Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	find_v	king_n	law_n	2,835	5	4.8368	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30697	The poor mans friend, or A narrative of what progresse many worthy citi- [sic] of London have made in that godly work of providing for the poor With an Ordinance of Parliament for the better carrying on of the work. Published for the information and encouragement of those, both in city and countrey, that wish well to so pious a work.	Bush, Rice.; England and Wales. Parliament. Proceedings. 1647-12-17.	1650 (1650)	Wing B6231A; ESTC R214161	19,460	30

to us that God requires us to take care of others as well as of our selves And to this end the Lord gives us command that we become eies to the blinde ears to the deaf and that we cloath the naked feed the hungry and bring the stranger to our house and threatens judgements to such as doe or shall neglect the same Upon consideration whereof and the great neglect of this so weighty a duty that is both commanded and commended by God as a great work of charity to whom an account must one day be given whether we have fed the hungry cloathed the naked visited the sick and imprisoned c. And according to our doings herein shall we be rewarded or condemned at that day when that sentence of Christ shall be pronounced Matth. 25.41 Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels And also observing those many good laws formerly made in this Kingdom and of how little use they have been to this day hath moved me with others to search out the cause thereof and to endeavour to put life into those laws which I had almost said were dying An account whereof I shall briefly give unto you Brother It is not my purpose here to look so far back as to make mention of what others have long since done nor to insist at all upon that book set forth by King Charles wherein are many excellent orders and directions the which might seem to be sufficient to doe the work in hand viz. the regulating and relieving the poor but is found by experience to miss of its desired end namely the putting life into Laws formerly made concerning the poor as aforesaid But my purpose is here to set forth the late endeavours of divers well affected men within this City and the suburbs and that in brief thus About five years since a gentleman having observed the good government of the poor in other Kingdoms and the ill government of them in this being grieved in minde to observe the aged blinde lame and sick neglected with many poor families almost starved little children lie in the streets under stals and such like places uneducated being stirred with zeale addresses himself to many Knights and Burgesses of the house as also to the L. Major of London and many of his brethren the Aldermen with divers other well affected Citizens as also many Justices of the peace and others of the out parts of the said City did endeavour to possesse them with the goodnesse necessity and consequence of relieving and setting the poor to work and likewise did procure divers meetings within the City of men affecting this pious design where the undertaking was generally liked and commended by all and many sad reports and complaints were then and there made of the miseries that many poor families did endure which the present experience of these times proves to be true and of the wickednesse and vile abuses committed by vagrants and counterfiets and of the great neglect of our Laws in that particular and also of the great wast and losse of food made within the City sufficient to maintain one half of the indigent poor therein as is probably conceived together with the not improvement of our native commodities abuses in Trade increase of Ale houses with many other things not yet sufficiently provided for by any Law or statute within the Kingdome or these laws or statutes not now put in execution and therefore fit to be considered of and remedied at this time of reformation for the generall good of the poor Many moneths were spent in meetings in this way of complaining and the Gentlemens good resolutions commonly ended with the meeting till at last it was moved that there might be a time and place appointed for a constant meeting and that some way might be thought on effectually to prosecute those good thoughts and endeavours and to procure the removall of all those evils At our meeting we took into our consideration that beyond the sea viz the Lowcountries by setting their poor on work most of those evils are removed and remedied and those places blessed of God and inriched And likewise that in some Towns in this our Kingdom is not a begger or idle person to be seen as Norwich Ipswich Dorchester and other places to their great honour and that in this City is nothing wanting which those other parts and places doe enjoy that might conduce to the regulating and effectuall relieving of the poor yet that we might the better herewith possesse our selves and be the better able to possesse and perswade others we did desire every man to deliver in writing his thoughts which way it were best and might be done with most advantage the which was performed and those propositions brought in were by Mr Steel Counsellour at Law abbreviated and the substance of the whole was by him drawn into three heads viz. First Of Government Secondly Stock Thirdly Account And upon each Head divers particulars such as were conceived most necessary to carry on the work when a Committee of Aldermen and Common Counsell should be procured and appointed for that end and purpose Which to procure Octob. 7. 1645. we with many others both Ministers and Citizens petitioned the then L. Major and Common Counsell desiring them to take into their consideration the multitude of poor in and about the City their misery necessity disorder and increase and what remedies were fit to be applied thereto with such propositions as we should tender to them tending to the relief of the said poor The Common Counsell granted what we desired and withall ordered that Committee to consider of an Act made six or eight years before with an intent to create a Corporation that should take care to see the Laws and Statutes concerning the poor put in execution The said Committee after many meetings and much debate did agree that it was necessary that there should be a Corporation made consisting of eight Aldermen and thirty two Commoners Freemen of the City chosen out of each ward respectively and to that end drew a draught which being agreed upon after many alterations by councell is by M. Maynard and M. Hayle Counsellors at Law in a short draught perfected and approved as fit to passe the House and to establish a Corporation who might afterwards gain an enlargement of power as occasion should require But after much attendance and many obstructions and other new alterations a long draught for an Ordinance was agreed upon and committed to Coll. Veun a Member of Parliament to obtain the power of the Parliament to confirm it But through the multitude of their affairs and length of the Ordinance we could not in six moneths procure it to be read and committed whereupon by advise we drew up a short petition and representation of our complaints and desires to the House of Lords The Lords readily embrace this pious and charitable work and to their great honours within

also for the great ease and benefit of the said City it now not being of that use it might be especially to the poor by season whereof few poor are there and in infectious times many go with sores on them up and down the City and beg at our dores and in our Churches to the great danger and unknown detriment of the City and liberties That some constant course be setled for relief of the poor by way of physick and chirurgery for its better to cure the sick and same then constantly keep them so as also to discover counterfeiting of sicknesse lamenesse and other pretended griefs which is a thing too frequently used by those idle kinde of persons I 'le give you an instance of which a worthy Divine of this City was not only a spectator but an actor in the work the manner thus A counterfeit pretending that his heels grew to his buttocks lay begging in Moorfields M. Jackson Minister seeing some milk-maids whipping the supposed cripple with nettles to try if he would finde his legs for that some of the maids affirmed that they had seen him go yet would he not for all his smart make away from them the maids being wearied out and not obtaining their desires left him a Carre-man coming by and hearing what had been affirmed lashes him with his whip severall times over the shoulders in so much that some tender-hearted spectators were much displeased with the Carre-man for so abusing the supposed cripple whereupon the Carre-man willing to work a cure of him took him up under the armes and offered to put him into a ditch near at hand which he did accordingly and somewhat wet his breech but all this nothing prevailed untill the aforesaid Divine having observed the former passages and what was the relation of the maids tried his experiment upon him which was thus caused him to be laid upon his back and kneeled upon his brest with one of his knees causing one of his legs to be drawn forth if possible which was accordingly done and so the other having both his legs thus suddenly straitned without any miracle he was lifted up upon his feet to try if he could or would go which presently he did in the sight of them all though seemingly very feeble The Divine having so discovered him sends hastily for a Constable to send him to the house of correction and in the mean while the fellow desired the people to stand further off him and he would try his utmost to mend his pace which the people having done he as hastily runs away leapt over a gate and escaped them all That some way be setled that the food of the City of London that would be given in the Wards of the same may be conveniently gathered improved and disposed to the most necessitous poor of the City and not to idle counterfeits or such who are other waies provided for That consideration be had of grievances in the common Trade of this City and Kingdom especially such as tends to the destruction of Commerce and Trade both here and beyond the Seas the which is if not the sole yet a most considerable cause of poverty in this City and being removed by the prudent care of the Corporation will doubtlesse cure many of our other evils That the Acts and Statutes for sowing of Hemp and Flax be put in execution and enlarged if need shall require which will much conduce to the good of the poor and the raising of stock for the ease of the Kingdome That granting of Licenses to Ale-houses thought good to be Licensed be conferred upon the Corporation to dispose thereof to the aged and decaied for their better livelihood according to the Statute and that part of the profit thereof may come to the other poor in the said Ward according to the discretion of the Corporation That some definitions or positive signes be set down to discover a drunkard by that any man may have power to atach him for it and charge a Constable or the like Officer with him and the said Officers be required to execute the Law upon him unlesse he shall lay down his fine in the hands of the said Officers or others to be appointed for that purpose and some rule likewise set down to evince an equivocating swearer for by this means much sin will be prevented and revenue brought to the poor as a present raising of stock till further course be had and besides much trouble suits and disputes avoided that may or shall happen to the Officers or others appointed as aforesaid That the Constable or other Officer for the said purpose be enjoined every moneth to cause to be entred the fines received of such offenders in a book kept by the Corporation and in case he fail that then the said Officer be liable to pay the like summe to the Corporation which he received for the poor that so the poor may not be wronged and also to restore the fine he received and detained unto the party that paid him the same or to him that shall inform against him That in such cases the Corporation may have power to give an oath and to impannell a Jury for the tryall of causes belonging to them that the Corporation may be saved harmlesse thereby That the Corporation may have power to appoint Officers that may have free accesse without trouble or charge to search for donations which as yet lie undiscovered or are misimployed or not improved to the best advantage That all poor people not esteemed worth 10lb be not suffered to go to Law for words and trifles untill the Elders or such like in authority appointed by Parliament in each Parish or Parishes have heard the same and if not ended by them it may be heard by the Corporation and if not determined by them to be then left unto the Law That provision be made for the education of poor children in religion arts and mysteries to fit them the better for severall imployments by which means they may be placed and disposed of severall waies with far lesse charge then now they are That same way of relief be setled for poor house-keepers who suffer great necessi●ies not known to all some for want of work others for want of stock some having no utterance for their work and others unable to work all of them complaining they want food in their severall families The motives grounds and considerations that moved us hereto are these First The glory of God in the suppressing of sin and wickednesse the which may hereby be in part effected Secondly The honour of this City which for neglect of this so pious and necessary a duty is evil spoken of both abroad and at home many jeering and deriding some pitying and petitioning as was long since represented to the Magistrates of this City by a godly Minister as is found in his book intituled Great cries turned into great joies but now these great joies are turned into great cries