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B22907
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Engins invented to save much blood and moneyes, in these times of vvarre, and to doe extraordinary good service with the approbation of the Honourable Major Generall Skippon and five of the committee for the fortifications of the city of London / by Edmond Felton ...
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Felton, Edmond.
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1644
(1644)
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Wing F660
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7,491
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8
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be so maliced they that do so or are the Authours therof can shew no just cause unlesse my seeking for the good of the State be the cause or the good service my late father did who had a place under the great Seale of England to seise on part of the Papists estates to the use of the Crowne if they would not be conformable to the laws of the land or in suing in the right of the Crown and for my owne due kept from me by powerfull hands Or for what my late brother did to the late Duke of Buckingham who was willing to loose his life for the Kingdomes good or in respect of my adversarie Sir Henry Spiller knight against whom I have bin in suites more then this twenty yeares in the right of the Crowne and for my owne due being a great estate but could not obtain Justice against my adversary so powerfull he was in friends and purse by whose wicked doings my late father and my self have been ruin'd or for that some feares by these Engines the warrs will too soon be made an end of For some of these causes or the like it is certaine I am by some both privately opposed and fore-stalled from doing that good I can for the State who by themselves or their Instruments run about the City to disgrace me and my undertakings for the Kingdomes good but to my face they will not so vent their malice and if such were not guided more by spleen and malice than by the Word of God they would tremble at the reward the Lord threatens slanderers with Rev. 22. 15. But would it please the right Honourable the House of Commons to heare my opposers against me and what they can say and heare me to cleare my self and for what I can doe for the Kingdomes good they will choose rather to be absent than present than what beliefe is to be given to slanderers and depravers of a man behind his backe One asked Trajan the Emperour how he made so good choice of Councellors and friends he replied that his good hap came hereof that he choose them neither covetous men nor liars for they in whom covetousnes and lying haâ—h any place cannot love perfectly and where there is not true love for a States good there must needs be dissimulation from such both in Church and Common-wealth it shall be my prayer to the Lord to be delivered from And when men that can doe good service for the State shall be slighted and neglected what is it but to discourage men to be acting for the Kingdomes good and encourage men to fawning and flattery I have not sought as many have for their owne ends my chiefest seeking as it is generally known was to have my first Engine accepted of to helpe the English in Ireland and to have the other accepted of here for the quieting of the State and saving of mens lives to which some things of great consequence may be added And for thus endeavouring the States good I have spent my selfe out of means and am much in debt And were these Engines put in practise in such waies it hath pleased God to give me knowledge of and that I may have the ordering of theâ— I trust in the Lord they will prove successefull for the good of the King and Kingdom I confesse it had been fitter this businesse should have bin carried in a privater way and that it might have so been I have lâ—ft no meanes unattempted and seeing I cannot by any means attaine it is the cause I thus publish it to encourage all men who are well affected for the States good to be furtherers hereof and that I can doe other good service were I enabled some Gentlemen of knowne and approved fidelity can certifie if requested who refused not to give their oath for secrecy which I could not obtaine of others and if men in such a businesse and of so great concernment for the Kingdomeâ— feare to trust themselves I see no cause why I should trust them My trust hath already bin too much abused for one Young a Carpenter near Cripple-gate lately deceased hearing I could make the Engine expressed in my Propositions desired a friend of his to bring him acquainted with me which he did and when J had told him J had caused an Engine to be made to keepe the foot from the horse and also from musket-shot which said Engine some of the City Commanders had seen yet would he not believe such an Engine could be made till he went to Major Generall Browne who certified him he had seen the Engine that would keep the foot from the horse and before J would tell him how it was to be made J enjoyned him to secrecy for that J discovered somewhat more to him then formerly J had who most deceitfully in my absence makes three of the Engines but knew not how to make the breast-worke brings them publikely through the streets to his Excellencies house the Earle of Essex and there as publikely were they seen in the first Court This man presently after as J was told was made Captaine of the Engineers and J the inventer slighted His neighbours in Ship-yard by Cripple-gate knows I was every day for a fortnight with him giving him directions to make the said Engine which he could not do but in my absence got better work-men than himself to make the above said Engines and the said Carpenter told one Mr Daulman one of the Common-councell he had instructions from me to make the Engine and so Mr Daulman told a friend of mine Which said Engine shortly after was made at Oxford but not in so good a way as this is nor so marchable with men nor had they breast-works but of boards and iron plates which mine have not against which should a bullet be shot out of a peece of Ordnance and hit that breast-worke the splinters of the wood and iron would do farre more hurt than the bullet There was about 20 of the said Engines made at Oxford and from thence carried to Gloster to go up to the wals And had not his Excellency the Earle of Essex so happily arrived to raise that siege as he did it was reported by some of the Army the City was in great feare to be taken thereby most of which said Engines the besiegers burnt because they should not be taken And this is the benefit comes by publishing good inventions which ought to be kept with all secrecy which I alwaies desired for the prevention of which J could wish there were a Committee of approoved skill and honesty to take oath of secrecy not to discover any rare invention and tide by the said oath to deliver the truth of their knowledge what they conceive thereof so shall good inventions not only be kept secret for the good of the State and men encouraged in their undertakings if recompenced for their pains and charges as J have heard the custom is in the State of
ENGINS Invented to save much Blood and Moneyes in these times of Warre and to doe extraordinary good service WITH The approbation of the Honourable Major Generall Skippon and five of the Committee for the Fortifications of the City of LONDON By Edmond Felton Gent. Imprimatur JOHN BOOKER LONDON Printed for Thomas Vnderhill at the signe of the Bible in Wood-street M.DC.XLIV Rayo 〈…〉 d excellent Engines tending to save much bloud and monies in these times of Warre IT is Gods command No man should seeke his owne but every man one anothers wealth A sufficient warrant for any man undertaking in so seeking and whether I have so sought and can doe a generall good for this Kingdome witnesse two Attestations in this Book one under the hand◠of the honourable Serjant major Generall Skippon the other under the hands of five of the Committee for the Fortifications of the City of London the originals ready to be produced on demand If any man should goe and report to any nation or people where Gun-pouder is not knowne that they would cause a great iron bullet of ten or twenty pound weight or more to flie a mile two or three in the ayre it would be answered it were unpossible so to doe and also where printing is not knowne as impossible that 3 men should performe more in a legible way of writing in one day then an hundred men and for that it is knowne to us how it is done we should slight his judgement should gain-say it And what more unpossible to some to conceive how halfe an Armies victuals may be saved five parts of six of their pay all the money that should be laid out for apparelling of them and the money that should be disbursed for Pikes for halfe an Army and some small quantity of Armour that some of them are to have will performe all this And this halfe Army to secure the other half Army from the horse and from Musket-shot I presume this report would prove to those that know not how it is to be done as hard as Samsons riddle Gods hand is not shortened he gives as miraculous blessings by means to whom he pleases as well in this age as heretofore therefore let no man despise meanes especially when the commodity thereby is greater than the discommodity nor ought any man ro question by what meanes the Lord will end this civill Warre in this Land but when good waies and meanes shall be discovered by any man to subdue the enemy with little bloud-shed may it not be said it is likely to be the means God will end this Warre by rather than by equall exposing one another to slaughter and to resist such meanes what is it but a refusing of Gods blessing unlesse we have a command to the contrary It is not to be questioned but that the Lord can do infinite things if he please by his absolute power which he will not doe so John said of him Mat. 3 9. But it is an actuall or a working power which he executeth in governing of the world and the things therein and it is one thing what God can do where meanes is wanting and another thing what he will do by the use of means Had Sir Francis Drake that ever renowned Gentleman for his rare invention by a fiery Ship done as I have for that I have not wherwith to manage my invention as he had discover his strategem how he could destroy those proud Spaniards and their great Armado that came to make a destruction of the people in this land it is very likely his successe should have been no better then mine either in the discovery thereof or dislike by some that would have over-powred him And if it can either be hoped for or by any likelihood made to appeare that this Warre should end this Summer by a better way then by such meanes as it expressed in the Propositions than ought this way to be slighted if a better is not knowne good reason this way and such like should be accepted of If it should be reckoned how many discommodities belongs to great peeces of Ordnance in respect of the benefit comes thereby it would discourage men to use them in field fights First in respect of the great charge of the peece his carriage and the horses to draw them Secondly the charge of pouder and bullet at one shot Thirdly the men to traverse them Fourthly the slow marching of them Fiftly if weather be foule a day or two they many times are lodged which cause the stay of the Army all which may be helpt as the Propositions following declares I will referre such as speake against meanes to the first of Judges 19. v. how the enemies of God kept their habitation in the valley because they had chariots of Iron but they were driven out of the mountaines by the children of Israel where they had no such fence not but that God could have driven them from thence But the Lord did not alwaies in a miraculous manner destroy his enemies but by meanes suffered them to save themselves as the Canaanites did with chariots of iron To teach us in humane things to look to the means if not what need men plow but cast their corne upon the ground and though God gives the increase he will not give it in the worst way nor will any wise man so presume than certainly if we use the best meanes to save mens lives we may expect the better successe And if to feed men to maintaine life we use the best way though troublesome to man and horse why should we not use the best meanes to save the lives of men The shallower the corne is sowne the worse will it be for the husband-man So likewise the more unprovided a Generall goeth to the wars the worser will his successe be if any feare it not let them go with clubs and swords so shall much mony be saved but I believe we shall find none so hardy but if those that withstandeth means were themselves exposed to the warre they would be glad of means to keepe them from the horse and to be secured from musket-shot The use of meanes is not hurtfull nor offends God when it tends to good but the use of meanes may be said to be hurtfull when we use it against Gods command or when we put too much carnall confidence therein as the Israelites did in the Arke when they carried it to the battle trusting more therein then they did in God which caused the Lord to give both them and it into the hands of their enemies for their vain confidence but to use lawfull means with prayer and a trust in God for a good successe I presume it is lawfull Let me use the freedome to declare by these presents that I have been very strongly opposed by some for above this two yeares that not any thing I can doe for the good of the State takes successe And if it were required why I should