FOrasmuch as it hath pleased God in his wisdome which is Infinite , and by his power which is mighty , by a way to the world unknown , within these few years to raise up & redeem to himself in this Nation a people to serve him in his own way , and according to his own will , that amongst them he might make his Name known , and do for them great and terrible things amongst the Nation where they should come , their Laws , Worship , Manners and Language being diverse from the laws , worship , manners and language of other people ; By reason whereof , and of the false reports which the enemy of God , the lying spirit , which is in the mouth of the false prophets and ministers of unrighteousnesse , they have been rendred odious unto the people , and loaded with reproaches and false accusations , as that they denied the Scriptures of Truth , the Church of God , the Wo●ship of God , the Ministers of Christ , and the maintenance belonging to the Ministers of the Gospel , the Ordinances of Christ , the Magistracy and Magistrates , and would destroy all government , and civil relations amongst men , with many such false aspersions ; yea , so far did that lying spirit ( for a time ) prevail with many , that they thought if they killed us they did God service ; yea , so far hath it prevailed with many in places of authority , both Civil and Military , that they have counted us the off-scouring of the World , not sit for any thing , except it were to be the subjects upon whom they might exercise their cruelty , as our many cruel sufferings in this Nation and others adjacent do manifestly declare , nothing almost befalling us in most Cities , Towns , Villages and Steeple-houses , where we have come , but bonds , abuses and imprisonments , insomuch that scarce any Goal within this Nation into which some of us have not been cast ; besides our being haled before Magistraces and Rulers , and our being drawn before the Judgement-Seats in this Nation , by whom we have suffered the imprisonment of our bodies , many till death , and the spoiling of our goods in such an excessive manner as scarce hath been heard of before ; And much of this suffering hath been occasioned by those men called Ministers of Christ , which their fruits have n●w made them manifest not to be the Ministers of Christ , but of Antichrist ; And for Tithes , a Popish institution , brought in by the Apostates in the Apostacy , since the dayes of Christ and his Apostles set up , as more largely hath been in several papers published and declared for the good of all people whose hearts and desires are after truth . And these things have we suffered in our Native Country by our country men , not by Bishops and high commission courts , but by & from such as had a hand in putting down those , as enemies to the peoples liberties , as men and as Christians , and since have set up themselves and one another in high places ; but the Lord hath made them as slipperie to them as they were to the persecutors before them ; neither have their things before mentioned been done unto us for any evil we did unto them , but for conscience sake have we thus suffered , not for any transgression of the Law of God , neither in truth of any wholsome law of this Nation , as may appear by the things for which in the general we have suffered ; that is to say , many of us have suffered imprisonment , and other abuses , for appearing in the Courts of this Nation in our own persons , being thereunto commanded by Writs out of the said Courts upon a great pain , to wit 100. l. a man , and because we could not with freedom appear by an attorney ; many more of us have been & are imprisoned in this Nation , for no other cause , then in truth our obedience to the command of Christ , who saith , Mat. 5.34.35.36.37 . Swear not at all , neither by Heaven for it is Gods throne , nor by the earth , for it is his footstool , neither by Jerusalem , for it is the City of the great King , neither shalt thou swear by thy head , because thou can not make one hair white or black , but let your yea , be yea , and your nay , nay , for whatsoever is more then these cometh of evil ; And Mat. 23.22 it is said , He that sweareth by Heaven , sweareth by the throne of God , and that sitteth thereon ; Now it is God that sitteth in Heaven , which is his Throne , therefore Christ Jesus , forbiding to swear by Heaven which is Gods Throne , forbideth to swear by God , or any other oath ; then such judges or others that 〈◊〉 persons to swear , are in plain contradiction to command of Christ , and in so doing , they do not judge for God , but for men . Neither have those called Barons of the 〈…〉 any known Law of this Nation to warrant such their actings , there being no law of this Nation , that requires any man to give his answer upon oath , to what his accuser shall lay to his charge , neither is there any known Law in this Nation that doth give that Court of Exchequer any cognizance of such causes as are for detention of Tithes ; For it is said , No plea shall be holden or pleaded in the Exchequer , except it do specially concern us and our Ministers of the Exchequer . The statute of Rutland made , May 14. Anno decimo , Edw. And whereas it is alleadged , that it is the Rule or Custom of that Court , that people must answer upon oath ; It is answered , that that Rule or custom which is contrary to Law is void , and amongst the Churches of Christ there is no such custom as swearing ; and therefore must needs be a Heathenish custom which is vain , being contrary to the command of Christ , and another , from the Law of the Nation , or that maxim which saith , No man is bound to accuse himself . Many others of us have been unreasonably fined , imprisoned , and otherwayes persecuted ( for that is persecution , when any man doth suffer for doing that which is good in obedience to God , and for refraining from that which is evil ) for keeping their hats on their heads in a Court , or before a man called a Justice . Now there is no Law of God , or of this Nation requireth such a thing as the putting off the hat , at the command of a Judge or Justice ; for the hat as well as a cap is a covering for the head , not onely for the woman , but for the man also ; and where there is no Law , there is no transgression : And if it be said , It is due to the Magistrate by custom or usage of the Nation ; It is answered , The customs of the Nations or people are vain , 〈◊〉 , and Israel was commanded of God , not to learn the customs or manners of the Nations or Heathen whom the Lord cast out of Canaan before them ; and all customs or usages which are contrary to reason are void in Law ; and amongst the Churches of Christ there was never such a custom , neither is it according to the Scripture ( which the Judges and Justices and others call the Rule for Christians to walk by ) to put off the hat in a Court or before a Magistrate . And if it should yet be stood upon , The putting off the hat as a thing indifferent . It is answered , He that is offended when the hat is not put off , when he expects it , or requires it ; to him , and in his account , it is not a thing indifferent ; For then is a thing truly indifferent to a man , when a man regardeth not whether be have the thing done to him or not . And others of us have been imprisoned for speaking that which was to us revealed , and required of us by the Lord God ( the highest power ) unto a man called a Minister , or to a people in a Steeple-house or Temple made with hands , wherein God dwelleth not ; but in his people , whose bodies are his Temple , God doth dwell , and is known in his Sanctuary , where his voice is heard , and his will and word obeyed rather then men who would limit the Spirit of God to times , places , and persons ; but their neither was , nor is any such custom amongst the Churches of Christ ; where , If any thing was or is revealed to him that sits by , the 〈…〉 to hold his peace , and so all may prophesie one by one ; for the 〈◊〉 of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets . Again , many of us have suffered many wayes for no other cause then meeting together in the fear of the Lord , to wait upon him and to worship him , upon the first dayes of the week ; Others of us have been turned forth of our imployments in the Nation , both civil and military , and rendred uncapable of such 〈…〉 imployment in a Common-wealth , upon no other account , but because we were Quakers ( so called ) or could not deny the people called Quakers , although we had in faithfulness served this present Parliament , & our Countrey in our several imployments whilst we were permitted to continue in them ; And of late in the great Assembly and Counsels of this Nation , we have been represented ( by some ) to be a people , not onely to have unchristian'd , but also unman'd our selves , as if we had made our selves uncapable of any imployment wherein we might be serviceable in the Nation , thereby endeavouring to render us not onely odious , but also useless in a Common-wealth .

But for the clearing of the truth of God , as it is in Jesus , and for the manifesting of the secret deceits of our enemies , and pretended friends , in humility and meekness of mind , we do declare unto all ; That by the receiving the gift of God , the Light 〈…〉 Jesus , & it obeying in our hearts , which giveth knowledge and understanding to the simple , we are not thereby made uncapable nor unwilling to serve our Country and Country-men in the lowest employments and places that are any ways tending to the thing that is just , and to the suppression of that which is evil , or to the procuring good unto our Countrey , Countrey-men and Neighbours amongst whom we sojourn ; Neither do we deny , but bear our witness too , and of the Scriptures of truth , and the Church of God , and the Worship of God which is in the Spirit and in the Truth ; and the Ministers of Christ we own , and their maintenance , which is free , and the Ordinances of Christ they are established amongst us , all which are known by the Light of Christ that shineth in the heart , and the higher powers we are subject unto for Conscience sake , and Magistrates and Rulers who are not a terrour to good works but to the evil , are by us owned and honoured in the Lord , which honour stands not in flattering titles , or bowing the knee , and putting off the hat ; but in due and ready subjection to all just Commands , according to the Apostles Doctrine , Honour all men in the Lord , and submit your selves to every Ordinance of man for the Lord sake ; Now that which stands in the Lord , and is done for the Lords sake , must be in that which is good , and not in that which is evil , for evil is not in the Lord ; for he that doth evil , he hates the Light , which is good , and he that hates that which is good , doth nothing for Christs sake ; and by the Light of Christ which shineth in our hearts , we are taught of God to love as Brethren , to obey our Parents after the flesh , husbands are taught to dwell with their wives according to knowledge , and wives to submit themselves unto their husbands as unto the Lord ; servants to be obedient to them that are their Masters , and all to submit themselves one unto another in the fear of God . Neither do we desire that to our selves , which we do not freely give and allow unto others ; to wit , Liberty of Conscience ; knowing that every man must give an accompt unto God for himself , yet we desire the good of all men , which we know cannot be enjoyed by any man whilst he lives in sin and wickedness ; Neither dare we practise , nor allow that in our selves , which we witness to be evil in others ; Neither do we with-draw our shoulders from the yoke , or lay burthens upon others to ease our selves , but are made free in the Lord , and in our spirits to serve our Countrey and Countrey-men in all things that are Just , in the things that are honest , in the things that are equal , and in the things that are of good report , amongst those that truly fear God ; so we are not straitned in our selves by the Spirit of the Lord , nor limited by the truth ; from being serviceable in our generations ; but we are straitned by unreasonable men , and limited by that spirit that rules by unrighteous lawes , popish customs , and mens own wills , which stands upon oaths , hats , cringings , and against plainness of speech ; and will not suffer the servants of God to exercise their gifts , and reprove sin in the gate .

So it is not we that have either lost our reason , unman'd or unchristian'd our selves , being known in our Countreys to be men having reason and understanding , ( though we have laid aside childish things ) living and walking in a good conversation as men and Christians , by whose example many have been turned unto God , and have blessed God for us in the day of their visitation .

Therefore let all tongues be silent before the Lord , and his people , who are no oppressors , nor imposers upon mens Consciences , nor devourers of Gods creatures upon our lusts , nor time servers , nor men pleasers , neither for advantage do we admire mens persons , nor after earthly honours or preferment do we covet , which whil'st some have coveted alter , they have made shipwrack of Faith , and of a good conscience : But the good of all people do we seek after , and truth and justice , and sincerity and a holy conversation , and a pure Religion and Worship of God , which is in the Spirit and in the Truth , which the Devil and will-worshippers are out of ) and in that we are to glorifie God , and serve our generation ; And all in justice , and oppression and oppressours , unrighteousness and ungodliness of men , and all false wayes and false worships , and false ministers , & false maintenance , & false churches & false tongues we utterly deny , and bear our Testimony against with one accord , mouth and spirit , and all persecutors who abuse the power of God , which is for the praise of them that do well , and turns the sword backward , strengthening the hands of the evil-doers , such were alwayes blind , and were suddenly ouerthrown by the hand of God , which comes upon them when they are high and proud , and in their ambition forgets God , the Lord by his hand suddenly overturns such , and layes them low with the valleys , and sets the valleys above them . Read this in this Nation , and do not forget the hand ; for who doth , by that hand will be laid low again ; But they that rule and stand in the power of God , they answer the just principle of God in every man .