Forty ARTICLES IN THE HIGH court of PARLIAMENT, against William Lang, who was Vicar in the Parish of Bradworthy, in the County of Devon, but now prisoner in the City of LONDON.  
WITH A Petition to the Right honourable House of Commons, showing the odiousness of his life and actions, desiring that his trial may not be prolonged, nor his Execution hindered, being one of the late Tribe of Lordly Bishops.  
LONDON, Printed for Tho. Bates in the Old Bayley.   

TO THE RIGHT honourable the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, assembled in the Commons House this present Parliament.  
The humble Petition of Robert Judd, for and on the behalf of himself, and the rest of the Parishioners of Bradworthie in the County of Devon.  
Humbly showing to this honourable Assembly, That one William Lang, Clarke, Vicar of the Parish of Bradworthie aforesaid, having for about 18. years' last past grievously vexed his parishioners with infinite vexations, and causeless suits, to their exceeding great oppression, and to the ruin and undoings of many of them, and lived with great dishonour to God, and scandal to the ministry, He the said long being guilty of simony, Common barratry, forgery, practising to poison some, and endeavouring to pistol others of his Parishioners, with many other foul and gross misdemeanours, particularly set forth, and expressed in the paper hereunto annexed, the consideration whereof is herewith humbly presented to this honourable assembly.   

Forty Articles exhibited against William Lang; humbly presented unto the High Court of PARLIAMENT.  
1. THat the said Lang lived till he was about the age of 30. years, by day labour, and daily hedged, ditched, threshed, and carried sand, in the same Parish and places adjacent, being never admitted of any university.  
2. That then he became a sheriff's Bay life, and arrested divers in his own person.  
3. That about 20. years since he forged several Warrants, and the Justices of Assizes having notice thereof, gave order for his apprehension, whereupon he fled into Ireland.  
4. That about 4. years after he returned, and pretended he had taken Orders in Ireland, and did officiate as a hirelings Reader, until by Cary Bishop of Exeter he was suspended for foul misdemeanours.  
5. That he procured his Vicarage of Bradworthy for money, by unlawful simony, by the means of one Robert ye, who being demanded by some how he could make a Common bailiff (naming long) Vicar of Bradworthy, who answered that he had then such friends, that if his horse head could but speak, he could have made him Vicar of that place.  
6. That the said Lang being desirous to be licenced to preach, and being conscious of his own insufficiency to undergo examination, procured one Nicholas honey to be examined for him by the name of William Lang, and so goes for a preaching Minister.  
7. That ever since he hath been Vicar, he hath taken upon him to be a common solicitor of causes in the Courts at Westminster, and frequented London termly, and taken money for Solicitations.  
8. That he hath commenced causeless suits against his Parishioners in the Courts of Star-Chamber, the Court of High Commission, the Court of Audience, the County Court of Devon, and the Consistory Court at Exeter, all at once, and hath had above forty several Suits at one time, and above eighty of his Parishioners and others in suit at one time, and having by vexatious suits utterly undone divers of them, their wives and children.  
9 That he hath had 4. Bills in the Star-Chamber depending at one time against forty of his Parishioners, whereof some have depended 12. years, and thereby compelled his Parishioners to travel to London, tearmely from Bradworthie, being two hundred miles distant.  
10. That he never brought any of their Causes to hearing in the Star-Chamber, but after they have been set down (fearing that his foul misdemeanours should there be made manifest, as indeed they are upon depositions) hath procured his own Causes to be dismissed before publication, whereby his misdemeanours have escaped unpunished.  
11 That he usually hath served his Parishioners with paper Tickets, of his own making, into the Court of Star Chamber, and High Commission, and exhibited neither Articles nor Bill against them.  
12 That divers of his Parishioners have several times been enforced to give compositions to him, whereof some have paid to him forty pounds, some ten, some four pounds, some less, as his pleasure to redeem them from oppression, and causeless suits.  
13 That he hath prosecuted Nicholas Eliot with unjust and causeless Suits this 20. years and upward, to his damage above 500 l. and hath utterly undone him his wife, and children, and hath kept him excommunicate for these 2. years' last past.  
14 That he hath of mere malice without any just cause utterly undone Robert Judd, his wife and children, by taking wrongfully from him his lands and goods, to the value of above 300. l. not leaving him worth one mouthful of bread; And in this his extreme poverty did (in a most unchristian and cruel manner) cast into prison the said Robert Judd, and excommunicated him this 8. years' last past: and the said Judd doth still stand unabsolved, notwithstanding there is no cause against him. Nor did his malice cease there, but he hath prosecuted the children of the said Robert Judd most unjustly to their imprisonment and ruin also.  
15 That he having about 6. or 7. years since agreed with Anthony Nchol, one of his parishioners, for 14. s. per annum, in lieu of the Tithes of his Tenement, did notwithstanding shortly after sue the said Nchol, and threaten him, that unless he would give him 20. s. per annum, and 5. l. for so quiet a composition he would make him spend more yearly than the rent of his Tenement, and so forced Nchol to a new agreement, and gave him a note under his hand, that for 20. s. per annum it was agreed betwixt them from 5. years to 5. ye 〈…〉 their lives if Nchol so pleased: yet 2. years after the latter agreement, he sued the said Nchol for tithes, and threatened him the second time, that unless he would compound with him again, and give him 24. s. per annum: and 5.l. for his love, he would yet make him spend more than his Tenement was worth yearly, whereupon the said Nchol being unable to travel to Exeter, to prevent excommunications, and being threatened with the High Commission Court yielded to give whatsoever he demanded.  
16 That for three pence (which was all he demanded, and which was tendered to him) he sued Richard snow in the consistory at Exeter, and put him to 4. or 5. l. charge about it.  
17 That he caused Samuel chapel to be arrested at the suit of Andrew Speed, who disavowed the Suit.  
18 That he used the name of Gabriel Williams of Torriton in the Court of High Commission to inform against his Parishioners, and gave money to the said Williams to countenance the said Articles.  
19 That William Lang served letters missive upon William Cann, John Bishop, Richard Lile, Lewis Dennis, Robert Terdrew, John ye, and when he could not prevail with them to give him composition for to cease the suit, he used means to the Examiner Greenhill, that upon their appearance they could not be examined for 7. weeks, and at last four of them were forced to give 30. s. a piece to be examined. Which cause lay dead almost a year, than they moving to be dismissed with costs, Vicar Lang served them with process never seen in Court to bring in their Answers: whereupon they came, and produced the process, which were Langs own hand writing, whereupon the Examiner being Clark, confessed he did it at Langs' persuasion. So the Court fined Greenhill 20. s. But Lang escaped unpunished, or reproved.  
20 That he hath lately got himself made an Officer (by some unjust way as is conceived) of purpose to vex and oppress his Parishioners with causeless Suits in the Stannery Court and hath already done so.  
21 That he hath affirmed, that if his chancel were full of gold and silver, he would spend it all to be revenged of his enemies, and that he would never give over his Parishioners with suits, until he lay down like the Hare before the hounds.  
22 That during his suits with his Parishioners he dealt with one Christopher Pugsley, to poison 4. of his Parishioners, viz. Thomas Vigers, Richard Fancy, Robert Bishop, and Thomas Bound●●, and did give 20. s. 6.d. to the said Pugsley to buy Ratsbain with promise of a certain sum of money upon the fact committed, which Pugsley attempted three times. And besides there is more than suspicion that he poisoned his predecessors wife, whose estate he had, and was tied to maintain her for the same during her life.  
23 That the said Lang did conspire the death of his predecessor Mr. twigs, and in all probability poisoned his widow dying suddenly, whose estate he had, and was bound to maintain her during his life, for to that purpose the said Lang procured a Potion as can be proved.  
24 That he carried a pistol to kill Mr. Thomas Vigurs, one of his Parishioners, and there in suit with him, and did threaten Thomas Woodroffe a Minister, who revealed the same to the said Thomas Vigurs, that unless he would deny before a Justice the words that he had told Thomas Vigurs, he would lay felony to his charge, and his man jewel should swear it.  
25 That he dealt with the aforenamed Pugsley to burn the Barn and cornmews of Samuel chapel one of his Parishioners, and at that time in suit with him.  
26 That he hath committed divers forgeries since he hath been Vicar of Bradworthie.  
27 That he farmeth the tithes of two Parishes to the great oppression of the Inhabitants, in forcing them to pay much more then formerly they did, for fear of Law suits, and London journeys.  
28 That he hath left his Cure to follow Suits, whereby there hath been neither Sermons nor Service in the Parish Church, many times for a month together, And in his absence above 7. years since, he left Matthew Lile a Miller, and using that Trade, and no Minister to read prayers in the Church, who hath several times by his appointment publicly read Divine Service in the Church there; And since that Philip Natt a tailor hath by the appointment of Lang, and in his absence publicly read Divine Service as well on the Sabbath as other holy days.  
29 That he causeth Dorothy Lang his daughter to catechise the Parishioners publicly in the Church, which she hath done several Sundays together by the appointment of the said William Lang.  
30 That he being required to baptize a child, bade the woman that required him to cast a dish of water in the face of it, and call it John or Joan (as it was) in the name of the Father, &c. and that would be well enough. Which child lived nine or ten weeks after, and died unbaptised.  
31 That he obtained licence to sell wine, and hath kept a Tavern in the Vicaradge house for 4. years' last past.  
32 That a child being at the Font to be baptised, the woman that held the child softly and modestly asking the said Lang whether she should put back the child's headclothes, he answered, Go thy ways home, and teach thy maid to whip her Cat.  
33 That the said Lang being requested by one of his Parishioners to christian his child, answered him thus, What wilt thou have me to christian thy old Sow.  
34 That the said Lang caused the Body of Roger Neile of his Parish deceased to be kept unjustly ten days unburied, and the same to stand open two Sabbath days to the great annoyance and grief of his Parishioners.  
35 That the said Lang doth affirm that the Book of Canticles in the old Testament was but a kind of bandy Song, My Love, my Dove, my fair one, &c.  
36 That the said long said in a Sermon, that the holy Ghost was a created corporal substance, or words to that effect.  
37 That the said Lang went up into the Pulpit, and told them he was not able to discharge the Office of a Minister amongst them, because the people were so sinful, and that God had sent him for a scourge amongst them.  
38 That the said Lang doth make infamous Libels against his parishioners, to their great scandal and unjust vexations.  
39 That he never preacheth or catechiseth in the afternoon on Sabbath days, but goes constantly to the Alehouse, and makes himself so drunk, that he could not go nor stand.  
40 That the said Lang doth usually serve Writs and Citations upon his parishioners upon the days of Easter, and other general Communions, which he might conveniently do on the week day with less breach of charity.  
FINIS.