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A51233
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A Scripture-vvord against inclosure, viz. such as doe un-people townes, and un-corne fields as also against all such that daub over this black sinne with untempered morter / by John Moore ...
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Moore, John, 1595?-1657.
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1656
(1656)
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Wing M2559; ESTC R32117
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14,724
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26
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A SCRIPTURE-VVORD AGAINST INCLOSURE Viz Such as doe Un-People Townes and Un-Corne Fields As also Against all such that daub over this black Sinne with untempered morter By JOHN MOORE Minister of the Church at Knaptoft in Leicester-shire Isaiah 5. 20. Woe unto them that call evill good and good evill that put darknesse for light and light for darknesse that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter LONDON Printed for Anthony Williamson at the Queens Armes in S. Pauls Church-yard 1656. To his Highnesse the Lord PROTECTOUR of England Scotland and Ireland and his most Honourable Councell May it please your Highnesse IN this discourse I plead the cause of the Publique and Poore of your true-hearted County of Leicester and the Counties adjacent Else had it been any thing of private interest my hand and heart would have trembled to have put any thing into your hands to turn off your eye but a few minutes from the wonderfull weighty affaires of these three Nations which are all Incumbents upon your Highnesse and Councell The onely wise great good God support you with his owne wisdome counsell and strength Though the main of my businesse is for soules even to get out of them selfe world sinne and Devil and to get in God Christ grace and the Gospel Yet I have borrowed some weeks which by double pains I blesse God I have repayed to wait upon Parliaments formerly and now upon your Highnesse and Councel with Petitions to prevent the ruine of my Countrey which is dear unto me so endeavoured indangered by self-ish men truly delineated in these Papers whatsoever specious pretences may be made to the contrary of Regulated Inclosure and of a may-be Inclosure without ruine either of Publick or Poor In these Inland Countyes wofull experience tells us It is not so And that Inclosure is now making is likely to be in time as desolating as any if not speedily prevented by your Highnesse and Councell Such Incolsurists in the very making of them having no respect to the Publique or right in Law or the Consciences of men As in the severall Petitions from Leicester-shire now before you it appears which Petitions your Highnesse our hearts rejoyce in you and blesse God for you without delay heard and referred to your Councell which also they have read and committed to the Lord Viscount Lisle Sir Gilbert Pickering Mr. Strickland and Charles Wolsley or any two of them who are speedily to speake with the parties that attend the businesse and to consider of the matter therein contained and to offer to the Councell what they shall conceive fit to be done thereupon And as your Leicester-shire Petitioners have petitioned your Highnesse and Councell-men upon earth so they daily Petition the High God of heaven to incline your hearts to relieve the oppressed of these Inland Counties And truly God hath set it upon my Spirit That you are Hester 4. 14. Come to the rule of this nation for such a time as this And my soul wrestles with my God that you may still be serviceable to God and his Church the Publique and the Poore till you goe away hence and shall be seen no more and then be gathered to our Christ who then shall say Mat. 25. 35 36. c. Come ye blessed of my Father receive a kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world I was hungry and you gave me meat thirsty and you gave me drinke naked and you cloathed me c. Amen saith the soul of him who is As your Highnesse most humble servant so also the Churches the Publiques and the Poors John Moore An Advertisement of three things to such Reader who as he loves God loves his Neighbour also FIrst if thou chance to meet with a Book called A Vindication of Regulated Inclosure thou hast very little reason to believe much in it The man speaks of what may be and not of what usually is He hath fancyes notions and dreams of Innocent Inclosure both from Depopulation and Decay of Tillage And for the Townes he names to be free they are grosly guilty either of the one or of the other or of both Secondly whereas that Book tells thee That such desolations are Vitia Personarum non rei It is the fault of the Persons and not of the Thing I must confesse with him they are vicious persons indeed that produce such Inclosure What better issue can we look for from such Parents Inclosure making of hedges and ditches is not a sinne but such inclosure that is destructive to Publique and Poore is a crying sinne Lastly I complaine not of inclosure in Kent or Essex where they have other callings and trades to maintaine their Country by or of places neer the sea or City but of inclosure in the Inland Countreys which takes away Tillage the onely Trade generall they have to live on and whereby they are so beneficiall to the rest of the Nation in times of scarcity Pray with me God speed the Plough Thy Friend if thou be so to the Publique and the Poore John Moore A Scripture-word against Inclosure c. Amos ch. 2. ver. 6 7. Thus saith the LORD for three transgressions of Israel and for foure I will not turn away the punishment thereof because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a payre of shooes That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor and turn aside the way of the meek THe Lord assist me his poor under sheepherd with his own holy Spirit that I may deale as faithfully and plainly with England as Amos an honest-hearted heardsman and GOD's Prophet dealt with Israel For England especially Leicester-shire and the Counties round about stands now as guilty in the sight of God of the sinnes in the Text as Israel did then And therefore the Lord may justly say to us For three transgressions and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof because c. The Text contains Israels sinne and Israels punishment I shall first open the sinnes of Israel and then tell me if England be not as guilty as Israel and if so why should not she partake of the same punishment I entreat therefore as I open the sinnes of Israel bear in your minde the Inclosure in the middle of England First then what is meant by three transgressions and for four In plain tearms is meant adding of sinne to sinne Isa. 30. 1. and transgression to transgression And so Tremellius expounds three and four transgressions that is saith he for very many A finite number is put for an indefinite And then God seemed to speak thus If Israel had had a moderation in sinning I would have turoed away their punishment I would have been moderate in punishing but since to three sinnes they have added four and to many they daily adde more I am determined to perfect my judgements upon them and to be avenged on them once for all If we
finde some employment there to preserve them and theirs from perishing Whereupon these open-fielded places are so loaden with poor that the Inhabitants are not able to relieve them I but these Book-men for Inclosure say they pay more Taxes And truly well they may when they lay such burthens upon open fields that they are not able to bear them not onely all those poore the Inclosure have beggered but all carriages the State hath need of free quarter attendance at the assizes and sessions c. The Inclosures got the gaine and have the ease and poor open fields pay the shot and endure all the drudgery What enemies to the Publique are these Inclosures observe how few or no service-able men or horses in these places for the defenee of the Nation when need is whereas before they were inclosed there were twenty thirty fourty c. of both kindes now scarce one or two Yes but one of the last Book-men for Inclosure tells us they are jaded tyred horses Oh impudence let the whole Countrey speake whether four or five of these open-fielded Townes yea sometimes one of them alone are not able to raise a whole Troop of gallant Horses and to set valiant men on their backs too in so formidable a manner that they were able to make the stoutest Troop to quake that opposed the Parliament formerly and his Highnesse the Lord Protectour of late yea which they have done too under both Governments Whereas such Inclosed places can I believe scarcely raise one Troop either for men or horses c. Oh! let not these valiant spirited men for the Publique in Leicester-shire and their forces be trampled in the dirt by such Inclosure to raise a few private persons upon the ruine of the strength of the Nation Surely if a Jericho was again to be besieged there would be found good store of Rams hornes though but few persons to winde them in these Inclosed places But these Book-men for Inclosure say that the common fields cause many Law suits c. I shall God willing answer all as I passe through this Text of Scripture First there are offenders both within hedges and without too and loving hearts will passe by an offence Secondly in common fields they live like loving neighbours together for the most part till the spirit of Inclosure enter into some rich Churles heart who doe not onely pry out but feign occasions too to goe to law with their neighbours and no reconcilement to be made till they consent to Inclosure For this is the trick they fall together by the eares with their honest neighbours that they bring their designe about Yea but there is so much stealing and filching by the Poore But thank Inclosure for that which hath filled openfield Towns so full of Poore they cannot live one by another For Poverty is a provoking argument to steale And therefore Agur prayes Prov. 30. 8. Give me not poverty and why so the ninth Verse tells us lest I be poore and steale And thus Inclosure makes thieves and then they cry out of thieves Because they sold the Righteous for silver and the poore for a payre of shooes The Righteous who are those Not to stand upon the divers acceptations of the word Righteous I le shew what is meant by a righteous man viz The Evangelicall righteous man is one who as he hath the Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ imputed unto him so he hath in some measure the righteousnesse of Christ imparted unto him desiring and endeavouring to keep the Commandements of God and the faith of Jesus Rev. 14. 12. He is one that loves God above all and his neighbour as himself Mat. 22. 37 38 39. He is one 1 Joh. 4 21. who as he loveth God loveth his neighbour also Oh! how pretious are these Righteous ones in heaven They are the Lords people his portion the lot of his Inheritance Deut. 32. 9. They are the Lords owne his very jewells All the rest of a Town are but the rubbish amongst whom these his jewells lye and live for a while And to speak the truth for truth must be spoken however it be taken if the Lord had not had two of these Righteous ones or three of these Iewels that as they love God they love their neighbour also in many Townes of these Inland Counties what desolations had there been made ere this time by such Inclosure These inclosurists sell the Righteous for silver What care they for Gods jewells his portion his inheritance so they may improve their own inheritance what cared Judas for Jesus Christ the Righteous so he might get thirty pieces of silver by him What care these men for the tender consciences of any of these Righteous ones that dare not consent to such inclosure They will make them make shipwrack of faith and a good conscience or else estates and liberties and all must be ruined by multiplicities of triviall Law suites in common Law and Chancery threatning they will not leave them a shift to their backs nor a cow to their payle I could here give you a large Catalogue of the unjust vexations of such Righteous ones but because some of their vexers pretend to religion I will spare them One of these two evills are incident to such as dare not in conscience consent to such inclosure viz. Either to be undone in the inward or elâ—e in the outward man choose them which If they goe against conscience in the inward man if they will keep a good conscience in the outward man and here let the inclosurists of Catthorpe in Leicester-shire tremble to have no respect to the conscience of one of these righteous men their owne consciences I believe judging him such a one nor to his vow to his God made upon good ground in the sight both of God and good men nor to his right in law according to a petition that is now depending before his Highnesse and his most Honourable Councell in which there is made a good progress and good hopes praised be God of a happy issue It matters not what one of the Book-men for inclosure truely prattles to the contrary He makes but a Jeer of a good conscience in his Book And as for his right in Law because it is but a little to their great deale they may alter the propriety of it as they list without his consent and set hedges and ditches upon his common whether he will or no I wonder who made these men dividers of his common from theirs when he hath a right and propriety in every foot of common in all their fields Is there not the same right in Law to a little as a great deale c. And the poore for a paire of shooes The Poore Well may they sell the Poore for a paire of shooes when they sell the Righteous for silver When Judas sold his Master That Righteous one for silver let Ministers remember Judas was a Disciple no wonder if he cared not for the Poore But