THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE County of OXFORD to His MAJESTY. WITH HIS majesties Answer thereunto.  
Printed, by His MAJE●… Command, AT OXFORD, February 21. By LEONARD LICHFIELD Printer to the university. 1642.   


TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.  
The humble Petition of Your MAJESTIES most loyal and Obedient Subjects, the Inhabitants of the County of OXON.  
Most humbly sheweth,  
THat Your Petitioners( out of their desire to manifest their loyal and hearty affection and duty to Your Majesty) having undertaken to supply Your Majesty with the weekly loan of 1176. pounds for the provision of seven and twenty troops of Your Majesties Horses, and one company of Dragooners, billeted in this County; according to an agreement made betwixt Your Majesty and Your Petitioners, the twenty first of December last, and according to an Explanation thereof made the 11. of January following; Which agreement Your Petitioners( though the burden be very great) are willing on their part to perform; the true intention thereof being( as Your Petitioners do humbly conceive) that no more Horses or dragoons should be billeted in this County, then were specified in the said agreement; And to that end, by an Explanation of the said Agreement made the eleventh of january, there are divers Receivers nominated for the several hundreds of this County, with directions given them, to what officers, and for what Regiments, the said Receivors should pay the moneys within their several Collections.  
Now, Forasmuch as divers troops of Horse & Dragooners, before that time were, & still are billeted in this County, more then the number contracted for( whereunto Your Petitioners, contrary to the Explanation of the 11th of january, are compelled without any pay at all) insomuch as the provisions of the Country are already so far spent, that Your Petitioners can neither be able to perform their Agreement with Your Majesty, nor provide for such cattle of their own, as are necessary required for their husbandry and tillage( the loss whereof is the undoing of the Country,) unless they be presently eased.  
And forasmuch as there is no Receivor-generall appointed, from whom, such persons( and many there are) who billet more souldiers, or sand in more provisions then their Contribution & loan amounteth unto, may expect satisfaction, according to the rates and prizes agreed on in Print.  
Your Petitioners do therefore most humbly beseech Your Majesty, that all the supernumerary troops of Horse and dragoons may be speedily removed, and Quartered in some other Counties. And that the now high-sheriff of this County, or some other Person of Quality and Estate amongst us, may be by Your Majesty appoynted Receivor-generall of the said Weekly loan; And that the particular Receivors, nominated in the Printed book, may forthwith pay all such moneys as they have already received, and may once every Week,( or Fortnight at the farthest) pay what more they shall receive, and therewith deliver in all Tickets, and perfect their account thereof to the high-sheriff, or such other as Your Majesty shall appoint; In whose power it shall always be to detain in His hands so much money as shall satisfy the Country for the surplusage of those moneys disbursed by them, either in Billet or Provisions, which they can make appear by Tickets to be more then their Contribution and loan amounts unto. And that the sheriff, or such other as Your Majesty shall appoint, may pay the residue of the said Loane-mony to such Commanders or Officers of Your Majesties Army, for Your Majesties service, as Your Majesty shall please to assign for that purpose.  
And your Petitioners shall daily pray, &c.   

His Majesties Answer to the foresaid Petition.  
WEE, having received ample testimony of the Loyalty and good Affection of the Inhabitants of this Our County of Oxford, and willing to give them all the ease and satisfaction they can desire, for the better enabling them to make good the weekly loan agreed upon between Us, and the said County, for the maintenance of part of Our Army, are graciously pleased to declare, That according to their desires expressed in this Petition, We do approve of and appoint Our trusty & well-beloved Sir Thomas chamberlain Baronet, high sheriff of that Our County, to be Receiver-Generall of the said loan, and to do and execute all such Acts, both for the ease of the Inhabitants of Our said County, and for the full performance of the Agreement, as is desired in the said Petition. And to the end it may appear what, and how many troops are quartered within Our said County, the Quarter-master-Generall of the Horse is hereby required to give a speedy account to the Lords, and other Our Commissioners, how many and whose troops of Horse are therein quartered, That if it shall appear there are more then twenty eight troops, speedy order may be taken for their removal, and likewise for satisfying the Country for such time as they have been billeted therein, so soon as the Country have made good, and paid in all the Contribution and loan now behind and unpaid.  
Given under Our Sign manual at Our Court at OXFORD, this sixteenth of FEBRUARY. 1642.   
FINIS.