Englishman's to the land, to take care hereafter never to chuse any of that generation to make laws for us: I say, not to chuse them for parliament men. Were not there too many of them now in this present parliament, I should hope and expect far better things than now I do; but now God is pulling down the high and mighty, is discovering the wickedness of men in power, hath, most miraculously, slain the glory of princes, I can with confidence say, "Deus dabit his quoque finem." I do not altogether despair, that, before I die, I may see the inns of courts, of dens of thieves, converted into hospitals, which were a rare piece of justice: that so as they formerly have immured those that robbed the poor of houses, so they may, at last, preserve the poor themselves.

THAT the end of all laws and magistracy ought principally to tend to the ease. safety, and well-being of the people governed, I presume no rational man or men will deny. And, indeed, therefore it is the usual cry and saying, both among the masters of oppression, the lawyers, and the ignorant people that know no better, that the laws of England, as also the ways of executing them, are the safest and best laws in the world; and whosoever shall alter the said laws, or ways of executing them, will unavoidably introduce a mischief instead of a benefit. But to those is answered, that the major part of the laws, made in this nation, are founded on principles of tyranny, fallacy, and oppression, for the profit and benefit of those that made them; for know this, that when William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, undertook to conquer this nation, he was not singly himself able to raise money or men enough to perform such a design, without the voluntary conjunction of most of the nobles and gentry that were his sub. jects; who sold and mortgaged almost all the lands and estates they had in Normandy, to furuish them out in that design. Now, therefore, when the said William had conquered this nation, he was forced to suffer those his Norman peers to share with him in the benefit, as they voluntarily did in the hazard. From him it came to pass, that he, the said conqueror, and his nobles, made a division of the land amongst themselves, and whosoever were tenants to the said conquerors, held all their lands for a long space in vassalage under them, merely at their will and mercy; whereupon all laws were made in French, and it was accounted a base thing in England to be called an Englishman. Then did these conquerors make such laws as suited best to keep the people in slavery and subjection, as the English now use the Irish, that they might have all the benefit they possibly could screw out of the people. Hence came it to pass, that all penal laws were made for the benefit of the king, the lords of manors, and other great officers, who were the king's creatures. This was, and still is, the ground and reason why the life of man, which assuredly, by the law of reason, is sufficient to answer any crime, was not alone taken away

upon conviction of treason, murther, or felony, but also the estates of offenders were forfeited by law to the king, or lord of the manor; which hath been the cause that many an innocent hath suffered, as Naboth, who was destroyed by Ahab, that so he might enjoy his vineyard. These laws were not before the conquest, neither have been since the conquest ever introduced in Kent; which county submitted to the said Duke of Normandy, reserving to themselves their laws and rights; and therefore it is the saying in Kent, "the father to the bough, and the son to the plough:" and surely in that county is as little robbing, murthering, &c. as in other counties; and therefore there is not such necessity for that law, as some sophisters pretend, to keep the people in dread and awe: neither indeed do I think there is such an absolute necessity for the hanging men for theft, but, as heretofore in the nation, there may be another way found out, more agreeable to the laws of God and reason, for punishing of theft, as selling to foreign plantations, or the like, &c. But, if at last the law to hang thieves must continue, I wish it may take hold of the great ones first, lest we renew the practice once in Athens, where they hanged none but little thieves, and the great thieves pronounced sentence. "Verbum sat sapienti:" I am more afraid of those that rob by power of a law, than those that sneakingly endeavour to take my purse on the highway. Now, although it may be alledged, and truly that is all, for by reason it cannot be proved, that there is some reason for the forfeiting the estates aforesaid; yet, at least, let the person damnified be the enjoyer, or the wife and children of the person murdered. But why there should come forfeitures on ships cast away, driven up to full seamark, to lose the best cable and anchor; men to be carried away into slavery, taken at sea, the ship remaining with her lading firm and sound, to be forfeited to the lord admiral for a deodand to be forfeited; to say, if a horse drown his master, the horse to be forfeited, and this to be pleaded for; or many such laws, to be grounded on reason, is so ridiculous, that I think the first and grand deceiver of mankind cannot find sophistry enough to furnish the lawyers with to plead for it.

6

But some will say, that, though we were conquered, yet our 'noble ancestors, by dint of sword in the barons wars, regained • their freedom, and forced the king to condescend to that famous law, called Magna Charta.'

For answer, know this, that when the nobles in those days found the king altogether inclined to his minions and flatterers, and thereby made laws to inslave the said nobles as well as the commons had been before, they saw there was a necessity for them to stand up for their own privileges; who, being popular, what by fear and love, they engaged the commons with them in war, and took the king prisoner, forcing him to consent to all things that were necessary, to preserve themselves from the king's will, but never, in the least, acted from any love to the poor commons, but what they were absolutely necessitated to; neither freed the said

commons from the bondage they were in to themselves. Now, as all the laws of the land have been made by the king, the great lords, gentry, and lawyers, when the lower house, one-third part whereof usually consisted of lawyers, had gratified the king and upper house; so also did the king gratify the lower house, both the gentry and lawyers, and agreed to laws for their advantage. For indeed, it is not much for the advantage of the gentry, that seeing the laws are so corrupt and chargeable, they thereby can, and indeed have done, and in most parts do still keep the poor in such subjection, that not only their own tenants, but other poor that live near them, must run and go, and work, and obey them, as they shall please to command them, else they run the hazard of being undone; and what advantage the charge and delay of lawsuits is to the great lawyers, you may judge. How have some lawyers, from being worth nothing but their books, come to purchase thousands yearly lands, as it is commonly called, by the sins of the people? This is the reason why parliaments have not made the nation free; our pretending deliverers have been our destroyers; and, indeed, it was irrational to expect better things. Who will expect grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Who will expect case from oppression, from masters of oppression, the lawyers? If you will have clean streams flow from the fountain, you must be sure to cleanse the fountain itself.

That the lawyers have only sought their own advantage, although to the total impoverishing the nation, consider this following:

I have often, both in city and country, made as near an inquiry as possibly I could in a general way, what number of lawyers there might be in England and Wales, in all offices, as judges, masters of chancery, serjeants at law, counsellors, attornies, sollicitors, with the rest of the rabble; and I cannot find, by calcu lation, but that there are, great and small, masters and servants, by the best account I can estimate, above thirty thousand. Now, consider at what high rates the very meanest of these live; see but a very country hackney, and you will find he goeth clothed in a genteel garb, and all his family; he keeps company with the gentry, and yet usually quickly getteth an estate over and above his expences, which cannot possibly be less than one hundred and fifty pounds per annum. Now, if such country lawyers live at that rate, bring the judges, masters of rolls, counsellors, attornies, registers, cum multis aliis, in the common law, chancery, and admiralty, and you will find that this mercenary generation, one with another, do not receive less yearly from the people, in their law practice, I say the number of thirty thousand, than two hundred and fifty pounds per annum each man. What, if some have but fifty, then know some have thousands. Surely, I believe, that Prideaux and Maynard will not, nor can deny it. Now, at this rate, to say, two hundred and fifty pounds per annum to each lawyer, these thirty thousand receive seven millions and half of money yearly, which is seventy-five hundred thousand pounds;

and what a charge are the people at to attend their tedious and vexatious trials! Consider, what doth it cost to ride and go from all countries and towns to London, to attend the terms. It cannot be less than one million of money yearly; and to what purpose observe:

Whosoever contends in law against another either for land, debt, or trespass, must, by the law, try his title, debt, or da mage, by witness, after it hath been never so long delayed by sophistry, quirks, and quibbles of the lawyers. Now, therefore, if it must be of necessity proved at the last, why is it not better to have it tried in the neighbourhood, while it is fresh, green, and new, when the witnesses are alive, and in places, wherein their lives and conversations are known, than seven, ten, twenty, or thirty years after the suit is commenced, when knights of the post may be taken as witnesses, when the lawyers shall baffle and confound witness and jury by their impudent sophistry and prattle, when things at great courts assizes are passed over in hugger-mugger for want of time to examine them, there being more care taken to keep a precise hour for a dinner, than precisely and strictly to see the execution of justice and true judgment, in behalf of the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the orphan; and when either party sees he is like to have the worst, by common law, then they have liberty to remove unto the Chancery, where a suit commonly depends as long as a buff coat will endure wearing, especially if the parties have, as it is said, good stomachs and strong purses; but, when their purses grow empty, their stomachs fail; then, when no more corn is like to be brought to the lawyer's mill, it is usual to ordain some men to hear and end the business; but, alas! then it is too late, for then, probably, both parties, or at least one of them, are ruined utterly in prosecuting the suit, want of his stock, and following of his calling. What a folly is it, that all bargains in trade and commerce, foreign and domestick, must unavoidably run into this channel, to be debated by lawyers, that understand it as little as they have uprightness, and be tried by jurymen, of which, probably, not one of the number hath the least knowledge in merchandise? What an injustice is it, that all wills must be proved in London, at such a vast charge and distance from the place where the party deceased, where they usually cannot know the truth of things, or little care whether they do or no, so their fees be paid; where they often either take no security at all, or, if they do, it may be it is such that is as good as nothing; where every tapster or chamberlain, &c. that pretends himself a freeman, is legal security; how many fatherless, widows, and orphans, are utterly ruined by this? The scripture saith," he is worse than an infidel, that provides not for his family;" and to what purpose is it in these times of corruption to work for children? If men die, while their children are young, then they chuse some, whom. they expect will prove shepherds to preserve their children; but if they prove wolves, where is the remedy? If men be in a way of trade, it is probable they may have, in goods, twice or three times

as much left in their hands, as they are really worth. These goods the executors or overseers may and often have procured means to be appraised at half, or one-third of the value; so accordingly they pay debts with a plene administravit. These poor young children or simple women think not, neither know how to prevent it. By this means, let a man die that is worth one thousand pounds, and the goods in his custody worth three or four thousand pounds, his creditors may be cheated of the most part of their debts, and his children left a burthen to the parish. O England! England! why dost thou profess thyself the most sincere nation for christianity on the earth, and dost suffer these things, that the very heathens have abhorred.

Object.-But, if men were not contentious, they might speedily and cheaply try any suit at law. It is the fault of froward spirits that cause the great charge and delay, and not the law itself: and it is just that the law should be chargeable, else every man would be at strife with his neighbour, when the charges were little.

Answ. It is true, that injustice, of one part or other, is indisputably the cause of all difference, for both the plaintiff and defendant cannot be in the right; but, were the law made according to the mind of God, for punishment of those that do evil, and for encouragement of those that do well, then it would be founded on principles of justice indeed; it would suppress strife, contention, and debate; it would quickly put an end to all suits and controversies; it would not protect the contentious spirits, nor nourish their devilish nature; it would not suffer might to overcome right, as usually it doth in these days; it would not shelter great landed men in prison, in the King's Bench and Fleet, &c. that have large, real estates, which they spend voluptuously and riotously, whilst their poor creditors lie starving in nasty prisons. This is monstrum horrendum, an abomination that, let what will be pretended for it, is not tolerable under the government of a right constituted commonwealth, how long soever it hath been continued under tyrannical monarchy. But, to sum up all in brief, the law in the generality is unjust and irrational, the execution desperately dangerous and chargeable; it is easier to find a thousand evils in it, than one true principle in matter and form. What, if an attorney or council take cunningly a bribe from an adversary, and make a compact with him to cheat his client, as it is too often practised, and seldom discovered?

What, if a judge accept of a bribe, and, by over-awing the court, carry a case against law and right? if he make it a prece dent, may it not be the ground to cheat many after it? It is remarkable, when neither the letter of the law nor reason carry a business, then those, that are subtle counsellors, and are highly feed, for, without that, nothing can be expected, usually produce precedents; and these are imposed on the jury for current justice, when probably the ground of them was bribery and baseness.