Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	law_n	parliament_n	prerogative_n	2,334	5	9.9399	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96699	A vvatch-vvord to the city of London, and the Armie: wherein you may see that Englands freedome, which should be the result of all our victories, is sinking deeper under the Norman power, as appears by the relation of the unrighteous proceedings of Kingstone-Court against some of the Diggers at George-hill, under colour of law; but yet thereby the cause of the Diggers is more brightened and strengthened: so that every one singly may truly say what his freedome is, and where it lies. / By Jerrard Winstanly.	Winstanley, Gerrard, b. 1609.	1649 (1649)	Wing W3057; Thomason E573_1; ESTC R206174	18,043	20

as the richest man and that undeniably the earth ought to be a common treasury of livelihood for all without ●●specting persons Then I shall require no more of Mr. Drake 〈◊〉 that he would justifie our cause of digging and declare abroad 〈◊〉 the Commons ought to be free to all sorts and that it is a great 〈◊〉 passe before the Lord God Almighty for one to hinder another of 〈◊〉 liberty to dig the earth that he might fe●d and cloath himself with the fruits of his labor therefrom freely without owning any Landlord or paying any rent to any person of his own kind I sent this following answer to the Arrest in writing into Kingstone Court In foure passages your Court hath gone contrary to 〈◊〉 righteousnesse of your own Statute Laws For first it is mentioned in 36. Ed. 3. 15. that no Processe Warrant or Arrest should be served till after the cause was recorded and entred but your 〈…〉 could not or would not tell us the cause when he arrested us and Mr. Rogers your Recorder told us the first Court day we appeared that our cause was not entred Secondly we appeared two other Court daies and desired a copy of the Declaration and profered to pay for it and you denied us This is contrary to equity and reason which is the foundation your Lawes are or should be built upon if you would have England to be a Common-wealth and stand in peace Thirdly we desired to plead our own cause and you denied us but told us we must fee an Attorney to speak for us or els you would mark us for default in not appearance This is contrary to your own Laws likewise for in 28. Ed. 1. 11. chap. there is freedome given to a man to speak for himself or els he may choose his father friend or neighbor to plead for him without the help of any other Lawyer Fourthly you have granted a judgement against us and are proceeding to an execution and this is contrary likewise to your own Laws which say that no plaint ought to be received or judgement passed till the cause be heard and witnesses present to testifie the plaint to be true as Sir Edward Cook 2. part of Institutes upon the 29. chap. of Magna Charta fol. 51. 52. 53. The Mirror of Justice But that all men may see we are neither ashamed nor afraid to justifie that cause we are arrested for neither to refuse to answer to it in a righteous way therefore we have here delivered this up in writing and we leave it in your hands disavowing the proceedings of your Court because you uphold Prerogative oppression though the Kingly office be taken away and the Parliament hath declared England a Common-Wealth so that Prerogative Laws cannot be in force unlesse you be besotted by your covetousnesse and envy We deny that vve have trespassed against those three men or Mr. Drake either or that vve should trespasse against any if vve should dig up or plovv for a livelihood upon any the vvast Land in England for thereby we break no particular Law made by any Act of Parliament but only an ancient custome bred in the strength of Kingly Prerogative vvhich is that old Lavv or custome by vvhich Lords of Mannours lay claime to the Commons vvhich is of no force novv to bind the people of England since the Kingly povver and office vvas cast out and the common people who have cast out the oppressor by their purse and person have not authorized any as yet to give away from them their purchased freedome and if any assume a power to give away or withhold this purchased freedome they are Traytors to this Common-Wealth of England and if they imprison oppresse or put to death any for standing to maintaine the purchased freedome they are murderers and thieves and no just rulers Therefore in the light of reason and equity and in the light of the Nationall Covenant which Parliament and people have taken with joynt consent all such Prerogative customes which by experience we have found to burden the Nation ought to be cast out with the Kingly office and the Land of England now ought to be a free Land and a common treasury to all her children otherwise it cannot properly be called a Common-Wealth Therefore we justifie our act of digging upon that hill to make the earth a common treasurie First because the earth was made by Almighty God to be a common treasury of livelihood for vvhole mankind in all his branches without respect of persons and that not any one according to the Word of God vvhich is love the pure Law of righteousnesse ought to be Lord or landlord over another but whole mankind was made equall and knit into one body by one spirit of love which is Christ in you the hope of glory even all the members of 〈◊〉 body called the little world are united into equality of love 〈◊〉 serve the whole body But since the fall of man there from which came in by the risin●● of covetousnesse in the heart of mankind to which Serpent the 〈◊〉 consented and from thence mankind was called Adam for this covetousnesse makes mankind to be a stoppage of freedome in the ●●●tion and by this covetous power one branch of mankind began to lift up himself above another as Cain lifted up himself and killed his brother Abel and so one branch did kill and steal away the comfortable use of the earth from another as it is now the elder brother lives in a continuall thee very stealing the Land from the younger-brother And the plain truth is theeves and murderers upheld by preaching witches and deceivers rule the Nations and for the present the Laws and Government of the world are Laws of darknesse and the divells Kingdome for covetousnesse rules all And the power of the sword over brethren in Armies in Arrests in Prisons in gallows and in other inferiour torments inflicted by some upon others as the oppression of Lords of Mannours hindring the poore from the use of the common Land is Adam fallen or Cain killing Abel to this very day And these Prerogative oppressors are the Adamites Cainites that walk contrary to the Word of God which is love by upholding murder and theft by Laws which their Fathers made and which they novv justifie for in the conquests that Kings got their Ancestors did murder and kill and steal away the earth and removed the Land mark from the conquered and made Lavvs to imprison torment or put to death all that vvould adventure to take the Land from them againe and left both that stoln Land and murdering Lavvs to their children the Lords of Mannours and Freeholders vvho novv vvith violence do justifie their Fathers vvickednesse by holding fast that vvhich vvas left them by succession For vvhat are all the Lavvs of the Nations in this corrupt covetous Government lifting up one branch of Adam mankind above another the Conqueror above the conquered or those

hinder publick freedom you shall come off losers in the later end I meane you shall lose your Kingdom of darknesse though I lose my livelihood he poor Cowes that is my living and should be imprisoned you have been told this 12 Months agoe that you should lose ground by striving and will you not take warning will you needs shame your selves to let the poore Diggers take away your Kingdome from you surely the power that is in them will take the rule and government from you and give it a people that will make better use of it Alas you poor blind earth mouls you strive to take away my livelihood and the liberty of this poor weak frame my body of flesh which is my house I dwell in for a time but I strive to cast down your kingdom of darknesse and to open Hell gates and to break the Devils bands asunder wherewith you are tied that you my Enemies may live in peace and that is all the harm I would have you to have Therefore you Lords of Manners you Free-holders you Norman-Clergy oppressing Tith-mungers and you of the Parliament men that have plaid fast and loose with this poor Nation for what is past let it goe hereafter advance freedom and liberty and pluck up bondage and sinne no more by Lording it over your Lords and Masters that set you upon those Parliament Seats lest worse things befall you then yet hath But to return again to Mr Gilders advice the Atturney of Kingstone Court and the proceeding of that Court with the Cowes you heare how they did judge condemn and execute me not suffering me to speak and though those four Cowes were rescued out of their hands by strangers not by me and so by their own Law they should have looked after the Rescuers yet contrary to their own Law they came againe to Winstanleys dwelling a fortnight after and drove away seven Cowes and a Bull in the night time some of the Cowes being Neighbour's that had hired pasture and yet the damage which their Norman Iury and their covetous besotted ignorant Atturney Mr Gilder had judged me to pay for a Trespasse in digging upon that barren George's Hill was but eleven pound nine shillings and a penncy charges all which they are like never to have of 〈◊〉 for an empty carrier will dance and sing before these Norman theeves and pick-purses And thus you see they judged and passed sentence upon me but once at their prerogative pleasure which they call Englands Law but they executed me twice that they might be sure to kill me But yet th●se 〈◊〉 likewise are brought home againe and the heart of my Enemies is put into the pound of vexation because the Cowes are set free Surely these Lords of Mannors and the Atturney Mr Gilder that gave advice to Arrest us for digging have burned their Bibles long agoe because they have so quite and clean forgotten that Petition in the Lords prayer forgive 〈◊〉 our trespasses as we forgive them for they make this a trespasse against them for digging upon the wast land of our mother the Land of England for a livelihood when as their Law it self saith That the Commons and Wasts bylong to the poore So that you see the Norman Camp is grown very numerous and big that they want much beeffe to vituall them and they are such hungry ones that they will eat poor lean Cowes that are little better then skin bone and poor Cowes if I keep them in the winter they are like to be poorer for for want of Hay for before the report of our digging was much known I bought three Acres of grasse of a Lord of a Mannor whom I will not here name because I know the councel of others made him prove fals to me for when the time came to Mow I brought mony to pay him before hand but he answered me I should not have it but sold it to another before my face this was because his Parish Priest and the Surrey Ministers and sorry ones too they are that have set up a Lecture at Cobham for a little time to preach down the Diggers have bid the people neither to buy nor sell with us but to beat us imprison us or banish us and thereby they prove themselves to be members of the Beast that had two horns like a Lamb and yet speak like a Dragon so they fulfill that Scripture in Rev. 13. 16. that no man might buy and sell save he that had the mark of the Beast Or else surely they do it on purpose to quicken u●to our work and to drive us to Plant the Commons with all speed as may be But though the Cowes were poor yet they care not so the skins will but pay the Lawyers and Arturneys Gilder his Fees and the flesh to feed the snapsack boyes either to eat and make merry with or else to sell to make money of to pay those that drive away the Cowes for their paines or charges they have been at in this 18 weeks striving to beat the Diggers off their work But the bones will serve the Bailiffs to pick because their action wil be both p●oved thievery in stealing another mans cattell and their trespasse very great against the same man in opening 〈…〉 round about the ground where Winstanley dwels and let Hegs and common Cattell into the standing barly and other corn which the right owner will seek satisfaction for So that the fury of this Norman Camp against the Diggers is so great that they would not only drive away all the Cowes upon the ground but spoyl the corn too and when they had done this m●schief the Bayliffs the other Norman snapsack boyes went hollowing and shooting 〈◊〉 if they were dancing at a whitson Ale so glad they are to do mischief to the Diggers that they might hinder the work of freedome And why are they so furious against us but because we endeavour to dig up their Tythes their Lawyers Fees their Prisons and all that Art and Trade of darknesse whereby they get money under couller of Law and to plant the plesant fruit trees of freedom in the room of that cursed the nbush the power of the murdering sword for they say they doe all they do by the Law of the Land which the Parliament hath confirmed to them by an Act And if so Then Souldiers where is the price of you● blood and Countrey-men and Citizens Where is the price of your Taxes and Free-quarter If this be the freedom you are like to have to be beaten and not be suffered to say why doe you so and shall have no remedy unlesse you will Fee a Lawyer an Enemy to plead for you when you are able to plead your own cause better your self and save that charge and have your cause ended sooner and wich more peace and quietnesse And you zealous Preachers and professors of the City of London and you great Officers and Souldiery of the Army Where

are all your Victories over the Cavaliers that you made such a blaze in the Land in giving God thanks for and which you begged in your Fasting dayes and morning Exercises Are they all sunck into the Norman power again and must the old Prerogative Laws stand what freedom then did you give thanks for Surely that you had killed him that rid upon you that you may get up into his saddle to ride upon others O thou City thou Hypocriticall City thou blindfold drowsie England that sleps and snorts in the bed of covetousnesse awake awake the Enemies is upon thy back he is ready to scale the walls and e●ter Possession and wilt thou not look out Does not the streames of bondage run in the same river that it did and with a bigger stream of Norman power so that if you awaken not betimes the flood of the Norman Prerogative power will drown you all here 's more rivers comes into the maine stream since the storm fell and the waters of fury rises very high banked in by Laws and while you are talking and disputing about words the Norman Souldiers are secretly working among you to advance their power again and so will take away the benefit of all your victories by a subtile act of intricate Lawes which the swor● in the field could not do against your and when you have lost that freedom whic● you boasted of that you will leave to your posterity then who must give thanks you that vapoured in words or they that lay close in action waiting to trip up you heels by pollioy when the sword could not do it I tell thee thou England thy battells now are all spirituall Dragon against the Lamb and the power of love against the power of covetousnesse therefore all tha● will be Souldiers for Christ the Law of righteousnesse joyn to the Lamb He tha● takes the iron sword now shall perish with it and would you be a strong Land and flourish in beauty then fight the Lambs battels and his strength shall be thy wall and bulwarks You Knights Gentlemen and Freeholders that sat in councell at the whi● Lion it Cobham to find out who are our backers and who stirs us up to dig the Commons I le tel you plainly who it is it is love the King of righteousnes ruling in our hearts that makes us th●●… to act that the creation may be set at liberty and now I have answered your inquirie do what you can to him and us his servants And we require you in his name to let our cause have a publick triall and do not work any longer in darknesse set not your Bail●ffes and slaves to come by night to steal away the Cowes of poore men under colour of justice when as the cause was never yet heard in open Court He that backs you and that sets you to work to deny to us our younger brother the use of the common land is covetousnesse which is Beelzebub the greatest devill so that there is the 2 generalls known which you we fight under the 2 great Princes of light and darknes bondage and freedom that does Act all flesh in the great controversies of the world These are the 2 men that stir in this busines that is the wicked man that councels broke you to be so envious and furious against us and the righteous man Christ that backs and councells us to love you our enemies And do we not see that Gebal Ammon and Amaleck and all the rabble of the nations Lords Knights Gentlemen Lawyers Bailiffes Priests and all the Norman snapsack boyes and ammunition women to the old Norman Camp do all combine together in the art of unrighteous fury to drive the poore diggers off from their work that the name of commmunity and freedome which is Christ may not be known in earth Thus I have deale plainly with you all and I have not flattered Parliament Army City nor Countrey but have declared in this and other writings the whole light of that truth revealed to me by the word of the Lord and I shall now wait to see his hand to do his own work in what time and by what instruments he pleases And I see the poore must first be picked out and honoured in this work for they begin to receive the word of righteousnesse but the rich generally are enemies to tru freedome The work of digging still goes on and stops not for a rest The Comes were gone but are return'd and we are all at 〈◊〉 No money 's paid nor never shall to Lawyer or his man To plead our cause for therein wee 'll do the best we can In Cobham on the little Heath our digging there goes on And all our friends they live in love as if they were but one Thus you Gentlemen that will have no Law to rule over you 〈◊〉 your Prerogative will must be above Law and above us that are the yonger brothes in the Land but if you say no your wil shal be subject to Law then I demand of you Mr Drake Mr Gilder and other the Bailiffes and Officers of Kingston Court why will you ●●rest us and trouble us and say we trespa●●e against you and though we came to answer to your arrest and to plead our own cause yet contrary to the equity ●ay contrary to the bare letter that the Law as I shewed you before you denyed me th●● priviledge but went on and did condemne and execute a forceable power upon body and goods is not your will here above Law do you not hereby uphold the Norman conquest Mr Drake you are a Parliament man and was not the beginning of the quarrel between King Charles and your House This the King pleaded to uphold Prerogative and you were against it and yet must a Parliament man be the first man to uphold Prerogative who are but servants to the Nation for the peace and liberty of every one not conquering Kings to make their wil a Law did you not promise liberty to the whole Nation in case the Cavalier party were cast out and why now wil you seek liberty to your self and Gentry with the deniall of just liberty and freedome to the common people that have born the greatest burden You have arrested us for digging upon the common Land you have executed your unrighteous power in distraining cat●el imprisoning our bodies and yet our cause was never publickly heard neither can it be proved that we have broke any Law that is built upon equity and reason therfore we wonder where you had your power to rule over us by will more th●n we to rule over you by our will We request you before you go too far not to let covetcousnesse be your 〈…〉 not others under your fear under colour of Law as if none knew equity of Law but you● for we and our estates shall be horns in your eye● and pricks in your sides and you may curse that Councell bid you beg our estates or imprison our persons But this we request that you would let us a have a fair open triall and do not carry on the course of Law insecret like vicodem●● that is afraid to have his businesse come to light therefore I challenge you once more seeing you professe your selves Christians to let us be brought to a trial of our cause let your minister● plead with us in this scriptures let your Lawyers plead with us in the equity reason of your own Law and if you ●rove us transgressions then we shal lay down our work and acknowledge we have trespassed against you in digging upon the Commons then punish us But if we prove by Scripture reason that unden●ably the land belongs to one as well as another then you shal own our work justifie our cause declare that you have done wrong to Christ who you say is your Lord and master in abusing us his servants your fellow creatures while we are doing his work Therefore I knowing you to be 〈◊〉 of moderation in outward shew I desire that your actions towards your fellow creatures may not be like one beast to another but carry your selves like man to man for your proceeding in your pretence of law hitherto against us it both unrighteous 〈◊〉 d●●velish and nothing of the spirit of man seen in it You Atturnies and Lawyers you say you are ministers of justice we know that equity and reason is or ought to be the foundation of Law if so then plead not for mony altogether but stand for universall justice equity then you will have peace otherwise both you with the corrupt Clergy will be cast out as unsavoury salt FINIS