The great and grievous oppression of the subject; exhibited in a remonstrance to the Parliament

The several Misdemeanors which the Drunken Aldermen practise in the Corporation of Headon, both by Commission, and toleration and connivence.

IMprimis, They tolerate the Town clerk, who is a wicked lewd fellow in all his wickedness, being a man formerly tried for murder at Ox∣ford; A common drunkard and common quarreller, and a raiser of seditions and fomenter of quarrels and suits, a lier in wait for blood, a felonious stealer of mens goods off their ground, and a receiver, coun∣seller, and abetter of those that so steal mens goods off their grounds, a Night-walker, and perverter of justice; and borne out in all these by the lewdnesses of the drunken Aldermen aforesaid, to the great disturb∣ance of the publike peace.

Item, A keeper of unlicensed Tipling-houses, selling Ale contrary to the Statute, and a common Cheater. In all which he is upholden by the drunken Aldermen aforesaid.

Item, That after he had come from his Trial at Oxford, and from pra∣ctising his bloody tricks as a cut-throat Cavalier, keeping at Headon a common Tipling-house unlicensed, and as a Cheater had compounded twice to cozen men and make them take less then their due for their own, yet could not he forbear, but must needs continue his cozening and quarrelling, cheating and seditious practises in his lewd Tipling-house, cozening Robert Swack and others by raising and stirring up Suits when by him inticed to drink, raising divers quarrels, and among the rest, among the Tinkers of the Country, he set together by the ears and made parties among them being drinking with him, and so ordered

their quarrels, that those of the Cavalier-party should get the better and escape, and those of the Parliaments party that had been their Soldiers, being lamed and beaten by his wicked contriving, to be falsly imprison∣ed, and after long Imprisonment to be let go without any charge against them, besides many other quarrels he hath raised, and much bloodshed caused by lying in wait for the life of Mr. George Etherington, by breaking his stable-door and seising his horse, prosecuting the said Mr. Ethrington even to death when his goods were gone: And as greatly suspected to have occasioned the death of the said Mr. Etherington by laying violent hands on him at Paul, Newton's garth, and Headon, whose death and mur∣der would be inquired into.

Nor did his murderous intentions rest there, but at the same time he also laid wait for the life of Mr. Robert Raikes; and for many days to∣gether on purpose to take the life of the said Robert Raikes, encouraged his Cut-throats he had hired, and that by the drunken Aldermens aid, advice and connivence; by whose wicked practices after much lying in wait, the said Cut-throats assaulted the said Robert Raikes in his own house, knockt him down with Black bills and other unlawful weapons, beat and wounded him, and having so beat and wounded him in his own house, dragged him therefrom by the heels all along the streets to prison, the same day Mr. Etherington was buried; the neighbors crying out of their murder and vilanous cruelty, bidding them take heed of committing one murder after another, and bade them first clear them∣selves of one murder before they committed another upon the body of the said Robert Raikes; the death of Mr. Etherington being fresh in every ones memory, and supposed by their cruelty to be made away, which caused suits and many troubles.

Yet did not their cruelty so rest, but the drunken Aldermen being all combined to countenance such vilany, after long and false imprisonment, when they could prove nothing just and legal against the said Robert Raikes at the Sessions, yet out of meer malice they tyed him to his good abearing without shewing any cause why, and yet would not suffer him to live in quiet, but hired lewd and vitious persons to intercept him, and without cause carried him to prison, and scandalizing him with lyes and untruths, but never proved any thing against him to this day, but on purpose to lame, beat and take the life away of the said Robert Raikes, and to pervert the course of Law and Justice, and that by the whole Court of Aldermen in their drunken Sessions. Nor did their malice so cease, but the drunken Aldermen and Towns-Clerk caused the Fences of the said Robert Raikes to be broken down; and their lewd Under∣lings whom they keep to swear for them in all their vilany, eat up the ground of the said Robert Raikes to his great damage; and the Fences which the Town and their Tenants, being Town-Officers, should make up and repair, neither the drunken Aldermen nor their lewd Officers would or could be perswaded to repair, but on the con∣trary made a great deep ditch or pit just at the lane where he should have carried his goods out and in, on purpose to destroy and lame and kill those beasts of Mr. Raikes which they had designed to destroy in the

said pit, and should come upon his ground, and carried their own goods hrough Mr. Raikes and other mens ground, by reason the pit they had made to destroy mens goods at the entry of their own, having so spoiled his goods about seventeen head of beasts one time and other. They laid and contrived three false Actions, and arrested the said Robert Raikes; which was contrived by the Town-Clerk and Paget, two Cavalier-knaves: Paget declared for Twenty four shillings for fees, and the Town-Clerk swore falsly the said Robert Raikes owed so much within a little for fees, and promised to pay him, &c. being altogether false: For the said Robert Raikes never imployed Paget, or ever was owing him any thing for fees, but imployed one Smailes to reverse an Out∣lawry, and gave him money to discharge it and over: But who did it is not known; for Smailes is upon the Record, and had the money, though he did it knavishly, falsly, and contrary to his Attornies oath, as by Smailes Note of charges may appear: For, for Paget, he never was im∣ployed nor trusted so much then, or allowed to practise, nor never did or could prove any such fees due he sued for.

The other two Actions were for slandering the Town Clerk for swearing so falsly: But that he swore falsly, is apparent by Record, no Fees proved or due. And the last was a false Action for a supposed Debt the Town-Clerk challenged falsly, it being paid before, and never was a quarter so much, as by his hand may appear; but he did it on purpose to cheat the said Mr. Raikes of a parcel of Cushions he bought of him, and never paid for. Neither did they keep their Courts order, by reason they were all imployed about begging for the Fire, and abusing the Justices to make them a Certificate according to the false oaths and in∣formations by them exhibited; by means whereof they got a large Patent, and by it and their begging got two times more then all their losses were by fire, but spent a great part of it as their drunken meet∣ings, as they do of all their Estreats and Forfeitures at the Sessions, and all other the Towns stock, that was not long since worth above Fifteen hundred pounds; besides their daily Re••••s and Forfeitures, whereof few are brought to account, but almost all idly spent as can be easily proved. And as that was, which by a vile and illegal way they extorted from Robert Raikes, sending for him by a Serjeant, who is also Attorney of the Court, and under pretence of friendship by the new Major, who promised he might safely come and gow▪ The said Robert Raikes went along to know their pleasure, which the new Major told him, the Court had fined him Twenty shillings for contempts for not appearing to the Actions. He replied, He had desired to see their Declarations, but there were none in Court; and if any were then, he desired to see them; but none appeared till fourteen days after. Then they said, He should have fee'd his Attorney and answered Court-days: He replied, They were so busie about their Certificate, there was no legal Court kept: They said there was; But it was proved that their Court was neither legally kept, the doors being lock'd, none could come in, nor any At∣torney to fee there. But they said, If the Attorney was not there, his Wife was, and would have received Fee, having let the Major and Clerk

in at a back-door. So because none could get in to see the Serjeant or Jailors wife for an Attorney, they threatned the said Mr. Raikes, unless he would pay them Twenty shillings for that Contempt before Decla∣rations, they would drive his goods, or imprison him. Which the said Mr. Raikes, knowing them to be Knaves that sought his life, fearing they would use him as formerly, or as Mr. George Etherington, he became bound to pay them, and was forced so to do: But that would not so content them neither, but the Town-Clerk came violently upon the ground and chased his cows and cattel; which having been often used to be evil-intreated by those lewd people, knew them and run from them into the far close, so many as were formerly abused by them and knew their usage; so that there was but one cow left which was not acquaint∣ed with their cruelty, and that the Town-clerk stole off the ground, be∣longing to one Thomas Newsom, who was owing Mr. Raikes ten shillings for her grass.

Upon what strange composition the poor man had his Cow again, is uncertain: But the Town-clerk and drunken Aldermen, and the knavish Officers counsell'd the man to steal a Mare from off the ground of Mr. Raikes, that cost six pounds; And having been counsellors and abettors to the man and his associates in the stealing the Mare, they the said Town-clerk, drunken Aldermen and Officers were the receivers of the Mare so stollen, knowing her to be so stollen: And the better to palli∣ate the Felony, they caused an Action to be laid at the suit of Thomas Newsom, who with his associates had stollen the Mare by their councel and abetting. The said Raikes being at Hull, he sent word and desired to have his goods so stollen secured, and the Felony enquired after: But by such base people could not get justice; Pilfering and such dealing being publikely countenanced by the drunken Aldermen and their as∣sociates. So that the said Robert Raikes can keep neither Cow, nor Horse, nor Swine, for their pilfering; having had One hundred pounds worth of goods spoiled by their illegal dealings, and ten or twelve Swine worried by the Dogs of the drunken Aldermen, who keep them contrary to Law to wreck their malice upon their neighbors, to do them hurt. And for their High-ways, they cause their Juries to swear even what they list, sometime one way, sometime another way, as guided by the drunken Aldermen; and very few of the Burgesses but are guilty of rash and false swearing, even concerning the High-ways, and the keeping their Fare; and are in all such contrary swearing promised to be holden harmless by the drunken Aldermen and their associates, and they led altogether by the Cavaliers to do mischief to those of the Parliaments party: The said Town clerk having always councels, plottings and con∣trivings of hurt, treason and mischief, in the Tipling-house of the said Town-clerk, by all the Papists and Cavaliers in the Country; which though the Aldermen know, and Mr. Barns was often complaining of, yet he never remedied, nor any other of the drunken Aldermen; by reason whereof the good peaceable people live in great fear and danger of their lives by reason of the misdemeanors aforesaid.

FINIS.