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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>TO EVERY INDIVIDUALL MEMBER of the Supream Authority of the Parliament of the <HI>Commonwealth</HI> of <HI>ENGLAND.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The Humble Addre&s;&s;e of Lieu Col. <HI>John Lilburn,</HI> by way of An&s;wer to a mo&s;t fal&s;e and &s;candalous Printed Petition, delivered at the Hou&s;e door again&s;t him, by one <HI>William Huntington,</HI> upon Wedne&s;day the <HI>26</HI> of <HI>November. 1651:</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER>SHEWETH,</OPENER>
<P>_THAT by vertue of a particular Act of Parliament bearing date the 30 of <HI>July,</HI> 1650. your &s;upplient was inabled to purcha&s;e as much Dean and Chap|ters Lands (as part of his reparations for his bar|barous &s;ufferings by the Star-Chamber) as did a|mount to One Thou&s;and five hundred eighty three pounds eighteen &s;hillings and four pence, at ten years purcha&s;e in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and propotionable in rever&s;ion; by vertue of which Act, he repaired to the Contractors at <HI>Gurney</HI> Hou&s;e, and there among&s;t other things found certain Farms in the Mannor of <HI>Billingham,</HI> in the County of <HI>Durham,</HI> where his Father and kindred lives un&s;old, and to the be&s;t of his remembrance, the Sur|vay was returned eighteen moneths before the date of his &s;aid Act, and at that time when he begun to look after the &s;aid Farms, hee did not hear of any one man in the world that was about the buying of them; but finding them ab&s;olutely free, in a Towne that to the be&s;t of his knowledge he before that time never &s;ee in his life, nor knew not, nor ever &s;aw with his eyes to his knowledge any one of the faces of the oc|cupiers thereof; nor before his purcha&s;e never had any treaty by letter,
<PB N="2" REF="2">word of mouth, or me&s;&s;age, with any one of Them, &s;aving That a|bout the Time of his purcha&s;e, one M. <HI>Richard Mar&s;hall</HI> came to him in the name of M. <HI>Ga&s;coign Eden,</HI> (who had certain yeares remaining in one of the &s;aid Farms) and for him de&s;ired to deal with your &s;uppli|ent for the faid Farm; unto which he very well remembers he replied to the &s;aid M. <HI>Mar&s;hal</HI> in the&s;e words, or to this effect; That M. <HI>Eden,</HI> nor none el&s;e could not bee ju&s;tly offended at him for buying the &s;aid Farms, fora&s;much as he did not goe about to buy any of their Tenant rights, or to meddle with any thing belonging to them, for about a year and a half after their preemption was expired; and the Market was as free for him as for any man in <HI>England,</HI> e&s;pecially con&s;idering That no man in the world, That he could hear of, was endeavoring to buy any of the &s;aid Farms, when he began his purcha&s;e; and the Mar|ket on his part being &s;o free as it was, he was re&s;olved to &s;ell none of them, having already ingaged to &s;ome eminent friends of his, men of honour, That were in&s;trumental in getting the &s;aid Act to pa&s;s, That he would keep Them as his Inheritance for him and his heirs; and having perfected his Purcha&s;e, and got his Conveiances &s;igned, &s;ealed, and inrolled, he indeavoured to look after the rents and profits of the &s;aid Farms, which we<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e Five in number, and a certain Rent Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n cal|led the <HI>Haver</HI> Malts, which were to bee paid by the Occupiers of 16 Farms in the &s;aid Town of <HI>Billingham,</HI> and finding the &s;aid Tenants or Occupiers of the &s;aid Farms did deny the States Title, and would not pay their rents, he, in or about the 15 of <HI>Janu.</HI> 1650. complained there|of by Petition to the Honourable Committee of Parliament, <HI>for remo|ving of Ob&s;tructions,</HI> who thereupon ordered the &s;aid Tenants to pay their rents, or el&s;e within Twenty days after notice of the &s;aid Order, to appear in the inner Court of Wards, To &s;hew cau&s; to the contrary, as appears by the Original of the &s;aid Order, recorded in Mr. <HI>Nowels</HI> Book, Clerk to the &s;aid Committee; unto which, for more certainty, he referreth him&s;elf. Upon the &s;erving of which &s;aid Order, all the &s;aid Tenants yeilded conformity and obedience in paying the &s;aid Rents, &s;aving the Complainant <HI>Will. Huntington.</HI></P>
<P>Unto whom at <HI>Billingham,</HI> in or about <HI>Feb.</HI> 1650. your Supplient repaired, and in the pre&s;ence of his Father Mr. <HI>Richard Lilburn,</HI> and his Cou&s;en <HI>George Blacket,</HI> and the Father of the &s;aid <HI>Huntington,</HI> and &s;everal of the neighbours and kinsfolks of the &s;aid <HI>Huntington,</HI> proffered the &s;aid <HI>Huntington</HI> and his wife, (who was not long before the wife of one <HI>Shippard,</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or of the &s;aid Farm) that if they plea&s;ed to ac|knowledge him for their Landlord, and turn Tenant to him, he having bought the Farm in pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, they &s;hould have it at the &s;ame rate he paid for it, and that it was valued in the Survay, which was 18 <HI>l.</HI> 15 <HI>s.</HI> 7 <HI>d.</HI><HI>per annum;</HI> or if They would not be his Tenants, in the &s;econd place, hee proffered Them, That if They would choo&s;e two neighbours of the Town, hee would choo&s;e two more to value the Corn They had &s;own upon his Ground without his leave or licence. Conditionally They would quietly &s;urrender him the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of his
<PB N="3" REF="2">own, he would give Them in ready money what They valued the &s;aid Corn at, and five pound more: And in regard her fir&s;t husband had left her divers &s;mall children, in a poor condition, he would immedi|atly take one of her boyes, and new clothe him from the crown of the head to the &s;ole of the foot, and take him into his own Family, and bring him up at his own co&s;ts and charges in that which he found him mo&s;t capable of, till he became Twenty years old. Or</P>
<P>Thirdly, if They would doe neither of the&s;e, but &s;tood upon Their Title, Then he told Them their regular way was to &s;tate Their Title in a Petition to the Committee of Parliament, appointed to de&s;ide &s;uch things; and if they would doe that, he proffered them that &s;eeing they might be de&s;titute at <HI>London</HI> of friends, he would pre&s;ent their Petition for them, and indeavour to the utmo&s;t of his intere&s;t to get Them a &s;peedy An&s;wer, and ingage unto Them upon his reputation, That he would not either directly or indirectly improve in the lea&s;t his Intere&s;t or Tongue to impead their Title, further then to crave a re|pri&s;al for their Farm.</P>
<P>Unto all which, the &s;aid <HI>Will. Huntington</HI> replied, <HI>It was none of his, he had nothing to do with it, it was his wives, and the barns of her fir&s;t hu&s;|band;</HI> And &s;he replied, <HI>The Farm was her ayne, and her barns, and &s;he wode leues her heart bloud before either the Parliament or your Supplient &s;hould have it.</HI> But after abundance of intreaties by your Supplient u&s;ed unto her not to be foooli&s;h and mad, and &s;o undo and de&s;troy her &s;elf and chil|dren, but all in vain; he was forced plainly to tell her the Farm was his, and he had hone&s;tly bought it and paid for it, and had bought it of tho&s;e that he dur&s;t not pre&s;ume otherwi&s;e but that they had right to &s;ell it, and would make the bargain good; and with a little expence of money and time could force her whether &s;he would or no, to &s;urren|der up the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of it, and then &s;he might repent too late She did not embrace &s;ome of the fore&s;aid fair proffers, and &s;o he left her as ob|&s;tinate at the latter end, as &s;he was at the beginning of the Di&s;cour&s;e; and coming up immediatly to <HI>London,</HI> he wrote down to his Father and his &s;aid Cou&s;en <HI>Blacket,</HI> to go to her and her husband again before com|plaint was made of Them, and per&s;wade Them to imbrace &s;ome of the &s;aid Propo&s;itions, who did &s;o accordingly, but all in vain. Upon the knowledge of which, your Suppliant did upon the 22 of <HI>April,</HI> 1651. by a &s;econd Petition complain of the &s;aid <HI>Will. Huntington,</HI> that he would yeild no obedience to Their &s;aid Order, either in paying his rent, or appearing before Them to &s;hew cau&s;e wherefore hee would not. Upon which complaint, the &s;aid Committee of Ob&s;tructions, did further Order, That the &s;aid <HI>Will. Huntington</HI> &s;hould upon &s;ite or notice of That Order, and Demand made by your Suppliant, or by &s;uch per|&s;on or per&s;ons, as he then had, or &s;hould appoint to receive the &s;aid rent, with the arrearages thereof, as al&s;o the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;aid Farm pay the &s;aid rent for, and give up the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Farm afore&s;aid, accordingly; or otherwi&s;e make his per&s;onal appearance before the &s;aid Committee within Twenty days after &s;uch &s;ite or notice of that
<PB N="4" REF="3">Order; which Order being &s;erved by my Agent or Atturney <HI>George Blacket,</HI> and who made abundance of Journeys from his own Hou&s;e thither (which is about Twelve miles off <HI>Billingham</HI>) to per&s;wade Them without the utmo&s;t of compul&s;ion to obey the Authority of Parliament, which was all in vain; and for his pains therein <HI>Hunting|ton</HI>'s people with great gads or cudgels, &s;et upon him; and as he hath told me, might have hazarded the knocking him upon the head, had he not well acquitted him&s;elf with his Sword. After the knowledge of which, before I would goe about to execute the utmo&s;t extremity, I on purpo&s;e &s;ent down my wives brother Cornet <HI>Thomas Duel,</HI> to &s;ee what he could do with them about yeilding obedience to the &s;aid Or|ders: but fully under&s;tanding of their perver&s;e ob&s;tinacy, I ordered the re&s;erving of the Order in the pre&s;ence of one that I hired to come to <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> to make Affidavit of the &s;erving it; which being made, the &s;aid Committee made an Order to the Sheriffe by force to put me into the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;aid Farm. The Copy of which Order thus followeth.</P>
<Q><TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="order">
<HEAD><HI>25 June 1651.</HI> At the Committee of Parliament for removing Ob&s;tructions in the &s;ale of Deans and Chapters Lands.</HEAD>
<P>WHereas complaint hath been made unto the Committee by Lieut. Col. <HI>John Lilburne,</HI> that he hath purcha&s;ed of the Contra|ctors for &s;ale of Deans and Chapters Lands, &s;everall Me&s;&s;uages, Lands and Tenements, with their Appurtenances, lying and being in <HI>Billing|ham,</HI> in the County of <HI>Durham,</HI> that the Tenants of the &s;aid Farms re|fu&s;ing to pay their rents, and &s;ome of them denying the Title of the <HI>Common-wealth;</HI> this Committee did the 15 of <HI>January</HI> la&s;t, order that they &s;hould pay their rents, or el&s;e within twenty dayes after notice of that Order, appeare before this Committee, and &s;hew cau&s;e to the con|trary. And whereas the &s;aid Lieut. Colonel in a later Petition (read the 22 of <HI>April</HI> la&s;t) alledged that all the &s;aid Tenants &s;ubmitted to pay the rents, &s;aving <HI>William Huntington,</HI> the &s;ucce&s;&s;or of <HI>Thomas Shippard,</HI> in the &s;aid Order of 15 of <HI>January</HI> la&s;t mentioned, who lives upon and en|joyes the profits of a Farm lying in <HI>Billingham</HI> afore&s;aid, part of the &s;aid purcha&s;e rated at 18 l. 15. s. 7. <HI>per Annum</HI> in pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;sion, and will in no way obey the &s;aid former order; whereupon this Committe did the &s;aid 22 of <HI>Aprill,</HI> order that the &s;aid <HI>William Huntington</HI> &s;hould (upon &s;ight or notice of that Order and demand made by the &s;aid Lieut. Coll. or by &s;uch per&s;on or per&s;ons, as he then had or &s;hould appoint to re|ceive the &s;aid rent, with the Arreages thereof, as al&s;o the po&s;&s;e&s;sion of the &s;aid Farm,) pay the &s;aid rent for, and give up po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Farm afore&s;aid accordingly, or otherwi&s;e make his per&s;onall appearance be|fore this Committee within twenty dayes after &s;uch &s;ight or notice of that order as afore&s;aid. And fora&s;much as oath hath been made unto
<PB N="5" REF="3">this Committee, that the &s;aid <HI>William Huntington</HI> was upon the third of <HI>June</HI> in&s;tant, per&s;onally &s;erved with the &s;aid Order of this Committe of the 22 of <HI>Aprill</HI> afore&s;aid, and wheras it is alledged that the &s;aid <HI>William Huntington</HI> hath neither paid the rent for, nor given up po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;aid Farme, nor appeared before this Committee, according to direction of the &s;aid Order of the 22 of <HI>April</HI> afore&s;aid: This Committee do ther|upon order, That (according to an ordinance of Parliament in that ca&s;e made) the Sheriffe of the County of <HI>Durham</HI> afore&s;aid, do upon the fight of this Order, repaire unto the &s;aid Farm and Farm-hou&s;e, and doe remove the &s;aid <HI>William Huntington,</HI> or any for him, or under him out of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;aid Farm, Farm-hou&s;e, and appurtenances, and doe deliver up the quiet po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the &s;aid Farm, Farm-hou&s;e, and all and &s;ingular the appurtenances thereto belonging, unto the &s;aid <HI>Lieut. Col. John Lilburne,</HI> or unto <HI>Richard Lilburne</HI> E&s;quire, Cornet <HI>Tho|mas Dowell,</HI> and <HI>George Blacket,</HI> his A&s;&s;ignes or any of them; and if hee finde re&s;i&s;tance, to rai&s;e the <HI>Po&s;&s;e Comitatus,</HI> and by force of Arms to po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e the &s;ame, and al&s;o to break open Dores and Gates for the clearing of the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; and the &s;aid Sheriffe is authori&s;ed to commit unto the next common pri&s;on for one moneth, &s;uch per&s;on and per&s;ons as he &s;hal find to re&s;i&s;t him in the executing of this Warrant.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Jo. Corbet,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Nath. Hallows</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Cor. Holland.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Sallaway.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Trenchard.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P>Upon the &s;erving of which Order upon the Sheriff of the county to <HI>Durham,</HI> he with his men went to <HI>Billingham,</HI> where the &s;aid <HI>Huntington</HI> and his Wi&s;e forced them to the utmo&s;t extremity that could be before they could get the po&s;&s;e&s;sion, which at la&s;t having obtained, it was de|livered up to my A&s;&s;igns named in the fore&s;aid Order. After which, my occa&s;ions in <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> leading me down into the North parts on purpo&s;e to complain again&s;t Sir <HI>Arthur He&s;ilrigg</HI> to the <HI>Generall</HI> (he being then an Officer in his Army) for robbing of my Unkle and other of my <HI>Relations</HI> by his Will and plea&s;ure of their <HI>Colliery at Harraton,</HI> commonly called, <HI>The nine and five Quarter &s;eams</HI> of Coles; which the &s;aid &s;ir <HI>Arthur</HI> values in his <HI>Certificate</HI> at 5475 l.<HI>per annum.</HI> I &s;ay, going into the North, at the Po&s;t hou&s;e at <HI>York</HI> I met with a large exclamation again&s;t me for a Tyrant and grand Oppre&s;&s;or about the &s;aid Farm, being left there by M. <HI>Bowles,</HI> &s;ometimes a Chaplin in the Army; as the Po&s;tma&s;ter told me; which I have cau&s;e to judge aro&s;e from &s;ome of &s;ir <HI>Arthurs Agents,</HI> one purpo&s;e to bla&s;t my Reputation: Unto which I made my defence in the maner that is made before: after which arriving at <HI>Billingham,</HI> the &s;aid <HI>Hunting|tons</HI> Wife came to me for to claim the enjoyment of her crop of Corn. Unto which I an&s;wered to this effect, I knew none &s;he had, nor had taken none from her; for, if &s;he would &s;ow a crop of Corn upon my Ground in de&s;pite of me, and to force me to all the Extremities that in Law I could be put unto to get my own, and by it had legally recoverd it, I knew no other way if &s;he found her &s;elf agrieved at me; but to
<PB N="6" REF="4">take the &s;ame cour&s;e to right her &s;elf again&s;t me: And in Equity I knew not of a penny &s;he could challenge at my hand; for I did and do believe That a crop of Corn growing upon a Farm let for under 20 pounds <HI>per annum,</HI> and upon &s;uch ground, as by the Tradition of people there hath bin con&s;tantly plowed, without ever lying &s;warth for many &s;cores of years, if not &s;om 100 of years, could countervails a ful years Rent (which then they were almo&s;t compleat in arrear to me) and tho&s;e va&s;t expen|ces that for almo&s;t 12 months together I had con&s;tantly bin at to get po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of my own; be&s;ides the lo&s;s of all my time, and divers of my Friends, be&s;ides the charge of reaping, &amp;c. of the &s;aid Crop, and ther|fore &s;o long as &s;he came unto me upon tho&s;e Terms of claiming it as her own, after &s;he had done what in her lay to bla&s;t my Reputation, for u&s;ing no other means but what the Law allows me to get my own, after all fair means of Compo&s;ure were &s;corned and rejected by her, and therefore &s;he mu&s;t now doe as &s;he had forced me to do which was to take her cou&s;e at Law. But perceiving that with much art her Re|proaches again&s;t me was much &s;pread in the Country; finding at my coming down the Church dores &s;hut up, and the Par&s;on put out of the Living, being a &s;at &s;eque&s;tred Living, the profits of which going to I know not what u&s;e! upon divers fir&s;t days during my abode there, I &s;upplyed the ejected Par&s;ons place, with Prayer, and the be&s;t words of Exhortation and In&s;truction that the Incomes of God upon my Soul inabled me to afford unto the people. And upon a day after the end of our meeting, there being a large Auditory of many hundreds of people, I took occa&s;ion to &s;hew what a vain and fruitle&s;s thing Notions and Speeches are, when the Practi&s;e or Actions were quire contrary. And hearing of a rumor, That there was hard dealing by me to &s;ome of my Tenants; which although (as I told them) my own con&s;cience did not in the lea&s;t accu&s;e me, having u&s;ed all the fair means that the wit of man could u&s;e to avoid extremity of Law, yet &s;o willing was I to avoid being my own Judg, That if any one in that Town thought I had done them wrong, let them choo&s;e one Neighbour, and I would choo&s;e another, who &s;hould hear us both, and to who&s;e determination I would bind my &s;elf in Bonds to &s;tand unto: And I the rather &s;poke it in that place; That &s;o my readine&s;s to give all ju&s;t &s;atisfaction to the meane&s;t per&s;ons might be taken notice of. After which time, one <HI>Ri|chard Rutlas</HI> an Inn-keeper in that Town, a fair conditioned man, and her Cou&s;in, &s;poke to me largely about her and her Farm; and after I had made him a Narrative of her evil dealing with me, which he partly knew before, being privy to my fir&s;t proffers to her; I de&s;ired him from me to goe to her and her Husband, and tell them, That if they would under both their hands acknowledg, The Parliament had a right to &s;ell the &s;aid Farm, and that I had a ju&s;t freedom to buy it, I would then (although they had lately been with Sir <HI>Arthur He&s;ilrig</HI> to petition a|gain&s;t me.) I would then</P>
<P>I &s;ay, lay a&s;ide my right in law to the &s;aid crop, and in equity, come to an exact account with them for all that in any kinde of equity
<PB N="7" REF="4">they can call theirs, and lay my rent, my disbur&s;ments, and charges in getting my po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, &amp;c. together, and rather give them more then le&s;s, it there were any overbalance; but as I told him, &s;o long as they continued ob&s;tinate in that opinion, that the Parliament was Ty|rants in &s;elling their farm, and my &s;elf no better then a Rogue in buying it, I would never treat with them, while I lived, and after this one Mr. <HI>Brough,</HI> as I remember his name, being the Mini&s;ter of <HI>Norton,</HI> that joyns to the &s;aid <HI>Billingham</HI> came to me about the &s;ame bu&s;ine&s;s, in her name, unto whom I made the &s;ame an&s;wer, in effect as is before expre&s;|&s;ed, and told him, that if they would acknowledge the Parliaments title, and that they had a right to &s;ell it, I would with all my heart, he being Judge, come to an exact equitable account with them, and do that he him&s;elf &s;hould judge to be full of con&s;cience and hone&s;ty, al|though I conceived my &s;elf not in the lea&s;t bound unto it by law, but I could never have a return of my de&s;ire from either of them; &s;o that in &s;ome time after, leaving the Country and coming to <HI>London,</HI> I acciden|tally upon Wedne&s;day la&s;t, being the 26. of <HI>November</HI> 1651. met with a Petition in print at the Hou&s;e door delivered again&s;t me; the Copy of which thus followeth.</P>
<Q><TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="petition">
<HEAD>To the &s;upreme authority of this Nation, the Parliament of the Commonwealth of ENGLAND: <HI>The humble Petition of</HI> William Huntington <HI>of</HI> Billingham <HI>in the Country of</HI> Durham, <HI>Yeoman;</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER>SHEWETH,</OPENER>
<P>THat your Petitioner having lately married a poor Widow with four &s;mall Children, who had the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and ancient Te|nant-right of a Farm in <HI>Billingham</HI> afore&s;aid, holden by Lea&s;e of the Dean and Chapter in <HI>Durham,</HI> which with two Cows and a Crop of Corn was the onely maintenance of that whole family, your Pe|titioner being unable to purcha&s;e the Rever&s;ion thereof, the Lea&s;e ex|piring, intended to have concluded a Bargain with an Officer of the Ar|my, who propounded to purcha&s;e the &s;aid Tenement, rendring the Moy|ety thereof back to your Petitioner for his Tenant-right, and the &s;ame had been effected, had not Lieutenant Colonel <HI>John Lilborn</HI> interpo&s;ed, concluding the Purcha&s;e thereof upon the terms of Tenant right, by ver|tue of an Act of Parliament given him in that behalf, together with di|vers other Tenements in that Manor, declaring at the time of his Con|tract, That he neither intended or de&s;ired any of the Tenants E&s;tates, had not the Parliament forced him upon that cour&s;e for the gaining of 150 l. which they ought him; further promi&s;ing, that if the Tenants would at any time make good the Rates of his Purcha&s;e, he would return their Lands and Tenements to them. Now &s;o it is, Right Honorable, that the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Lilborn</HI> no &s;ooner perfected his Conveyance, but imme|diately thru&s;ts out your Petitioner, his Wife and four Children, with the
<PB N="8" REF="5">addition of one to your Petitioner, and mo&s;t barbarou&s;ly and tyrannical|ly, again&s;t Law and Equity, hath po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed him&s;elf of all your Petitioners. Corn upon the ground, and thre&s;hes out the &s;ame for his own u&s;e, taking his two Cows from him, with almo&s;t a years &s;tock of Hay, Straw, and a great quantity of Manure, to the value of a Hundred and thirty Pounds, as by the Te&s;timony of &s;everall Neighbors here attending at your door it will appear, to the endle&s;s ruin of your Petitioners whole family.</P>
<P>May it therefore move your godly Hearts to pity the &s;ad and deplorable Condition of your Petitioner, who now &s;tands deprived of all his Livelyhood and Sub&s;i&s;tence, the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Lilborn</HI> leaving him nothing but a poor &s;ickly Woman and five &s;mall children, and not a Cows milk to &s;tay their hungry hearts; your Petitioner al&s;o being much in debt, and likely to lie and rot in Pri&s;on by the&s;e mercile&s;s and ine|quitable Practi&s;es of the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Lilborn,</HI> who is not a&s;hamed of &s;uch unparalleld Cruelties, forcing your Petitioner to travel Two hun|dred Miles upon his bare feet, to beg Relief at this Honorable Door being unable to re&s;i&s;t his rigid Power, or wager Law with him in his own defence; He therefore humbly be&s;eecheth your Honors Or|der, that the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Lilborn</HI> may either return the Moyety of the &s;aid Tenement, as was formerly offered to your Petitioner, or o|therwi&s;e that he may accept the Rate of his Purcha&s;e according to his own offer, from a Friend of your Petitioner, who is willing to con|tinue him Tenant at the yearly Rent of the late Survey; and that the illegal taking away of his two Cows and Corn, with divers other Goods upon the ground, may be committed to the Examination of &s;uch men as you &s;hall appoint, whereby your Petitioner may have &s;ome Relief in this &s;ad and di&s;con&s;olate Condition he having &s;tript him of all his means, leaving him nothing but a &s;ickly woman and five &s;mall Children; which if I may obtain, I &s;hall as in duty bound, humbly exhibit my daily Prayers in your behalf, &amp;c.</P>
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<P>NOw mo&s;t noble Senators; having exactly laid down a true Nar|rative of the &s;tate of this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, the Truth of which, I doe ingage hereby to make good by currant proof upon the forfeiture of my reputation for ever, which I value above my life, e&s;tate, wife, and children, and doe earne&s;tly de&s;ire at your hands, if it may &s;tand with your plea&s;ure, That Sir <HI>Arthur He&s;ilrigge</HI> who I do verily believe either by him&s;elf in per&s;on, or &s;ome of his Agents, incouraged the &s;aid <HI>Hun|tington</HI> or his wife to come to <HI>London,</HI> to complain, and drew the fore|mentioned fal&s;e and lying Petition for him, which he the rather believes becau&s;e Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> in the Country told my brother in law M. <HI>Thomas Gore,</HI> as he related to me; That the &s;aid <HI>Huntingtons</HI> wife had beene with him, and preferred a Petition again&s;t me, wherein &s;he complain|ed of &s;uch Things, as if he &s;hould have done the like, he &s;hould have been printed for a Tyrant indeed. I &s;ay, I de&s;ire, That Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> as for my adver&s;ary, and Col. <HI>Henry Martin,</HI> as for me, and his Excellency the Lord General, as an indifferent per&s;on, may be fully impowered by
<PB N="9" REF="5">the Hou&s;e, to hear and examine the Truth of his Narrative in his Peti|tion, and of mine in this Addre&s;&s;e, and upon a full hearing on both &s;ides, to puni&s;h either in body or goods at the plea&s;ure of them, or a|ny two of them, where They finde the fault to lie in lyes, fal&s;hoods, or any other ba&s;ene&s;&s;e, about this particular bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, which I think is &s;o fair, as nothing in the world can be offered of more ingenuity by me, e&s;pecially in regard I have a vi&s;ible e&s;tate to make him &s;atisfaction, and he hath none as he confe&s;&s;eth, to make me; he being not in the lea&s;t made &s;o poor by me, but by his own letcherous ba&s;ene&s;s in conver&s;ing with Whores, and getting of Ba&s;tards, which is the open and common brand he lies under in the Town where hee lives; There is but one Thing more in his Petition, I &s;hall at pre&s;ent touch upon, and that is my taking away Two Cowes from him, &s;o That They have not one now to give Them a drop of Milk. Its true, I believe my &s;aid Agent <HI>George Blacket</HI> above &s;ix months ago according to law &s;ei&s;ed upon Two poor Cowes of Theirs, for part of my rent, and prai&s;ed them, and proffe|ered either Them or any of Their friends the Cows for the money they were prai&s;ed at; which they refu&s;ing, the Cows hath ever &s;ince beene kept in a good pa&s;ture, and to my knowledg, I do aver it with confidence, hath &s;everal Times &s;ince I got my po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, been freely proffered unto her again both by my &s;elf and others, that I have &s;ent to her for That end, which &s;he hath ob&s;tinately from Time to Time refu&s;ed, although at my being in the Countrey, as I was informed, one of Them was then worth both of Them when they were taken from <HI>Huntington,</HI> they were &s;o mended in their fle&s;h; &s;o that if They have never a Cow to give Them Milk, They may thank Their own &s;ullenne&s;&s;e, and not in the lea&s;t my oppre&s;&s;ion: And &s;o much at pre&s;ent to his &s;candalous Petition.</P>
<P>BUt now mo&s;t Honourable Senators, &s;eeing I am compelled for my own pre&s;ervation to put pen to paper, vouch&s;afe me a little liber|ty farther without offence, and to appeal to you, That if there bee a great man that doth not appear above board, and yet under board, hath a hand in this Petition, who by him&s;elf or In&s;truments, &s;ets this fel|low on, whether is he not run almo&s;t to death in his reputation, that is forced to flie to &s;uch &s;lender props as the complaint of This fellow is to &s;upport it; &s;o pitifully and &s;lenderly endeavouring to bla&s;t the reputation of him that is his pur&s;uer: For</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve, That the Complainant and his wife, are a couple that never would in the lea&s;t yeild obedience to the Orders and Commands of Parliament &s;ignified by Their immediate Commit|tees; but contemned them, &s;corned Them, and bid open defiance to them, as will appear plainly by the Records of the Committee of Ob|&s;tructions; for which affronting contempts (which is a &s;corning of Au|thority) he ought in law, equity, and ju&s;tice, rather be clapt by the heels then to bee heard by you, before hee hath made expiation for his &s;aid crimes.</P>
<P>Secondly, I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve and judge, whether or no before I went to legal extremity, I did not u&s;e all fair and candid means to
<PB N="10" REF="6">get mine own, that it was po&s;&s;ible for any man in the world to u&s;e that in the lea&s;t would maintain his own right.</P>
<P>Thirdly, I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve and judge, whether I have been &s;o ba&s;e, as to u&s;e any boi&s;terous cour&s;es to get my own, other then what the law of <HI>England</HI> alowes to every man in the Nation; and if &s;o, I hope I &s;hall not be judged a mercile&s;s oppre&s;&s;or by you, for walking in the known Tracts and Foot&s;teps of the Law of <HI>England.</HI> But mo&s;t noble Senators, I perceive it is a &s;tudied Artifice in this Age, for men that have more guilt upon Them then Their backs are able to bear, behinde per&s;ons backs to &s;tudy to reproach Tho&s;e They hate, and are pincht by, and to bla&s;t Their reputation; and therefore is it &s;poken privately up and down among&s;t Parliament men, That I lately took a fal&s;e Oath at <HI>Haberda&s;hers</HI> Hall, about the Colliery at <HI>Harraton;</HI> unto which I &s;hal an|&s;wer no more at pre&s;ent but This, That the bu&s;ine&s;s is of many Thou|&s;and pounds con&s;equence <HI>per annum</HI> of concernment to other men, and I would be very loth in an ha&s;ty Apology for my &s;elf, to let any thing drop that might give any ju&s;t occa&s;ion to the Judges There to be pee|vi&s;h, and thereby to have any colourable pretence to put off the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">inall Judgement of the ca&s;e longer then Tue&s;day next in the afternoon, the Time appointed for it after many days hearing, and many hours already expended in private debates among&s;t the Judges Them&s;elves. And in the mean Time, I intreat every ingenious man to &s;u&s;pend his cen&s;uring of me for a few days after the Judging of the &s;aid cau&s;e; and if then I do not with as much ea&s;e blow off al that dirt that by art about that bu|&s;ine&s;s is thrown upon me, as the wind blows the lighte&s;t of chaff be|fore it, let me forfeit my reputation among&s;t all ingenious men for ever; And Therefore at pre&s;ent to conclude, vouch&s;afe me liberty without di&s;ta&s;te to acquaint you, That at our grand day of hearing about that Colliery, Sir <HI>Arthur He&s;ilrig</HI> much in&s;i&s;ted upon a Book I had lately a|bout it writ again&s;t him; and therefore de&s;ired the Commi&s;&s;ioners freely to give me leave to lay all the evil in the world to his charge there; that I knew again&s;t him; unto which, when it came to my part to &s;peak, I told Them in the&s;e words or to this effect.</P>
<P>That I very much commended Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> for his wi&s;dom to &s;ave him&s;elf, for he could not be &s;o ignorant to immagine, but that I very well knew tho&s;e Commi&s;&s;ioners had no power to que&s;tion him, for though it were, as he was there &s;ub&s;e|que&s;trator in the County of <HI>Durham</HI> (which mean and low Office I knew never a Parliament man in <HI>England,</HI> be&s;ides him&s;elf, but he &s;corned to execute) he was under them, and ought to be obedient to their orders, &amp; to give them a &s;ubmi&s;|&s;ive an account of his actions; but as he was a Parliament man, and thereby one of the &s;upreme Authority of the Na|tion, he was above them, and one of their Lords and Ma|&s;ters
<PB N="11" REF="6">and if I were &s;uch a child and fool to que&s;tion him for his offences before them that had no juri&s;diction over him, (but ab&s;olutely inferior to him) I &s;hould be laught at for my pains, and they if they &s;hould be &s;o mi&s;under&s;tanding of their own Authority, as to a&s;&s;ume juri&s;diction over him upon my complaint, and thereupon go about to puni&s;h him, they might very well be clapt by the heels for their &s;aw&s;ine&s;s, for breaking the priviledges of Parliament, in judging one of their Members, that they have no authority given them &s;o to do unto.</P>
<P>But as I told the Chair-man, Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> &s;aith, I have printed a book lately again&s;t him, in which he &s;aith I call him Traytor, Tyrant, and wor&s;e then <HI>Strafford:</HI> unto which I an&s;wered, to this effect, Sir, it is true, I have writ and cau&s;ed a late book to be printed again&s;t him, in which its po&s;&s;ible &s;uch expre&s;&s;i|ons may be, and if there are I will ju&s;tifie and prove them at my utmo&s;t peril: and that Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> and all the company may know that I am not afraid nor a&s;hamed to own the &s;aid book; be it known to him, that &s;ince I la&s;t came to Town I took the boldne&s;s upon me, as to wait upon the General, un|der who&s;e command I look upon Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> (as he is a Co|lonel) to be, and I told him a little of Sir <HI>Arthurs</HI> Tyranny, which I told him was &s;omwhat fully expre&s;&s;ed in a late book of mine, one of which I gave him, and beged him to read it &s;eriou&s;ly, further telling him it was mine, and I would ju&s;tifie it with my life, and earne&s;tly entreated him, that he would plea&s;e to vouch&s;afe to take upon him the hearing and judging of the cau&s;e, and we would ty our &s;elves in bonds to &s;tand to his judgment, but he put it off as being full of bu&s;ine&s;s.</P>
<P>Upon which in the &s;econd place, hearing that in Parliament there was to be &s;ome que&s;tioning of the Speaker, I ha&s;ted away as fa&s;t as I could to their Doore, &s;uppo&s;ing it a very fit &s;ea&s;on for me to get my complaint again&s;t Sir <HI>Arthur</HI> heard before them, that have a proper juri&s;diction over him; And at the Dore of the Parliament meeting with an honourable member of Parliament, called Mr <HI>Love,</HI> I told him what I heard the Hou&s;e was to be about, and having in my hand (I was confident of it, a higher Charge again&s;t Sir <HI>Arthur Ha|&s;lerig,</HI> then any could bee pretended again&s;t the Speaker) I
<PB N="12" REF="7">therefore intreated him as he was a Gentleman, to take a Book of mee, in which it was contained; and acquaint the Hou&s;e with it, and tell them, It was mine give to him to bring in, and I was at the Dore ready at their Bar to ju&s;tifie and prove it. And (as I am informed) he did acquaint the Hou&s;e with it, &s;ir <HI>Arthur</HI> him&s;elf being pre&s;ent, who it &s;eems had not &s;o much Innocency in his Brea&s;t, as to dare to pre&s;&s;e to have me cald into ju&s;tifie it: And therefore &s;aid I to the Chairman, as earne&s;t as &s;ir <HI>Arthur</HI> is to de&s;ire you to give me free liberty to lay all I can to his charge before you, that hee very well knows have no juri&s;diction over him; &s;o earne&s;t am I with him to que&s;tion me, and call me, if he dare, to the Bar of the Parliament (his proper Judges) to ju&s;tifie my &s;aid Book; and &s;o much at pre&s;ent to Sir <HI>Arthur.</HI> And now, &s;aid I, if you plea&s;e Gentlemen, a word or 2 to &s;om of you Commi&s;&s;ioners. Som of you &s;ay, I have writ a Book, in which I have abu&s;ed you. Its tru &s;aid I, <HI>a Book I have written again&s;t you, but I have not belyed or abu&s;ed you; &amp; if you plea&s;e to joyn I&s;&s;ue with me, you &s;hall find me very ingenuous, ready either as a Chri&s;tian, or an Engli&s;hman to give you full &s;atisfaction.</HI> And therefore,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>As a Chri&s;tian, if you plea&s;e to choo&s;e</HI> 2 <HI>hone&s;t godly men, I will choo&s;e</HI> 2 <HI>more, and bind my &s;elf in large Bonds to &s;tand to their Arbitration and Judg|ment; and if upon the hearing of both &s;ides, they &s;hal find I have done you wrong, and judge it Ju&s;t for me to repair you by a publique printed Recantation, I will freely do it with my Hand to it. Or,</HI> Secondly, <HI>If you like not this Propo|&s;ition, as a rationall Man, I will give you &s;atisfaction, that is to &s;ay, if you plea&s;e to enter your Action in the &V;pper-Bench, or any Court of Ju&s;tice in England, I will appear to it</HI> gratis; <HI>and give you &s;uch &s;atisfaction as by the extremity of the law you can obtain, which I think is &s;o fair, as no ingenious man in England can offer fairer.</HI> And therefore (Right Honorable) to conclude all, give me leave to make this Propo&s;ition to you, &s;eeing &s;ir <HI>Arthur</HI> indirectly &s;truggles &s;o to maintain his guilt; That if you plea&s;e to declare, That I may have as free liberty, and the &s;ame priviledges again&s;t &s;ir <HI>Arthur Ha|&s;lerig,</HI> as your &s;elves had again&s;t the Earl of <HI>Strafford,</HI> I do hereby engage my Life again&s;t his, in the behalf of the <HI>Commonwealth</HI> of <HI>England,</HI> to pre|pare and bring into your Hou&s;e, in a very &s;hort time, as formal a charge in the ey of the Law, as high and criminal in its nature, again&s;t &s;ir <HI>Arthur Ha&s;elrig,</HI> as ever yours was again&s;t <HI>Strafford;</HI> and before you openly, by legal and good te&s;timony to prove it, or otherwi&s;e let my life go for his.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>So humbly craving pardon for my tediou&s;ne&s;s, I take leave to &s;ub&s;cribe my &s;elf, Your faithful Suppliant, who de&s;ires to live no longer in this world, then he is able (the frailty of poor, weake feeble man &s;et a&s;ide) to ju&s;tifie the hone&s;ty of his Actions and Dealings with all private per&s;ons whatever, before the Judgment &s;eat of the &s;tricte&s;t Ju&s;ticiarie in England.</HI> JOHN LILBURNE.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><HI>London</HI> <DATE>this 28 <HI>November,</HI> 1651.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>Finis.</TRAILER>
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