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<DATE>11-5-09</DATE>
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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<STC T="W">S4324</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">42475210</BIBNO>
<VID>151362</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB REF="1">
<HEAD>The Revenous Bea&s;t Di&s;covered,
AND THE
Devourer Pur&s;ued.</HEAD>
<HEAD>In a Short Account truly &s;tated of the unju&s;t Proceedings and Cruel dealings by Dove William&s;on Prie&s;t
of Elton in the County of Nottingham, again&s;t William Claytor of the &s;ame Town.</HEAD>
<P><HI>William Claytor</HI> being a Farmer, painfully labouring to provide for his
Family, and to pay &s;uch Rent as was due unto the Owner of the
Farm, the Lord gave an increa&s;e to the labour of his hands, &amp; ble&s;|&s;ed
it, and his corn and cattel increa&s;ed, of which increa&s;e the &s;aid
Prie&s;t demanded a Tenth part, which he calls his Tythes, but unto his demand
the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> could not con&s;ent, knowing that it was the fruit of his own la|bor
which God had increa&s;ed unto him, and that the Prie&s;t had neither been at
any charge nor taken any pains about it; And being al&s;o convinced by the light
of Chri&s;t in his own con&s;cience that both the Law and the Prie&s;thood was chan|ged
under which Tythes were paid and received, and that the Sub&s;tance being
come, all &s;hadows are to cea&s;e, and that the Go&s;pel is free, and to be preached
freely, the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> could not for con&s;cience &s;ake &s;atisfie the Prie&s;t, to give
him that part which he calls his Tythes. So the Prie&s;t &s;ent for a <HI>Sub-poena</HI> out of
the Exchequer to cau&s;e the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> to appear in that place in his own per|&s;on,
to an&s;wer what the Prie&s;t &s;hould object again&s;t him; and the &s;aid <HI>William</HI>
appeared to have an&s;wered in the Truth, but his appearance would not be ta|ken
without an Attorny to appear for him, though he was commanded to ap|pear
in his own per&s;on upon pain of a great &s;um of mony, and he having per|formed
on his part what was required, and being there as he was commanded
to an&s;wer for him&s;elf, he had not freedom to employ another to do that which
he was commanded to do him&s;elf, and was free to do it, and for that end went
near upon an hundred miles; But deceit not receiving Truth, the &s;aid <HI>William</HI>
was &s;ent to the <HI>Fleet,</HI> (a pri&s;on in <HI>London</HI>) and was kept a pri&s;oner for the &s;pace
of two years, during which time the Prie&s;t made &s;poil of his goods, and took &amp;
carried away his corn from off his ground by a cart load together from one land
before it was &s;et on the cock, &s;o greedy was the bea&s;t of his prey, and the devou|rer
to make &s;poil, neither regarding God nor man. Let the Scripture be &s;earch|ed
and this man tried in the &s;pirit of Truth, and it will be plainly &s;een unto
whom he is like, not like a Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t (who laboured with his own
hands to make the Go&s;pel without charge) but like a greedy dumb dog that
can never have enough, &s;eeking to devour and de&s;troy and murther the inno|cent;
and after all this is done, and that the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> had been a Pri&s;on|er
two years, the Prie&s;t procured a <HI>Habeas Corpus,</HI> and removed the body of
the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> to the Common Pleas Bar, and there declared again&s;t him for
38 <HI>l. 10 s.</HI> debt, when he had made &s;poil of his goods at his own plea&s;ure, and
the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> an&s;wered that he did not ow him any thing. So he was retur|ned
into the pri&s;on again, and did from that time continue a pri&s;oner about a
year and a quarter longer, and then the Prie&s;t proceeded again&s;t him at the
Common Law, and brought down a Trial which was tried at the A&s;&s;izes held at
<HI>Nottingham</HI> in the year 16<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">9. and thither the Prie&s;t brought a man who&s;e name
is <HI>Richard Hor&s;e-poole,</HI> and he &s;wore that the Prie&s;t was damnified for want of his
Tythes to the value of 7 <HI>l.</HI> So the Jury who was to try the matter they gave un|to
the Prie&s;t 20 <HI>l.</HI> and there could be no witne&s;&s;e heard of the &s;aid <HI>Williams</HI> part,
though there were &s;ome ready to have given crue evidence, who knew well the
&s;poil of goods the Prie&s;t had made in taking and carrying them away. Then
the Prie&s;t proceeded upon this unju&s;t verdict, and was now minded for his prey,
and two Bayliffs came on the Prie&s;ts behalf, who&s;e names are <HI>George Miller</HI> and
<HI>Robert Miller,</HI> who are like minded with the Prie&s;t to devour at once, and the&s;e
two men upon the 14. day of the ninth month, 1659. &s;ei&s;ed upon the goods &amp;
chattels of the &s;aid <HI>William,</HI> and took and drove a way eighteen head of
Cattel which the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> valued truly to be worth three&s;core pounds. So the
Bayliffs procured one <HI>William Bartrum</HI> and <HI>Bryan Goodwin, William Oliver</HI> and
<HI>Thomas Rick,</HI> who were ready to be like minded with them, and the&s;e men va|lued
the goods &s;o taken by the Bayliffs to be worth but &s;ix and twenty pounds,
at which rate they pa&s;&s;ed, and the Bayliffs proceeded to make &s;ale of them, and
&s;old them at Ale-hou&s;es, and never came at any Market with them. And after
they had thus fini&s;hed the mi&s;chief of their hearts as far as they were &s;uffered,
they brought 7 of the cattel back again when they had wronged them &s;even
or eight dayes, which the &s;aid <HI>William</HI> valued to be worth eighteen pounds;
So that they kept eleven Cattel which were worth two and fourty pounds.
Let all who have the &s;ence of Gods fear in their hearts con&s;ider this &s;oberly, and
weigh it coolly, and it will appear to be the Devils work from the beginning, for
a man to be &s;ued for denying an unju&s;t demand, and then ca&s;t into pri&s;on
becau&s;e he could not an&s;wer deceit, and then kept a Pri&s;oner three years and
a quarter, and during that time the Prie&s;t &s;poiling his goods, and then declares
again&s;t him for eight and thirty pounds ten &s;hillings debt, and when it came
to be proved could not prove any debt, but a man fal&s;ely &s;wears to &s;even
pound dammage for Tythes, and the Jury made that up twenty pounds for
the Prie&s;t, and the Bayliffs made it up too and forty pounds, and thus is the
innocent made a prey unto the teeth of the ungodly; And both Prie&s;t, Judge,
Jury, &s;wearer, lyar, Bayliffs and prai&s;ers all devouring by con&s;ent, and all
like minded in exerci&s;ing cruelty, and all mu&s;t peri&s;h together without &s;peedy
repentance, for a wicked and an ungodly generation you are, whom the
Lord is &s;pewing out, who delight your &s;elves in committing &s;uch filthy and
horrible things as the&s;e are; what will ye do in the end which is ha&s;ting
upon you all, when the Lord will enquire after all your doings, and that you
mu&s;t come before Him to give an account, what then will ye do, and where
will you hide your &s;elves to e&s;cape the wrath of Him who Judges in Truth and
righteou&s;ne&s;s? there will not be a hiding place found for you, neither among&s;t
the Rocks nor under the mountains, but the terrible day of the Lord will
come upon you, and the fierce wrath of the Lord will overtake you, and his
indignation will take hold upon you, and a ju&s;t recompence of reward will he
give unto you according to your deeds, and this is to you all from fir&s;t to la&s;t
who have acted thus cruelly without &s;hewing mercy; You may here read what is
brought force by you, <HI>O</HI> ye Prie&s;ts of <HI>Eng.</HI> here is your fruit, &amp; by it are you known
to be a Troop of Robbers, fal&s;e prophets and Deceivers; We do not delight to
lay open your filthine&s;&s;e, but that you may &s;ee your &s;elves and be a&s;hamed, and
for the &s;ake of the &s;imple who are following of you and deceived by you, that
they may come out from among&s;t you, and e&s;cape the judgement that is com|ing
upon you. And thou Prie&s;t <HI>William&s;on,</HI> there needs no proof be brought a|gain&s;t
thee, for thou ha&s;t uncovered thy &s;elf to thy &s;hame for ever, and ha&s;t
made thy &s;elf manife&s;t what thou art, and the fruits brought forth by thee do
witne&s;&s;e again&s;t thee that thou art not of Chri&s;ts &s;ending, He &s;ends forth his as
Lambs among Wolves, but thou art come forth a Wolf among Lambs, There|fore
repent of the evil of thy doings, and re&s;tore that which thou ha&s;t wrong|fully
cau&s;ed to be taken away by violence, for the cry of the oppre&s;&s;ed and the
Family of the Innocent will ri&s;e up in judgement again&s;t thee, and the Judge
of all the earth will do right unto thee, and repay thee according to what thou
ha&s;t done, and judgement without mercy will the Lord give unto thee, and hea|vie
will his &s;troaks fall upon thee becau&s;e thou ha&s;t &s;hewed no mercy.</P>
<P>O ye Rulers of <HI>England</HI> who have now power in your hands to remove the&s;e
oppre&s;&s;ions, and take off the&s;e burdens which lie &s;o heavily upon the innocent,
the cry is exceeding great, put it not from you, nor do not neglect it any
longer, but &s;et your hearts to do the work of the Lord, and take off the yoke
from the necks of his People, and then will the Lord be with you, and his
Arm will he make bare for you, and all your enemies &s;hall fall before you, and
none &s;hall pro&s;per that ri&s;e up again&s;t you; But if you be double minded, and
neglect the work of the Lord, and &s;eek to exalt your &s;elves and fear the faces
of men, the Lord will withdraw from you, and your enemies will prevail over
you, and you will be rooted out as others have been before you, for cur&s;ed are
all that do the work of the Lord negligently; Therefore with boldne&s;s &s;hew
your &s;elves in the face of all your enemies, and ari&s;e in the Power of the Lord
God, that your hands may be &s;trengthened to take off all the&s;e burthens which
make the innocent to groan under them, and let not any thing &s;tand that is
contrary to the Truth of God, but &s;trike it all down, that all who&s;e faces are
<HI>Sion</HI>-wards may walk on their way rejoycing, being freed from all oppre&s;&s;ion,
and by your Government defended from all injury and cruelty either to their
Per&s;ons or E&s;tates, That &s;o the exerci&s;e of their tender Con&s;ciences may not
be bowed down, nor any come into &s;ufferings for it; But all may &s;tand in their
Freedom towards the Lord, and that none may exerci&s;e Lord&s;hip over them;
And &s;o all being peaceably affected towards the Nation, all may &s;tand in their
Freedom towards the Lord, and that no Law may &s;tand to compell or force
the tender Con&s;cience of any; This is that which is your great work which
in the integrity of your heart you are to perform unto the Lord without delay|ing,
and then will the Lord be on your &s;ide and ju&s;tifie you, and what then need
you fear who ri&s;es up again&s;t you to condemn you; &s;o let not your hearts be
feeble, nor your hands &s;lack, but be you faithful unto God, and in his
&s;trength go on and pro&s;per, and the Lord will be with you, and he will &s;tand
by you again&s;t all that &s;hall oppo&s;e you, and give you the heads of all your
enemies to Reign over.</P>
<P>This is publi&s;hed for no other end but to manife&s;t Truth and lay open deceit, that the
Rulers of the Nation may &s;ee the Government, and what it is, and the Lawes,
and how they are executed. And that all people may &s;ee what a Mini&s;try there is,
and what their way is, and how they are upheld and maintained, and in what
cruelty they do compell it, that all the&s;e abominations may be rooted out from the
earth, that &s;uch a Goverment may be changed and &s;uch Laws di&s;annulled, and
&s;uch execution of them repealed, and &s;uch a Mini&s;try removed, that all &s;uch ways
may be altered, and &s;uch a maintenance raced out, never more to be remembred,
that &s;o all cruelty, Tyranny and oppre&s;&s;ion may cea&s;e, and Truth and equity &s;et up
and exalted, that he alone may Reign over all who will not give his glory to
another.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>WILLIAM SMITH.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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