<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2014-04-28</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140227.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B13199">
<STC T="S">9238.9</STC>
<STC T="C">S100675</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99836505</BIBNO>
<VID>178440</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>THE KINGS MAIESTIES <HI>Declaration to His</HI> Subiects, <HI>CONCERNING</HI> lawfull Sports to be v&s;ed.</P>
<P>LONDON Printed by BONHAM NORTON, and IOHN BILL, Deputie Printers for the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maie&s;tie. M.DC.XVIII.</P>
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<P>A</P>
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>royal blazon or coat of arms</FIGDESC>
<Q>HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE</Q>
</FIGURE></HEAD>
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>By the King.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_WHereas vpon Our</HI> returne the la&s;t yeere out of Scotland, Wee did publi&s;h Our plea|&s;ure touching the re|creations of Our peo|ple in tho&s;e parts vnder Our hand: For &s;ome cau&s;es &V;s thereunto moouing, We haue thought good to command the&s;e Our directions then giuen in <HI>Lanca|&s;hire</HI> with a few words thereunto ad|ded, and most appliable to the&s;e parts of Our Realmes, to be publi&s;hed to all Our Subiects.</P>
<P><HI>Whereas We did iu&s;tly in Our</HI> Progre&s;se through <HI>Lanca&s;hire,</HI> re|buke
<PB N="2" REF="5">&s;ome Puritanes &amp; preci&s;e people, and tooke order that the like vnlaw|full cariage &s;hould not bee v&s;ed by any of them hereafter, in the prohibiting and vnlawfull puni&s;hing of Our good people for v&s;ing their lawfull Recrea|tions, and hone&s;t exerci&s;es vpon Sun|dayes and other Holy dayes, after the afternoone Sermon or Seruice: Wee now find that two &s;orts of people where|with that Countrey is much infested, (Wee meane Papists and Puritanes) haue maliciou&s;ly traduced and calum|niated tho&s;e Our iust and honourable proceedings. And therefore lest Our reputation might vpon the one &s;ide (though innocently) haue &s;ome a&s;per|&s;ion layd vpon it, and that vpon the o|ther part Our good people in that Coun|trey bee mi&s;led by the mistaking and mi&s;interpretation of Our meaning: We
<PB N="3" REF="5">haue therefore thought good hereby to cleare and make Our plea&s;ure to bee manifested to all Our good People in|tho&s;e parts.</P>
<P>Jt is true that at Our first entry to this Crowne, and Kingdome, Wee were informed, and that too truely, that Our County of <HI>Lanca&s;hire</HI> abounded more in Popi&s;h Recu&s;ants then any Countie of England, and thus hath &s;til continued &s;ince to Our great regreet, with litle a|mendment, &s;aue that now of late, in Our last riding through Our &s;aid Coun|ty, Wee find both by the report of the Judges, and of the Bi&s;hop of that dio|ce&s;&s;e that there is &s;ome amendment now daily beginning, which is no &s;mall con|tentment to &V;s.</P>
<P>The report of this growing amend|ment amongst them, made &V;s the more &s;ory, when with Our owne Eares Wee
<PB N="4" REF="6">heard the generall complaint of Our people, that they were barred from all lawfull Recreation, and exerci&s;e vpon the Sundayes afternoone, after the ending of all Diuine Seruice, which cannot but produce two euils: The one, the hindering of the conuer&s;ion of many, whom their Priests will take occa&s;ion hereby to vexe, per&s;wading them that no honest mirth or recreation is lawfull or tollerable in Our Religion, which cannot but breed a great di&s;con|tentment in Our peoples hearts, e&s;peci|ally of &s;uch as are peraduenture vpon the point of turning; The other incon|uenience is, that this prohibition bar|reth the common and meaner &s;ort of people from v&s;ing &s;uch exerci&s;es as may make their bodies more able for Warre, when Wee or Our Succe&s;&s;ors &s;hall haue occa&s;ion to v&s;e them. And in place
<PB N="5" REF="6">thereof &s;ets vp filthy tiplings and drun|kenne&s;&s;e, and breeds a number of idle and di&s;contented &s;peaches in their Ale|hou&s;es. For when &s;hal the common peo|ple haue leaue to exerci&s;e, if not vpon the Sundayes and Holydayes, &s;eeing they must apply their labour, and winne their liuing in all working dayes?</P>
<P><HI>Our</HI> expre&s;&s;e plea&s;ure therefore is, that the Lawes of Our Kingdome, and Canons of Our Church bee a&s;well ob|&s;erued in that County, as in all other places of this Our Kingdome. And on the other part, that no lawfull Re|creation &s;hall bee barred to Our good People, which &s;hall not tend to the breach of Our afore&s;aid Lawes, and Canons of Our Church: which to ex|pre&s;&s;e more particularly, Our plea&s;ure is, That the Bi&s;hop, and all other in|feriour Churchmen, and Churchwar|dens,
<PB N="6" REF="7">&s;hall for their parts bee carefull and diligent, both to in&s;truct the igno|rant, and co~uince &amp; reforme them that are mi&s;led in religion, pre&s;enting them that will not conforme them&s;elues, but ob&s;tinately &s;tand out to Our Iudges and Iustices: Whom We likewi&s;e command to put the Law in due execution against them.</P>
<P><HI>Our</HI> plea&s;ure likewi&s;e is, That the Bi&s;hop of that Dioce&s;&s;e take the like &s;traight order with all the Puritans and Preci&s;ians within the &s;ame, either con&s;training them to conforme them|&s;elues, or to leaue the Countrey accor|ding to the Lawes of Our Kingdome, and Canons of Our Church, and &s;o to &s;trike equally on both hands, against the contemners of Our Authoritie, and ad|uer&s;aries of Our Church. And as for Our good peoples lawfull Recreation,
<PB N="7" REF="7">Our plea&s;ure likewi&s;e is, That after the end of Diuine Seruice, Our good people be not disturbed, letted, or di&s;|couraged from any lawfull Recreation; Such as dauncing, either men or wo|men, Archerie for men, leaping, vaul|ting, or any other &s;uch harmele&s;&s;e Re|creation, nor from hauing of May-Games, Whit&s;on Ales, and Morris|dances, and the &s;etting vp of May|poles and other &s;ports therewith v&s;ed, &s;o as the &s;ame be had in due and conue|nient time, without impediment or neg|lect of diuine Seruice: And that wo|men &s;hall haue leaue to carry ru&s;hes to the Church for the decoring of it, accor|ding to their old custome. But withall We doe here accompt &s;till as prohibited all vnlawfull games to bee v&s;ed vpon Sundayes onely, as Beare and Bull|baitings, Jnterludes, and at all times in
<PB N="8" REF="8">the meaner &s;ort of People by Law pro|hibited, Bowling.</P>
<P>And likewi&s;e Wee barre from this benefite and libertie, all &s;uch knowne Recu&s;ants, either men or Women, as will ab&s;taine from comming to Church or diuine Seruice, being therefore vn|worthy of any lawfull recreation after the &s;aid Seruice, that will not fir&s;t come to the Church and &s;erue <HI>GOD:</HI> Pro|hibiting in like &s;ort the &s;aid Recreati|ons to any that, though co~forme in Re|ligion, are not pre&s;ent in the Church at the Seruice of <HI>GOD,</HI> before their going to the &s;aid Recreations. <HI>Our</HI> plea|&s;ure likewi&s;e is, That they to whom it belongeth in Office, &s;hall pre&s;ent and &s;harply puni&s;h all &s;uch as in abu&s;e of this Our libertie, will v&s;e the&s;e exerci&s;es before the ends of all diuine Seruices for that day. And We likewi&s;e &s;traightly
<PB N="9" REF="8">command, that euery per&s;on &s;hall re&s;ort to his owne Pari&s;h Church to heare di|uine Seruice, and each Pari&s;h by it &s;elfe to v&s;e the &s;aid Recreation after diuine Seruice. Prohibiting likewi&s;e any Offen&s;iue weapons to be caried or v&s;ed in the &s;aid times of Recreations And Our plea&s;ure is, That this Our Decla|ration &s;halbe publi&s;hed by order fro~ the Bi&s;hop of the Dioce&s;&s;e, through all the Pari&s;h Churches, and that both Our Iudges of Our Circuit, and Our Iustices of Our Peace be informed thereof.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Giuen at Our Mannour of Greenwich </HI> <DATE><HI>the foure and twentieth day of May, in the &s;ixteenth yeere of Our Raigne of England, France and Ireland, and of Scotland the one and fiftieth.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>God &s;aue the King.</CLOSER>
<PB REF="9">
<PB REF="9">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
