THE COPY OF THREE PETITIONS As they were presented to the Honourable, the Commons assembled in Parliament, September 14th. and 15th. 1647.  

1. From the County of Bucks, against two great oppressions, viz. Tithes, and Freequarter.  
2. From the County of Oxford.  
3. From Oxford, Bucks, and Hertford, for purging the great Fountain of Justice: that at last, Justice might run down the Land like a stream, to wash away the pollutions thereof.   
LONDON, Printed for William Larnar, and are to be sold at the Black-Moor, near Bishopsgate. MDCXLVII.   

TO THE HONOURABLE THE Commons assembled in Parliament.  
The humble Petition, of the Inhabitants of the County of Bucks.  
Shows,  
THat your Petitioners have for their good affection to the Parliament and public interest of the Kingdom, gone through many difficulties, and been exposed to much danger in their persons, besides their great impoverishing and weakening of their estates; and now that God hath subdued the common enemy, and given hopes of a well-grounded peace, they hope to have reaped the fruits thereof, by the removal of all common grievances, and the enjoying a freedom in their estates, in some measure answerable to the price they have paid, and the many hazards they have undergone, but still find their expectations almost frustrate, by reason of the heavy burden that lies upon your Petitioners, by the continuing of Tithes upon them, going under the notion of the tenth of their increase, but is really (the Rents, Charges and Losses considered) the third part of the yearly value of their Lands in tillage: and your Petitioners condition is made now more grievous, by reason of this unequal payment is strengthened by several Ordinances lately passed for that purpose, which causeth the greatest part of the whole estates of your Petitioners to be in the disposing of the Justices of Peace, (many of which are interessed in Tithes, if refusal be made of that which amounts to a third part of their estates, to the great discouragement of your Petitioners and others that are Owners or Farmers of Land in Tillage, and wherein much of the welfare of this Kingdom doth consist.)  
Your Petitioners likewise still undergo a heavy burden, by reason of the Freequarter taken amongst us, by the Army, and if not timely prevented (by the constant paying of the Army) will be the ruin of them, and their Families, and bring a far greater burden and charge upon this Kingdom, than the constant payment of the Army would amount unto.  
Your Petitioners therefore most humbly pray this Honourable House to take their sad condition into your pious consideration, and to make provision for removal of the payment of Tithes, leaving it to your wisdoms to consider of a more equal and peaceable way for the maintaining of the Ministry, and rendering a reasonable satisfaction for the impropriations: And that you will be pleased to ease your Petitioners, and all other that are sufferers by Free quarter, by the constant payment of the Army, either by your further Authority to compel the Collection of money in Arrear, or by some other Taxes to be imposed, that the soldiers having a constant supply of money, may make their own provisions in such places as are most commodiously fitted for their entertainment.  
And your Petitioners shall ever pray.   

TO THE HONOURABLE THE HOUSE of Commons in Parliament assembled.  
The Petition of the Inhabitants of Oxford-shire,  
Sheweth,  
THat amidst the various dispensations of Divine providence, in the diversity of blessings conferred upon mankind, nothing renders more delight and content to man's natural affections, than liberty, and peculiarly in his external enjoyments, the want of which (as experience tells us) renders an irksome, yea an intolerable condition, effecting exclaimation and complaint of oppression with sighs, sobs and groans for Liberty.  
Now among the rest of those sore pressing grievances under which this Nation hath been long subjected, there is one of heavy weight, endeavouring irrecoverably to sink and drown our whole estates and livelyhoods in that common and vast ocean of oppression and cruelty, (viz.) The usurped and constrained maintenance of our Lordly-rich-Ministers, and Annual revenues of encroaching impropriators, by that intolerable tax and oppression of taking away part of our Stock and years hard labour, under the notion of Tithes, Offerings, Oblations, Obventions, Church-dues, or Tenths of increase, whereby there is taken from us the tenth of our daily earnings, by the sweat of our brows, the tenth of our substance and stock, in the tenth of our crop, wherein our stock and years labour lie, yea though our crop answer not our charge by many degrees, and the year never so unseasonable, yet is the tenth thereof taken from us, without any consideration of our losses or deduction of our charge, so that at the length, the rich Parson being a man of many hundreds, yea sometimes of thousands per Annum, possesseth himself of our whole stock and substance, whereby we are forced to lay down our Trade of Tillage, and put either to shifts, or day labour, for ourselves and families.  
And there is that makes heavier this our intolerable oppression and burden, rendering it more burdensome than before, (viz.) A late additional Ordinance, commanding the continuance of this direful oppression, passed by those that we have thus long looked and waited upon, and whom we have assisted with our persons and purses, endangering our lives, and leaving our livelihoods, expecting future ease and reformation: yet we still find men Judges in their own causes, whereby we are sensible of much oppression, injustice, and Arbitrarynesse: men exacting, and illegally recovering what we find directly contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel, and the power of Godliness, which though however required, or recovered by Magistrates, we conceive ourselves and others, in Conscience and Covenant, bound to extirpate as Popish, and in nature as oppressive.  
And many of us being men of mean estates, in Tillage, and almost swallowed up in our estates, by Taxations, Plundering, Quartering of Soldiers in the time of war, and now also at Free quarter: yet if we but sue for, and seek after Liberty in our own (which in nature we are bound to do, it being our proper and natural right,) and to refuse bondage and thraldom, which we cannot but do, our conditions are thereby many degrees worse, and our damages greater than before.  
Even at this time, many of us lie under unnumerable Judgements, and the time of Execution almost expired, which unless the Ordinances commanding the payment of Tithes, be speedily repealed, will be executed.  
It is therefore our humble and earnest desire that it would please your Honours to take the premises into your serious and speedy consideration, and hasten the application of such remedy as may tend to God's glory, and the good of your Petitioners, wherewith you are entrusted, by the speedy stoppage of such Judgements as are issued out against your Petitioners, which if not granted, will suddenly be executed, contrary to Christian and Subjects liberty, in the property of their good.  
And your Petitioners shall ever pray, etc.   

TO THE HONOURABLE THE HOUSE Of Commons, assembled in Parliament.  
The humble Petition of divers Well affected Inhabitants of the Counties of Oxon, Bucks, and Hertford.  
Shows,  
THat this poor bleeding Nation hath had its expectations of Peace and Freedom, long frustrated, and its burdens and miseries increased, by the presence, power, and prevalency of some desperate enemies to public good in the supreme Council; And that lately Divine Providence hath made a clear discovery of many of them, by their sitting at Westminster usurping a Parliamentary power, when the free Parliament was forced away and suspended, and endeavouring by pretended Votes; Orders, and Ordinances, to have raised a new bloody war, and brought the King forthwith to London upon his own terms, to the danger of ruining all well affected people; Hereby giving a fair opportunity to this Honourable House to have expelled those Incendiaries.  
But to the grief of our hearts we understand, that this happy opportunity of removing those Obstructors of all that really tends to the people's good, hath hitherto been neglected, and notwithstanding the urgent importunity of the Army for their removal, many of them sit and Vote in this Honourable House, and others that are now absent, have liberty to return, when they shall see their advantage to prosecute their wicked intentions.  
And we cannot but conceive that from the prevalency of those illaffected persons in the House, have proceeded those dangerous delays (since the free Parliament was brought to Westminster in safety by the Army) in clearing and securing the People's rights and freedoms, and that grievous and intolerably burdensome Ordinance for enforcing all to pay triple damages that shall refuse (though for Conscience sake) to pay tithes. Considering therefore that our sad experience witness, that none of the just desires of the people can be expected to be answered [seeing we cannot prevail after some years solicitation, that the burden of paying Tithes should be removed from our Consciences] nor a happy Peace sealed, in case these Incendiaries be permitted to Vote in this Honourable House.  
We are enforced to entreat you, that the way that God hath in goodness opened to free the Nation from the power of its Enemies in this great Council, may be forthwith considered, and that it be immediately declared, that all and every of those persons that lately sat at Westminster, when the Parliament was by force suspended, shall incur some great penalty, in case any of them shall presume, after this day, to sit in this Honourable House, before they shall have given satisfaction concerning their aforesaid sitting in the pretended Parliament, and shall have given sufficient evidence that they did neither procure, nor give their consent to any of those pretended Votes, Orders, or Ordinances, tending to the levying of a new war; or for the Kings forthwith coming to London.  
That thus the obstructers of Justice being speedily removed, Justice may be executed on offenders, and without any further protraction of time, the loud cries of the oppressed Prisoners may have free and impartial audience to their effectual redemption, the intolerable burdens of the distressed Commons on their Conscience and Estates might be removed; a constant certain pay for the Army in an equal way provided; and the peace and freedom of the Nation firmly established.  
And your Petitioners shall truly pray, etc.   
FINIS.