THat your Petitioners have for their good affection to the Par­liament and publick interest of the Kingdom, gone through many difficulties, and been exposed to much danger in their per­sons, besides their great impoverishing and weakning of their e­states; and now that God hath subdued the common enemy, and given hopes of a well-grounded peace, they hope to have reaped the fruits thereof, by the removall of all common grievances, and the enjoying a freedom in their estates, in some measure answera­ble to the price they have paid, and the many hazards they have undergone, but still finde their expectations almost frustrate, by reason of the heavy burthen that lies upon your Petitioners, by the continuing of Tithes upon them, going under the notion of the tenth of their increase, but is really (the Rents, Charges and Losses considered) the third part of the yeerly value of their Lands in til­lage: and your Petitioners condition is made now more grievous, by reason of this unequall payment is strengthned by several Or­dinances lately passed for that purpose, which causeth the greatest part of the whole estates of your Petitioners to be in the disposing of the Justices of Peace, (many of which are interessed in Tythes, if refusall be made of that which amounts to a third part of their estates, to the great discouragement of your Petitioners and others that are Owners or Farmers of Land in Tillage, and wherein much of the welfare of this Kingdom doth consist.)

Your Petitioners likewise still undergo a heavy burthen, by reason of the Free-quarter taken amongst us, by the Army, and if not timely prevented (by the constant paying of the Army) will be the ruine of them, and their Families, and bring a far greater [Page 2]burthen and charge upon this Kingdome, then the constant pay­ment of the Army would amount unto.

Your Petitioners therefore most humbly pray this Honour­able House to take their sad condition into your pious consider­ation, and to make provision for removall of the payment of Tythes, leaving it to your wisdomes to consider of a more e­quall and peaceable way for the maintaining of the Ministery, and rendring a reasonable satisfaction for the impropriations: And that you will be pleased to ease your Petitioners, and all other that are sufferers by Free quarter, by the constant pay­ment of the Army, either by your further Authoritie to compell the Collection of money in Arrear, or by some other Taxes to be imposed, that the souldiers having a constant supply of mo­ney, may make their own provisions in such places as are most commodiously fitted for their entertainment.

And your Petitioners shall ever pray.

THat amidst the various dispensations of Divine providence, in the diversity of blessings confer'd upon mankind, nothing ren­ders more delight and content to mans naturall affections, then li­berty, and peculiarly in his externall enjoyments, the want of which (as experience tells us) renders an irksom, yea an intolle­rable condition, effecting exclaimation and complaint of oppressi­on with sighs, sobbs and groans for Liberty.

Now among the rest of those sore pressing grievances under which this Nation hath been long subjected, there is one of heavy [Page 3]weight, endeavouring irrecoverably to sink and drown our whole estates and livelyhoods in that common and vast ocean of oppres­sion and cruelty, (viz.) The usurped and constrained maintain­ance of our Lordly-rich-Ministers, and Annual revennues of in­croaching impropriators, by that intollerable tax and oppression of taking away part of our Stock and years hard labour, under the notion of Tythes, Offerings, Oblations, Obventions, Church-dues, or Tenths of increase, whereby there is taken from us the tenth of our dayly earnings, by the sweat of our brows, the tenth of our substance and stock, in the tenth of our crop, wherein our stock and years labour ly, yea though our crop answer not our charge by many degrees, and the year never so unseasonable, yet is the tenth thereof taken from us, without any consideration of our losses or deduction of our charge, so that at the length, the rich Parson be­ing a man of many hundreds, yea somtimes of thousands per An­num, possesseth himself of our whole stock and substance, where­by we are forced to lay down our Trade of Tillage, and put either to shifts, or day labour, for our selves and families.

And there is that makes heavier this our intollerable oppression and burden, rendering it more burthensome then before, (viz.) A late additionall Ordinance, commanding the continuance of this direfull oppression, passed by those that wee have thus long looked and waited upon, and whom wee have assisted with our persons and purses, endangering our lives, and leaving our liveli­hoods, expecting future ease and reformation: yet wee still finde men Judges in their own causes, whereby we are sensible of much oppression, injustice, and Arbitrarynesse: men exacting, and ille­gally recovering what we find directly contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel, and the power of Godlines, which though however required, or recovered by Magistrates, we conceive our selves and others, in Conscience and Covenant, bound to extirpate as Popish, and in nature as oppressive.

And many of us being men of mean estates, in Tillage, and al­most swallowed up in our estates, by Taxations, Plundering, Quar­tering of Souldiers in the time of war, and now also at Free quar­ter: yet if wee but sue for, and seeke after Liberty in our owne (which in nature we are bound to do, it being our proper and na­turall right,) and to refuse bondage and thraldom, which we can­not [Page 4]but do, our conditions are thereby many degrees worse, and our dammages greater then before.

Even at this time, many of us ly under unnumerable Judge­ments, and the time of Execution almost expired, which unlesse the Ordinances commanding the payment of Tythes, be speedily repealed, will be executed.

It is therefore our humble and earnest desire that it would please your Honours to take the premises into your serious and speedy consideration, and hasten the application of such remedy as may tend to Gods glo­ry, and the good of your Petitioners, wherewith you are intrusted, by the speedy stoppage of such Judge­ments as are issued out against your Petitioners, which if not granted, wil suddainly be executed, contrary to Christian and Subjects liberty, in the property of their good.

And your Petitioners shall ever pray, &c.

THat this poor bleeding Nation hath had its expectations of Peace and Freedom, long frustrated, and its burdens and mi­series increast, by the presence, power, and prevalency of some desperate enemies to publick good in the supreme Councel; And that lately Divine Providence hath made a clear discovery of ma­ny of them, by their sitting at Westminster usurping a Parliamen­tary power, when the free Parliament was forc'd away and sus­pended, and endeavouring by pretended Votes; Orders, and Ordinances, to have raised a new bloudy war, and brought the King forthwith to London upon his own terms, to the danger of ruining all well affected people; Hereby giving a fair opportunity to this Honourable House to have expell'd those Incendiaries.

But to the grief of our hearts we understand, that this happy opportunity of removing those Obstructors of all that really tends to the peoples good, hath hitherto been neglected, and notwithstanding the urgent importunity of the Army for their removal, many of them sit and Vote in this Honourable House, and others that are now absent, have liberty to return, when they shall see their advantage to prosecute their wicked intentions.

And we cannot but conceive that from the prevalency of those ill-affected persons in the House, have proceeded those dange­rous delaies (since the free Parliament was brought to Westminster in safety by the Army) in clearing and securing the Peoples rights and freedoms, and that grievous and intollerably burdensom Or­dinance for enforcing all to pay treble damages that shall refuse (though for Conscience sake) to pay tythes. Considering there­fore that our sad experience witness, that none of the just desires of the people can be expected to be answered [seeing we cannot prevail after some yeers solicitation, that the burden of paying [Page 6]Tythes should be removed from our Consciences] nor a happy Peace sealed, in case these Incendiaries be permitted to Vote in this Honourable House.

We are inforc'd to intreat you, that the way that God hath in goodness opened to free the Nation from the power of its Ene­mies in this great Councel, may be forthwith considered, and that it be immediately declared, that all and every of those per­sons that lately sate at Westminster, when the Paliament was by force suspended, shall incur some great penalty, in case any of them shall presume, after this day, to sit in this Honourable House, before they shall have given satisfaction concerning their aforesaid sitting in the pretended Parliament, and shall have given suf­ficient evidence that they did neither procure, nor give their con­sent to any of those pretended Votes, Orders, or Ordinances, tend­ing to the levying of a new war; or for the Kings forthwith com­ing to London.

That thus the obstructers of Justice being speedily removed, Justice may bee executed on offenders, and without any further protraction of time, the loud cries of the oppressed Pri­soners may have free and impartial audience to their effectual re­demption, the intollerable burdens of the distressed Commons on their Conscience and Estates might be removed; a constant certain pay for the Army in an equal way provided; and the peace and freedom of the Nation firmly established.

And your Petitioners shall truly pray, &c.