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A88163
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A Conference with the souldiers. Or, a parley with the party of horse, which with drawn drawn [sic] sword, entered the sessions at Mr. John Lilburn's trial.
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1653
(1653)
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Wing L2089A; Thomason E705_25; ESTC R207116
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3,360
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4
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A Conference with the Souldiers OR A Parley with the Party of Horse which with drawn drawn sword entred the Sessions at Mr. John Lilburn's Trial. Gentlemen WHat are you Are you English-men and true English souldiers raised for maintenance and defence of the ancient Rights and Liberties of England the chiefest whereof are peaceable free and unforcible legal Trials for mens lives and estates if you are such as you ought to be how is it that as a party of armed souldiers you enter the place and legal Courts of Justice with horse and swords drawn and in the very face thereof cuting beating haling by the hair of the head and trampling upon the people peaceably there as is their right to see that all men have justice come them Can you imagine that in so doing you do not over-aw affright and terrifie the Jury men present and in effect tel them Mr. Lilburn's blond must now be had and that right or wrong they must find him guilty But dear friends what is this ye do Was ever such a thing done in the late Tyrants time Nay when in any time was the like violation of the liberties of England And what is it moves you thus to do in his case more then in all others Is it because you are commanded so to do Think you that will suffice to justifie your actions at the Day of judgment before the most just and Al-seeing God who hath made you men furnished with judgments and consciences able to distinguish between good and evil and not beasts to rend and tear fetch and carry terrifie and affright kill and destroy without demanding a cause or making some scruple for conscience sake Make you no difference between enemies in Armes or in open Hostility and peaceable people when you are commanded The Lord work upon your hearts You would be offended any should say you are not Christians Christians judge nothing before the time you by this your violent appearance doom him to death before any thing is legally proved against him whereas Christians in doubtful cases ought to judge the best and all things before proof are to be esteemed at least doubtful But you judge possibly as you are told by some who thirst after his blood that his crimes are notorious and evident Good christian souldiers be not deluded nor delude your selves for you cannot but know that the worst the Parliament laid to his charge was no more but that he had scandâ—lized Sr Arthur Haslerig and the Committee of Haberdashers Hall and published a Petition offered to the House before they had read it And for this mark how they senten'd him for it s your own case they fine him more than twice his estate to wit 7000 pounds banish him for ever and enact him to die as a Fellon without benefit of Clergy if he returned This was their Judgment and no marvel for his Adversaries were his Judges and this without once hearing what he could say in his own defence so hasty were they to be rid of him and cause they had for had he staid he was like enough to prove those things called Scandals real Truths to the hazard of Sr Arthur's new-gotten huge Estate and to the laying open the foulness of some of the Committee and which yet fearing he may live to effect is now one main cause his life is so violently persued You have heard much of the unrighteous Judgments of the Councel Table High Commission and Star-Chamber but never in the worst of their Times was the like unto this And are all those Courts justly thrown down And have you and your Officers routed the Parliament that made this most cruel Judgment and Act and can you now thus violently appear to justifie his Trial thereupon in such sort as if you would force them to finde him guilty And in so doing do ye not draw his innocent blood upon you yea though the Jury should acquit him as if they have any conscience or fear of God in them they must do and no doubt will as fearing him that can kill the soul more then you that would your conscience permit you can onely kill the body But it is to be doubted there are other matters that raise your hatred against Mr. Lilburn for a certain libellous book hath been officiously dispiersed and read to and amongst you and the rest of the Army intimating That Mr. Lilburn hath been tampering to bring in Charls Stuart and this the more effectually to deceive you under the Ouches or divers Witnesses But dear friends in this also you are not to be hasty in belief for you know the like was published before his Tryal at Guild-Hall by the Councel of State to inrage the Souldiery and honest party against him and not one word proved true So when you shall understand what wretched perjured Creatures those Witnesses are mentioned in that book you will grieve at the horrid wickednesse of such devillish stratagems Besides a person of unquestionable credit with the chief of your Army hearing of the mischievous slander of Mr. Lilburn hath offered and is ready at all times to depose upon oath that during Mr. Lilburn's residing beyond seas and since the War with Holland he had the best and truest Intelligence of all proceedings there from him and most advantagious for the State of England Which Mr. Lilburn certainly had never done if he had had any design for Charles Stuart But if you believe those false aspersions onely so long as that through your passion and violence you shall occasion his destruction his deadly enemies by you obtain their bloody desires and you contract matter of sad repentance for ever The holy Scriptures Rule to Souldiers is that they accuse no man falsly but to act violently or earnestly upon a Report is no lesse in Gods sight They are also to offer violence to no man much lesse to a prisoner towards whom the very Heathen Souldiers in Paul's Case have left you and all Christian Souldiers a great example of care and tendernesse On therefore be not worse then Romans unto him Be not like Danes or Normans to the People and Courts of Justice Be not like men who have made ship wrack of all good Conscience But be unto all in all your demeanour as becommeth Christians full of Mercy full of Compassion And cease not to perswade with your Commanders to finde you Employment more agreeable to your Understandings and Consciences it being in all Cases more safe to obey GOD rather then MAN The Publisher to the Reader COuntryman I pray thee take notice of two things in this place first that those lying and false informations lately published against Mr. Lilburn are printed for or by the councel of States-Printers or Booksellers viz. H. Hills G. Calvert and T. Brewster and so in reason may be judged to be Printed by the authority of the Councel of State themselves or by the Authority of their Supream Lord Master and Creator the General 2dly I pray thee observe the persons from whom those informations or depositions came first from one Isaac Burkinhead alias Rogers as he named himself beyond the seas a most prophane deboist drunken Rogue who in his conversation beyond the seas to delude the Cavaliers and to make them believe he was really as they were in his cups made no scruple as som of his own comrades have credibly reported to take a glass of beer or wine and in their presence to drink it wish that might be his poison if he were directly or indirectly an Agent Intelligencer or Well-wisher to the Parliament of England the Councel of State the General or Mr Scot or any appertaining to them or that wished them well The second person named as informer is Captain John Titus a man of so vicious a life in his Cavalier way for whoring drinking swearing and for-swearing as the world hath scarce his fellow whose several perjuries upon Judicial Records in England are said by some of his own kindred not to be a few The third witnesse is one Capt. John Bartley an Irishman or Rebel and a grand Traitor and Pyrot for the late E of Derby and who as beyond sea he averred could not be permitted in England to live and who had no way to preserve himself his wife and children from starving beyond sea but to combine with Mr Lilburns great adversaries and their Agents to do as wickedly to Mr Lilburn as he hath done The fourth witnesse is one Rich. Foot a young delboist wicked and prophane rogue that robbed and stole from his brother who lives near Blackwell-Hall betwixt 2 and 3 hundred pound in gold and run away beyond sea with it of a great part of which he being checked of by one Harbin or the like name Mr Lilburn out of his respect to one Col. Gamet and Mr Ralph Parker did the best he could to assist them in getting some part of it again and did but alwaies scorned to discourse with such a thief and rogue as the said Foot upon State-affairs The fifth witnesse against Mr Lilburn is one Staple-Hill which the publisher knows not but in Mr Lilburns name and behalf earnestly desires as much liberty to publish a full and absolute answer to those most false lying base roguish Cavalier informations as there was given to the sellers thereof and then shall leave himself to the honest judgement of the Reader to consider whether are baser follows Mr Lilburn or his mighty and great adversaries that imploy such notorious known rogues to tell lies and false-hoods on purpose to destroy the innocent FINIS