¶ An admonition or warning, to all the Kings Majesties justices of Peace, in the name of the Lord Protector, and the rest of the Kings majesties counsel, spoken in the Star Chamber, by the Lord Chancellor of England, the fourth of May, in the second year of the reign of our sovereign lord King Edward the sixth. etc.  
IT hath been used and accustomed before this time, to call at certain times the justices of peace, before the Kings majesties counsel, to give unto them admonition and warning, diligently as their duty is, to look to the observing of such things, as be committed to their charges, according to the trust, which the Kings majesty hath in them. How be it, now at this time, we call you before us, not only of custom, but rather of necessity: For hearing daily and perceiving as we do, the great negligence, and the little heed which is taken and given, to the observing of the good and wholesome Laws, and orders in this realm, whereupon much disordre doth daily ensue, and the Kings Majesties Proclamations and orders, taken by the counsel (as we are advertised) not executed, the people brought to a disobedience, and in manner all his majesties study and ours, in setting a good and most Godly stay, to the honour of God, and the quiet of the realm, spent in vain, and come to nothing. The which, as we have great hope and trust, not to be altogether so, yet so much as it is, and so much as it lacketh, of keeping the realm in a most Godly order and state: we must needs impute, and lay the fault thereof in you, which are the justices of Peace in every Shire: to whom, we are wont to direct our writings, & to whose trust and charge, the Kings majesty hath committed, the execution of all his Proclamations, of his Acts, of Parliament, of his Laws.  
We are informed that many of you, be so negligent and so slack, in that, that it doth appear, that you do rather look, as it were through your fingers, then diligently to see, for the execution of the said Laws and Proclamations: For if you would according to your duties, to your oath, to the trust, which the Kings majesty hath in you, give your diligence and care, toward th'execution of the same, most Godly Statutes and Injunctions, there should no disobedience, no disordre, nor evil rule, be begun, or arise in any part of the realm, but it should by and by be repressed, kept down, and reform.  
Marry it is feared, and the thing itself giveth occasion thereto, that diverse of you, do not only set forth, but rather hinder, so much as lieth in you, the kings majesties proceedings: and are content that there should arise some disobedience and that men should repine against Godly orders, set forth by his Majesty, you do so slackly look to the execution of the same. So that in some Shires, which be further of, it may appear that the people hath never hard, of diverse of his majesties Proclamations, or if they have hard that you are content to wink at it, and to neglect it, so that it is all one, as though it were never commanded. But if you do considre, and remember your duties, first, to almighty God, and then to the kings Majesty, the wealth of the whole Realm, the safeguard and surety of your own selves, you must needs see, that except such orders, as the kings Majesty hath set, and shall hereafter appoint to be kept, neither the realm can be defended, if the enemy should invade, nor in peace it cannot stand, but upon the contempt of good and wholesome laws, all disordre and inconveniences should come, the people should be wild and savage, and no man sure of his own. And if at any time there was occasion and cause, to be circumspect and diligent about the same, there was never more time than now: How we stand in Scotland you know, and that other foreign power maketh great preparation to aid them, and in deed doth come to their aid, we are surely informed and certified. Wherefore, if there should not be good order, and obedience kept in the realm, the realm were like utterly to be destroyed. Never foreign power could yet hurt, or in any part prevail in this realm, but by disobedience and misordre within ourselves, that is the ways wherewith God will plague us, if he mind to punish us: and so long as we do agree within ourselves, and be obedient to our Prince, and to his Godly ordres and laws, we may be sure that God is with us, and that foreign power, shall not prevail against us nor hurt us. Wherefore once again, and still we must and do lay this charge upon you, that are the better of the Shire▪ and justices of Peace: that with so convenient speed as you can, you do repair down into your countries. And you shall also gave warning, to the Gentle men of the Shire, which have not necessary business here, that they repair down each man into his country, and there both you and they, who be reckoned the stay of every Shire, to see good order and rule kept. You, that your Sessions of jail delivery, and quarter Sessions, be well kept, and therein your meetings, to be such, that justice might be well and truly ministered, the offenders and malefactors punished, according to the Laws of the realm, without any tear of any man, or that for favour, you should suffer those to escape▪ which with their evil example, might bring other to like mishap, and that all vagabonds, all lewd and light tale tellers, and seditious bearers of false news of the Kings Majesty, or of his counsel, or such as will preach without licence, be immediately by you represte and punished. And if there should chance, any lewd and light fellows, to make any routs or riottes, or unlawful assembles, any seditious meetings, uproars, or uprisynges, in any place, by the seditious and devilish motion, of some privy traitors, that you and they appease them at the first, and apprehend the first authors and causers thereof, and certify us with speed.  
The lightness of the rude and ignorant people, must be represte and ordered, by your gravity and wisdom: And here you may not (if any such thing chance) dissemble, with those such lewd men, and hide yourselves. For it shallbe required of you, if such misordre Bee: and surely without your aid and help, or your dissembling such misordre cannot be. Nor we do not say this, that we fear any such thing, or that there is any such thing likely to chance, but we give you warning before, lest it should chance. We have had to much experience in this Realm, what inconvenience cometh of such matters, and though some light persons, do not in their rage consider it, yet we do not doubt but that you weigh it, and know it well enough. And if it should chance our enemy (who is maintained, by other foreign powers, and the bishop of Rome) should suddenly arrive, in some place of England, either driven by tempest, or of purpose, to do hurt, ye should see such orders kept, by firing of Beacons, as hath all ready been written unto you by our letters, to repulse the same, in so good array as you can, as we do not doubt but you will, for the safeguard of your country: so that the enemy shall have little joy of his coming. And for that purpose, you shall see diligently, that men have Horse Harneis, and other furniture of weapon ready, according to the Statutes, and good orders of the realm, and the Kings Majesties commandments.  
God save the King.   

Excusum Londini, in aedibus Richardi Graftoni, Regij Impressoris.  
Cum Privilegio ad Imprimendum solum.