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<DATE>2013-02-08</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B130010.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A76806">
<STC T="W">B3129</STC>
<STC T="T">E735_15</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99866050</BIBNO>
<VID>166914</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>THE COMPLAINT OF <HI>MARY BLAITHWAITE</HI> WIDDOVV; Setting forth her &s;ad Condition, occa&s;ioned by the late di&s;&s;olution of the Parliament, and neglect of ju&s;tice ever &s;ince.</HEAD>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="license">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>Die Veneris 10 Martii 1647.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>Ordered by the Lords in Parliament a&s;&s;embled, that the Petition of <HI>Mary Blaithwaite,</HI> and the Articles anexed, are heereby referred to Sir <HI>Edward Leche,</HI> to examine the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and &s;tate the &s;ame, and make report thereof to this hou&s;e with all convenient &s;peed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Jo. Browne Cleric. Parl.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>OH that there were but an eminent man of power that would &s;tand up in the gap to iudge the fatherle&s;&s;e, and heare the cau&s;e of the Widdow, that I might apply my &s;elfe unto him for ju&s;tice; for I cry night and day, and groane under the burden of my oppre&s;&s;ions, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">nd there is none to deliver mee out of the hand of the oppre&s;&s;ors; which maketh my heart &s;o overwhelmed with &s;orrow and griefe, that I cannot <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">orbeare; for my ca&s;e depended before the late di&s;&s;olved Parliament, and <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">hey would have done me ju&s;tice if they had not been interrupted, but now
<PB N="2" REF="2">my ca&s;e is more remedile&s;&s;e then the poore Widdow, who importuned the unju&s;t Judge, who neither feared God, nor reverenced man, and yet did her ju&s;tice, but I can have none for mee; but am forced after much labour in vaine, and many a weary &s;tep, to no purpo&s;e, to make my &s;elfe a foole in Print, hoping hereby I by &s;ome hand, mouth, or pen, this my complaint may come to the eare of that <HI>great man,</HI> who hath taken upon him the Pro|tection of the Common wealth. &amp;c. to &s;tirr him up to come forth and here the Widdowes complaint, and give reliefe unto mee and my fatherle&s;&s;e chil|dren, according unto the tenor of my Petition: a Copie whereof followeth, with the &s;tate of my ca&s;e.</P>
<Q><TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To the Right Honorable the Parliament of the Common-wealth of England.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The Humble Petition of <HI>Mary Blaithwaite</HI> of Sickmurther in the County of Cumberland Widdow.</HEAD>
<OPENER>Humbly &s;hewing,</OPENER>
<P>THat your Petitioner did exhibit her humble Petition with Ar|ticles thereunto annexed to the late Hou&s;e of Lords, and therin did &s;et forth the lo&s;&s;es, &s;ufferings, and cruell u&s;age of her late hu&s;|band, and her &s;elfe, for their fidellity to the Common wealth; by Sir <HI>Wilfred Law&s;on</HI> Knight, <HI>Simon Mu&s;grave</HI> and <HI>Leonard Dikes</HI> E&s;quires, Sir <HI>Phillip Mu&s;grave</HI> Barronet, <HI>Henry Pier&s;on</HI> and <HI>James Pier&s;on Attorneies, Iohn Hud&s;on, Michael Croplace</HI> and <HI>William Leach,</HI> all then notorious Delin|quents, which Petition was grounded upon an ordinance of the eighteenth of Augu&s;t 1642, wherby the well affected of the North &s;hould have repera|tion of their lo&s;&s;es, out of the E&s;tates of the Delinquents that did the wrong; upon which &s;aid Petition your Petitioner obtained an order of reference to Sir <HI>Edward Leech</HI> Knight, who i&s;&s;ued out his &s;ummons to the &s;everall per|&s;ons, &s;ome whereof were examined, but the two Per&s;ons who were the principall authors and actors in all your Petitioners &s;ufferings, did contemn and would not bee examined, by rea&s;on whereof and of Sir <HI>Edward Leech</HI> his death, (which happened &s;oone after) the taking away of the hou&s;e of
<PB N="3" REF="2">Lords, di&s;&s;olving of the late Parliament, your Petitioner could reap no bene|fit of her &s;even yeares attendance: and fora&s;much her lo&s;&s;es, &s;ufferings and cruell u&s;age are &s;et forth in the &s;aid Articles, and for that &s;hee dares not re|turne to her Countrey, and children, which is more then 250 miles di&s;tant hence, unle&s;&s;e &s;hee be by your honors relieved and &s;ecured again&s;t the op|pre&s;&s;ions of the &s;aid Per&s;ons, and the others complained of, and the rather for that your Petitioner hath attended more then eleven months upon his High|ne&s;s Proclamation or Declaration to re<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ieve the oppre&s;&s;ions of the poore, but could never g<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">t an an&s;wer from Mr. <HI>Sadler</HI> one of the Ma&s;ters of Reque&s;ts, nor from Mr. <HI>Ha<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ter</HI> to whom M<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Saddler</HI> did deliver the Petitioners Pe|tition, neither any an&s;wer to the Petition &s;he delivered to Major Generall <HI>Lambert,</HI> to pre&s;ent to his Highne&s;&s;e, and now &s;he is remedile&s;s but by your Honors.</P>
<P><HI>May it therefore plea&s;e your Honors to referre your Petitioners greivances to &s;ome Committee, or other fit Per&s;ons whom your wi&s;edomes &s;hall apoint to be exa|mined and reported, that thereby &s;hee may receive a com|fortable i&s;&s;ue of her long attendance, and returne to her family with reliefe and &s;ecurity.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;he will dayly pray &amp;c.</P>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The &s;tate of my Ca&s;e is as followeth.</HEAD>
<P>I Comming from <HI>London</HI> into my Countrey, to &s;erve an Order of Parlia|ment upon my adver&s;aries, <HI>Henry</HI> and <HI>James Pier&s;on,</HI> Delinquent Attor|neys at large; whereupon the Commi&s;&s;ioners of Array ca&s;t me into Pri&s;on, was &s;everall times brought before Sir <HI>Phillip Mu&s;grave,</HI> one of the Com|mi&s;&s;ioners of Array, and the Kings chief Commander in Cumberland, and accu&s;ed for one of the Parliaments Intelligencers, and thereupon committed to the cu&s;tody of the High Con&s;table, upon which account, m<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> Husband had his doors broke open, and his goods to a great value taken away, and my Adver&s;aries al&s;o procured &s;everall Watrants to binde us to our good beha|viour &amp; I was therupon by their means dragged on the Market day through <HI>Cockermouth</HI> &s;treets, and afterwards &s;ugge&s;ting that wee di&s;per&s;ed &s;canda|lous Pamphlets for the Parliament, apprehended us upon the Sabbath day in
<PB N="4" REF="3">the Chappel, at the time of publick wor&s;hip, by a Warrant from the afore|&s;aid Commander in chiefe, and the &s;aid <HI>James Pier&s;on</HI> having brought a Cart to the Chappel doore, and commanded all the people in the Kings name to aid and a&s;&s;i&s;t them in carrying us before Sir <HI>Wilfred Law&s;on</HI> another of the Commi&s;&s;ioners of Array, who cau&s;ed us to be clo&s;e impri&s;oned and locked up the fir&s;t night, and the next day committed us both to <HI>Carli&s;le</HI> Goale, and the more to expre&s;s their cruelty and malice, <HI>Hud&s;on</HI> another of my Ad|ver&s;aries, who was then Con&s;table, having brought another Cart, they c<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">u|&s;ed me to be bound in i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> on my b<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">cke with my face upwards under the hor|&s;es taile, and in a mo&s;t inhumane m<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">nner, cau&s;ed the hor&s;es to gallop the more to torment me, and under pretence of &s;earching for Parliament Papers, &s;tripped my Husband to his &s;hirt, and me to my &s;mock, which they tare in an uncivill manner, and gave direction to lay me in irons, and both my hus|band and my &s;elfe were put among&s;t the common Rogues and Thieves: and for pretended charges in carrying us to Pri&s;on, <HI>Hud&s;on</HI> and the two <HI>Pier&s;ons</HI> &s;ervants, <HI>Crackplace</HI> &amp; <HI>Leech,</HI> did take from us one Cow, &amp; certain hor&s;e loads of Oats and Oat-meale, by warrant from Sir <HI>Wilfred Law&s;on,</HI> for which there is no &s;atisfaction made to this day.</P>
<P>Moreover, my Adver&s;aries forced mee to travell to <HI>Oxford</HI> to an&s;wer a <HI>Subpena</HI> at <HI>Hud&s;ons</HI> &s;uit; and arre&s;ted me and my Husband many times upon Writs of priviledge vexatiou&s;ly, and never declared again&s;t us: Again my Adver&s;aries cau&s;ed me and my husband to bee indicted &s;even &s;everall times, and &s;ix times to be bound to the good behaviour, and five times to the Peace, procuring all their Warrants from the Commi&s;&s;ioners of Array; and vexed our children and &s;ervants, and day labourers with continuall Warrants, without cau&s;e in an illegall way; &s;o that none dur&s;t worke for us for feare of the two <HI>Pier&s;ons,</HI> who threatened to have them in Goale in a week, if they did worke a day for us; which was the utter undoing of us and our whole Family; and the &s;aid two <HI>Pier&s;ons</HI> confederated with <HI>Crack place</HI> and <HI>Leech</HI> their two &s;ervants, to make fal&s;e and feigned Articles, and &s;wear them a|gain&s;t mee, to prevent the hearing of my cau&s;e upon two Writs of errour, and &s;o obtained a &s;peciall <HI>Supplicavit</HI> again&s;t me, and ca&s;t me into New pri|&s;on, where I lay twenty dayes, but when they were examined before the Commi&s;&s;ioners of the great Seale, they were adjudged frivolous, vexatious, and malicious, and thereupon I was relea&s;ed of my impri&s;onment, but never had any &s;atisfaction to this day: And the&s;e two <HI>Pier&s;ons</HI> procured unju&s;t and illegall Judgements again&s;t us out of the Upper Bench, and procured the Records to be fal&s;ified, as was made appeare before Judge <HI>Bacon</HI> and
<PB N="5" REF="3">Judge <HI>Rolls</HI> in open Court, by <HI>Affidavit</HI> of Mr. <HI>Ben&s;on,</HI> Clerke in Court, Whereupon the Judgements &s;hould have been given in, and the unju&s;t At|torneys put out of the Rolls from ever practi&s;ing more, which the Judges ought to have done; but in&s;tead thereof put mee off with Writs of Errour, and have delayed me to this day. And in conclu&s;ion, my Husband by the&s;e their cruell u&s;ages became extreame weak and di&s;ea&s;ed, and never injoyed him&s;elf, but being bereaved of common &s;ence, died in a con&s;uming condi|tion.</P>
<Q><TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="warrant">
<HEAD>Heere followeth a Copy of the VVarrant.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Cumb.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>FOra&s;much as we are informd, that <HI>Mary</HI> the Wife of <HI>Henry Blaythwait,</HI> is one that doth not &s;tand affected to his Maje&s;ties &s;ervice, and is &s;u&s;pected to di&s;per&s;e &s;candalous Pamphlets. The&s;e are therefore to Will and Command you that you take and arre&s;t the bodies of the &s;aid <HI>Henry Blaithwait</HI> and <HI>Mary</HI> his Wife, and them carry before the next Ju&s;tice, to enter into recognizance with good Sureties, not only to appear at the next Se&s;&s;ions, but al&s;o not to depart this County without licence of the Commander in chiefe: Whereof faile you not.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Given under our hands <DATE>this 19. April, 1644.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM>Philip Mu&s;grave</ITEM>
<ITEM>Leo Dykes.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P>To the Con&s;tables of <HI>Withop, Se<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">kemurther,</HI> and <HI>Embelton,</HI> and if that they &s;hall refu&s;e to become bound as afore&s;aid, that then you commit them to the Goale at <HI>Carli&s;le.</HI></P>
</POSTSCRIPT></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>OH that I could come to &s;peak with his Highne&s;&s;e, that I might &s;ay unto him, My Lord Protector, doe ju&s;tice for me a di&s;tre&s;&s;ed Widdow and my fatherle&s;&s;e Children, le&s;t when your Wife is a Widdow, and Chil|dren Fatherle&s;s, they cry and bee not heard; for (my Lord) the &s;ame mea|&s;ures
<PB N="6" REF="4">that men mea&s;ure to others &s;hall bee mea&s;ured to them againe. O my Lord, I be&s;eech your Highne&s;s do me ju&s;tice, le&s;t the Proverb be verified upon you, He that removeth a &s;tone it &s;hall fall upon him; and he that breaketh a hedge, a Serpent &s;hall bite him.</P>
<P>What a &s;ad thing is it that I have worne out my friends, and my friends friends to get ju&s;tice, having &s;pent &s;o much, and been burden&s;ome &s;o long by waiting for ju&s;tice, which hath made mee out of patience, and one of my countrey men (Mr. <HI>Mu&s;grave</HI> by name) to pacifie mee wrote a let|ter for mee to Major Gene. <HI>Lambert,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Chidley</HI> being of a meek &s;pirit, was prevailed with to deliver it and receive his an&s;wer, which was no way &s;atisfactory to mee, which made me to pre&s;s my Lord <HI>Lambert</HI> earne&s;tly to doe mee ju&s;tice, if not for pitty &s;ake yet for countrey &s;ake, who told mee that hee neither would nor could doe any thing for mee, and then I told him that not one Parliament man that came out of our Countrey did good for their countrey; &s;o I de&s;paired of help.</P>
<P>Yet by Mr. <HI>Mu&s;graves</HI> per&s;wa&s;ions I went once againe, and meeting Mr. <HI>Chidley</HI> at the Coun&s;ell entreated him to do me the favour as to &s;peak once more to my Lord <HI>Lambert</HI> about mee, who was not willing, but after he &s;pake to Mr. <HI>Mu&s;grave</HI> and had information from him of the opinion of Pr. <HI>Brad&s;haw,</HI> how that I could not have remedy by Law, went to my Lord <HI>Lamberts</HI> lodgings in White Hall to informe his Lord&s;hip, but comming importunately to &s;peake for me as one who would have no nay but would &s;peak with that <HI>great man,</HI> was for his peremptorine&s;s, &amp; malipertne&s;s thru&s;t out and threatned to be &s;aid by the heeles.</P>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<HEAD>Heere followeth a Copy of Mr. <HI>Mu&s;graves</HI> Letter.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR:</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>VVHen I look upon the Lord Protectors Oath for governing the Na|tion according to the form of Government pre&s;cribed, and his pro|mi&s;ed with an oath to admini&s;ter ju&s;tice and Law equally, and con&s;ider how wee can have no acce&s;&s;e unto him to pre&s;ent either private or publick grie|vances
<PB N="6" REF="4">and abu&s;es, &s;o as poore people are wa&s;ted and &s;pent out with fruitle&s;&s;e attendance, I nothing can admire at the univer&s;all di&s;contents and murmurings of the people, with the highne&s;&s;e of the enemies Spirits, who wait for a change, and whom no favours or preferments will bring over to you, there is an e&s;tabli&s;hed Law, that none that have been in actuall armes again&s;t the Parliament &s;hall bear any Office of tru&s;t or power in this Com|mon wealth; yet I am told that you not long &s;ince &s;ent down a Commi&s;&s;ion to your Brother <HI>Li&s;ters</HI> Brother in Law (for one Cavaleer would bring in one another) a compounded Delinquent to be a Ju&s;tice of Peace, but upon Pruite of the Scots increa&s;ing, hee declined to take the oath of a Iu&s;tice of beace. I know a Delinquent Ju&s;tice, an enemy to all hone&s;t men, di&s;abled; and fined for executing that office, again put in Co~mi&s;&s;ion by the Lord Protector contrary to his oath. While the former Parliament was low in their owne eyes, ob&s;erved their Oaths, their Ingagemnets; God ble&s;&s;ed them, and gave up their Enemies unto them; but when they &s;lighted their Declarations, Oaths, and Promi&s;es, thinking by pollicy to e&s;tabli&s;h them&s;elves, and &s;tand by their owne &s;trength, God &s;tirred up their owne Servants to ri&s;e again&s;t them, and lay them a&s;ide with contempt. And if the Lord Protector walke in their paths, let him not think to be e&s;tabli&s;hed, but expect the Lord will rai&s;e an Adver&s;ary unto him &s;tronger then him, and his Oath will be requi|red at his hand. Captain <HI>Howard</HI> upon the recommendation of Sir <HI>Patri|cius Curwen,</HI> a Colonel for the late King, in few days procured one <HI>Harberts</HI> Petition to be read, and got him reparation for the lo&s;&s;e of his Boat, which <HI>Harbert</HI> is a notorious Delinquent, otherwi&s;e I believe Captaine <HI>Howard</HI> would not have appeared for him: This poore woman hath attended eigh|teen weekes for the reading of a Petition, and not yet read, nor like to bee, unle&s;&s;e by your means, if the Lord Protector thus di&s;regard his oath, the poor and oppre&s;&s;ed, promote Cavaleers and his enemies, and thus let them pa&s;&s;e, without giving account for their rapines and barbarous u&s;ages of your di&s;tre&s;&s;ed friends, what may wee expect the end will bee? Read the Wid|dowes Papers, and if &s;uch as &s;he complaines of &s;hall pa&s;&s;e without account, or be fit to govern us, tell us, and we &s;hall forbear to trouble you. Captain <HI>Howard</HI> told the woman &s;he would fare wor&s;e for my &s;ake: I never had penny of her, what I doe is for her &s;ufferings and the ju&s;tne&s;s of her cau&s;e; Pre&s;ident <HI>Brad&s;haw</HI> can inform you of her, if you ask him. I am per&s;waded if the Lord Protector do her not ju&s;tice, the high Protector that rules Heaven and Earth will lay both you and him a&s;ide, as hee hath done to Kings and Parliaments, and &s;et up others in your &s;teads, that will regard an Oath and
<PB N="8" REF="5">his fear; but I hope better things of you, and &s;hall pray that God may guide and direct you with his holy Spirit, to walk in his feare, and to help the di|&s;tre&s;&s;ed. Sir, I am as I write,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Servant for the Truth, <HI>Jo. Mu&s;grave.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>19. May 1654.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>For the Honorable, Major Generall <HI>Lambert,</HI> one of His Highne&s;&s;e Councell, pre&s;ent.</TRAILER>
</LETTER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="petitioner to the reader">
<HEAD>A word to the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>IF any man &s;hall blame me a poor di&s;tre&s;&s;ed VVid|dow for &s;oliciting His Highne&s;s, and Petitioning the Parliament, let them know that my oppre&s;&s;ions are &s;o great and &s;o in&s;ufferable, that I cannot doe le&s;&s;e then crave for ju&s;tice, from which I have beene &s;o long detained.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Mary Blaithwait,</HI> VViddow.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
