your petitioner doth &s;ubmit him&s;elfe to your Ho|nourable and grave Wi&s;domes for your peti|tioners reque&s;t and de&s;ire therein.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>And Your Petitioner &s;hall humbly pray, &amp;c.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>From the Tower of London, <DATE>this 6th. of May. 1643.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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