LONDON'S LAWLESS LIBERTY: OR A Gozmonian party licenced.  
Being a true discovery of a pack of prodigious knaves, who have under pretence of an Act of Common Council of the City of London, seized (as they term it) and taken away from divers freemen of the same City, their true and proper goods, and that in such a horrid and uncivil manner, as no heathens whatsoever, could with more cruelty have exercised the same.  
Together with a particular of the names of some of those persons which have had their goods illegally taken away, as the same was attested under their hands, and presented to the Adjurators of the Army, under the Command of his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, Captain General of all the forces in England and Wales, the 27, of August, 1647.  
Published by john Harvey Gentleman.  Isaiah, 1.23.24. 
Thy Princes are rebellious and Companions of Thiefs, every one loving gifts, and followeth after rewards, they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the Widow come unto them, therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of Host, the mighty one of Israel: Ah I will ease me of my adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies.  Zachariah 5.4. 
I will bring it forth saith the Lord of Host, so that it shall come to the house of him that falsely sweareth by my name, and shall remain in his house, and consume it with the timber and stones thereof.  Zephaniah 3.3. 
Her Rulers within her, are as roaring Lions, her judges are as Wolves in the evening, which leave not the bones till the morrow.  
London, Printed, for the good of all freemen, who desire to maintain their own privileges in their calling, in the year, 1647.   

LONDON'S LAWLES' LIBERTY. OR 
* Gozm●● or the Spanish Rogue.  A Gozmonian Party licenced.  
YOu worthy Citizens, Freemen, and Apprentizes of the City of London, and all others who have taken the late Nationall Covenant. I doubt not but you well remember that you thereby solemnly engaged yourselves to maintain, preserve, and defend the fundamental laws of this kingdom, and to square your actions accordingly, imprecating the wrath and vengeance of the great God of heaven and earth to fall upon you, when you cease to perform what you then swore to and declared.  
Now therefore Gentlemen, that you may the better perform what you then vowed and protested to maintain, I shall hereby acquaint you with a most illegal, (and as the same is executed) a tyrannical Act of Common Council of the City of London, the Contents whereof is as followeth.  
Commune Concil● tent in Communia Guihald Civitat London, Sexto die julii, 1602.  
WHereas by the privileges and Franchises of the City of London, confirmed by Parliament, every Warehouse, shop and other place within the City of London and the liberties of the same, having open show into any of the streets or laines of this City, hath time out of mind been reputed, and known to be, and so ought, and hath been accustomed to be, and in very deed is an open and public market place for show and sale of wares, and Merchandise within the said City, and the liberties of the same. And whereas in ancient time, the open streets and laines of the said City, have been only used and accustomed, and so ought to be used and accustomed for open passage, as the common high way only, and not for Huxters, Pedlars and Haggler's to stand and sit to sell their wares in, and to pass from street, and place to place, hawking and offering their wares to sell; other then certain places of the said City, which have been of ancient time accustomed to be specially used for country people to stand and sit to fell victuals in, and that only upon certain days in the week, and certain hours of the day. And whereas now of late years, there be two sorts of people which are greatly increased and do greatly hinder the ordinary and honest trades men, being shopkeepers in their several trades, within the City and the liberties of the same, and impoverish others, and utterly undo many of them, the one of which two sorts be Fattiners, and others which wa●ke up and down the streets, hawking with wa●es, and offering the same to be sold openly to all sorts of people as they stand, sit or pass, and likewise come to men or women's doors, and into their houses or rooms and offereth the said wares to sell. And the other of the two sorts be for the most part women, and some others also sitting or standing at men's doors or stalls with their wares lying or hanging for show and sale there, and some of them standing or sitting with their wares upon tables or stools in the open streets, laines on high ways of the said City, ordained and appointed for passage and not for sale or wares, by reason whereof very many househoulders who have been in great trade, and raised great profit by retailing in their shops, are very much hindered and some forced to set Haggler's and Hawkers at work, to carry abroad their wares up and down the streets, to the end to take some money to h●lpe to relieve themselves and their families, which inconveniences, if due remedy be not in time provided, are like to g●ow in a very short time to do very much hurt, not only in abating or her Majesty's profit in her subsidies and other services, but also in weakening the Citizens in such sort, as they shall not be able to yield their aid in bearing Scor and Lo●; and other charges ordinary and extraordinary for the maintenance of the good estate of the said City, and very many of them only by means of the said inconveniences made utterly unable to maintain their own households and families. For remedy therefore of the said inconveniences: Be it enacted, ordained and established, by the right honourable the Lord Major of the City of London, and his right worshipful Brethren, the Aldermen of the said City, and the Commons in this present Common Council assembled, and by authority of the same, that no person or persons whatsoever inhabiting, or which hereafter shall inhabit within the City of London, or the liberties of the same, shall at any time hereafter by any colour, ways or means whatsoever, let or willingly suffer to be used any stall, encroachment or purprestures scituat or being before his, her, or their house, shop or other place whatsoever, in any open street or lain of this City whatsoever, to or by any person or persons whatsoever, which shall there sell, utter or put to sale any Linen cloth, or any ware made of Linen cloth, or any Starch or other wares or merchandise whatsoever, nor shall willingly suffer any person or persons whatsoever, to sell, show, offer or put to sale any Linen cloth, Starch, wares or merchandise whatsoever, upon any stool, seat or other thing before his her, or their house or stall, upon pain to forfeit the sum of 20 s. of lawful money of England, for every time wherein he, she or they, shall offend contrary to the true meaning hereof. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no person or persons whatsoever, shall at any time hereafter, by any colour, ways or means whatsoever, directly or indirectly, sell, utter, or put to sale by way of hawking, or as a Hawket, any Linen cloth or any other beware made of Linen cloth, Starch or any other wares or merchandizes whatsoever, in any open street or lain, within the said City or the liberties thereof (victual in the market place, and in market time only excepted) otherwise then upon the stall of his, her, or their own shop or dwelling house, or in his, her, or their aware house, shop or dwelling house, upon pain to forfeit for every time he, she or they shall so offend, all the Linen cloth, or other ware whatsoever to be sold, uttered or put to sale, contrary to the true meaning hereof, and to forfeit also the sum of 20 s of lawful money of England. And be it further enacted, ordained and established by the authority aforesaid, that the one mo●tie or halfe part of all the pains, penalties and forfeitures to be forfeited by virtue of this Act, shall be to the Chamberlain of the City of London for the time being, to the use of the Major and Commonalty and Citizens of the same City. And the other moiety thereof to him or them that will therefore sue by Action of debt Bill or information, to be affirmed, exhibited or commonsed and prosecuted in the Queen's Majesty's Court to be hosden before the Major and Aldermen of the said City, in the chamber of Guild Hall of the same City, wherein no wager of Law shall be admitted for the Defendant. And that it shall and may be lawful, to all and every person or persons whatsoever thereunto authorized by the Lord Major, and Court of Aldermen of the City aforesaid, for the time being, who shall see or know any Linen cloth, wares made of Linen cloth, Starch or other wares or merchandizes whatsoever, which shall be bought, sold, uttered or offered to be put to sale, contrary to the true meaning of this present Act. And thereby shall be forfeited by virtue of this Act, to seize the same, and to carry and convey the same to the Guild Hall of the said City, or to some place near unto the same, there to remain in safe custody, until the same shall be disposed of according to the true meaning of this present Act.  
This Act of Common Counsel, 
City of London's ●ase. Devinets ace. an 2. ●hil. and ●ary. 7 2. Edw. ●. 1, ●o. Hen. ●. 14.  is utterly void and against law, for that no Citizen or free man of London can be restrained by an act of Common Council to sell or proffer his wares in the street upon pain of forfeiture.  
Secondly, This Act of Common Council is void, for that every act of Common Council ought to have these qualifications. First, it ought to be agreeable to law. Secondly, it ought to be moderate, imposing a pecunary, and not a corporal pain, and no forfeiture of goods. Thirdly, for suppressing of evil things. Fourthly agreeable to reason. Fifthly, for common profit.  
This Act is void of all these, It is not agreeable to law, neither is there any moderation, but extremity by penal, pain, and forfeiture, here is no evil suppressed, for there is no evil done by a Citizen of London to sell his goods in London,  
London is an open market every day in the year, but Sunday, for a free man to sell his goods in open marker is no evil.  
It is not agreeable to reason to debar a free man of a City, to trade freely therein, reason being the fountain of honest laws, gives to every man propriety and liberty, property of interest, freedom of enjoyment, and improvement to his best advantage.  
It is not for the common profit, the sellers being manufactors and freemen of the City, pay taxes and tallages. This Act is in effect to raise prices, for the manufactor selleth cheaper than the shop keeper, who endeavouring to bring all the custom to their shops, is only to advance a kind of a monopoly, which the law abhorteth.  
For as Sir Edward Cook in the third part of his Institutions, fol. 181. commenting upon the Statute of the 21 james 3. which Statute is absolutely against Monopolists, and Monopolizers, he there positively saith, that they are against the ancient and fundamental laws of this Kingdom, and that he may be the better understood what he means by Monopoly, he thus defines it.  
A Monopoly, is an institution or allowance by the Kings grant, Commission or otherwise, to any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate o●, or for the sole buying, selling, making or useing of any thing whereby any person or person, bodies politic or corporate are sought to be restrained of any freedom or liberty, that they had before, or hindered in their lawful trades. 
Deut. 24 6.  And he there saith, that the law of this Realm against Monopolies, is grounded upon the law of God, No man shall take the nether or upper millstone to pledge, for he taketh a man's life to pledge. Whereby it appeareth that a man's trade is counted his life, the Monopolist or shop keeper which taketh away a man's trade taketh away his life, and therefore he is so much the more odious, because he is Vir sanguinis, a man of blood against those inventors and propounders of evil, the holy Ghost hath spoken, 
Rom. 1.30.  Inventoris, malorum, etc. digni sunt morti, the Inventors of evil, etc. eaten worthy of death.  
This Act of Common Council, is also contrary to the light of nature, which teacheth men to walk by congruety and equality, not to oppress because they would not be oppressed, nor to take away another man's right, because they would not have another to use the same measure to them, which principle of nature is ingrav●n upon the hearts of Heathens, who certainly will one day rise up in judgement against them, which would make us slaves in our own land, contrary to the honour of nation, because by it the people are put into a condition of vassalage in their own country.  
This Act of Common Council being also against the common right and profit of the people, and not approved before the execution thereof, by the Lord Chancellor, Treasurer, both the chief justices, or three of them, the party which put the Act in execution forfeit 40. l. 
19 Hen. 7.7.   
Nevertheless although it be the known freedom of every free man of London, handicrafts man, shop keeper or merchant, to sell his goods Manufactors wares or commodity either to free man or Farriner, English man or stranger, in aware house, shop, private house or Inn: yet the shop keepers have and do unconscionably repine at the use of this liberty in the Manufacterors: and as time have favoured, injustice have accustomed to struggle against this their lawful liberty, to the great oppression and hindrance of multittudes of the poorer sort of trades men and to the extreme misery and affliction of their families, for that, if in vacations and dead times, necessit us people, had not this liberty but were in effect bound up to the shop keeper, or to sell to f●ee men they would so frequently be put either upon pawning their goods to Usurers, or selling them to extreme loss for money to buy their food that they would be thereby undone an brought to beggary.  
All which the Shopkepers well knowing, the better to accomplish their unjust, unlawful and unconscionable design petitioned Mr. Alderman adam's, when he was Major, for a warrant to seize and take away such goods and commodities as the Manufacture● should convey or send to his Merchant or Chapman, upon which petition they obtained a warrant, the contents whereof is as followeth.  
(viz) Adam, Major Martis 16 Die Junii. 1646.  
Anno 2. Regis. Carrol 2 This day upon the humble petition of divers Citizens, for redress of abuses and inconveniences by Huxiers, Pediets and H●g●ers, hawking and offering their wares to sell in the open streets of this City, this Court doth hereby appoint and authorise that Edward Hancock, Robert Petly, John Co●pson, Nicholas Wainew●ight and Perigrin Stevenson, Free men of this City, according to an Act of Common Counsel, made the sixth day of July 1602 jointly and severally to see that one said Act for the future, be duly executed in its particular branch, according to the tenor and true meaning thereof.  
Which Act (albeit the same was never put in execution against Freemen; in above forty years before) the patties authorised being persons of a mean cond●●on but of cruel and malicious spirits, have according to their unconscionable and unchristianlike will and pleasures cruelly and maliciously put the same in execution, and have taken from divers weavers & other Manufacturors, being free men of London several parcels of wares, to a 〈…〉 the same tending to the utter ruin and undoing of them and their families, and in particular from the persons here after mentioned, (viz,)  
Upon the second day of September 1646. they by force and violence took from the person of William Smith at Besoms 〈◊〉 in L●wtence lain, London, a parcel of Silk Ribbons (being his own Manufactory) to the value of 20 l or thereabouts and upon the 12 day of January following, john Crown Merchant, bought of him the said Smith, another parcel of Silk Ribbons, to the value of 70. l or thereabouts, some of which parcel, he the said Mr. Crown carried a vay with him, and the residue Smith's wife carried to Rude lain, London, to a place where the said Merchant appointed, at which place the above named parties, did by force and violence take the same ●rom her, together with her basket and cloth in which the warn was to the value of 5. s more, putting her in great fear and danger of her life, she being then great with child.  
That upon or about the second day of September, 1646. john Williams bought of Thomas Poole a parcel of Silk Ribbons, being his own Manufactory to the value of 30 l the same being by the direction of the said Merchant to be carried to Bosoms J●n in Laurence lain, London, Poole sent the same by— his wife, and Elizabeth his daughter to the place so appointed, where the said Petly, Hancock Compson, Wainright and Stevenson, by force and violence took the same parcel of R●bbins from Elizabeth, the daughter of the said Pool, most inhumainly and barbarously abusing both her and her mother, so that they were by them enforced to cry out murder.  
That upon the 8 day of June last, Richard Russell sold unto Thomas Hind Merchant a parcel of Silk Lace, to the value of 5. l 10. s being his own Manufactory, and according to the direction of the said Hind, he the said Russell delivered the same to him at his lodging at the bare in Basin shawstreet, London, where the said Petly, Hancock, Compson, Wain Wright and Stevenson did by force and violence take the said parcel of Lace from the said Hind, under pretence of their warrant aforesaid.  
That upon the 23 day of June last, one Mr. Ogliby a Merchant bought of Roger Rockly Cutler a parcel of Swords to the value of 3. l being his own manufacture, which comodities were by Rocklyes' wife carried to Mr. Coles in Rude lain London, where the said Compson, Hancock, Petly, Wainwright and Stevenson by force and violence took the same from her, and inhumainly beat thrust, and abused her, she being great with child cried out to them to have pity upon her, to which Compson answered, that he neither cared for her or her child, upon which fright and abuse she presently sell in labour and the child died, and with in 7 days after she also died, all the time she lived crying our for justice against the murderer, but as yet none can be had.  
They also took from the wife of Nicholas Govers, a parcel of Silk Ribbons being his own Manufacture, to the value of 7. l which parcel of wares was sold to Andrew Dove Merchant.  
They the said Hancock, Petly, Compson, Wain Wright, and Stevenson also took from George Persons a parcel of Silk Ribbons, being his own Manufacture to the value of three pounds.  
Which said wrongs and oppressions were by the parties above mentioned presented unto the Adjutators of the army, under the Command of his Excellency, Sir Thomas Fairfax, Captain General of all the forces raised in England and Wales, the 27 of August, 1647.  
All which said, and divers other such illegal and unwarrantable seizures, since the making of the said warrant, by Mc. Alderman adam's as aforesaid, have so cu●ely, and with such rigour and unchristian like demeanour been acted by them, the said Edward Hancock Robert Petly, john Compson, Nich. Wainwright, and Perig●in Stevenson, as no Heathens, or Infidels whatsoever could with more cruelty have exercised the same. But should I particularly mention all the free men of London, from whom they have by force and violence taken away their crew and proper goods, together with the manner of their uncivil and inhuman carriage towards them, a choir of paper would not be sufficient to contain the same. And further to make their sufferings more grievous, the parties thus wronged and abused, can neither have Law nor justice against their oppressors.  
For when Roger Rockly complained against Compson for murdering his wife, to Sir john Woollaston Knight, and desired him to bind Compson over to answer the same at the Sessions, he refused so to do. And when divers free men complained to Mr. Alderman Gears now Lord Major of London, for relief against the said Hancock. Compson and their confederates, for taking away their goods, the same have been denied & the parties offending countenanced in their actions, approving the same to be good and warrantable, willing them to persist therein. By reason whereof the parties thus wronged being denied justice, they have sought their relief at common law, and Smith and Poole have borough their several Actions in his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, against the said Wainwright, and his confederated consorts, whereby the potency of the City, and policy of their Recorder, they have been delayed these four rearmes, and can by no means bring their actions to a try all, contrary to that clause in the grand Charter of England expressed in these words. 
●en. 3.  No free man shall be taken or imprisonned, or be disseazed of his free hold or liberties, free customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or any other ways destroyed, nor will we pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by the lawful judgement of his Peers, or by the Law of the lands, we will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either justice, or right.  
That forasmuch as the said Hancock, Compson, and Wainwright and the rest of their Competitors, perceiving themselves to be thus countenanced, and maintained in their unlawful actions, they most impudently and audatiously give out in speeches, that they will ruinated and utterly undo Smith, and Pool, and make them run away, further saying that they have collected of the shop keepers who employed them about taking away the wares and commodities which they so unlawfully seized, as aforesaid 500 l in two days, which they will expend but they will accomplish the same, Accordingly they have caused Smith and Poole to be arrested upon great Actions for saying (as they pretend) that they stole the commodities from them, Wainewright in two Terms brought his action to a try all, did Smith what he could, and procured only Petly his fellow taker (or rather fellow) to prove the words, and he according to his unlimited conscience swore he heard the same, whereupon the Jury gave Wainewright 20. l damage, upon which Smith was cast in prison, where he remained until he had made satisfaction.  
The parties thus wronged and their true and proper goods so illegally taken away by the said Compson, Wainwright and their conferated consorts by the Monopolising shop keepers, which contrary to the Statute disbursed money to maintain law against them, have been threatened, that if they take any course against the said Compson, Wainwright, 
32.8.  and the rest of them, for the recovering of the goods which they so illegally took a company of elbow fellows, as they be which lke drones do, but live upon their labours, I would not value one penny, although the Sly'st shopkeeper of them should say it. But would take my lawful remedy (if I might have it) both against them for taking away my goods, and against such of the proudest of the shopkeepers, as I could prove, did uphold them in law against me.  
You honest Citizens, Apprentices and others, which Esau like will not be contented to sell (or which is worse) to give away out Birth rights and inheritance, the fundamental laws or the Kingdom, which the meanest of you, as he is a freeman of England, may as lawfully claim as the greatest, Gentleman, or Nobleman in the Kingdom. Do not therefore any of you countenance, maintain or suffer either Compson, Hancock or any of their said confederates, so unlawfully to seize (as they term it) to take away free men's goods in execution of their pretended warrant, granted unto them, for the putting of that illegal and unwarrantable Act of Common-counsel in execurion— Which Act being against the fundamental laws of this Kingdom, the parties which made their warrant, and they which execute it, and also those which assist them, may be the known and declared laws of the kingdom, be indicted as accessories for taking away such goods as they shall so seize, or rather steal) from any freeman of the City in persuance of the said Act of Common Council, Accursed be he that is afraid of man that shall die, & of the son of man which shall be made as grass. If the late Earl of St●affo●d, and the Bishop of Canterbury had so helvie a doom for endeavouring only to subvert the laws and liberties of England, what do these men deserve which have seen their punishment before their eyes, and yet have subverted the laws and liberties of the kingdom, and endeavour to make us slaves by a law after we have spent the blood of so many thousand gallant Englishmen for the preservation of our freedoms, for saith the Parliament in their Declaration, pag. 694. Slavery would be our condition, if we should go about to overthrow the laws of the land, and the propriety of every man's estate, and the liberty of his person All which three divers of the Grandees of the City of London, and the monopolising shop keepers and their adherents have done, without any remorse or conscience, and their latter practices are worse than their beginning. It would be great honour benefit and profit to the common wealth, that guilty persons should be punished, lest by the omission of the punishment of one, many men by that evil example should be encouraged to commit more heinous offences. And excellent to this purpose is that saying of the Parliament which I desire may never by any true hearted Englishman, be forgotten, Book Decl. pag 39" Which is, that they are very sensible that it equally imports them, as well to see justice done against them which are criminous, as to defend the just rights and liberties of the subjects and Parliament of England, and therefore pag. 656. they call the execution of the law, the very life and soul of the law, as indeed it is, without which it is but a dead letter and a senseless block. But woe unto you Citizens of London, and to your competitors and agents, if the law should be executed against you, for that you would be in a worse condition than you were, when some of you with a joint fraternity like brethren in iniquity gave above 60. th●usand pounds ot one time for a bribe, in the days of the Council table to preserve you from law and justice, and to destroy the law, and to buy and rob your fellow Citizens, as free as yourselves, of their liberties, franchises, trades and lively hoods. Read the discourse for free trade.  
And know ye further, you Free men and Apprentices of London, that they which now give warrant and authority to seize, and take away the true and proper goods of any freeman of London in the the streets, may if he please by as good a principle, and as warrantable give power and authority to take his or any of your goods out of his or any of your houses, which without all doubt (if speedy justice be not done against them) they will hereafter do.  
FINIS.