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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>The Oppre&s;&s;ed mans &s;econd Outcry FOR JUSTICE, To every individual Member of Parliament Again&s;t the unparallel'd Corruptions, and mo&s;t cruel Oppre&s;&s;ion, Tyranny, and incomparable Inju&s;tice exerci&s;ed by the Commi&s;&s;ioners for Compounding &s;itting at Haberda&s;hers Hall <HI>London,</HI></P>
<P>Upon Cornet <HI>Chri&s;topher Chee&s;man,</HI> late Agent for Seque&s;trations in the County of <HI>Berks,</HI> the Author hereof;</P>
<P>Who mo&s;t humbly implores the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the worthy Mem|bers and good Patriots of this honourable Councel and Com|monwealth, and that &s;ome one or more would move effectu|ally to have his Petition and Appeal (delivered in to the hands of Mr. Speaker, <HI>Feb.</HI> 24. la&s;t, again&s;t the &s;aid Commi&s;&s;ion|ers) read, and ju&s;tice done according to the truth thereof.</P>
<P>This being his fifth application to this Honourable Councel for Ju&s;tice again&s;t them, and above two yeers of his mo&s;t cruel oppre&s;&s;ion by rea&s;on of them, occa&s;ioned by his faithful di&s;|charge of Tru&s;t repo&s;ed in him by Parliament, and under a mo&s;t &s;olemn OATH.</P>
<Q><BIBL>Deut. 1.16.</BIBL> <P>I charged your Judges the &s;ame time, &s;aying, Hear the Contro|ver&s;ies betwixt your brethren, and judge righteous judgement between eve|ry man and his brother. Ye &s;hall have no re&s;pect of per&s;ons in judgement, but &s;hall hear the &s;mall as well as the great. Ye &s;hall not fear the face of man: for the judgement is Gods.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>1 Kings 8.32,</BIBL> <P>That thou maye&s;t condemn the wicked, to bring his wickedne&s;s upon his own head, and ju&s;tifie the righteous, to give him according to his righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P></Q>
<Q><P>Ye &s;hall &s;eek judgement among your &s;elves, and know what is good, and not cau&s;e the oppre&s;&s;ed to cry out for the violence of the mighty. For hath not the Lord &s;hewed thee, O man, what is good, and what he requireth of thee? &s;urely to do ju&s;tice, and love mercy. <HI>And,</HI> What&s;oever ye would that men &s;hould do unto you, even &s;o do unto them.</P> <BIBL>Matth. 7.12. Mal. 8. Job 35.9. and 34.4.</BIBL></Q>
<P>Printed at <HI>London,</HI> 1652.</P>
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<PB N="1" REF="2">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Right honorable Senators.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WOuld God I had not ju&s;t cau&s;e to cry out for Ju&s;tice in this extreme manner as I have been con&s;trained to do, many mouths together, and yet am not heard; yea, though I have cryed aloud, there is no judgement: which is a thing &s;o con|trary to Religion, Con&s;cience good Na|ture, and the Honour of men profe&s;&s;ing Principles of God and goodne&s;s, that I am very much a&s;toni&s;hed to think of it; and that a Parliament, the Repre&s;entative Body of a Nation, which hath &s;o abominated things of &s;o unworthy a nature, with Declarations to the world of their re&s;olutions again&s;t &s;uch things, and yet &s;hould by the craft of any men what&s;oever be kept from hearing &s;uch doleful Outcries and Complaints, and not to vouch&s;afe an enquiry into the matter; to &s;ee whether it be according to the cry thereof yea or no. I am &s;ure ye may learn &s;o much from the pure, holy, and ju&s;t God, in the ca&s;e of <HI>Sodom.</HI> Yea, though I have accu&s;ed &s;everal &s;orts of men with crimes of a very high nature, even breach of OATH again&s;t the great God, and Unfaithfulne&s;s to men; offences again&s;t which I am &s;ure you have declared in words to the Nation, with the greate&s;t indignation, zeal and de|te&s;tation of any Councel that ever &s;ate upon the face of the earth: and yet for you to &s;uffer &s;uch evils to go unpuni&s;hed, and &s;uch complainers and cryers out for Ju&s;tice again&s;t per&s;ons of &s;uch de&s;perate principles, to go continually empty away, will prove of very &s;ad con&s;equence. And for a man and his family to be ground even unto death, for the faithful di&s;charge of Tru&s;t re|po&s;ed in him by Parliament, in the very time of Parliament &s;it|ting by mo&s;t cruel oppre&s;&s;ive men exerci&s;ing an Arbitrary power, and can obtain no relief, nor have any manner of ju&s;tice again&s;t them, pre&s;ageth no good to this Nation.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="2">
<P>Oh what ju&s;t cau&s;e have we to cry out with the Prophet, <HI>We looked for judgement, but behold oppre&s;&s;ion; for righteou&s;|ne&s;s, but behold a cry. Judgement is far from us, neither doth righteou&s;ne&s;s come neer us. Judgement is turned back|ward, and ju&s;tice &s;tandeth afar off. Truth is fallen in the &s;treets, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that refraineth from evil, maketh him&s;elf a prey.</HI> Oh the experiences we have of the&s;e things! See we not evil men en|couraged in their evil ways, and the good di&s;couraged in the ways of equity? Know we not that tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion daily multi|plies, and evils enumerate, for want of the execution of impar|tial Ju&s;tice? Did not all <HI>I&s;rael</HI> fear <HI>Solomon,</HI> becau&s;e they &s;aw that the wi&s;dom of God was in him to do ju&s;tice? and yet will not you do ju&s;tice, that ye may be feared al&s;o?</P>
<P>Oh the in&s;olence and violence of corrupt and unfaithful men! how mercile&s;s are they, becau&s;e the Powers frown upon &s;uch who in &s;incerity of heart, for publike ends di&s;cover their perfidi|ous and abominable actings! Oh what Powers do they unite, to de&s;troy &s;uch who are faithful in their generation! Good Lord! how long wilt thou &s;uffer the Powers to be a <HI>terrour to good works,</HI> and <HI>the encouragement of evil!</HI> You did once cry out your &s;elves, how grievous a cur&s;e it would be, if God in judgement &s;hould &s;uffer the Power of this Nation to be made u&s;e of again&s;t it &s;elf. (<HI>Book</HI> 1. <HI>Declar. p.</HI> 213.) But Oh how much greater would the cur&s;e be, and more heavie judgement to this Nation, for the Sword of Ju&s;tice to be made u&s;e of contrary to the end appointed by the wi&s;e God and Governour of the world!</P>
<P>There was a time when ye much complained of the late King's di&s;countenance of hone&s;t men. (<HI>Book</HI> 1. <HI>Declar. p.</HI> 8, 9, 10.) Judges were turn'd out of their places, for refu&s;ing to go again&s;t their Oathes and Con&s;ciences; others &s;o awed, that they dur&s;t not do their duties? Lawyers were check'd for being faithful to their Clients: Sollicitors and Attorneys were threatned, and &s;ome puni&s;hed, for following lawful Suits; by which means, all the approaches to Ju&s;tice were interrupted and forecluded, whereby the common Ju&s;tice of the Nation was much endan|gered, not onely by opening ways of employment in places of
<PB N="3" REF="3"> Tru&s;t and Power, to men of weak parts, but giving occa&s;ion to Bribery, Extortion, and Pa<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">tiality. Hone&s;t men were &s;o far from being employed in any Place of Tru&s;t and Power, that they were neglected, di&s;countenanced, and upon all occa&s;ions injured and oppre&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>O worthy Patriots! are not &s;uch evils to be as much abhor|red now as then? And are they not as de&s;tructiue to Humane &s;ociety now as then? Will not liberty given men to exerci&s;e Arbitrary power as &s;urely bring de&s;truction upon you and all that take part with you, as upon the late King and his adhe|rents? If the audaciou&s;ne&s;s of men employed by you be &s;uch, that they dare, even under your no&s;es, in the time of your &s;itting, to trample upon and contemn all your Laws, and break your OATH, and, as it were in defiance of you and your Authority, admit of no other guide then their own Wills, What can be expected, but utter ruine and de&s;olation? The Law (&s;aid M. <HI>Pym</HI>) puts a difference betwixt good and evil, betwixt ju&s;t and unju&s;t. Take away the Law, and all things will fall into confu|&s;ion; every man will become a Law unto him&s;elf: which, in the depraved condition of Humane nature, mu&s;t needs produce ma|ny great enormities: Lu&s;t will become a law, and Envie will be|come a law, Covetou&s;ne&s;s and Ambition will become laws; and what dictates, what deci&s;ions &s;uch Laws will produce, may ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned. And it may as ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned, of what de&s;perate Principles &s;uch men are, who dare upon all occa&s;ions make u&s;e of the name of their God, to bring about their evil de|&s;ignes; and what the effects thereof will be. And is it not as clear, that <HI>BATEMAN, JENINGS,</HI> and <HI>R&V;SDEN</HI> had Laws to walk by? See el&s;e your Declarations, Ordinances, Or|ders, In&s;tructions, and OATHS, from time to time, &s;ince 1643.</P>
<P><HI>April.</HI> 1. you &s;aid it was mo&s;t agreeable to common Ju&s;tice, that the Seque&s;trations &s;hould be converted and applied towards the &s;upportation of the great charges of the Commonwealth, and for ea&s;ing the good people therein. And if any per&s;on what|&s;oever (<HI>Aug.</HI> 19. 1643.) &s;hould wittingly or willingly conceal any the Seque&s;trations, That then he &s;hould forfeit treble the va|lue thereof. Committees and Seque&s;trators were &s;trictly com|manded to u&s;e their be&s;t care and diligence in managing the &s;aid
<PB N="4" REF="3"> e&s;tates. (<HI>Nov.</HI> 18. 1643.) And in all particulars to guide them|&s;elves by the Ordinances of Parliament. Complaints by you were made, that the unfaithful acting of Seque&s;trators and Committees was very prejudicial and di&s;&s;erviceable to the Com|monwealth: for remedy whereof, you impo&s;ed on them an OATH, to prevent the like in time to come. (<HI>May</HI> 27, 1644.) And all Committees and Sollicitors for Seque&s;trations, were to return a Li&s;t of all e&s;tates that were or had been under Seque|&s;tration, to Gold&s;miths Hall <HI>London. (Nov.</HI> 10. 1646. And to whom the &s;aid e&s;tates were let with the value of them before the Wars: that &s;uch e&s;tates &s;hould be let at the utmo&s;t improved yeerly value that any man would give for the &s;ame. (<HI>Decemb.</HI> 8. 1646.) That all Lea&s;es and Grants at under-value, &s;hould be void. And for better regulating Seque&s;trations, and reforming and preventing abu&s;es therein, you did Ordain, that all Sollici|tors &s;hould &s;end up to the Trea&s;urers at Guild-Hall <HI>London,</HI> a true and perfect Inventory of all per&s;onal e&s;tates by them &s;eque|&s;tred, with an exact Particular of all annual Rents, Profits, and Fines ari&s;ing or i&s;&s;uing of all Hou&s;es and Lands. (<HI>Aug.</HI> 6. 1648) You did again (for the better regulating reforming, and prevent|ing of abu&s;es and mi&s;carriages in the managing the &s;aid Seque|&s;trations) ordain, (<HI>Aug.</HI> 25. 1648.) that every per&s;on or per|&s;ons employed, or to be employed, &s;hould take the Oath pre&s;cri|bed by your Ordinance of <HI>May</HI> 27. 1643. And if any &s;hould be found negligent, or not perform their duties (as you then fear|ed too many would not) you did then ordain, that Capt. <HI>Willi|am Steven&s;on</HI> &s;hould be authorized to bring all &s;uch per&s;ons to an&s;wer their contempt of Parliamentary authority, and to re|ceive condign puni&s;hment according to their demerits. And yet further to manife&s;t your di&s;approbation of the Seque&s;trators negligent managing the Seque&s;trations in the &s;everal Counties, and your own re&s;olutions and de&s;ires to improve the &s;ame to the advantage of the Commonwealth, in order to abatement of &s;ome of the Taxes therein) did &s;ettle the &s;ame in the hands of the Commi&s;&s;ioners (for compounding with Delinquents) and Sub|commi&s;&s;ioners in the &s;everal Counties of <HI>England;</HI> and did en|gage every per&s;on employed in or about Seque&s;trations, under a mo&s;t &s;olemn OATH, pre&s;cribed by your Act of <HI>April</HI> 15.
<PB N="5" REF="4"> 1650. to put your Act of <HI>Jan.</HI> 29. 1649. in execution, with all Orders, Ordinances, and In&s;tructions of Parliament, for the right managing thereof.</P>
<P>And truly, had not I &s;eriou&s;ly believed that you did really in|tend tho&s;e you employed &s;hould have guided them&s;elves by your Laws and In&s;tructions, I would never have run my &s;elf upon &s;o de&s;perate a Rock, in a&s;&s;erting and vindicating your power and Authority, which has proved very de&s;tructive to my &s;elf and fa|mily; and yet you will not do me right again&s;t tho&s;e capital of|fenders I have &s;o often complained of to this honourable Coun|cel: which is contrary to your engagements again&s;t &s;uch offen|ders, and promi&s;es of encouragement to well-doers. I very well remember your re&s;olutions once, to inflict exemplary puni&s;hment upon all &s;uch, according to their demerits, as &s;hould be found re|fractory and di&s;obedient unto your commands made known to them; and that you would u&s;e all means to bring &s;uch to a legal Trial for &s;uch their offences. (<HI>Book</HI> 1. <HI>Decl. p.</HI> 696.) And you did faithfully promi&s;e and engage al&s;o, that &s;uch per&s;ons which perform their duties to the Publike, &s;hould be protected and &s;e|cured, in their per&s;ons, liberties, and e&s;tates, by Authority of Par|liament: and this you would faithfully perform, according to your former engagements, as you then &s;aid, (<HI>Book</HI> 1. <HI>Decl. p.</HI> 377.) You promi&s;ed very &s;olemnly al&s;o, that you would be willing and ready upon all occa&s;ions, to a&s;&s;i&s;t and protect all tho&s;e that were employed in the Service of the Commonwealth in the Battel of <HI>Edge-hill,</HI> with your lives and fortunes, to the utmo&s;t of your power; and ordered the &s;ame to be recorded in Parliament. (<HI>Book</HI> 1. <HI>Decl.</HI> p. 744.) It's now above ten yeers &s;ince ye made this promi&s;e; which I have a right to in particu|lar. Neither was I faithful to this honorable Councel and Com|monwealth there onely, but have &s;o continued ever &s;ince, and never brake my engagements, nor have I been found di&s;obedient to your commands: therefore I now expect a&s;&s;i&s;tance from this honourable Councel, according to your promi&s;es and &s;olemn en|gagements, not onely at that time, but many times &s;ince. And I hope you will do me Ju&s;tice, otherwi&s;e I &s;ee nothing but de&s;tru|ction attending me and my family: a very evil requital for my faithfulne&s;s, and a bad example to others: for if &s;uch abomina|ble
<PB N="6" REF="4"> things be &s;uffered, what can be expected, but the filling the whole Nation with Bribery, Extortion, Partiality, Perjury, and all manner of oppre&s;&s;ion and cruelty? For if mo&s;t cruel oppre&s;|&s;ion mu&s;t be the portion of him which complains of &s;uch offen|ces or offenders, Who will then complain, or who will be hone&s;t among&s;t men? Nay, who dares to be hone&s;t, when he &s;hall &s;ee another &s;tript and whipt out of his livelihood for &s;o being? But my ca&s;e is &s;uch at this time: I am mo&s;t cruelly oppre&s;&s;ed by un|rea&s;onable men, who have feloniou&s;ly broken the Laws of this Nation and robbed me of my livelihood, and al&s;o endeavour to take away my good name; and all for being faithful to what you had engaged me by OATH; and yet to obtain no manner of Ju&s;tice again&s;t them, nor the lea&s;t encouragement from this honourable Councel who employed me, being the Supreme Au|thority, is a very &s;ad thing to me and my family, and of a very dangerous nature to the Publike. And that all your Promi&s;es, Prote&s;tations, &s;olemn OATHS and Imprecations, with your mo&s;t tran&s;cendent, Declarations to the world on the behalf of Ju&s;tice and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;hould no more be regarded, is a fear|ful judgement, and a mo&s;t grievous cur&s;e upon this Nation. And for you to make &s;o much ado about making Laws, and pre&s;cri|bing Rules to walk by under &s;everal OATHS, to prevent Fraud and Cozenage, and yet not to hear complaints again&s;t &s;uch, is mo&s;t incredible to any who &s;hall onely read your Declarations.</P>
<P>But further, may it plea&s;e this honourable Councel, becau&s;e I would not, if it be po&s;&s;ible, any more trouble you with &s;uch ex|traordinary and unu&s;ual Complaints and Outcries, the original hereof being the unparallell'd corruptions and wilful contempt of <HI>THO. BATEMAN, EDW. JENINGS,</HI> and <HI>JOHN R&V;SDEN,</HI> late Sub-commi&s;&s;ioners for Seque&s;trations in the County of <HI>Berks,</HI> being authorized thereunto by your Act of <HI>Jan.</HI> 25. 1649. who had engaged them&s;elves under your mo&s;t &s;olemn OATH, pre&s;cribed by your Act of <HI>April</HI> 15. 1650. yet notwith&s;tanding, though they had held up their hands, and &s;worn by the Name of the eternal God, to walk according to your Laws and In&s;tructions, they pre&s;ently turned their backs up|on all, as if they had neither feared God, nor reverenced man. Upon which, (about the beginning of <HI>November,</HI> 1650.) I,
<PB N="7" REF="5"> in as Chri&s;tian like manner as po&s;&s;ible I could conceive of, repair|ed to Haberda&s;hers Hall, and in private acquainted the Commi&s;|&s;ioners for Compounding with the &s;ame. They pre&s;ently pre|tended a great deal of good will towards me, &s;aying they had heard &s;o much as I then told them, by others; and further, that the Parliament would con&s;ider &s;uch men as I for our faithfulne&s;s. But after they had paus'd a little upon the bu&s;ine&s;s, they told me I mu&s;t produce witne&s;s: and &s;o they put me upon an expen&s;ive way of pro&s;ecution, about four months together, before they would &s;uffer the bu&s;ine&s;s to come to a hearing. And then they acquitted the &s;aid Sub-commi&s;&s;ioners, notwith&s;tanding I had produced 7 Witne&s;&s;es again&s;t them; who did al&s;o make it ap|pear by Oath upon Record, that the &s;aid Subcommi&s;&s;ioners were guilty of what I accu&s;ed them with. Neverthele&s;s, the Com|mi&s;&s;ioners for Compounding &s;ent them home to their Tru&s;t which they had &s;o much abu&s;ed, but turned me out of mine.</P>
<P>And withal, the better to carry on their de&s;igne, they &s;ent one <HI>Gardner</HI> to be Agent to the &s;aid Subcommi&s;&s;ioners. After which, they went on in their old way of deceit about ten months with|out any alteration, as if, in defiance of the Parliament, or any that did pro&s;ecute them they would confirm all they had done. But I being &s;till in pro&s;ecution of the bu&s;ine&s;s again&s;t them, did, upon the fir&s;t of <HI>January</HI> la&s;t, bring the bu&s;ine&s;s to another hear|ing: upon which day, I produced the evidence of above 40 Witne&s;&s;es more. And though it then appeared, by the te&s;timony of above 70 Witne&s;&s;es that they damnified the Commonwealth above 1500 <HI>l. per an.</HI> yet would they not di&s;mi&s;s them in open Court to the terrour of evil doers, as they ought to have done, but deferred it till another day, and then did it in private. All which implies a grand Confederacie between the Commi&s;&s;ioners and Subcommi&s;&s;ioners; and indeed, mu&s;t needs render the Par|liament unto the world as a meer cypher, and both the Com|mi&s;&s;ioners and Subcommi&s;&s;ioners to be Lords Paramount unto them; neither would they re&s;tore me to my employment, but continue the &s;aid <HI>Gardner</HI> to this day: and they were &s;o far from giving me reparations, that they would not give me money ex|pended. So that although at fir&s;t (as many can witne&s;s) hone&s;t, religious con&s;cientious godly men, was the character I gave of them; time and woful experience makes me confe&s;s my mi&s;take, and hath taught me to &s;ay, That they are more cruel then mur|therers, and more ungentile then common thieves.</P>
<P>Leaving the con&s;ideration hereof to the con&s;ideration of this honour|able Councel, I remain, expecting ju&s;tice.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Chri&s;topher Chee&s;man.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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