Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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B06154
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To the supreme authority, the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England. The humble petition of the owners and commoners of the town of Islelham [sic] in the county of Cambridge.
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1652
(1652)
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Wing T1748A; ESTC R185349
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3,989
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10
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â—o the Supreme Authority the Parliament of the Commonwealth of ENGLAND The humble Petition of the Owners and Commoners of the Town of Islelham in the County of Cambridg Sheweth â—Hat the Earl of Bedford Edward Russel Esq Robert Henly Esq and Robert Castle Esq in trust for the Earl of Bedfords â—â—â—â—â—cipants and adventurers by vertue of a late Act of Parliament â—â—â—…nd they have drained your Petitioners Fens consisting of aâ—â—â—… 2500 acres and by an Adjudication as we are informed by â—â—me of the Commissioners mentioned in the said Act have Ditchâ—â—â—ut to themselves about 930 acres of your Petitioners said Fens 〈◊〉 are in possession thereof 1. Your Petitioners wil make it appear unto your Honors That â—â—ntrary to the Law of God by the said Act parties interessed are â—â—â—cted Judges 2. That the said Act is destructive to Propriety for by it the â—â—â—mmissioners who for ought we know are Judges and Parties 〈◊〉 impowred to take away our Estates without our consents and â—â—â—…st it 3. It enacts impossibilities and falsities as that land to be drainâ—â— which was never drowned and that hurtfully surrounded which â—â—…ettered by overflowing 4. We have not been used like English-men for contrary to the â—â—ndamental Laws of the Land we are disseised of our Free-holds â—â—ard by our witnesses upon Oath or by view or by Juries of the â—â—â—â—hbourhood In the beginning of â—â—e last Pâ—â—â—â—â—ment when very few of thâ— Members were ingaged in this project In their first and grand Remonstrance 1641. In the like Case this draining of us by forcâ— was declared An Injustice oppression violence project and griâ—vance and in more express words Thus large quantities of Commons and Severals have been taken away from the Subject by colour of the Statute of Improvement and by the abuse of the Comission of Sewers without their consents and against it yet this late Act for Draining hath ratified and confirmed all those agrievanceâ— and oppressions which the people suffered concerning draining in the Kings time The cause of all this is plain and clear which was because there were so many Parliament men parties interessed when the said Act was passing The Premises considered the humble desires of your Petitioners are 1. That we may enjoy our Proprieties and that according to the Statute of Improvement of 43 Eliz. Cap. 11. wherein is provisioâ— made sufficient for any undertaking for draining whatsoever your Petitioners may be at liberty to make the best of their ownâ— And that you will be pleased to consider of our Exceptions againsâ— The late Act for Draining for the repealing thereof which wâ— humbly tender herewith unto your Honours 2. That our adversaries may not be enabled by their illegal possessâ—on of our Estates to wage Law with us with our own Revenueâ— by receiving this Summers profit of our said Fens For preveâ—tion whereof we humbly crave your Honors Order for our speedâ— re-possession of our said Grounds having already received 〈◊〉 least 500 l. damage by the undertakers pernicious new Ditches â— our said Fens And your Petitioners shall pray c. Exceptions taken to a late Act of Parliament intituled An Act for the Draining the great Level of the Fens THe first Exception is against the Title of the Act viz. An Act for Draining the great Level of the Fens extending it self c There are many fallacies couched under this word Level First it is an equivocal word and hath two significations As fist the great Level signifies a bare flat whether dry or drowned The undertakers cannot mean dry land for how can that Land be drained which was never drowned Therefore by the Undertakers meaning it must be such Land as is really hurtfully surrounded which are 300000 acres The next fallacie in the word Level is begging of the Question Taking for granted that 300000 acres are the Level hurtfully surrounded which in truth are not The third fallacie is the ignorance of a contradiction As it is the great Level and not the great Level in divers respects As first it is a great Flat or Level but not such a one as is hurtfully surrounded for it will be proved many thousands of acres were never drowned thousands of acres not hurtfully surrounded but bettered by overflowing thousands of acres are Osier Reed Sedg So deduct the premised Land the great Level will be much lessened The fourth fallacie in the word Level is joyning such Lands together that ought to be devided or calling Good Evill and Evil Good As calling dry ground and Land bettered by overflowing the Level or hurtfully surrounded which words are convertible As for instance in the Town of Isleham which contain 2500. acres of Fens we have 1200 acres dry Land and another considerable part of the said Fens are bettered by overflowing Yeâ— the Undertakers take 930 acres out of the 2500 acres for draining So being Judges and parties the Undertakers have mis-stated the Level The second Exception is against the Preamble of the said Act viz. Whereas the said great Level by reason of overflowing of the Rivers of c. have been of small and uncertain profit but if drained may be improved The Undertakers take it for granted the great Level is little worth because it is hurtfully surrounded as they falsely suggest Those who live in the Fens and are neighbours to them know the contrary For first The Fens breed infinite numbers of Horses Mares and Colts and all sorts of other Cattel and the Horses and Mares are kept on our Fens in Summer which till our Land Secondly We breed and feed great store of young Cattel as Calves and Buds which are yearlings and wee keep great Dairies which afford great store of Butter and Cheese and multitudes of Heifers and other Cattel are fatted on our Fens which afford Hides and Tallow Thirdly We Mow off our Fens Fother which feeds our Neat in Winter which being housed we gather such quantities of Compost or Dung that it inriches our Pastures and Corn-ground half in half Fourthly We keep great Flocks of Sheep Fifthly Our Fens are a great relief in a dry Summer not only to the Uplanders of our own but neighbour Countries which otherwise thousands of Cattel would perish Sixthly We have great store of Osier Reed and Sedg which are such necssaries as the Countries cannot want them for many uses and sets many poor on work Lastly We have many thousand Cottagers which live on our Fens which have no right of Common which we connive at otherwise they would go a begging So that if the Undertakers take away a third part of our Fens they destroy our Pastures and Corn-ground and lessen our Revenues proportionably What is Cole-Seed Rape and Hemp they are but Dutch Commodities and but trash and trumpery and pils land in respect of the fore-cited Commodities which are the rich Ore of the Commonwealth The third Exception is against what is enacted to be the particular bounds and limits of the great Level much of which we
can prove is not the Level or hurtfully surrounded As more at large in the first Exception which we referre our selves unto it may may appear Another consideration for the passing this Act is That the Earl of Bedford in the 13 year of King Charls had 95000 acres decreed to him out of the said Level Exception This Decree was procured by bribing the King with 12000 acres and in it self was illegal for they never had our consents according to the 4.3 Eliz. It is further alleadged That the Earl and his participants had made a good progress therein Exception The only progresse they made was to devide the 95000 acres by shares and Lots for it was found by a Jury at Huntington 14 Car. that the said Earl and his participants had not meliorated the said Fens Whereas it is suggested that by reason of some interruptions the intended benefit of the Commonwealth hath been prevented and delayed Exception The interruptions they received were their own fears to proceed because their undertakings in the beginning of the last Parliament 1641. were declared against By the Act Breaches by inevitable accidents are in convenient time to be repaired and made good Exception The Undertakers may do what they please in convenient tâ—me aâ—d in the mean time who shall pay for the peoples sufferingâ— The Commissioners may Judge every great floud an inevitable accident so they will do nothing for the 95000 acres if they except flouds which is the only cause some lands are hurtfully surrounded By the Act the Undertakers may leave 15000 acres for beds and receptacles for water besides meres pools and channels Exception Under this pretence they may drain the Earl of Bedfords hurtfully surrounded Lands as Thorney Abby and Wittlesey and make his neighbours Lands which are dry or bettered by overflowing the receptacles for water By the Act no Commissioner or Commissioners of Sewers are to intermeddle c. Note what extraordinary care is taken to obstruct all legal Commissions of Sewers By the Act if we be agrieved we have no remedy but to appeal to the Commissioners and that in the Temple-Hall London the seaventh day after every Term. Exception Upon our complaint there July 6. 1653. we found no redresse of our agrievance By the Act the Commissioners have power by view or otherwise to adjudge and give livery and siâ—isin of our Estates Except This they have done without hearing of us By the Act the Commissioners have power at discretion to make our lands which they shall adjudge improved though not within the pretended Level to be contributory to the Undertakers Except By this no man knows whether his Estate be free or no. The Parliament by the Act Declares That in the adjudication care shall be taken c. Except But there was no care taken and therefore we appeal to the Parliament By the Act Thorney Abby excepted Ex. It is part of the Level and hurtfully surrounded The Act repeals two Laws or Decrees of Sewers viz. 19 Jac. â—…d 14 Caroli Ex. They were illegal therefore in themselves nul In the Act there are many Commissioners named whereof some â—â—nnot act many that have not acted and some of those who have â—â—ted whose names we know not have put us out of possession of â—…0 acres of our said Fens unheard by adjudging those Lands â—â—â—ined which were never drowned and those hurtfully surroundâ—â— which are bettered by overflowing And those Commissioners 〈◊〉 humbly conceive we have just cause to except against This Act for draining us without our consents and against it is â—â—â—ogether unreasonable and unnecessary First by depriving us of the benefit of our legal Commissions of â—â—wers according to the 23 of H. 8. C. 5. whereby each County 〈◊〉 their own Commissioners and Jurors and every man was comâ—â—â—â—ed once or twice every year to scoure his part of the old drains â—â—…ing the natural sinks of the Fens to their widnesse and depths â—â—…ch Law were it put in execution there would very little Land â—urtfully surrounded Secondly by the Statute of Improvement of 43 Eliz. C. 11. â—â—â—re is provision made sufficient for draining by way of undertaâ—â—â—g which is to be by contract between the major part of the owâ—â—â—s and Commoners and the Undertakers by writing indented â—â—der their hands and Seals and the Undertaker is to lay claim nothing but what he hath so contracted for See the Statute FINIS