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A37361
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A Declaration of some of the sufferings of the people of God called Quakers
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1660
(1660)
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Wing D624; ESTC R37718
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40,561
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35
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A DECLARATION of some of the SUFFERINGS OF THE People of God CALLED QUAKERS FRIENDS WE lay these sufferings before you who have known sufferings and been exercised therewith for you in this the day of your prosperity in the Fear of the Lord and his Wisdom to read over and consider the sufferings of the People of God who have suffered all along in the dayes of the Common-wealth and of the two Protectors and now suffers in the Kings Name for Christ and his Truths sake and for obeying his commands And we have suffered all along under these changeable powers before you our meetings have been broken up our houses pluckt down our windows broken and pulled out of our Meetings and cruelly abused knockt down and stones and dirt thrown at us and have suffered cruel mockings and shameful reproaches and many whipt stockt and laid in Irons and Dâ—n◠〈◊〉 and beâ—ty 〈◊〉 and prisoned till death and some put to death â—n these Dominions and the onely thing hath been for the speaking of the truth and warning people of the day that is come upon them yea many in sackcloth and ashes who would not hear nor regard whose day of visitation is over And there hath suffered for Conscience sake and the Truths sake the causes being hereafter expressed the number of 3179. 1. For meeting together in the Fear of the Lord as the Saints did in the primitive times and exhorting one another and building up one another and praying together in their several houses as the Apostles did from house to house have been beat imprisoned and not suffered to pray together as Daniel did but pluckt us up by the hair of the head when we have been at prayers and some have been stockt and whipt and others their â—â—rses taken from them and some fined and imprisoned some until death and some knockt down and left for dead others drag'd on the ground by the hair of their heads and cruelly beaten and trod upon their cloaths rent and blood shed not sparing women with Child nor old age the number of 827 persons And they broke up our Meetings in the Common Wealths and Olivers time under pretence that we plotted to bring in Charls Stuart and now he is come in they are broken up by some of your Magistrates under pretence that we are against the King but we aâ—e in that which cannot lift up a hand nor plot against him nor no man by which we see all things and have unity with God and meets together to worship him in the Spirit and Truth and thus are we deprived of it by many who have been against us as much formerly as now who if they were tryed they are neither Friends to themselves nor to God nor the King who will not let us have so much liberty as Ballet fingers and such as use playes nor let us meet to pray together and build up one another in thâ— Holy Faith which was the command of the Apostle to the Saints in the Primitive times for which practice have we suffered all along as sheep for the slaughter and as such as have no helpers in the earth whose lives from it are taken And our sufferings has been also great in Scotland Ireland Virginia and New England the number of Sufferers and multitude of which sufferings and meetings which have been broken are to large hardly to be mentioned or numbred 2. And for not going to the publick worship many have been fined and imprisoned and their goods taken from them Now wheâ—e do you ever read that ever the Jews or Gentiles ever fined the Christians for not coming to the Temple at Jerusalem or the Synagogue or Dianas Temple Nay is it not worse then the Turks paying their Sessments and Taxes May they not have their liberty there to meet together to Pray and Worship God ye men of understanding consâ—der this 3. And for warning people to repent in the Markets and other places of their sin and wickednesse have been whipt stockt and put in Fetters and Irons and some imprisoned the number of 516 persons 4. And â—â—r not swearing as Christ commands they should not swear for obeying his Doctrinâ— and keeping to yea and nay in their Communications according to his command have been Stockt Whipt Fined and Imprisoned and suffered the losse of their goods â—â—8 Persons And we have suffered under pretence of being Papists and Popishly affected and our Friends have suffered for going beyond the Seas to declare against the Papists George Ba ly imprisoned till death in France one John Love imprisoned till death in the Inquisition in Rome and John Parrot â—es there yet in Prison to finish his Testimony for the Truth and against Idolatry and yet the Oath of Abjuration hath been tendred unto us to make a prey on us knowing that our Principle was that we could not swear no manner of Oath for which cause we have suffered in our Lives and Estates and now the Oâ—th of Supremacy and Allegiance is tendred to us against the Pope to make a prey upon us that knows our Principle is against the Papists that knows our Pâ—â—nciple that we cannot swear at all no Oath but keeps to yea and nay in our Communications according to Christs Doctrine who declares against all Popery and the supremacy of it Now if 〈◊〉 yea be not yea and nay nay so found to you and all men upon the earth then let us suffer for breaking of that as much as for breaking an Oath and besides very illegally is that Oath put to us as you may see in the examining of the manner of their putting it to us 5. For not paying towards the repair of Steeple-houses and for not paying Clerks wages have had their goods spoiled strained and taken away above treble the demand 256 which is worse then ever we read of the Jews or Gentiles that ever they made the Christians do to repair Dianas Temple or the Jews Synagogue or Temple that they fined them and took their goods for not doing so 6. For visiting Friends in Prison and carrying them necessaries that lay in nasty Straw and Dungeons Fetters and Irons lockt up beat and bruised their bodies like jellies have been â—mprisoned and beat and some whipt and stockt others fined and their goods taken away and some sent away wâ—â—h passes as wanderers and vagabonds though Persons of Estates and some have had their goods taken and been imprisoned besides for entertaining of their friends which â—s worse then the heathen did to the Apostle who suffered his acquaintance to come to him and visit him and he taught in his own hired house in Rome where the Seat of the Emperour was and worse then ever we read the Heathen and the Jews did to the Christians in the Primitive times and therefore what can be paraleld with this Generation for it is for Truth and not for evil doing for which we suffer and for bearing witnesse to the Truth Therefore ye men of Reason
being contrary to Christs Command amounting to about a Thousand pounds besides what they have done since that we have not heard of many families in which there are many children are almost ruined by these unmerciful proceedings Five kept 15. dayes in all without food and 58. dayes shut up close by the Jaylor and had none that he knew of and from some of them he stopt up the windows hindering them from convenient aire One laid neck and heels in Irons for sixteen hours One very deeply burnt in the right hand with the letter H. after he had been whipt with above 30. stripes One chained the most part of twenty dayes to a log of Wood in an open Prison in the Winter time Five appeals to England denied at Boston Three had their right Ears cut by the Hangman in the Prison the door being barred and not a Friend suffered to be present while it was doing though some much desired it One of the Inhabitants of Salem who since is banished upon pain of death had one half of his House and Land ceized on while he was in Prison a month before he knew of it At a general Court in Boston they made an Order that those who had not wherewithal to answer the fines that were laid upon them for their Consciences should be sold for Bond-men and Bond-women to Barbados Virginia or any of the English Plantations Eighteen of the People of God were at several times banished upon pain of death six of them were their own Inhabitants two of which being very aged people and well known among their Neighbours to be of honest conversations being banished from their Houses and Families and put upon traveling and other hardships soon ended their dayes whose death we can do no less then charge upon the Rulers of Boston they being the occasion of it Also three of the Servants of the Lord they put to death one of them they caused to be Executed in 24. hours after they had taken her And when we heard from thence last there was four more in prison who according to their Law were to be banished upon pain of death and twenty four of the Inhabitants of Salem were presented and more fines called for These things O friends from time to time have we patiently suffered and not for the transgression of any Just or Righteous Law either pertaining to the Worship of God or the civil Government of England but simply and barely for our consciences to God of which we can more at large give you or whom you may order a full account if you will let us have admission to you who are banished upon pain of death and have had our ears cut who are in England attending upon you both of the causes of our sufferings and the manner of their disorderly and illegal proceeding against us Who begun with Immodesty went on in Inhumanity and Cruelty and were not satisfied untill they had the blood of three of the Martyrs of Jesus Revenge for all which we do not seek but lay them before you considering you have been well acquainted with sufferings and so may the better consider them that suffer and may for the future restrain the violence of these Rulers of New Egland you having power in your hands they being but the children of the family of which you are chief Rulers who have in divers of their proceedings forfeited their Patent as upon a strict enquiry in many particulars will appear And this O King and you of his Counsel we are assured of that in time to come it will not repent you if by a close rebuke you stop the bloody proceedings of these bloody persecutors for in so doing you will engage the hearts of many honest People unto you both there and here and for such works of mercy the blessing is obtained and shewing it is the way to prosper We are witnesses of these things Who besides long Imprisonments and many cruel whippings had our Ears cut John Rous John Copland Who besides many long Imprisonments divers cruel whippings with the seizing on our Goods are banished upon pain of Death and waite here in England and desire that we may have an Order to return in peace to our Families Samuel Shattock Josiah Southick Nicholas Phelps A Declaration of the Sufferings of the Inhabitants of the Province of Mariland in Virginia as followeth WIlliam Fuller and Thomas Homwood had taken from them because they could not be conformable to the unrighteous Orders of Court made by the Officers of Cicilia Baltamore in Mariland to the value in goods eight pounds five shillings and eight pence Taken from Richard Keen for not training the sum of six pounds fifteen shillings by the Shireff and his Servants have received much abuse The Sheriff drew his Cutlash and with the point made a thrust at his Breast and struck him over the shouldiers and said you Rogue I could find in my heart to split your brains The Sheriffs name is William Coursey there be several Witnesses to testifie the Truth of this thing Again this Captain of the Souldiers whose name is John Odbor with Justice Askam with a rude crew drank out certain Casks of Wine bought of Justice Askham for which Wine they came to Richard Keen and to other mens houses to take away their Goods to make payment for that which they had idlely spent Justice Askham so called coming to Richard Keens house was taxed by the wife of Richard Keen for being drunk at one of their Randivous He replyed he was not drunk for said he a man is never drunk if he can go out of the Carts way when it is coming towards him William Muffet fined for not training to the value of six pounds fifteen shillings one John Bogge an Officer of Captain Thomas Brook gave order to the Sheriff that if he could not take his goods to take his Chest if not his Chest his Shirts John Knap had taken from him for not training goods to the value of seven pounds ten shillings with a Chest and fined to the value of three pounds ten shillings for not swearing he being an antient man about sixty years of age and hath laboured hard in the strength of his dayes and years to get those goods together William Berry was fined to the value of three pounds fifteen shillings for entertaining Thomas Thurston into his house one night Michael Brooks fined seven pounds ten shillings because he could not swear and four pounds ten shillings because he could not train under the command of John Odbor Captain who declared in the presence of many that they were not fit to be Souldiers that could not swear be drunk and whore it Edward Keen fined for not training to the value of four pounds ten shillings under the said Odbor Captain Edward Hinkesman fined to the value of four pounds ten shillings for not training under the said J. Odbor Henry Osborn fined to the value of three pounds fifteen shillings because he