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A69827
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An account of Robert Crosfeild's proceedings in the House of Lords, the last session, and this session of Parliament wherein will appear the present miserable state and condition of the nation, by the open violating and invading of the law and liberty of the subject : humbly presented to the consideration of the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled.
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Crosfeild, Robert.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing C7240; ESTC R8024
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9,466
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10
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9th of Feb. Inst A Copy of which Petition is as followeth To the Kings most Excellent Majesty The humble Petition of Robert Crosfeild Sheweth THat your Petitioner hath a few days since presented his humble Petition to the house of peers where it is now depending setting forth the great Corruptions and Evil Practices of the Admiralty Navy and Sick and Wounded Offices a Copy of which is hereunto annex'd That the said Corruptions having been practic'd and strongly supported the greatest part of your Majesties Reign Your Petitioner humbly Conceives that 't is from thence has proceeded all the Ruines and Distresses that have fallen upon the publick which if not redress'd are likely to Increase to such a degree as to prove of fatal Consequence That as these proceedings do greatly tend to Allienate the hearts of your Majesties good Subjects who have ventur'd their Lives and Fortunes for your Majesties service so on the Contrary the Redress of these Grievances and bringing the Offenders to Justice will greatly draw the affection of your faithful people to your Majesties Government and your Petitioner in all humility Conceives that the general love of those Millions of your Majesties good Subjects that have and do so freely Contribute their Estates for your Majesties Service is much more to be valu'd than the Love of those few that serve your Majesty chiefly for the Lucre of great Estates some of whom 't is to be fear'd will be too ready when oppertunity serves to draw their Swords in behalf of your Majesties Enemies the truth of which appears by their wilful fatal Management in almost every Branch of your Majesties Service this War That your Petitioner being desirous if possible to prevent these matters being Examin'd in open Parliament least feuds and heats should a rise which may be of ill Consequence to your Majestys Affairs and being humbly of opinion that your Majesty may redress these Grievances by a Committee of such Noble Persons who well understand the nature of the Crimes and are of known Integrity and Zealous for your Majestys true Interest and happy Government the Names of whom your Petitioner has humbly presum'd to insert Your Petitioner therefore most humbly prays your Sacred Majesty to appoint the said Committee so nam'd with such other persons as your Majesty in Wisdom shall think fit to add thereto to Hear and Examin the Articles and Allegations in the annex'd petition and with all Convenient speed to make a Report to your Majesty without the accustom'd formality and Delays That the Offenders may be punnish'd the Grievances Redress'd and the minds of Your Majesties good Subjects quietted and their Hearts Reunited to your Majesty in all Love and Duty And your Petitioner shall ever pray Robert Crosfeild The same Evening I receiv'd the Kings answer to this Petition by the Secretary of State to this Effect That my Petition was Read but that the matter being depending before the house of Peers his Majesly did not think fit to meddle with it And thus I found the aforesaid Reports of the Kings hearing these matters to be utterly false whereupon I apply'd again to the house of Peers and finding no Report nor any answer return'd from the Commissioners of Accounts nor any probability of the same I drew another Copy of the aforemention'd Petition relating to the Commissioners of Accounts which by reason of the great difficulty I had found to get it Carry'd into the house I inclos'd it in a better and sent it to Sir George Treby Lord Chief Justice of the Common Plea's who was then speaker of the house my Lord keeper being Indispos'd by the Gentleman Usher of the Black-Rod a Copy of which Letter and Petition is as followeth viz. February 13th 1695 6. My Lord THE great difficulty I have found to get a Petition Carry'd into the house of peers obligâ—â— me to give your Lordship this trouble I have a Petition of Complaint against diverse Notorious Corruptions in the Government now depending in the House upon which their Lordships have Ishu'd an order to the Commissioners of Accounts But the said Commissioners delaying or rather never Intending to obey the said order and fearing the house of Peers as well as the Nation in General may be a gain Impos'd upon and disappointed this Session of Parliament as they were the last I therefore humbly pray your Lordship to read the Inclos'd Petition to the house it being of great Concern to the publick good And Mr. Baston who is named therein with my self are attending at the Door to answer the same I am My Lord Your Lordships most obedient Servant Robert Crosfeild Directed on the back side to the Right Honourable Sir George Treby Lord Chief Justice of the common Plea's To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled The humble Petition of Robert Crosfeild Sheweth THat when your Petitioner presented his humble Petition to your Lordships the last Session and this Session of Parliament It was not only design'd to lay open the Corruptions and Evil practices of the Admiralty Navy and Sick and Wounded Offices but also Intended as an Appeal from the Justice of the Commissioners for Stating the publick Accounts who in the latter end of the year 1693. Had the Complaint laid before them against the present Commissioners for Sick and Wounded which contrary to the publick good they have delay'd to this day in the manner following viz. That the said Complaint was about five months in their Office sworn to before it came under Examination till on the first of August 1694 The said Commissioners of Accounts sent for Mr. Baston and after rejecting the first three Articles in his Complaint they in an Illegal and Arbitrary manner Examin'd the rest and Countenanc'd and Conceall'd manifest Perjury therein as well as other notorious Crimes all which lay Dormant till the begining of March 1694. That your Petitioner the last Session of Parliament presenting his humble Petition to this most Honourable House your Lordships were pleas'd to order the said Commissioners of Accounts to lay before the House an account of the proceedings against the Commissioners for Sick and Wounded to which in Eleven days viz. from the 9th to the 20th of March they return'd only a Verbal answer and pretended the matter was still depending before them and not finish'd c. by which they prevail'd to have it Recommitted which was accordingly done as well as the 2d and 3d Articles in my Petition which they Examin'd as Illegally as before all which appears by what Mr. Baston and your Petitioner have set forth in Print And so the matter has been delay'd by the said Commissioners of Accounts to this day by which means the Nation has been sadly disappointed of a most necessary discovery which otherwise might have been laid open to your Lordships the last Session of Parliament and in all probability Infinite Evils prevented that has since fallen upon the Publick That the Commissioners of Accounts having acted
An ACCOUNT of Robert Crosfeilds Proceedings IN THE HOUSE of LORDS The last Session and this Session of Parliament Wherein will apear the Present Miserable State and Condition OF THE NATION By the Open Violating and Invading of the Law and Liberty of the Subject Humbly Presented to the Consideration of the Lords and Commons in Parliament Assembled IT is by all Men an allow'd Principle That 't is the Bounden Duty of every Subject by the Laws of God Nature and the Nation to contribute all that in him lies towards the Glory of God and the Service and Preservation of his Native Country and the greater his Quality or Station is whether Spiritual or Temporal so much the more is this Duty Incumbent on him If this wholsome Principle had been truely and sincerely practis'd this Reign then might we have expected that God would have bless'd our Endeavours and not have suffer'd us to have endur'd so long and tedious a War and so great Expence of Blood and Treasure and at last to be reduc'd to such a Pitch of Misery as this Nation never groan'd under and which is more deplorable not caus'd by our Enemies abroad but our pretended Friends and Patriots at home and which is worst of all the Nation 's groaping as it were in the Dark not seeing the true Rise and Cause of our present Misery and approaching Ruin All which will appear by the Violent Oppression Injustice and judicial Blindness of the present Age. For Brevity's sake I shall pass over a great Act of Injustice done to the Publick by the Commissioners of Accounts in the beginning of the Session of Parliament holden in the Year 1694 â— and begin the Relation of my Proceedings at the Exhibiting my Petition to the House of Peers the same Session of Parliament as followeth viz. March 9. 169â— I Presented to the House of Peers the following Petition To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled The humble Petition of Robert Crosfeild Sheweth THat your Petitioner having lately dedicated and presented to your Lordships a Book entituled Great Brittain's Tears setting forth the great Abuses committed in the Government by Persons in Places of Trust and also the Embezlement of the Publick Treasure tâ— the great Hazard of the common Safety of the Nation And your Petitioner having in the Paper annex'd drawn up some part of the said Miscarriages and Grievances that the Nation now labours under relating to the Royal Navy and being ready by good substantial Eviâ—â—â—â—e to prove the same before this most Honourable House Your Petitioner therefore most humbly prays that your Lordships will please to hear and examine the said Grievances that the Offenders may have such punishment and the great Numbe◠〈…〉 oppressed such Relief as to your Lordships Wisdom shall seem meet And your Petitioner shall ever pray c. That the present Commissioners for Sick and Wounded Seamen and Exchanging Prisoners at War depending on the Admiralty not regarding Instructions or the Good of the Government have committed gross Enormities as Holding or Conniving at an unlawful Correspondence with the French and Wronging both King and Subject in their Accompts with other great miscarriages All which has been about a Year since laid in Writing before the Secretary of State by one Mr. Baston and by the King's Command examin'd before the Lords of the Admiralty c. And it will appear that the said Commission has been very injurious to the poor Sailors in particular and very detrimental to the Government in general 2. That the Lords of the Admiralty and Commissioners of the Navy have acted contrary to the Publick Good by countenancing supporting and preferring Criminals and on the contrary persecuting the Discoverers and turning just Men out of their Offices 3. That their Lordships have had great Discoveries laid before them of Embezlements and other great Frauds committed in the King 's Yards attended with Forgery and Perjury 4. That it is manifest some of the Commissioners of the Navy have in that Office advanc'd themselves from Salaries of 30 l. per Annum to vast Estates having passed great Frauds and totally discouraged the Discovery of Embezled Stores to the great waste of the Publick Treasure 5. That it has been a long Practice in the Navy to make out false Tickets and Powers suspending and delâ—â—ing the poor Sailers in their just Payments to the general Discourageâ—â—nt of thâ—â— and Starving their Families But e're I could get the aforesaid Petition Read in the House of Peers I met with sâ—veral difficulties many Lords both Spiritual and Temporal declining to carry in the same and being almost out of hopes at length I met with a Noble Lord that with much freedom carried it into the House and caus'd it to be Read on the 9th of March last Whereupon their Lordships were pleas'd to Order the Commissioners of â—ccount to lay before the House an Account of the Proceedings against the Commissioners for Sick and Wounded and in the mean time their Lordships did Hear and Examine part of the Matter at the Bar of the House which put me in great hopes that â—ll the Evil Practices would have been laid open that Parliament But the Commissioners of Accounts fearing that the Notorious Matters of Perjury c. king in their Office would have come to light They to prevent the same pretended 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 House in Answer to their Lordships Order That the Matter was still depending before them and not finish'd c. And so prevail'd with their Lordships to Recommit the matter to them which was accordingly done the 20th of March last and the next day the 2d and 3d. of the above-mention'd Articles were also referr'd to their Examination with Order to Transmit the same when perfected to the House which by reason of much Important Business they have not had leisure to do to this day but how evilly they have examin'd the aforesaid matter sufficiently appears by what has been Publish'd in Print and will also be further demonstrated by what ensues and so all these Enormous Crimes were hid cover'd and hush'd up the last Session of Parliament by these Gentlemens great Ingenuity But in order to the Detecting these falatious Practices I did against the Meeting of this present Session of Parliament Print and Publish a Book Entitnled Justice Perverted c. Which I Dedicated to both Houses of Parliament setting sorth some of the horrible Corruptions in the Government Also Mr. Baston Printed and Publish'd his Case Dedicated to the House of Peers containing not only the Evil Practices of the present Commissioners for Sick and Wounded but also the more evil Examination thereof by the Commissioners of Accounts And that all these soul Matters might come to a fair Examination I drew up a Petition to the House of Peers but before I Insert it I shall Relate the great and I believe unparallell'd difficulties I met with in bringing the said Petition into the House Having drawn up my said