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<DATE>2014-10-22</DATE>
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<NAME>Kate Allen</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">: OR A VINDICATION OF <HI>A Regulated Inclo&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P>Wherein is plainly proved, that Inclo&s;ure of Commons in general and the Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> in the County of <HI>Leice&s;ter</HI> in particular, are both lawful and laudable.</P>
<P>As al&s;o that tho&s;e evils which do too u&s;ually accompany Inclo&s;ure of Commons, are not the faults of Inclo&s;ure, but of &s;ome Inclo&s;ers only.</P>
<P>By JOSEPH LEE Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<Q><P>And herein do I exerci&s;e my &s;elf, to have alwaies a con&s;cience void of offence toward God and toward man, <BIBL><HI>Act. 24.16.</HI></BIBL></P>
<P>But &s;anctifie the Lord God in your heart, and be ready alwaies to give an an&s;wer to every man that asketh you a rea&s;on of the hope that is in you with meekne&s;&s;e and fear; Having a good con&s;cience, that whereas they &s;peak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be a&s;hamed that fal&s;ly accu&s;e your good conver&s;ation in Chri&s;t, <BIBL><HI>1 Pet. 3.15, 16.</HI></BIBL></P></Q>
<Q><L>Si &s;ufficiat accu&s;are, quis innocens erit?</L>
<L>Allegatio &s;ine probatione calumnia.</L></Q>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed by <HI>E.C.</HI> and are to be &s;old by <HI>Thomas Williams</HI> at the Bible in <HI>Little-Britain,</HI> 1656.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The Epi&s;tle to the Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Chri&s;tian and courteous Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_IT may be thou maye&s;t wonder, that I a Mi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">r of the Go&s;pel &s;hould meddle with a bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of this nature: The truth is, I wonder more at my &s;elf, be|ing very con&s;cious of my little experience in the things of this world: This &s;ubject is not plea|&s;ing unto me, but nece&s;&s;ity commands, and I obey. I have been charged to act again&s;t con|&s;cience in giving my con&s;ent to this Inclo&s;ure, I have been challenged to preach in publick, what I have privately profe&s;&s;ed to be my judgement; but judge it not convenient to an&s;wer this cha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">lenge, for the&s;e Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. When I come into the pulpit, I come upon my Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, not my own.</P>
<P N="2">2. I am very &s;en&s;ible that if our pulpits had &s;oun|ded more of the things of Chri&s;t, and le&s;&s;e of the things of the world, it had been better with us then it is this day.</P>
<P N="3"><PB REF="3">3. What falleth from the mouth is oft perverted, mi&s;con&s;trued and fal&s;ly reported, but <HI>litera &s;crip|ta manet,</HI> what I write thou mai&s;t judge of; I choo&s;e therefore this way, to let thee know that I have not &s;inned again&s;t con&s;cience, I have done nothing in this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e con&s;cience doubting, much le&s;&s;e oppo&s;ing, and I hope not erring. <GAP DESC="foreign">, con|&s;cience, is a double knowledge, and hath a dou|ble a&s;pect, it looks backward and forward; back|wards upon Gods will revealed, forwards upon our own actions performed; I ble&s;&s;e God I have compared both the&s;e, and examined this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e in that highe&s;t Court on earth, and I finde my &s;elf cleared in that the Judge doth not condemn the fact. True I know I have &s;inned in this action, as I have in all my be&s;t duties and mo&s;t fervent prayers; if the Lord &s;hould be extreme to mark what I have done ami&s;&s;e in my holy things, I am not ab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> to an&s;wer him one word for a thou&s;and &s;ins; but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word"> to the action it &s;elf, I finde Gods waies and my will to meet, and no contradiction be|tween Gods precepts and my actions; God having no where prohibited, what I have herein practi&s;ed; &s;eeing therefore my heart condemns me not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3 21.</NOTE> I have confidence towards God, and con&s;equently &s;olid con&s;olation, again&s;t all the uncharitable &s;urmi&s;es, opprobrious imputations and fal&s;e accu&s;ations of men: I pa&s;&s;e very little to be judged by thee or mans judgement, he that judgeth is the Lord: yea although &s;ome of Gods own &s;hould have hard and har&s;h thoughts of me, yet God will not condemn me:
<PB REF="3"> Con&s;cience is Gods Court of Chancery, and that relief I meet with in that high Court of equity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 15.15.</NOTE> is to me a continual fea&s;t; God I am &s;ure will not condemn, whom a good con&s;cience rightly infor|med doth acquit: I &s;ay rightly informed, perhaps &s;ome will &s;ay, that is <HI>petitio principii,</HI> a taking that for granted, which is not proved. Truly I have neglected no means of information, con&s;idering as well what was &s;aid again&s;t it, as what was &s;aid for it: neither did I do it &s;uddenly, but upon mature deliberation, and upon re&s;ult, I am now very con|fident, that the lawfulne&s;&s;e and laudability of the inclo&s;ure by us practi&s;ed, is in the&s;e papers fully con|firmed; but I may not be Judge in mine own cau&s;e, I leave them therefore to thy candid cen&s;ure: Fir&s;t I pray con&s;ider what I have &s;aid, and then judge without prejudice and partiality: and the Lord give thee, and me al&s;o, under&s;tanding in this, and in all things, which is the earne&s;t prayer of</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Cotesbatch,</HI>
<DATE><HI>Nov.</HI> 12.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Thy friend, <HI>Jo&s;eph Lee.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="epitaph">
<LG>
<L>&mdash;<HI>Si quid novi&s;ti rectius i&s;tis,</HI></L>
<L><HI>Candidus imperti; &s;i non, his utere mecum.</HI></L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>If ought thou knowe&s;t better to be,</L>
<L>Impart it; el&s;e u&s;e the&s;e with me,</L>
</LG>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="4">
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>A VINDICATION OF A Regulated Inclo&s;ure.</HEAD>
<P>_TRuth is the daughter of Time, and Time the di&s;|covery of Truth: all is not gold that gli&s;tereth, nor all truth that &s;eems &s;o; Truth it &s;elf may be &s;ometimes clouded and unknown to many lovers of it; a glazed piece may pa&s;&s;e a while for currant coyn, when good money a little blurred is re|fu&s;ed, but time and truth will bring it to the touch&s;tone: a gilded error may &s;eem a glorious truth, but time and truth will manife&s;t it to be at be&s;t a flouri&s;hing fal&s;hood. A pretended error is &s;ometimes truth concealed; unmask it, and it proveth truth revealed. All things are not &s;in|full which are &s;o e&s;teemed; as there are &s;ins reall, &s;o there are &s;ins imaginary; as there are &s;ins of Gods making which his Law hath forbidden, &s;o there are &s;ins of the Devils making: the god of this world hath &s;o blinded the eyes of the Idolater, that he judgeth it to be his &s;in not to bow to an Idol; and the Heretick, that he judgeth it to be his &s;in not to oppo&s;e the Go&s;pel. And there are &s;ins al&s;o of mens making, which mans brain doth fancy to be
<PB N="2" REF="5"> &s;ins, although God hath not prohibited them: beleeve it Chri&s;tians, if we be truly &s;en&s;ible of tho&s;e great and God provoking crimes, and daly deviations from the will of God, which we ru&s;h upon as the hor&s;e ru&s;heth into the battel; we have little need to adde unto our burden, by charging our &s;elves with &s;ins which God hath not made &s;ins, and imputing &s;ins to our &s;elves which God doth not impute unto us: that God which hath con|demned wil-wor&s;hip and &s;elf-devi&s;ed &s;ervice, <HI>who hath re|quired this at your hands?</HI> I&s;a. 1.12. doth not approve that we &s;hould condemn our &s;elves for &s;elf-devi&s;ed &s;ins. It hath pa&s;&s;ed for an undeniable maxime among&s;t &s;ome, that all inclo&s;ure of Commons is &s;inful; but time and truth hath now di&s;covered, that inclo&s;ure in it &s;elf is no way vitious, but nece&s;&s;ary at lea&s;t for the well being of the Common-wealth. The proof of this is the task I have undertaken, <HI>viz</HI> That &s;ome Inclo&s;ure cannot ju&s;tly be charged with &s;in: if you call for example for the better a&s;&s;urance, I pre&s;ent you here with one, wherein I am mo&s;t concerned, <HI>viz.</HI> the intended Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> in the County of <HI>Leice&s;ter:</HI> That which I have to &s;ay herein, I &s;hall reduce to two heads, <HI>viz.</HI> That the Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> is,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Lawfull.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Laudable.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>And con&s;equently not &s;infull.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="part">
<P N="1">1. That the Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> is lawful, appeareth becau&s;e it doth no injury to any: that it doth no injury appeareth, becau&s;e it is profitable to all concerned therein: Now there are four &s;orts of men be&s;ides our &s;elves to be con&s;idered, 1. The Mini&s;ter. 2. The Poor. 3. The Cot|tages. 4. The Tenants.</P>
<P>That it is profitable to our &s;elves, I think few will de|ny; el&s;e what mean tho&s;e outcries again&s;t us, that filthy <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ere is our end; or if it be not, <HI>volenti non fit injuria,</HI> we are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">illing to &s;uffer that wrong.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="5">
<P>That it is profitable to all others concerned as well as our &s;elves, appeareth by con&s;idering them apart.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is profitable to the Mini&s;ter; becau&s;e his living, never worth above 60 <HI>l. per annum,</HI> and &s;ometimes in bad years but 40. or 50 <HI>l.</HI> will be made worth 80 <HI>l. per annum,</HI> we having covenanted con&s;tantly to pay unto him and his &s;ucce&s;&s;ors for ever, in lieu of his tithes about 54 <HI>l. per annum,</HI> the Gl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">be at 15 <HI>s.</HI> by the acre will make up the re&s;t; be&s;ides he him&s;elf hath con&s;ented to it, and therefore it probable would not injure him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="2">2. The poor, now having no part of the Fields nor Commons belonging to their hou&s;es, will hereby gain 14. acres of Land, which we have freely given unto them to be &s;etled upon Feoffees in tru&s;t for the u&s;e of the poor of <HI>Catthorp</HI> for ever, by the &s;ame Law that our own Lands are &s;etled upon our &s;elves, &s;o that none can ever de|prive them of it.</P>
<P N="3">3. It will be advantagious to the Cottagers who&s;e Com|mons being now worth <HI>communibus annis,</HI> but 8. or 9 <HI>s. per annum,</HI> will be made worth 35 <HI>s. per annum</HI> at the lea&s;t.</P>
<P N="4">4. The advantage of the Tenants I confe&s;&s;e will be according to the dealing of the Landlord with them; That we will not deal kindly with them, none have rea&s;on to prejudge; or if any of us &s;hould rack our Rents in inclo&s;ure, it is not the fault of the inclo&s;ure, but the inclo&s;ers, and that not as inclo&s;ers, but as unmercifull Landlords: have we not the &s;ame power to do the like in common fields, if the Lord do not give us more mer|ciful hearts? I hope we &s;hall &s;top the mouthes of all gain&s;ayers in this particular. Sure I am they will be great gainers, although they &s;hould pay a double Rent, if that be true, which the Petitioners to the Parliament again&s;t Inclo&s;ure did affirm, <HI>viz.</HI> That men by Inclo&s;ure do make a treble advantage of their Lands, ab&s;urdly al|ledging that as an argument again&s;t it, which in &s;ound judgement is a good argument for it.</P>
<PB REF="6">
<P>Object. <HI>The allowance to the Poor will not be &s;ufficient for their maintenance.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> We are bound by the Law to provide for the impotent poor (if this be not &s;ufficient) as much as in common fields, the Law injoyns us to provide for their being, this we adde in charity for their better being; except the ancient Cottages which have land laid out in lieu of their Commons, there are only four ere|cted Cottages in the Town, and for pre&s;ent there are not above twelve per&s;ons, men, women and children, that do, or at lea&s;t can pretend to poverty: the 14. Acres given to the poor, will be worth in time 14 <HI>l. per annum,</HI> which will amount to five pence by the week to every poor inhabitant, which will be a good help to them: &s;ure I am, young people are very eager to marry into our Town, being incouraged by that large provi&s;ion we have made for the poor.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>It will wrong the Poor, becau&s;e they will want work when the Town is Inclo&s;ed.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Except two or three old men, who are unable to work, who&s;e &s;ons are Trade&s;men, as al&s;o the re&s;t of the Cottages, there are only three day-labourers in the Town; Is it probable that the cutting of hedges, thre&s;h|ing of corn, and keeping of grounds as &s;hepherds, &s;hould not finde them as much work as they had before? <HI>Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. Many poor are maintained in working about Wool and Cloth in this Nation, e&s;pecially in tho&s;e parts which are generally inclo&s;ed, and the&s;e kept in con&s;tant work; whereas in the common fields divers poor men in the winter have not three daies work in the week to maintain their family: I have heard a godly man an experimentall Clothier affirm, that if there was an effe|ctual cour&s;e taken, that no Wool might be tran&s;ported beyond &s;ea, no poor man or woman in <HI>England,</HI> that is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">illing to work, could lack work.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 3. Have not the Lawes of the Land &s;ufficiently
<PB REF="6"> provided, that none &s;hall want work? if any in <HI>Catthorp</HI> &s;hould want work, may they not be relieved upon their own complaint to the next Ju&s;tice of Peace? To what end were the Laws made if not to be executed?</P>
<P>Object. <HI>It will depopulate, Inclo&s;ure being u&s;ually attended with plucking down of hou&s;es, and de&s;troying of Towns.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> As there are many depopulations in Inclo&s;ure, &s;o there are many Inclo&s;ures without depopulation, as in particular, <HI>Market Bo&s;worth, Coten, Carlton, Shenton,</HI> all in one pari&s;h: <HI>Nel&s;on, Cadsby, &V;pton, Bil&s;on, Stapleton, Twi|cro&s;s, Barton, Higham, Stoke, Golding,</HI> which Towns are all near together: the like may be &s;aid of <HI>Little Glenn, Croft, A&s;hby Magna, Cosford, Wo&s;cot,</HI> and divers others; in which places although they have been inclo&s;ed &s;ome twenty, &s;ome thirty, &s;ome forty, or fifty years; there is neither depopulation nor decay of hou&s;es: if &s;ome Inclo&s;ers de|populate, the&s;e things are <HI>vitia per&s;onarum non rei,</HI> the faults of the per&s;ons, not the thing; the offences of &s;ome Inclo&s;ers, not inclo&s;ure. Are depopulation and inclo&s;ure in&s;eparable companions? no, this a meer <HI>non &s;equitur,</HI> it followeth not: as if a man &s;hould &s;ay, becau&s;e many are drunk in an Inne, therefore there ought to be no Inne to entertain travellers: And this I am the more confir|med in, becau&s;e they that preach and write and talk mo&s;t again&s;t Inclo&s;ure, bring not an argument agan&s;t Inclo|&s;ure as inclo&s;ure, but again&s;t depopulating inclo&s;ures, &s;uch and &s;uch inclo&s;ures, which to me is an evidence that they are convinced in their con&s;ciences, that &s;ome Inclo|&s;ures are lawful.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. When Inclo&s;ure doth produce depopulation, it is only in &s;uch Towns as are in the hands of one or few men, and not in &s;uch Towns where there are &s;everall freeholders of &s;mall Tenements, as it is with us at <HI>Catthorp;</HI> our whole continent being but about five hundred and eighty acres, is now in the hands of eight Free-holders, and five or &s;ix ancient Cottages, who are al&s;o Free-holders.</P>
<PB REF="7">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 3. We have covenanted &s;o far as we can by Law to uphold all our ancient Tenements and Cottages to be continued habitations, and a competent quantity of Land to be u&s;ed with each of them.</P>
<P>Reply. <HI>But Covenants will not binde po&s;terity, they may depopu|late, although you do not.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> We have done our utmo&s;t to binde po&s;terity and &s;ucce&s;&s;ors; if our acts will not binde them, the defect is not in us, but in the Lawes of the Land.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. If after ages &s;hould depopulate, the fault is not ours, who have declared our di&s;like of it and done our utmo&s;t to prevent it, but theirs who &s;hall be the actors in &s;uch deva&s;tations, it being already clearly demon|&s;trated, that depopulation doth not nece&s;&s;arily follow inclo&s;ure.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 3. After ages might de&s;troy their habitations in Common-fields, although it had not been inclo&s;ed, and this all will grant would not be our fault. Mr. <HI>Caldecot</HI> (who is only in a capacity to depopulate, becau&s;e he alone hath more Tenements than one) if he was of that minde, might pluck down his two Tenements, which he now &s;etteth to Tenants, and lay his Land to his own hou&s;e and plow it him&s;elf with two good Teams as it lyeth in Com|mon: &s;o that he might depopulate although he &s;hould not inclo&s;e: our Inclo&s;ure then will prevent depopulati|on, at lea&s;t for this time rather then occa&s;ion it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 4. It was well ob&s;erved by the Author of the An&s;wer to Mr. <HI>Moores</HI> Sermon, that &s;uch depopulations as accompany Inclo&s;ure are u&s;ually made at fir&s;t, and not in &s;ucceeding generations: I know a Town which was depopulated upon the fir&s;t inclo&s;ure about fifty years &s;ince; but &s;ince the fir&s;t depopulation, not one hou&s;e de|cayed, but divers hou&s;es increa&s;ed.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>You will keep fewer &s;ervants, and &s;o depopulate.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> As many maid-&s;ervants will be employed as be|fore, there are but about ten men-&s;ervants and &s;hepherds employed by all the Farmers and Husbandmen in the
<PB REF="7" MS="y"> Town as it lyeth in Commons, and there will be &s;ix or &s;even kept in Inclo&s;ure. It's confe&s;&s;ed, that it's probable three or four &s;hepherd-boyes will be nece&s;&s;itated to lay a&s;ide that idle imployment: which in very many places proves de&s;tructive, &s;pecially to the &s;ouls of tho&s;e Lads; in that, poor creatures, they are brought up by this means, without either civill or religious education, when on the work-daies they &s;hould be at &s;chool, and on the Lords day at Church, to learn the waies of God, they are play|ing at nine holes under a bu&s;h, in the interim their cat|tell make a prey on their neighbors corn, and they them|&s;elves are made a prey to Satan, being &s;o rooted and ri|veted into &s;in being young, that many times they live and die in a total ignorance of God and Go&s;pel: now if upon the Inclo&s;ure &s;uch boyes as the&s;e, be &s;et to trades and &s;uch like imployments, wherein they may more con|veniently frequent Gods Ordinances, and come to the &s;aving knowledge of Chri&s;t, will any call this depopu|lation?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. Let it be granted that our land and bu&s;ine&s;&s;e ly|ing nearer together fewer &s;ervants will be kept; are any bound to keep more &s;ervants then are needful for their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e; or may they not ca&s;t how to do the &s;ame bu|&s;ine&s;&s;e with lea&s;t labour: <HI>Fru&s;tra fit per plura quod fieri pote&s;t per pauciora,</HI> In vain that is done by more, which may be done by le&s;&s;e: Is a man bound to keep &s;ervants to pill &s;trawes or labour in vain? by what Law? if this prin|ciple be good, that all are bound &s;o to carry on their af|fairs in the world, as to imploy &s;ervants, although to their own di&s;advantage; I dare &s;ay, the much applauded plough mu&s;t be ca&s;t into the ditch, and much admired ma|nufacture of tillage mu&s;t be exchanged for digging with &s;pades and mattocks, which would imploy more men than tillage.</P>
<P>Reply. <HI>To that maxime, In vain &amp; e. an ingenuous friend in di&s;cour&s;e returned this reply, that it holds in naturals, not in poli|ticks.</HI></P>
<PB N="8" REF="8">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. I confe&s;&s;e it may be good policy in &s;uch Com|mon-weals, where are &s;uch a multitude of people, that they cannot otherwi&s;e be imployed, to keep them in work, about that which is of little profit, rather then they &s;hould be idle. But ble&s;&s;ed be God, our people may be imployed in the working of wooll, flax, hemp, woad, and other commodities, which are very beneficial to the Common-wealth, and therefore they need not labour in vain.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. There is with us rather a &s;carcity than a &s;u|perfluity of &s;ervants, their wages being advanced to &s;uch an extraordinary height, that they are like ere long to be ma&s;ters, and their ma&s;ters &s;ervants, many poor husband|men being forced to pay near as much to their &s;ervants for wages as to their Landlords for Rent.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>It will decay tillage.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. This is indeed the mo&s;t probable argument again&s;t Inclo&s;ure, and that which I confe&s;&s;e hath put formerly &s;ome &s;cruple upon my &s;elf, till I was fully con|vinced by experience that it hath no weight in it, if con&s;idered in the ballance of judgement: look upon all the Inclo&s;ures within three miles round about <HI>Catthorp, Bigging, Browns-Over, Coten, Cosford, Shawell, Hall field, Street|field, Si&s;ter, Over, Moore-barn, Cote&s;batch, Cotes, Pultney, Mi|&s;terton, Starmer,</HI> and the mo&s;t of the&s;e Inclo&s;ures have been plowed within thirty years, and the re&s;t are now about to be plowed; and what great quantity of corn hath been gained in them, no man in the Countrey that hath ob|&s;erved them can be ignorant, &s;ome or other of the&s;e being never without great &s;tore of corn.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. What is it that makes corn &s;o cheap as it is this day, but the breaking up of old Inclo&s;ures. I deny not but the Lord of his mercy hath crowned the earth with more then ordinary plenty in the common fields, but this alone could not make corn &s;o cheap as it hath been the&s;e late years: that the plenty of corn makes it cheap, I think it is undeniable, and then it will follow, that there
<PB N="9" REF="8"> is a double quantity of corn now in the land, compared with that which hath been formerly; becau&s;e the price of corn hath been commonly double, and &s;ometimes tre|ble: but few common fields have now a double quantity of corn to that which they have had formerly. I have conferred with divers Mini&s;ters, which receive Tithes in kind, who do affirm the premi&s;es upon their certain knowledge to be true, and then it will follow, that the late plenty and double quantity of corn is got in new broken up inclo&s;ed grounds, whereof there are now very many in all places.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 3. By what Law of God or man is every man bound to plow his land at all times, whether there be need of corn or no, although he can make more advan|tage to him&s;elf by pa&s;ture? May not every one lawfully put his commodity to the be&s;t advantage, provided he do it without prejudice to others? do not all trade&s;men ca&s;t to lay out their money upon &s;uch wares, as will be mo&s;t advantagious to them&s;elves? Have not Land-holders as much rea&s;on, and may they not with as good con&s;ci|ence put their lands to the be&s;t advantage? but many will lay heavie burdens upon others which them&s;elves will not touch with one of their fingers.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 4. When&s;oever there is the lea&s;t want of corn, and mens Land is fit to bear corn, men will plow up their inclo&s;ed land for their own profit; it's an undeniable maxime, That every one by the light of nature and rea|&s;on will do that which makes for his greate&s;t advantage, but when&s;oever corn beareth a con&s;iderable rate, <HI>viz.</HI> wheat four or five &s;hillings, and barly two &s;hillings &s;ix pence, men may make more profit, by plowing then pa&s;ture; and con&s;equently will plow for their own advantage: why el&s;e do men u&s;ually give 40 <HI>s.</HI> an acre for tillage, when no man can afford to give above 20 <HI>s.</HI> for the grazing of the &s;ame land?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 5. Let it be granted, as it is not proved, that it is a duty incumbent upon all Land-holders at all times to
<PB N="10" REF="9"> keep part of their land in tillage: this equally bindes all, as well in old as new Inclo&s;ures and common fields. I wi&s;h that tho&s;e that &s;o zealou&s;ly impo&s;e this law upon others would fir&s;t practi&s;e it them&s;elves: &s;uppo&s;e <HI>A. B.</HI> having 50 acres in <HI>C.</HI> is bound to plough &s;uch a quantity of it: the <HI>C. D.</HI> having land in <HI>B.</HI> is bound by the &s;ame law to plow as many acres proportionate to his land.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 6. If judicious men &s;hall find experimentally, that the Common-wealth will &s;uffer for want of corn, if every man be left at liberty to plow or not to plow, why may it not be inacted by a law, that every Land-holder, as well in inclo&s;ures as common fields &s;hall be forced to plow &s;uch a quantity of land as &s;hall be thought conve|nient: this I am &s;ure, would be more equal, then that all the toyle of tillage &s;hould be laid upon the common fields, (till their lands by continual plowing of more land then they are able to manure, are worn quite out of heart and made unfit for any thing as it is in many places) and in the interim the Inclo&s;ures go free.</P>
<P>Object. Prov. 11.26. <HI>He that witholdeth corn, the people will cur&s;e him (or</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Hebr.</NOTE> <HI>&s;mite him through) but ble&s;&s;ing &s;hall be upon the head of him that &s;elleth it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Two things in this Scripture to be con&s;idered, 1. What to withhold corn. 2. What to cur&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. To withhold corn, is through a ba&s;e avarice and greedine&s;&s;e of gain, to hoard corn by thru&s;ting it up in|to the barns and garners, and refu&s;ing to &s;ell it to the poor in times of greate&s;t want, &s;till expecting that it will be dearer; withholding is then oppo&s;ed to &s;elling, and concerneth not tho&s;e that have none to &s;ell in hard times, this being a mi&s;ery rather then a &s;in: neither is withhol|ding corn a &s;in at all times, but only in times of &s;carci|ty, in times of plenty it is rather a vertue, there being no better friends to the Common-wealth, then &s;uch who having ability and conveniency, do in times of plenty re&s;erve their corn for future times of poverty: Had not <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> prudence provided granaries in the &s;even prece|dent
<PB N="11" REF="9"> years of fulne&s;&s;e, to &s;upply the &s;even &s;ub&s;equent years of famine, all <HI>Egypt</HI> had peri&s;hed, Gen. 41. yea all I&s;rael, Gen. 42.1, 2. Hence it is provided by the &s;tatute Lawes of this land, that corn may be ingro&s;&s;ed and kept in granaries when it is of &s;mall price, <HI>Anno. Edw.</HI> 6. <HI>&s;tat.</HI> 14. <HI>Anno</HI> 13. <HI>Elizab. &s;tat.</HI> 25.</P>
<P N="2">2. To Cur&s;e, is to wi&s;h evill from God to our neigh|bour: this is a thing utterly unlawful, God having commanded us to ble&s;&s;e, and prohibited cur&s;ing, Rom. 12.14, 15. Hereby men would make God an executioner to their ba&s;e lu&s;ts: God mu&s;t come down from heaven in all ha&s;t to revenge their quarrels, and &s;erve their malicious hu|mours. True, we read in &s;acred writ, of &s;ome of Gods &s;er|vants which have cur&s;ed Gods enemies, P&s;a. 69.22, &amp;c. 2 Kin. 2.24. but the&s;e were not pa&s;&s;ionate maledictions, but Pro|phetical predictions of Gods judgement, not &s;o much in their own cau&s;e as Gods cau&s;e, incited by God, not their own lu&s;ts; and again&s;t &s;uch only whom they know to be Gods implacable enemies, P&s;al. 109.15, 17. compared; and therefore, although not to be rejected, yet not to be imita|ted: This Scripture therefore is no encouragement to the people to cur&s;e even tho&s;e that do &s;infully withhold corn, but is rather an aggravation of the &s;in of &s;uch withholders, in that they do irritate and provoke the people to &s;in again&s;t God by cur&s;ing them. Whether God will &s;econd the &s;inful cur&s;es of men, although they cur&s;e &s;uch as are &s;inful, is a que&s;tion to be con&s;idered: yet I acknowledge it is the ju&s;t reward of tho&s;e that walk irregularly, to be paid in their own coyn, and irregularly puni&s;hed by the reproaches, execrations, and dete&s;tations of the mul|titude, Prov. 24.24. I &s;ay ju&s;t from the hand of God, al|though &s;inful in man: but what makes this again&s;t us? you will &s;ay it holds in analogy, again&s;t &s;uch as withhold their lands from plowing.</P>
<P>Reply, 1. <HI>But what makes this again&s;t Inclo&s;ure as Inclo&s;ure, &s;eeing many inclo&s;ures abound with corn.</HI></P>
<PB N="12" REF="10">
<P><HI>Reply,</HI> 2. It is granted that &s;uch as having land fit to plow in time of want, do withhold their lands from plowing, are equally guilty, as tho&s;e that withhold their corn from &s;elling, e&s;pecially if they do it upon that co|vetous con&s;ideration that corn will be dearer, when it is extraordinary dear already: If any Inclo&s;ers do &s;o, let them an&s;wer for them&s;elves; but as withholding of corn is not unlawful at all times, but expedient at &s;ome times, as in <HI>Jo&s;ephs</HI> ca&s;e, &s;o if &s;ome men in times of plenty do re&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ve their land for times of penury, that they may then plow, &s;uch are not only provident husbands for them&s;elves, but profitable members of the republick. That we in <HI>Catthorp</HI> will not plow when the Common|w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">lth hath need of Corn, none have rea&s;on to pre|judge: if therefore any be &s;o wicked and malicious (as I <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ear and hear &s;ome there be) to cur&s;e us without cau&s;e, I hope we &s;hall not render railing for railing, but &s;hall,</P>
<P N="1">1. Pray for them in our Saviours words, (Oh that we could do it with our Saviours Spirit!) <HI>Father forgive them, for they know not what they do,</HI> Luk. 23.34.</P>
<P N="2">2. Pray for our &s;elves, <HI>that we may be delivered from un|rea&s;onable men,</HI> 2 The&s;&s;. 3.2.</P>
<P N="3">3. Comfort our &s;elves in that promi&s;e of God, that <HI>the cur&s;e cau&s;le&s;&s;e &s;hall not come,</HI> Prov. 26.2.</P>
<P>But let tho&s;e bitter bloudy &s;pirits, and cruel cur&s;ers look to it them&s;elves, cur&s;es being like arrowes &s;hot up|ward, that fall upon mens own heads; <HI>they that do</HI> Ba|laams <HI>work may expect to receive</HI> Baalams <HI>wages.</HI></P>
<P>Object. <HI>There are many excellent promi&s;es made to tillage above other callings,</HI> Prov. 28.19. <HI>He that t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">lleth his land &s;hall have plenty of bread.</HI> Prov. 12.11. <HI>He that tilleth his land &s;hall be &s;a|tisfied with bread.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The&s;e promi&s;es are made to diligence in that calling, not to tillage as tillage; it's not the minde of <HI>So|lomon,</HI> &s;o to omnifie tillage as to vilifie diligence in other callings, the&s;e promi&s;es are in the proportion of faith in|couragements to dilig<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">nce in other callings; as appeareth
<PB N="13" REF="10"> by what followeth, Prov. 28.19. <HI>He that followeth the idle &s;hall be filled with poverty.</HI> And Prov. 12.11. <HI>He that follow|eth the idle, is destitute of under&s;tanding.</HI> What&s;oever are mens &s;tations or vocations, God rewardeth the diligent, Prov. 10.4. <HI>The hand of the diligent maketh rich, but the &s;lothful hand maketh poor.</HI> Prov. 13.14. <HI>The &s;luggard lu&s;teth but his &s;oul hath nought, but the &s;oul of the diligent &s;hall be made fat.</HI> As &s;lothfulne&s;&s;e in all callings doth clothe men with rags, Prov. 23.21. So the &s;lothful plowman &s;hall want bread, Prov. 20.4. <HI>The &s;lothfull will not plow becau&s;e of the winter, and therefore he &s;hall beg in the &s;ummer and have nothing.</HI> If a &s;hepherd be laborious in his calling, God will reward him as well as the painful plowman: the &s;acrifice of <HI>Abel</HI> a keeper of &s;heep was accepted, when the &s;acrifice of <HI>Cain,</HI> a tiller of the earth, was rejected. <HI>Jacob</HI> was faithfull in keeping <HI>Labans</HI> &s;heep, and God rewarded him, Gen. 30.42, 43. Yea <HI>Jacob</HI> brought up his children in that calling, Gen. 37.2. A keeper of &s;heep was an abomination to the Egyptians, Gen. 46.34. but the trade of the I&s;raelites.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Wo be to them which joyn hou&s;e to hou&s;e, and field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the mid&s;t of the earth,</HI> I&s;a. 5.8.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Prophet reproveth the blinde ambition, and in&s;atiable avarice of tho&s;e that are not contented with their own large po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, but <HI>per fas aut nefas, vi &amp; fraude,</HI> by right or wrong, force and fraud, without con&s;ideration of their poor neighbour, do gra&s;p all into their own fi&s;ts; neither, as <HI>Calvin</HI> notes upon the place,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nec enim per &s;e damnari po|te&s;t &s;i quis agrum agro &amp; domum domui conjungat, &s;ed animum re|&s;pexit propheta, qui &s;atiari nul|lo modo pote&s;t, ubi &s;emel haben|di cupiditate accenditur, <HI>Calv. in Loc.</HI></NOTE> is the joyning of hou&s;e to hou&s;e and field to field &s;imply condemned, but the greedy de&s;ire of it: a man who&s;e family increa&s;eth, if the next hou&s;e be empty, may joyn it to his own; and a man who&s;e &s;tock of cattell increa&s;eth, if the owner and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or will willingly part with the next field, may lawfully joyn it to his own: but that which is ju&s;tly condemned is &s;uch a joyning hou&s;e to hou&s;e and
<PB N="14" REF="11"> field to field, which is joyned with oppre&s;&s;ion and in|jury to others; till there be no place which is not their own, and none left to their poor neighbour; nothing contenteth, but that they alone po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the earth: this being the true meaning of the place, I grant that this taxeth tho&s;e cruel inclo&s;ers and caterpillars of the Com|mon-wealth, as reverend Mr. <HI>Dod</HI> calleth them, which &s;et them&s;elves to unpeople the Land, by de&s;troying Towns, and turning out the poor: Let them an&s;wer for them|&s;elves, God will call &s;uch to an account: For my part I am &s;o far from approving or practi&s;ing &s;uch &s;infull In|clo&s;ure, that I heartily wi&s;h that all the owners of &s;uch inclo&s;ures might be forced by a law, to repeople &s;uch places, rebuild their hou&s;es, and none might be &s;uffered to rent &s;uch Land, but &s;uch as inhabit tho&s;e decayed Towns; but this is the fault of the Inclo&s;ers, not the In|clo&s;ure, <HI>vitium per&s;onae non rei.</HI> What makes this again&s;t in|clo&s;ure in general, or the Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> in particu|lar? who&s;e hou&s;es have we de&s;troyed? who&s;e Land have we invaded? every man &s;hall enjoy the &s;ame quantity o land, which he did before; we have not taken away our neighbours land by force or fraud, but have by a general con&s;ent of the Land-holders, exchanged one acre of Land for another, for our conveniency: we have not taken away the Lands of the poor and laid them to our own, but have le&s;&s;ened our own Lands, and given part of them to the poor for ever.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But God hath pur&s;ued Inclo&s;ure with his &s;evere judge|ments upon the Inclo&s;ers and their po&s;terity: we may read their doom wrote in text letters, and legible characters of mi&s;ery, in that the Inclo&s;ers do &s;eldome keep their Lands three generations: and here again is alledged,</HI> I&s;a. 5.8, 9. <HI>This is in mine ears, &s;aith the Lord of ho&s;t, &s;urely many hou&s;es &s;hall be de&s;olate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. That cannot be looked upon as a judgement again&s;t Inclo&s;ers, which is common to other Land-holders which never did inclo&s;e: few in common fields do keep
<PB N="15" REF="11"> their Lands three generations, take <HI>Catthorp</HI> it &s;elf for in|&s;tance: Mr. <HI>Caldecotts</HI> Land within the memory of &s;ome living, was &s;old by Mr. <HI>Leigh</HI> to Mr. <HI>Britton,</HI> and by Mr. <HI>Britton</HI> to Mr. <HI>Caldecot:</HI> Mr. <HI>Wildes</HI> Land within the &s;ame time hath been &s;old by Mr. <HI>Feilden</HI> to Mr. <HI>Elkinton,</HI> who&s;e heirs &s;old it to Mr. <HI>Wilde:</HI> my own Land within 40 or 50 years, hath been &s;old by <HI>Pywell</HI> to <HI>Stanton,</HI> by <HI>Stanton</HI> to <HI>Jo&s;eph Smyth,</HI> who&s;e Son in law &s;old it to my Father. <HI>Thomas Bronnes</HI> Land within a little more then twenty years, hath been &s;old by <HI>Charles Kilpacke</HI> to <HI>James Staples,</HI> who &s;old it to <HI>Henry Be</HI> father of the fore&s;aid <HI>Thomas. Wil|liam Ernesby</HI>'s Land was &s;old by Mr. <HI>Feilding</HI> to Mr. <HI>Elkinton,</HI> who&s;e Heir &s;old it to <HI>Thomas Wood,</HI> father in law to the &s;aid <HI>William.</HI> Only <HI>Edward Smiths</HI> Land hath continued in that family three generations.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. Sometimes inclo&s;ers keep their Land many generations, <HI>Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">es, My&s;terton,</HI> and <HI>Pultney,</HI> have been in the hands of the <HI>Pultneys,</HI> and <HI>Starmar</HI> in the hands of the <HI>Caves</HI> many hundred year, two pre&s;idents that cannot be paral|leld in the common fields.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 3. Concerning tho&s;e mentioned by the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> who&s;e avarice and ambition is content with no mediocrity (who are like to <HI>Alexander</HI> the Great, who hearing the Philo&s;opher di&s;puting that there was many worlds, is &s;aid to weep becau&s;e he had not conquered one) I &s;ay when men let loo&s;e the reins to &s;uch unruly lu&s;ts, being never &s;atisfied till their covetous hands have taken hold on other mens portions, God ju&s;tly may, and many times doth bla&s;t their ble&s;&s;ings, and cur&s;e their mercies, Mal. 2.2. plague their po&s;terity and leave their hou&s;es without inhabitants: but what is this again&s;t our Inclo|&s;ure? that doth only improve our own mercies to the be&s;t advantage to our &s;elves and the Common-wealth, without the lea&s;t injury to others: I ble&s;&s;e God we are not partakers of &s;uch mens &s;ins, and therefore hope we &s;hall not be partners of their plagues.</P>
<PB N="16" REF="12">
<P>Object. Prov. 22.28. <HI>Remove not the ancient Land-mark which thy fathers have &s;et, from whence &s;ome infer, that it is not lawful to exchange our fathers Lands for other Land.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The removing the Land-mark there prohibited, is when men by force or fraud remove the Land-mark of their poor neighbours who&s;e Land is adjacent, and &s;o take hold on part of their Land as their own, without con&s;ent, or giving any other Land in exchange; a &s;inful practi&s;e, too common in the common fields, where men make nothing to pull up their neighbours Land-mark to plow up their Land, and mow their Gra&s;&s;e that lyeth next them: This is the intent of the Holy Gho&s;t, if we will give God leave to be his own interpreter. Prov. 23.20. <HI>Remove not the old Land-mark, and enter not into the field of the fatherle&s;&s;e.</HI> So Deut. 19.14. <HI>Thou &s;halt not remove thy neigh|bours Land-mark which they of old time have &s;et.</HI> This &s;in brings a cur&s;e upon the actors and authors of it, Deut. 27.17. But this maketh nothing again&s;t a mutuall agree|ment to exchange one Land for another, whereby both parties are advanced and neither injured; this being a &s;et|ting of Land-marks, not a removing them: we do not remove Land-marks to oppre&s;&s;e one another, but &s;et Land-marks to keep each other from oppre&s;&s;ion: we doubt not but our Inclo&s;ure will prevent many &s;uch oppre&s;&s;ions expre&s;&s;ed in the premi&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Inclo&s;ure de&s;troyeth hor&s;es which &s;hould &s;erve the State in War.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Few hor&s;es kept in common fields fit for &s;ervice, one well kept will be more &s;erviceable to the State then three that are jaded and tyred: be&s;ides, moneys are the &s;inews of war, if that be not wanting, the State cannot want either hor&s;es or men: but the &s;um of money that is payed in all taxes out of Inclo&s;ures is double to that which is payed out of the common fields of the &s;ame quantity.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>All have not con&s;ented, one that hath &s;even &s;heeps Commons doth with&s;tand it, may you lawfully force him so part with
<PB N="17" REF="12"> his right of Common and accept of your allowance in &s;tead thereof again&s;t his will? may you make a hedge in the Common without his con&s;ent? doth not the Prophet</HI> Micah <HI>pronounce a woe again&s;t &s;uch dealing as this?</HI> Mic. 2.2. Woe unto them that covet fields and take them by violence, and hou&s;es and take them away, &s;o they oppre&s;&s;e a man in his hou&s;e, a man in his heritage: <HI>what although you allow h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">m a proportion of land of more value then his Commons are worth? Is not this</HI> Naboths <HI>ca&s;e, do ye not act</HI> Ahabs <HI>part to the life?</HI> 1 King 21.2. Ahab <HI>offered money, or a better vineyard, yet</HI> Naboth <HI>refu&s;ing,</HI> Ahab <HI>is condemned.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. We do not force him to part with his right, he hath no land which he can mark for his own only right of Common: and we have right of Common as well as he: we do only divide our Common from his, and leave him a large proportion, him&s;elf and friends have confe&s;&s;ed that it will be no per&s;onal wrong to him, the Land allotted him being four times as good as his Commons. We do not oppre&s;&s;e him in his heritage: I think if that woe pronounced by <HI>Micah</HI> was well con&s;i|dered, it might rather be retorted in that he doth threa|ten by violence to pluck down our hedges, and force us to lay a&s;ide the improvement of our heritages, when our doing of it is confe&s;&s;ed to be no wrong to him, and pro|ved no injury to others.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. The ca&s;e of <HI>Naboths</HI> Vineyard is far different from ours, it was unlawful for <HI>Naboth</HI> to exchange his vineyard with <HI>Ahab</HI> although for a better, becau&s;e God had prohibited the I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">raelites to &s;ell their Land from their own Tribe: the rea&s;on rendred, Levit. 25.25. <HI>Becau&s;e it was Gods:</HI> in ca&s;e of poverty it might be morgaged, but not &s;old, the next kin&s;man mu&s;t redeem it, ver&s;. 25. and although it was never redeemed, yet in the year of Ju|bile it mu&s;t be re&s;tored, ver&s;. 26. Therefore the daugh|ters of <HI>Zelophehad</HI> mu&s;t marry to husbands of their own tribe, becau&s;e the inheritance of the children of I&s;rael might not remove from tribe to tribe: <HI>Naboth</HI> was not
<PB N="18" REF="13"> of the &s;ame tribe with <HI>Ahab:</HI> had <HI>Naboth</HI> denied <HI>Ahab</HI> &s;uch a &s;mall courte&s;ie only upon his own will, he had been a very unkinde &s;ubject; but his deni<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">l was groun|ded upon Gods will: be&s;ides, we de&s;ire nothing to be exchanged with him, but our own to be divided from his.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 3. If he refu&s;e to have his part of the Common &s;epa|rated from ours, and re&s;olve to put him&s;elf to that trouble and charge, he may &s;till intercommon among&s;t us, and put his &s;even &s;heep in any place, where he had right of Common before: our divi&s;ion of our own Common from each other, will be no impediment to him to u&s;e his Commons as before the Inclo&s;ure, the Land allotted to him, will fully content any of us who&s;e Land he &s;hall make choi&s;e of.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 4. In that it's &s;aid we make our hedges upon his Common, we have three hundred parts for his one, and con&s;equently &s;et hedges upon our own part of the Com|mon, not upon his. Surely there will be gra&s;&s;e enough for &s;even &s;heep notwith&s;tanding the hedges in &s;ome of our grounds.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>You have taken away the Church Land, and given it to the poor.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> We acknowledge that tho&s;e &s;mall parcels of Land called Church-hadland and Church-layes (which were &s;et apart by common con&s;ent, not any particular mans donation, for repair of the Church, or what&s;oe|ver other publick u&s;e the Town appoints) are part of that Land given to the poor; they being our own, why may not we di&s;po&s;e of them to what publique u&s;e we plea&s;e? they were never worth above 20 <HI>s. per annum, communibus annis,</HI> which money did formerly bear the charges of the rich, and is now di&s;po&s;ed of for the u&s;e of the poor: Is it unlawful to give it from our &s;elves to others that have more need? Moreover the latter math of Mr. <HI>Elkintons</HI> piece, a thing of greater value is to be imployed to the &s;ame publick u&s;e as tho&s;e Lands formerly.</P>
<PB N="19" REF="13">
<P>Object. <HI>Filthy lucre the end of your Inclo&s;ure, in that you aime at your own gain and not at Gods glory: It is al&s;o alledged that my &s; lf and other Mini&s;ters have preached, that mens actions are &s;inful, although not materially evil, if the ends be not Gods glory.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Upon what ground it's &s;aid filthy lucre is our end I know not, unle&s;&s;e all gain be filthy: true, &s;uch gain which is either gotten by indirect means, or pro&s;ecuted with covetous de&s;ires, the Scripture calleth <HI>filthy lucre,</HI> 1 Tim. 3.3. Tit. 1.11. 1 Pet. 5.2. till one of the&s;e be proved again&s;t us, what &s;ome affirm to be filthy lucre, I &s;hall be bold to call hone&s;t advantage.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. It's granted that tho&s;e actions which are in them&s;elves lawful, may be to the doers &s;inful: that which is materially good, may be formally evill, if the per&s;on be evil: it's only a good tree that can bring forth good fruit; and a good man, that can do a good work, Mat. 7.17, 18. the be&s;t works of wicked men are but <HI>&s;plendida peccata,</HI> glorious &s;ins, and that which is <HI>bonum,</HI> good in it &s;elf may not be <HI>bene factum,</HI> well done, nor accepted of God. And &s;o al&s;o that which is materially good, may be finally evill, when Gods glory is not made the end as well as Gods will the rule of mens actions: <HI>Jehu</HI> did that which was good, executing Gods Commandement in de&s;troying the po&s;terity of <HI>Ahab</HI> and the Prie&s;ts of <HI>Baal,</HI> 2 King. 10.11, 25. The&s;e actions God approved and rewarded with a temporal ble&s;&s;ing, <HI>viz.</HI> that his children did &s;it upon the throne of I&s;rael, unto the fourth generation, ver&s;. 30. but becau&s;e <HI>Jehu</HI> did not aim at Gods glory, but his own by|ends and ba&s;e de&s;igns (his word being the glory of God, 2 King. 10.16. but his project being his Ma&s;ters King|dome) therefore we finde God threatning what he had commanded, and puni&s;hing what he had rewarded. Ho&s;. 1.4. <HI>I will vi&s;it the bloud of</HI> Jezreel <HI>upon the hou&s;e of</HI> Jehu: But what can be inferred from all this to prove the In|clo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> &s;inful? rather this very objection from the mouthes of &s;uch zealous oppo&s;ers, doth to me
<PB N="20" REF="14"> confirm the equity of our cau&s;e and the lawfulne&s;&s;e of our actions. For,</P>
<P N="1">1. Hereby it's granted, that our Inclo&s;ure is not &s;inful in the matter of it, only they &s;u&s;pect our ends are not right.</P>
<P N="2">2. Have they rea&s;on to &s;u&s;pect that our ends are not right? or we more rea&s;on to &s;u&s;pect their cen&s;ures to be ra&s;h? &s;eeing they dare u&s;urp Gods prerogative in &s;earch|ing our hearts, before they have detected any evil in our actions. Have we di&s;covered that our aims are not at Gods glory, as <HI>Jehu</HI> did? or have not they rather di&s;co|vered them&s;elves more cen&s;orious then becometh Chri|&s;tians, by unadvi&s;ed judgement? Mat. 7.1.</P>
<P N="3">3. Why is not Gods glory our end? for&s;ooth becau&s;e we aim at our own gains and advancement of our e&s;tates. Are the&s;e two ends alwaies incompatible? this a meer <HI>Non &s;equitur:</HI> may not the bettering of our e&s;tates be carri|ed on in &s;ubordination to Gods glory? if God inlarge our talents by his ble&s;&s;ing upon our lawful endevours, the fault is in our corrupt hearts, and not the Inclo&s;ure, if we do not glorifie God &s;o much the more. It is a very &s;trange principle and unheard of paradox, that nothing can be done to Gods glory, which tends to mans profit: Do not trade&s;men in following their vocations, aime at their own advantage, do none of them glorifie God thereby? Doth not the husbandman in all his dre&s;&s;ing the earth, aime at the harve&s;t? is not gain his end as well as ours? If we do not glorifie God, then all the glory of tillage will be defaced, and the honour of the painfull plowman laid in the du&s;t. But why do I &s;peak of earthly things, do not the Saints in all their doings and &s;ufferings for God, aime both at Gods glory and their own advan|tage, <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;alvation of their &s;ouls? Did not <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in all his afflictions with the children of God, aime at his own advantage, Heb. 11.26. He that de&s;pi&s;ed all the glory that <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Court could afford him; he that (<HI>Pha|raohs</HI> Crown being &s;et upon his head, when he was yet a
<PB N="21" REF="14"> childe) did take it off and &s;purn it with his foot, as <HI>Jo|&s;ephus</HI> relateth, He that did willingly choo&s;e the &s;inle&s;&s;e troubles of oppre&s;&s;ed <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> then the &s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ul plea&s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">es of triumphing <HI>Egypt:</HI> He by whom God did all tho&s;e migh|ty things for his <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> without controver&s;ie did glo|rifie God: yet had an eye al&s;o to the recompence of reward.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> laudable.</HEAD>
<P>IT being proved that the Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> is Law|full, I proceed in the next place to prove it Laudable, and that Gods glory is the end as well as Gods will the rule of our actions.</P>
<P>This will appear in two particulars:
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. It doth procure good.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. It doth prevent evil.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Now if the&s;e two be proved, I doubt not but all in|genuous Chri&s;tians will acknowledge that it doth glori|fie God, and that it is not to be decryed, as of evill report, but rather truly laudable as well as lawfull.</P>
<P N="1">1. That it produceth <HI>bonum utile,</HI> a profitable good, I think none will deny; and that this good is al&s;o <HI>bo|num verum &amp; hone&s;tum,</HI> con&s;i&s;tent with hone&s;ty, I thus prove.</P>
<P N="1">1. Hereby we provide for our families, which is not a &s;in but a duty, provided alwaies we do it by lawful means, <HI>He that neglecteth this,</HI> the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>is wor&s;e then an In|fidel;</HI> and &s;hall we be accounted Infidels for doing of it? let it be granted, that it is one end to encrea&s;e our e&s;tates, and make better provi&s;ion for our families, that both we and ours may be in a better capacity to do God &s;ervice
<PB N="22" REF="15"> and glorifie him the more: all this is our duty; who then can blame us?</P>
<P N="2">2. It nouri&s;heth wood which is much wanting in their fields or Countreys: wood daily de&s;troyed and cut down; if none be planted, how will after ages be provided?</P>
<P N="3">3. All the arable ground in the fallow-field, which is of no profit in the common field, will be gained and pro|fit made of it: in Inclo&s;ure the land being once &s;oarded, the husbandman needs keep no fallow at all, and yet have more corn upon one acre of new broken up land, then upon three acres in the common field. I lately plow|ed up three acres of old Inclo&s;ure in <HI>Cotte&s;batch,</HI> and gained &s;ixteen quarters of barley, when my Tenant had not &s;o much of two yard land and three quarters in <HI>Catthorp</HI> the &s;ame year: the next year I &s;owed the &s;ame Land with wheat and gained thirty five thraves, whereas my Tenant hath &s;eldome had half &s;o much winter-corn upon all my Land in <HI>Catthorp:</HI> &s;o that if he continue but five acres in tillage, plowing &s;ometimes one part of the Land, and at other times another part, he will have more white corn then he had before the Inclo&s;ure, and the re&s;t of the arable Land will be gained.</P>
<P N="4">4. The arable Land in the pea&s;e-field may be improved to greater advantage, the pea&s;e for the mo&s;t part being all &s;pent in &s;eed and keeping of hor&s;es, and &s;eldome any profit made of them.</P>
<P N="5">5. In Inclo&s;ure men may plow their Land with oxen, which (the harve&s;t being inned) they may feed in the lat|ter months and &s;o &s;ell them, and the next year buy others in their room, which will be far more profitable then hor&s;e, which in the common fields are for the mo&s;t part &s;o jaded and tyred with continual labour, that they make little profit of them; or if they deem it more convenient, they may keep good mares who&s;e foales will bring them great profit yearly.</P>
<P N="6">6. The advancement of private per&s;ons will be the ad|vantage of the publick: if Merchants do buy an advan|tagious
<PB N="23" REF="15"> commodity,, hath not the Common-wealth an advantage thereby, as well as them&s;elves? if men by good husbandry, trenching, manuring their Land, &amp;c. do bet|ter their Land, is not the Common-wealth inriched there|by? &s;o what&s;oever benefit we make to our &s;elves, tends to the publick good.</P>
<P>Secondly, As Good is procured, &s;o Evil is hereby pre|vented: two &s;orts of evils, <HI>malum peccati, &amp; malum poenae,</HI> evil of crime, and evil of pain; evil of &s;in, and evil of &s;or|row; evil of mens doings and &s;ufferings, mans iniquity and mi&s;ery are both prevented by a regulated inclo|&s;ure.</P>
<P>Evils of &s;in are,</P>
<P N="1">1. Strife and contention, litigious quarrels and &s;uits of Law, which are daily occa&s;ioned by mens tre&s;pa&s;&s;es again&s;t each other in the open fields, for want of a mound to keep their cattell within their own bounds. Let it &s;e|riou&s;ly be con&s;idered, how many brawling contentions are brought before the Judges every A&s;&s;izes, by the inha|bitants of the common fields; and how few of the like nature by the inhabitants of inclo&s;ures, and it will &s;et a &s;eal to this truth.</P>
<P N="2">2. Falling out of herd&s;men, which produceth fighting, battings, and too often murthers.</P>
<P N="3">3. Many wilful oppre&s;&s;ions, men commonly &s;tealing their neighbours corn and gra&s;&s;e that lyeth next them, and turning their cattell loo&s;e on purpo&s;e, when they pretend they break their tedders: now although wicked men will do this in any place, yet they have not &s;uch opportunity to commit &s;uch rapines, &s;o &s;ecretly without di&s;covery in Inclo&s;ures as in common fields; the very occa&s;ions of &s;in are dangerous, take away the occa&s;ion and the &s;in will cea&s;e. It's a fair booty that makes many a thief, which po&s;&s;ibly would have lived hone&s;tly but for the occa&s;ion. Opportunity one calleth an woer, which none but hea|ven can conquer; occa&s;ion and a corrupt heart being
<PB N="24" REF="16"> like to two inordinate lovers which &s;eldome meet toge|ther but they &s;in together, if we keep them a&s;under the harm is prevented.</P>
<P N="2">2. Evils of &s;orrow, the mi&s;ery of man and bea&s;t hereby prevented.</P>
<P N="1">1. Common experience teacheth that it preventeth the rotting of &s;heep, there being u&s;ually five rots in the Com|mon fields for one in Inclo&s;ure, the poor husbandman lo&s;ing as much in the Rot one year, as he hath gained in &s;even years before.</P>
<P N="2">2. The hedges pre&s;erve the corn and gra&s;&s;e from &s;poil by travellers; who know no high waies in the common fields, e&s;pecially by herds of cattell, which by rea&s;on of the extreme narrowne&s;&s;e of the Common, do much harm upon tho&s;e Lands which butt upon the pa&s;ture, notwith|&s;tanding the keepers do their uttermo&s;t to prevent it</P>
<P N="3">3. It prevents that di&s;orderly and irrationall manner of feeding of cattel, and driving them by flocks from place to place, to the great prejudice of the Land and gra&s;&s;e, the cattell &s;taining and &s;poiling as much with their feet, as they eat with their mouthes; as al&s;o the annoyance and di&s;turbance of the cattell by &s;uch di&s;orderly driving. Me thinks even pity to the poor bea&s;t, &s;hould invite men to &s;ever their pa&s;ture from their arable land, that &s;o they may feed and drink when they de&s;ire it without di&s;turbance. But many are &s;o wilful that they will not change any of their old cu&s;tomes, although they can give no more rea&s;on for it, then the &s;avage <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> for their drawing their plowes by the hor&s;e tails without har|ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P N="4">4. It preventeth that in&s;ufferable wrong both to man and bea&s;t, in keeping more cattell then the fields can bear, which impoveri&s;heth man, and pineth the bea&s;t: True, it's granted fewer cattell are kept in improved grounds, but one cow or &s;heep will yeeld as much profit as three in the common fields.</P>
<P N="5"><PB N="25" REF="16">5. It preventeth the intolerable toyle and unnece&s;&s;ary charge of the husbandman;</P>
<P N="1">1. In tilling his Land; it requiring three or four tilths in the common field, without which it will bear no corn, whereas in Inclo&s;ure farre le&s;&s;e Land will yeeld more corn with one tilth. In the common fields the ara|ble Land turns the husbandman to little profit, his great pains and co&s;t con&s;idered, which I conceive is the rea&s;on of that maxime of the husbandman, That he that gives more Rent for his Land then the Hay and Commons are worth, hath but a hard bargain: his labour and charge in dre&s;&s;ing &s;eeds and inning, amounting to near as much as his Crop of grain is worth.</P>
<P N="2">2. In gathering his Corn and Hay together, &s;peci|ally Hay, which lyeth in &s;o many little parcels, in bulks and hades, and at &s;uch a di&s;tance, that it co&s;ts near as much in gathering as it is worth.</P>
<P N="6">6. It preventeth the oppre&s;&s;ion of the poor husband|man, which is not able to &s;tore his own Commons, which the rich man devoureth with his cattell, and &s;o puts the poor mans profit into his own pur&s;e.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>It is not Laudable although Lawful, becau&s;e three Mini&s;ters having a hand in it, others will be incouraged to in|clo&s;e other Towns unlawfully.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> If any plead our example, I hope they will al|&s;o follow it in all circum&s;tances wherewith it is clothed, and then their inclo&s;ures will be lawfull as well as ours; if otherwi&s;e, they have no rea&s;on to plead our example, but rather our good example will condemn their &s;inful Inclo&s;ure.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>It is at lea&s;t the appearance of evil, and Chri&s;tians, much more Mini&s;ters mu&s;t avoid not only evil, but the appearance of it,</HI> 2 The&s;&s;. 5.22.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w</HI> 1. That the appearance of evil is prohibited, is l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t Chri&s;tians &s;hould fall into evil, which they think good, through mi&s;take; &s;ome &s;ins are palpable, which we may feel; &s;ome vi&s;ible, which we may &s;ee; others
<PB N="26" REF="17"> of a finer thread, it's difficult to di&s;cern them; &s;ome &s;ins are open, and others are much di&s;gui&s;ed: upon this ac|count Gods people ought to watch, l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t they ru&s;h upon the&s;e di&s;gui&s;ed &s;ins, but let our Inclo&s;ure be unbowelled and unmasked, and no evil appeareth in it.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. I grant it a duty not only to provide for con|&s;cience by &s;hunning evil, but for &s;ame by avoiding the appearance of it; the jewel of a good name mu&s;t be pro|vided for, Phil. 4.8. the credit of the Go&s;pel depends upon tho&s;e that profe&s;&s;e it, much more tho&s;e that preach it: becau&s;e through their &s;ides the Go&s;pels glory is much wounded, therefore Chri&s;tians mu&s;t avoid not on|ly<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Malas res &s;ed malas pariter &s;pecies,</HI> not only evil things but the &s;hewes of evil. Such things as are evil in them|&s;elves, and &s;uch things as are bruited to be evil in their circum&s;tances. Thus <HI>Paul</HI> did ab&s;tain from things lawful, rather then offend weak brethren, 1 Cor. 8.13. He would not eat meat while the world &s;tood, rather then offend; &s;o in the fir&s;t plantation of the Go&s;pel he choo|&s;eth manual labour, and requireth not Go&s;pel mainte|nance, to avoid the &s;u&s;picion of being mercenary: but here note, that in avoiding the appearance of evil, three things are con&s;iderable.</P>
<P N="1">1. Whether the per&s;ons offended be weak or wilful; what <HI>Paul</HI> did, was in compliance with weak Chri|&s;tians, young neophytes, which were not yet informed that tho&s;e that preach the Go&s;pel ought to live of the Go&s;pel: &s;hould <HI>Pauls</HI> practi&s;e be pre&s;&s;ed upon the Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel now, would not all Chri&s;tians an|&s;wer that this was in the Churches infancy, when weak Chri&s;tians did not know their du<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">y; but now under the glorious &s;hining of the Go&s;pel of peace, this truth is clearly made known in the word, to every Chri&s;tian that is not wilful: if therefore Mini&s;ters &s;hould now give up their Right, this was not to &s;atisfie the weak, but to gra|tifie the wilful: &s;o it being clearly detected and demon|&s;trated, that our Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> is a thing lawful
<PB N="27" REF="17"> and good mu&s;t needs profe&s;&s;e. I conceive them not weak Chri&s;tians, but wilful travellers, that call it the appea|rance of evil.</P>
<P N="2">2. Whether the thing done be a Real appearance of Evil, or only Imaginary.</P>
<P N="1">1. Real, when the fact it &s;elf or circum&s;tances do give ground of &s;u&s;picion. Or,</P>
<P N="2">2. Imaginary, which is framed and fancied out of prejudice without any colour of rea&s;on. That our Sa|viour did heal on the Sabbath day was to the Phari&s;ees an appearance of evil, but fancied by their ignorance ra|ther then afforded by the fact, it being a work of chari|ty, and one part of the duty of the day whereby it is &s;an|ctified.</P>
<P N="3">3. Whether the thing in que&s;tion be a thing indifferent, or ab&s;olutely good and a part of duty: It's a ruled ca&s;e, That no duty ought to be neglected becau&s;e it is &s;u&s;pected to be evil; although evil may not be done that good may come, yet good mu&s;t be done although it &s;eem evil. We mu&s;t avoid the appearance of evil, but it fol|lowes not that we mu&s;t avoid evident and tran&s;parent good, which our Inclo&s;ure is fully proved to be.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>The people are generally offended at it, and cry out again&s;t all inclo&s;ure as oppre&s;&s;ion, therefore it is at lea&s;t a thing of evil report, and to be avoided.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> All things are not of an evill report in the Scripture &s;en&s;e, which the multitude decry as evil: the be&s;t things now a daies are wor&s;t &s;poken of by the mul|titude, the very name of Reformation is as much explo|ded by the vulgar as Inclo&s;ure; tho&s;e &s;acred ordinances of Magi&s;tracy and Mini&s;tery, which God hath honoured with his own approbation and &s;tamped with his own &s;uper&s;cription, Rom. 13.1. Heb. 13.17. are now be|come offen&s;ive to the levelling multitude: Suppo&s;e that &s;ome under the &s;pecious pretence of reformation, would bring in deformation; is therefore all reall reformati|on according to Gods Word to be rejected? Suppo&s;e
<PB N="28" REF="18"> &s;ome Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters have mi&s;carried and done ami&s;&s;e, mu&s;t therefore the&s;e Ordinances of God be laid a&s;ide? God forbid; the&s;e mi&s;carriages were <HI>vitia per&s;ona|rum non rei,</HI> the faults of the men, not the office: Let it be granted that &s;ome Inclo&s;ers have de&s;troyed Towns and oppre&s;&s;ed the poor, and thereby have rai&s;ed an evil report upon Inclo&s;ures in general, mu&s;t we therefore lay a&s;ide all our hopes of reformation of the common field confu&s;ion by bringing them into the di&s;cipline of a regu|lated Inclo&s;ure? A hedge in the field is as nece&s;&s;ary in its kinde, as government in the Church or Common-wealth. When God threatens to lay wa&s;te his vineyard, the Church and Common-wealth of I&s;rael, it's &s;aid, <HI>I will take away the hedge thereof,</HI> I&s;a. 5.6. <HI>viz.</HI> Magi&s;tracy and Mini&s;try, tho&s;e props and pillars of the Church and State, which are here compared to a hedge inclo&s;ing the vineyard or field; as al&s;o Gods Church is called a <HI>Gar|den inclo&s;ed,</HI> Cant. 4.12. Had God been &s;uch an enemy to hedges as &s;ome pretend, the Holy Gho&s;t would not have made u&s;e of this metaphor, to &s;ignifie tho&s;e his glo|rious Ordinances: if God in judgement removed the hedges of I&s;rael, I hope it will be a mercy and not a judgement, to enjoy the benefit of hedges in <HI>Catthorp,</HI> what&s;oever the multitude &s;ay to the contrary? This is our comfort, God mu&s;t judge us, not the multitude; if we have the approbation of God, we care not much for the applau&s;e of men: our betters before us did pa&s;&s;e through an ill report as well as good, 2 Cor. 6.8. It is a &s;e|cond confort, that tho&s;e reall commodities and conve|niences, which we and ours hope to enjoy by this In|clo&s;ure, will do us more good than all the vanity of popular applau&s;e: that maxime, <HI>vox populi, vox Dei,</HI> to be under&s;tood, <HI>vox populi Dei,</HI> the voice of the people, the voyce of God (that is) the voice of Gods people, is the voice of God, not <HI>aura popularis,</HI> that airy bla&s;t of the vulgar breath, which turns with every winde, and is for the mo&s;t part as uncon&s;tant as it is groundle&s;&s;e.</P>
<PB N="29" REF="18">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 2. I de&s;ire in all things &s;o to demean my &s;elf, as to give no ju&s;t offence to th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> Jew nor Gentile, nor to the Church of Chri&s;t, to tho&s;e that are within, nor to tho&s;e that are without; but there are &s;candals taken which are not given; if any take offence without cau&s;e, the &s;candall will lie at their own homes and not at ours. I meet with four &s;orts of men offended at Inclo&s;ure, whom I intreat not to be angry if by vindication of our &s;elves, I &s;et the &s;addle on the right hor&s;e, and lay the ba&s;tard of &s;candall at the door of the right owners.</P>
<P N="1">1. The fir&s;t and mo&s;t that are offended at Inclo&s;ure, are the ruder &s;ort of people; which to &s;peak truly, have mo&s;t rea&s;on: Why? <HI>Vivitur ex rapto:</HI> they live upon rapine and &s;poil of others, and &s;eldome keep their cat|tell within their own bounds, but daily make a prey upon their neighbours corn and gra&s;&s;e: &s;toln waters are &s;weet to the&s;e pretended upright men, who&s;e con&s;ciences cannot bear the burthen of Inclo&s;ure, yet make no con&s;cience when they can do it without di&s;covery to over&s;tore their Commons, and plow up their neigh|bours Land, &amp;c. There is a profane and levelling &s;pi|rit now abroad in the world that cry out again&s;t go|vernment, and &s;peak evil of dignities; What would they have! for&s;ooth liberty of con&s;cience: form what? from Magi&s;tracy and Mini&s;try; to what? to live as the li&s;t and &s;in <HI>cum privilegio;</HI> the golden reins of di&s;cipline plea&s;e not, this yoke they cannot bear, but ca&s;t off this, and then they may &s;wear, and lie, and rob, and rifle, and &s;will, and &s;wagger, riot and revell in a &s;horele&s;&s;e exce&s;&s;e, and &s;et &s;in on hor&s;eback to ride in triumph without controll whither it li&s;teth. True, liberty of con&s;ci|ence a precious Jewell, but this a liberty from &s;in, not a liberty to &s;in. The very &s;ame &s;pirit of di&s;order in the very &s;ame per&s;ons, and upon the &s;ame grounds doth decry Inclo&s;ure, becau&s;e it would put a bridle upon
<PB N="30" REF="19"> their licencious lu&s;ts: if &s;uch as the&s;e are offended at our Inclo&s;ure, is it a thing of evill report in us to prevent their di&s;orders, and enormous &s;ins?</P>
<P N="2">2. A &s;econd &s;ort of men that are offended at our In|clo&s;ure, are &s;ome &s;elf-ended Graziers, which have much in their mouthes that woe pronounced by the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> again&s;t &s;uch as lay land to land; which I mu&s;t needs retort upon them&s;elves, becau&s;e they make no|thing of taking Lands over poor mens heads, and are never contented till they have got into their hands as much Land as would maintain ten Families, yet they exclaim again&s;t Inclo&s;ure, why? Becau&s;e a general In|clo&s;ure and divi&s;ion between the arable and pa&s;ture Land, would &s;poyle their trad<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s, in that husbandmen would keep as good Cattel as them&s;elves, &s;o that they could not Monopolize all the fat Beef and Mutton to them&s;elves, as now they do: I hope it is not of evill report to cro&s;&s;e the avarice and fru&s;trate the expecta|tion of &s;uch &s;elf-ended and &s;elf-condemned per&s;ons, who live upon Inclo&s;ure them&s;elves, and yet would have none inclo&s;e but them&s;elves.</P>
<P N="4">4. A fourth &s;ort offended are &s;ome truly godly, and you will &s;ay, Dare you offend them?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For my own part, I had rather not only that <HI>Catthorp</HI> &s;hould never be Inclo&s;ed, but that my Land there had never been enjoyed by me, then that I &s;hould ju&s;tly offend the lea&s;t of Gods little ones, but I am very &s;orry that the&s;e &s;hould take offence where none is given: what &s;hould I do in this ca&s;e? the godly are divided in judgement about this point, &s;ome for it, others again&s;t it, I mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily offend one party. Which &s;hould I choo&s;e?</P>
<P N="1">1. Tho&s;e that are for it, might ju&s;tly have challen|ged me, if I had denied my con&s;ent to that which (my con&s;cience bearing me witne&s;&s;e that I lye not) I am ful|ly per&s;waded is not only lawfull but nece&s;&s;ary at lea&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="31" REF="19"> <HI>ad bene e&s;&s;e,</HI> to the well being of the Common-wealth; hereby I &s;hould have hindred others, and &s;uch as I hope are godly, from the lawfull improvement of their own e&s;tate, of which I could render no rea&s;on, but that I would not offend tho&s;e godly, which are of a different per&s;wa&s;ion from them and my &s;elf al&s;o; would not my refu&s;al, <HI>rebus &s;ic &s;tantibus,</HI> have given more ju&s;t cau&s;e of offence to them, then my con&s;ent hath given to others? Let moderate men judge.</P>
<P N="2">2. What is it that offendeth the brethren of another judgement?</P>
<P N="1">1. Is it our exchange of lands with each other? that hath been done many times in common fields, and no &s;uch offence taken at it by the per&s;ons now of|fended.</P>
<P N="2">2. Is it a making a hedge about our Lands? this al&s;o ordinary in the common fields: if it be lawfull to make a hedge between the bounds of Town and Town, why not al&s;o between the limits of neighbour and neighbour?</P>
<P N="3">3. I &s;uppo&s;e they take offence, becau&s;e they fear de|population, oppre&s;&s;ion, &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> They fear, but prove it not, I have alrea|dy proved the contrary: whether their groundle&s;&s;e fear and unju&s;t clamours, or our regular actions are mo&s;t ju&s;tly offen&s;ive, let moderate men judge between us and them.</P>
<P N="4">4. Are not many places in <HI>England, E&s;&s;ex, Here|ford, Devon&s;hire, Shrop&s;hire, Worce&s;ter,</HI> wholly inclo&s;ed, and yet no &s;uch effects follow? Are any of the god|ly in tho&s;e parts offended at it? why then are any offended at <HI>Leice&s;ter&s;hire?</HI> is the &s;ame action lawful in one place, and yet &s;inful in another? by what law? &s;ure I am, tho&s;e that write mo&s;t vehemently again&s;t Inclo&s;ure, have granted the&s;e Inclo&s;ures lawfull, as Mr. <HI>Hallhead</HI> in his Book entituled, <HI>Inclo&s;ure thrown open,</HI>
<PB N="32" REF="20"> in an&s;wering this objection concerning other parts of <HI>England,</HI> hath the&s;e words. I would not be mi&s;taken, I mean only depopulating Inclo&s;ure, &amp;c. Yea the mo&s;t &s;trenuous oppo&s;ers of Inclo&s;ure in generall, and our Inclo&s;ure in particular, have acknowledged, that if all places were inclo&s;ed, no &s;uch effects would follow: if it be lawfull to inclo&s;e all, then by an argument, <HI>a majore ad minus,</HI> from the greater to the le&s;&s;e, it's lawfull to inclo&s;e &s;ome: Would they not be offended, if all <HI>Leice&s;ter&s;hire</HI> and the Counties adjacent were Inclo&s;ed: why then are they offended at the In|clo&s;ure of our &s;mall village of <HI>Catthorp?</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. I am informed by &s;uch as have travelled in|to other Nations, that there is no Land that lyeth in that confu&s;ed manner, by &s;mall parcels, roods and half acres, as it doth in our parts of <HI>England,</HI> even in <HI>Ireland</HI> and <HI>Scotland,</HI> every man hath his Land lying together: are the&s;e parts of <HI>England</HI> wi&s;er then all the Chri&s;tian world be&s;ides? are they all in the dark? doe they live in daily &s;in? or rather doe not we need a reformation by a regulated Inclo|&s;ure?</P>
<P N="6">6. The Lands of the I&s;raelites and other Lands mentioned in holy Writ, were not divided into &s;mall parcels as are our common fields, Gen. 23.9. The field which <HI>Abraham</HI> bought of <HI>Ephron</HI> the <HI>Hittite,</HI> did belong to <HI>Ephron</HI> alone, we read of no fellow Commoners that joyned in the &s;ale of it: It co&s;t <HI>Abraham</HI> four hundred &s;hekels of &s;ilver, ver&s;. 16. how much a &s;hekel was the learned agree not: <HI>Junius</HI> &s;aith the Hebrew Shekels was two &s;hilling, four pence, others five groats: the difference may ari&s;e from the difference between the common &s;hekel, and the Shekel of the Sanctua|ry: the common &s;hekel &s;ome &s;ay was but half &s;o much: the mo&s;t probable opinion is, that a Shekel did weigh half an ounce of &s;ilver, which in our money
<PB N="33" REF="20"> is two &s;hillings &s;ix pence;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Willet</HI> on Exod. 30.13.</NOTE> Doctor <HI>Willet</HI> is of this per&s;wa&s;ion; his ground he hath from <HI>Arias Monta|nus,</HI> who relates that one Rabbi <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> travelling from <HI>Spain</HI> to <HI>Pale&s;tina,</HI> &s;aw a piece of &s;ilver with this in&s;cription, <HI>SHEKEL ISRAEL,</HI> and the pot of Manna on the one &s;ide, and holy <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> with the Rod of <HI>Aaron</HI> blo&s;&s;oming on the other &s;ide, in the ancient Samaritan character, (which without doubt was the true Hebrew character, that now u&s;ed being the Chaldee, which the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> fir&s;t u&s;ed after their return from <HI>Babylon,</HI> to di&s;tingui&s;h them&s;elves from <HI>Samaritans</HI>). This the &s;aid Rabbi weighed, and it came to half an ounce: he &s;aw al&s;o a le&s;&s;er piece with the &s;ame Characters, &s;uppo&s;ed to be the half &s;hekel mentioned in Scripture: <HI>Beza</HI> al&s;o had a piece of the &s;ame coyne, which was given him by his friend <HI>Ambro&s;ius Blanzerus,</HI> the expre&s;&s;e image where|of, he doth graphically delineate, <HI>Major. Annot.</HI> Mat. 17.24. Now four hundred &s;hekels at this rate, would amount to fifty pound of our Engli&s;h money; or if the common &s;hekel was but half &s;o much, yet it was a very large &s;umme in <HI>Abrahams</HI> daies, and therefore pro|bable it was a very large field: yea this field was in|clo&s;ed too, ver&s;. 17. He bought al&s;o the trees in the bor|ders rouud about.</P>
<P>And &s;o al&s;o it was in <HI>Egypt,</HI> every man had his field peculiar, Gen. 47.20. in the time of fa|mine, every man &s;old his field to <HI>Pharaoh</HI> for bread, the Land then lay not in little parcels but in large fields.</P>
<P>When the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were &s;etled in the promi&s;ed Land, every man had his own field, <HI>Exod.</HI> 22.5. if any mans bea&s;t did hurt anothers field, he was to make re&s;tituti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">n out of the be&s;t of his own field. So the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> were prohibit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">d to covet their neigh|bours field, Deut. 5.21. Again it was a cu&s;tome for
<PB N="34" REF="21"> &s;ome in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to dedicate their fields to God for pious u&s;es, Levit. 17.18, 19. Surely they did not dedicate that which was not their own. <HI>Ach&s;ah Oth|niels</HI> wife, <HI>Calebs</HI> daughter, did beg of her Father a field, Jo&s;hua 15.18. which &s;hee would not have done, if it had not been <HI>Calebs</HI> own to give: he had no fellow commoners to ob&s;truct his bounty. <HI>Ruth</HI> gleaned in the field of <HI>Boaz,</HI> Ruth 2.3. Her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging to <HI>Boaz,</HI> not as &s;ome affirm, that <HI>Boaz</HI> had only a part of the field, or that part only on which &s;he gleaned, but that &s;he gleaned on a part of that field which did wholly belong to <HI>Boaz:</HI> no interpreters or tran&s;lators, judge that part of the field only to belong to <HI>Boaz. Junius</HI> and <HI>Trem.</HI> render it, <HI>accidit ea ca&s;u po&s;&s;e&s;&s;io agri pertinentis ad Boazum.</HI> The po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the field be|longing to <HI>Boaz,</HI> hapned to her by chance, the vul|gar tran&s;lation attributed to <HI>Hierome: accidit ut ille a|ger dominum habebat nomine Boaz.</HI> It hapned that that field had one called <HI>Boaz</HI> for its owner: I confe&s;&s;e this is rather an Interpretation then a tran&s;lation, the He|brew verbatim being tran&s;lated, <HI>Et accidit ca&s;us ejus por|tio agri ad Boazum:</HI> Her chance hapned to be part of the field belonging to <HI>Boaz:</HI> but all agree, and none de|ny that the whole field was his, hence ver&s;. 22. <HI>Naom</HI> chargeth <HI>Ruth</HI> that the maidens of <HI>Boaz</HI> &s;ee her not in any other field, not any other part of the field. The &s;ame <HI>Boaz</HI> when he marryed <HI>Ruth,</HI> bought the field of <HI>Naomi,</HI> Ruth 4.5. When the Phili&s;tines &s;ent back the Ark of the Lord, the cart was brought into the field of <HI>Jo&s;ua</HI> the <HI>Beth&s;hemite;</HI> the other inhabitants of <HI>Beth+&s;heme&s;h</HI> had its like other fields, but this field belonge to <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> only, 1 Sam. 6.14, 18. Again, <HI>Ab&s;alon</HI> cau|&s;ed his &s;ervants to &s;et on fire <HI>Joabs</HI> field of corn, 2 Sam. 14.30, 31. And <HI>Jeremiah</HI> bought the field of <HI>Hanameel</HI> his uncles &s;on, Jer. 32.9. By all which it plainly ap|pears
<PB REF="21">
<PB REF="22">
<PB N="35" REF="22"> that the&s;e fields lay not in common; but every particular field had its peculiar propriator or owner. When the Scripture mentioneth Land belonging to Towns, it &s;peaks in the plural number, as <HI>Lachi&s;h</HI> and the fields thereof, Neh. 11.30. but when any particu|lar mans field, in the &s;ingular, <HI>Jo&s;uas</HI> field, <HI>Joabs</HI> field, &amp;c. And it's probable that &s;ome of the&s;e fields were in|clo&s;ed, hence the Kings workmen are &s;aid to dwell among plants and hedges, 1 Chron. 4.23. Now if this be &s;o, do we give ju&s;t offence to our brethren by lay|ing our Land after the platform of the Lands of Gods own people, which were &s;o divided by Gods own ap|pointment? or do not rather our brethren take offence when none on our part is given?</P>
<P>La&s;tly, I have heard that our Lands in <HI>England</HI> were never divided into &s;uch &s;mall parcels till the daies of K. <HI>William</HI> the Conqueror, who fearing the people did di&s;affect him, out of State policy commanded the Lands to be &s;o divided, that the people being bu&s;ied about divi&s;ion of their Lands, might have no lei&s;ure to di|&s;turb his Government: if this be &s;o, it's no ju&s;t offence to re&s;tore our Lands to their pri&s;tine order.</P>
<P>Thus having I hope fully proved what I at fir&s;t pro|mi&s;ed, <HI>viz.</HI> that our Inclo&s;ure of <HI>Catthorp</HI> is both law|full and laudable, I conclude with this &s;erious profe&s;&s;i|on, that if any in the &s;pirit of love and meekne&s;&s;e, by &s;oft words and &s;ound rea&s;ons, &s;hall evince our Inclo|&s;ure to be &s;inful, I &s;hall as publickly acknowledge it as I have openly defended our action. Ob&s;tinacy in any thing I judge Idolatry, the covetous man makes his mammon' his god, and the haeretick his opinion, in that <HI>Narci&s;&s;us</HI> like he is in love with his own &s;hadow, and the chimaera of his own brain: for my part it's my de&s;ire, <HI>herbam dare veritati,</HI> (when ever error appeareth to be an error) to &s;it down conquered, and give truth
<PB N="36" REF="23"> the victory: this I be&s;t reli&s;h in others, and by Gods grace will endevour to practi&s;e my &s;elf. It can be no di&s;grace to be overcome by truth, it's no part of levity nor incon&s;tancy, to change fal&s;hood for truth, and upon fight of error to change both opinion and practi&s;e: and with holy <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> ingenuou&s;ly retract what hath been &s;aid or done ami&s;&s;e, &s;o God &s;hall have the glory, and our &s;ouls the comfort.</P>
<P>But on the other hand, if any &s;hall per&s;evere in their groundle&s;&s;e reproaches of us: <HI>magna &amp; &s;u&s;quipe|dalia verba &s;u&s;&abque; de&abque; habeo.</HI> Lofty long footed words, or to u&s;e the Apo&s;tles expre&s;&s;ion, Jude 16. Great &s;welling words of vanity, which have no more weight than a feather, I care not much for. The&s;e may hurt them&s;elves but cannot hurt me, who am re&s;olved to an&s;wer all &s;uch opprobrious language, as once <HI>Tacitus</HI> did an&s;wer railing <HI>Metullus. Tu didici&s;ti male dicere, Ego didici male|dicta contemnere:</HI> thou ha&s;t learned to revile, I have lear|ned to &s;light thy revilings.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="23">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
