❧ A Declaration of the favourable dealing of her majesties Commissioners appointed for the Examination of certain Traitors, and of tortures unjustly reported to be done upon them for matters of religion.  
1583.   

To the Reader.  
GOod Reader, although her majesties most mild and gracious government be sufficient to defend itself against those most slanderous reports of heathenish & unnatural tyranny and cruel tortures pretended to have been executed upon certain traitors, who lately suffered for their treason, & others, aswell spread abroad by Runagate jesuits and Seminary men in their seditious books, letters, & libels, in foreign countries and Princes Courts, as also insinuated into the hearts of some of our own country men and her majesties Subjects: Yet for thy better satisfaction I have conferred with a very honest Gentleman whom I knew to have good & sufficient means to deliver the truth against such forgers of lies and shameless slanders in that behalf, which he and other that do know & have affirmed the same will at all times justify. And for thy further assurance and satisfaction herein, he hath set down to the view of all men these notes following.   

TOuching the rack and torments used to such traitors as pretended themselves to be Catholics, upon whom the same have been exercised, it is affirmed for truth, and is offered upon due examination so to be proved, to be as followeth. First, that the forms of torture in their severity or rigour of execution, have not been such and in such manner performed, as the slanderers and seditious libelers have slanderously and maliciously published. And that even the principal offender Campion himself, who was sent and came from Rome and continued here in sundry corners of the Realm, having secretly wandered in the greatest part of the shires of England in a disguised sort, to the intent to make special preparation of treasons, and to that end & for furtherance of those his labours, sent over for more help and assistance, and cunningly and traitorously at Rome before he came from thence, procured toleration for such prepared rebels to keep themselves covert under pretence of temporary and permissive obedience to her Majesty the state standing as it doth, but so soon as there were sufficient force whereby the bull of her majesties deprivation might be publicly executed, they should then join altogether with that force upon pain of curse and damnation: that very Campion, I say, before the conference had with him by learned men in the Tower, wherein he was charitably used, was never so racked, but that he was presently able to walk, & to write, & did presently write & suscribe all his confessions, as by the originales thereof may appear. A horrible matter is also made of the starving of one Alexander Briant, how he should eat clay out of the walls, gathered water to drink from the droppings of houses, which such other false oftentations of immanity: where the truth is this, that whatsoever Briant suffered in want of food, he suffered the same wilfully & of extreme impudent obstinacy against the mind & liking of those that dealt with him. For certain traitorous writings being found about him, it was thought convenient by conference of hands to understand whose writing they were, & thereupon he being in her majesties name commanded to write, which he could very well do, and being permitted to him to write what he would himself, in these terms, that if he liked not to write one thing, he might write an other or what he listed (which to do being charged in her majesties name was his duty, and to refuse was disloyal and undutiful:) yet the man would by no means be induced to write any thing at all. Then was it commanded to his keeper to give unto him such meat, drink, and other convenient necessaries as he would write for, and to forbear to give him any thing for which he would not write. But Briant being thereof advertised and oft moved to write, persisting so in his cursed heart by almost two days and two nights, made choice rather to lack food, then to write for the sustenance which he might readily have had for writing, & which he had indeed readily & plentifully, so soon as he wrote. And as it is said of these two, so is it to be truly said of other, with this, that there was a perpetual care had, and the Queen's servants the Warders, whose office and act it is to handle the rack, were ever by those that attended the examinations specially charged, to use it in as charitable manner as such a thing might be.  
Secondly it is said, and likewise offered to be justified, that never any of these Seminaries, or such other pretended Catholics which at any time in her majesties reign have been put to the rack, were upon the Rack or in other torture demanded any question of their supposed conscience, as what they believed in any point of doctrine or faith, as the Mass, Transubstantiation, or such like: but only with what persons at home, or abroad, and touching what plaits, practices and conferences they had dealt about attempts against her majesties estate or person, or to alter the Laws of the Realm for matters of Religion, by treason or by force, and how they were persuaded themselves, and did persuade other touching the Pope's bull and pretence of authority, to depose Kings and Princes, and namely, for deprivation of her Majesty, and to discharge subjects from their allegiance, expressing herein always the Kingly powers and estates, and the subjects allegiance civilly, without mentioning or meaning therein any right that the Queen as in right of the Crown, hath over persons Ecclesiastical being her subjects. In all which cases, Campion & the rest never answered plainly, but sophisticially deceitfully and traitorously, restraining their confession of allegiance only to the permissive form of the Pope's toleration. As for example, if they were asked, whether they did acknowledge themselves the Queen's subjects and would obey her, they would say, Yea: for so they had leave for a time to do. But adding more to the question, and they being asked, if they would so acknowledge and obey her any longer than the Pope would so permit them, or not withstanding such commandment as the Pope would or might give to the contrary, them they either refused so to obey, or denied to answer, or said, that they could not answer to those questions without danger: which very answer without more saying, was a plain answer to all reasonable understanding, that they would no longer be subjects, nor persuade other to be subjects, than the Pope gave licence. And at their very arraignment when they laboured to leave in the minds of the people and standers by, an opinion that they were to die, not for treason, but for matter of faith and conscience in doctrine, touching the service of God, without any attempt or purpose against her Majesty, they cried out that they were true subjects, and did and would obey and serve her Majesty. Immediately, to prove whether that hypocritical and sophistical speech extended to a perpetuity of their obedience, or to so long time as the Pope so permitted, or no, they were openly in place of judgement asked by the Queen's learned counsel, whether they would so obey and be true subjects, if the Pope commanded the contrary: they plainly disclosed themselves in answer, saying by the mouth of Campion, this place (meaning the Court of her majesties Bench) hath no power to inquire or judge of the holy Father's authority, and other answer they would not make.  
Thirdly, that none of them have been put to the rack or torture, no not for the matters of Treason, or partnership of treason or such like, but where it was first known and evidently probable by former detections, confessions, and otherwise, that the party so racked, or tortured, was guilty, and did know, and could deliver truth of the things wherewith he was charged: so as it was first assured, that no innocent was at any time tormented, and the rack was never used to wring out confessions at adventure upon uncertainties, in which doing, it might be possible that an innocent in that case might have been racked.  
Fourthly, that none of them hath been racked or tortured, unless he had first said expressly, or amounting to as much, that he will not tell the truth, though the Queen command him. And if any of them being examined did say he could not tell, or did not remember, if he would so affirm in such manner as Christians among Christians are believed, such his answer was accepted, if there were not apparent evidence to prove that he wilfully said untruly. But if he said that his answer in delivering truth, should hurt a Catholic, and so be an offence against charity, which they said to be sin, and that the Queen could not command them to sin, and therefore, howsoever the Queen commanded, they would not tell the truth, which they were known to know, or to such effect: they were then put to the torture, or else not.  
Fiftly, that the proceeding to torture was always so slowly, so unwillingly, and with so many prepararations of persuasions to spare themselves, and so many means to let them know that the truth was by them to be uttered, both in duty to her Majesty, & in wisdom for themselves, as whosoever was present at those actions, must needs acknowledge in her majesties ministers, a full purpose to follow the example of her own most gracious disposition: whom God long preserve.  
Thus it appeareth, that albeit by the more general laws of nations, torture hath been, and is lawfully judged to be used in lesser cases, and in sharper manner for inquisition of truth in crimes not so near extending to public danger, as these ungracious persons have committed, whose conspiracies and the particularities thereof it did so much import and behove to have disclosed, yet even in that necessary use of such proceeding, enforced by the offenders notorious obstinacy, is nevertheless to be acknowledged, the sweet temperature of her majesties mild and gracious clemency, & their slanderous lewdness to be the more condemned, that have in favour of heinous malefactors, and stubborn traitors, spread untrue rumours and slanders to make her merciful government disliked under false pretence, & rumours of sharpness and cruelty, to those against whom nothing can be cruel, and yet upon whom nothing hath been done, but gentle and merciful.  
FINIS.