TO The Right honourable THE Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the House of Commons Assembled In PARLIAMENT.  
THE Humble Petition of Edmond Felton, Gent.  
LONDON, Printed in the year, 1642.   

TO The Right Honourable the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the House of Commons, now Assembled in Parliament.  
The humble Petition of Edmond Felton, Gent.  
Most humbly showeth.  
THat your Petitioners late Father, Thomas Felton, Esquire was authorized under the great seal of England, and thereby employed by and for her late majesty, Queen Elizabeth, of famous memory, and his late majesty, King James, of blessed memory, in following the discovery, and convicting of Recusants, and for Seizure of their Lands and goods and estates to their majesty's use, by which he caused great sums of money, to be brought into their majesty's Coffers, to the value of 88400l. or more, in the execution whereof, he spent a great Estate of lands of inheritance of his own, then in Suffolk, and thereby grown in debt through want of his own recompense, was enforced to leave Wife and Children in great necessity, as by the 〈◊〉 Letters of the late Lord Brooke will appear.  
That your Petitioner since his father's decease, hath suffered the oppression in the following Articles for discovering Sir Henry Spiller's deceits to the Crown, to the value of about one hundred Thousand pounds.  
That in the Ninrh year of King James, or thereabouts, Mr. Henry Spiller, than a clerk in the Exchequer Office (since a Knight) falsely suggested a debt of 5671. to be due from your Petitioners said Father, to the crown, upon which suggestion, the said Sir Henry procured the Petitioners said Father to be imprisoned till he died, not withought just cause of a strong presumption of an untimely death, wherein your petitioner, and his Mother in her life-time, and her children, have sithence received more than two thousand pounds, part of the arrears proved to be due from your Petitioners said Father, for the foresaid service, And upon view of sundry Records, since found upon search, there is Ten thousand pounds or thereabouts still likewise due, and unpaid to your petitioners said Father for the service.  
That shortly after (this being made known to some of the late Lords of the privy council) Sir Henry Spiller sought to take away the life of one of your petitioners Witnesses, for a Rape supposed to be committed on one of his men's Children, of which he was cleared in the open Court, at the Session: Shortly after, the said party was thus unjustly and falsely accused, and charged with the said capital crime, there were other most shameful and unchristianlike plots used to take away his testimony; by which doings, the said party hath continued near thirty years' prisoner, and so remains still.  
That the said Sir Henry caused the Brother of the said witness to be arrested and imprisoned, for that he relieved his Brother in prison, and thereby was undone, he being a Tradesman.  
That Sir Henry Spiller (to prevent your petitioners questioning of him for his frauds to his late majesty, known to be discovered to the value of about one Hundred thousand pound) presently after the disease of your Petitioners Father, got all his Writings and Evidences whatsoever, concerning his father's proper estate, mortgaged in that service, so that your petitioner, his wife & Children, have hitherto lost their livelihood, and constrained thereby to grow much in debt, upon hard terms, and great loss, And this kind of doings hath been Sir Henry's usual practice to many, as appeareth by several complaints, against him this Parliament.  
That three letttrs are now remaining amongst the Records (writ by some of the Late Lords of the privy counsel) that do testify your Petitioners late Father did great good service to his Prince and Country, and that his service was both dangerous, painful and chargeable, and by him most carefully and effectually followed, and without him hardly to be accomplished; neither would any undertake so dangerous a service, should he have given it over.  
That your petitioner obtained several Referrences from the late King, and his now majesty, but could not obtain a hearing of him and his witnesses, And at those times your petitioner, was imprisoned by Sir Henry, and the said Sir Henry Spiller caused your petitioner to be arrested in his majesty's Court in Whitehall, the same day he and his witnesses were to be examined in his majesty's right, as will appear by a special warrant from some of the late Lords of the Privy Counsel, & from thence carried to the Marshalseys, and constrained to put in bail for fifteen thousand pound, or had perished by that imprisonment.  
That your Petitioner hath six times been arrested and imprisoned at Sir H. Spiller's suit, & procurement; and this done at such times as your Petitioner sued or complained in the right of his majesty, and of the oppressions of his Father, and for no other cause; Sir Henry hoping by those imprisonments, to perish your Petitioner in prison (as he had done his late Father) and your petitioner hath by this means suffered near six years' imprisonment.  
Candlemas term, in the 14. Caro. Sir Henry Spiller obtained of the Lord chief justice, to send his servant to require your petitioners attendance on him at an hour, your Petitioner attended, and at his lordship's Chamber encountered with Sir Wil. Jones, since deceased, and Sir Henry Spiller, and the said Sir John Bramston, charged your Petitioner to have scandalled Sir Henry by scattered papers, your petitioner justified his papers to be true, containing the aforesaid fraud, and by him subscribed, and thereupon Sir William Jones proposed for the said Sir Henry Spiller, that he might have the good behaviour against your Petitioner, and Sir John Bramston asked Sir Henry, what he said to it, who answered, I: and so the Petitioner left to the tipstaffs hand.  
That your petitioner desired the Tip-stave to give him leave to send for sureties, but he refused, and without other warrant, carried him to the King's Bench prison.  
That not long after, your petitioner tendered sureties to the said judges; But in the mean time, Sir John Lenthall had contrary to Law, admitted of an Action, to be charged upon your petitioner in 2000 pound, at the said Sir Henry Spiller's suit upon the case, for taxing him with the said fraud, whereas your petitioner was not prisoned in law, by any Warrant from the said judge visiable, or if he had been, yet it is contrary to law, that a prisoner by command should be charged with Actions, and the action being for words, bail was not requirable by law, nevertheless, bail was tendered and refused, and shortly after, the clerk of the papers of the King's Bench, gave your Petitioner notice by writing, that at the next sitting of the Lord chief justice Bramston at Guildhall, the said Sir Henry would go to a trial with your petitioner; and in the mean time, Sir Henry Spiller got a verdict of 1000l. against your petitioner at Westminster (for which he is yet prisoner to the Fleet) and by a ivory of his own choosing.  
The cause your Petitioner did scatter papers against the said Sir Henry was, for that after special Referrences from his majesty, your petitioner and his witnesses should be examined concerning Sir Henry's frauds to his majesty, and oppressions to your petioners' Father; and himself, but could not be obtained, nor his just complaints move some of His majesty's great Officers to assist your Petitioner therein.  
That your petitioner, as he was there writing in his Chamber, at the Kings-Bench prison, was assaulted with six or seven of the marshal's servants, who did violently, and barbarously beat, and sore bruise him, and put him in fear and danger of his life, and most cruelly took, and haled him out of the Master-side, to the common gaol of the said Prison.  
That your Petitioner (was shortly after) most unjustly and disgracefully removed, and sent to the most infamous goal of Newgate, and thither carried bound, as a felon, on purpose thereby to be maimed or made away, and after his remove from thence to the Master-side of the said Prison, was again twice carried amongst the felons, without any offence by the Petitioner given; and to the end that no friends should be helpful to your Petitioner, nor he or they be believed in his complaint, it was given out by the jailor of Newgate, he was a madman, crazed in his brains, and not meet to be respected or credited in anything, or to that effect. And this done on purpose to disgrace and discourage your Petitioner, and to hinder his proceedings against Sir Henry Spiller, in this cause, or on his majesty's behalf.  
That shortly after this cruel usage of your petitioner, his wife fell sick, and lay at the point of death, to whom your Petitioner was not suffered to go, but that day she lay ready to depart this life, to the judgement of all that saw her, in which sickness her skin peeled all off her, as she had been poisoned, and in this time of her extremity, your petitioner was removed from the Master-side in Newgate, to the Common gaol there, and lodged many nights in a dark Duugeon Ward on the ground, where is most noisome scents; Long of which imprisonment, a child of your petitioners perished, for that neither he nor his wife could give it its due, and the wife of your petitioner, then miscarried, being with Child.  
That there was a plot presently after your petitioners imprisonment in the King's Bench (as upon examination will appear) by one in favour with Sir Henry Spiller, to have made your petitioner prisoner during Sir Henry's life, a strong presumption it was, a combination betwixt Sir Henry, and the said party, who lately in the presence of others said, None but Rogues and Whores would speak against the said Sir Henry Spiller.  
That a Committee this Parliament, being appointed by the Honourable House of Commons, for the examination of Sir Henry's frauds to the crown, and oppression to His majesty's subjects, your petitioner there with his witnesses (was ready) and did make good Sir Henry's frauds to his late majesty, by which, and the like courses of the said Sir Henry, hath been loss to the crown above one Hundred thousand pound, and he thereby hath purchased to himself many thousand pounds a year, much thereof taken in other men's names.  
In answer to so much of this, as concerns your Petitioner, Sir Hen. Spiller, at a Hearing before the Lords, produced three Letters. First, purporting an Offer of Composition made by your Petitioner, to the said Sir Henry. The second, An acknowledgement of Error in speaking words of the said Sir Henry. The third, A desire of reasonable satisfaction, with promise to desist from further prosecution.  
To all which, your Petitioners council was not instructed to answer, But your Petitioner for answer saith,  
To the first, he was disabled by Sir Henry, in want of his writings and Estate to prosecute Law, and therefore sought, but took no composition.  
To the second, He was restrained of liberty at Sir Henry's suit, without means to vindicate himself against his power and purse, and therefore for gaining of his liberty, did acknowledge the Error of having spoken that positively, which he had only from the relation of the party.  
To the third, He answereth, That it was done when he had sought justice for the King, and for himself to his pr●u● council frequently, and with more than ordinary prosecution, yet without fruit or remedy.  
Your Petitioner humbly prays your wonted justice in all, and expedition (suitable with the great affairs) lest it come unseasonably, he being destitute of subsistence.  
And he shall ever pray, &c. Edmond Felton.