To the right Honourable, the 〈…〉 n the Commons House of Parliament (England's legal sovereign Power  
The humble Petition of the inhabitants of Buckinghamshire, and Hartfordshire, Whose Names are hereunto subscribed.  
Humbly showeth;  
THat your Petitioners, and the rest of the freemen of England, before the beginning of this Parliament, being almost destroyed of their laws, Liberties, and Freedoms, by the arbitrary machinations, politic designs, and practices of the Pattentee-Monopolizers, and of other arbitrary supplanters and Agents, which laboured to subvert the fundamental Constitutions of this Realm, and to set up a tyrannical Government, tending to the utter vassalage and overthrow of all the free people of this kingdom, together with their natural, national, and legal Rights and Liberties, God putting into our hands, an opportunity to free ourselves from those tyrannies and oppressions; We, for our better weal and happiness, chose and betrusted your Honours for the same end and purpose; and to that end we have elected, invested, and betrusted you with our indubitable and natural power and birthrights, for the just and legal removal of our national Evils; In the expectation whereof, we have waited ever since your first sitting; continually and cheerfully assisting you with our lives, persons, and estates, being much encouraged thereto by the several Protestations, and Declarations, wherein you have solemnly protested before the great God of Heaven and Earth, and to the whole world declared your upright and well grounded resolutions, to vindicate the just liberties of every freeborn English man without exception.  
Now therefore, our most humble request unto your Honours, is, that you would (according to your duties, and the Great Trust reposed in you) take into your consideration, the slavish condition, that we the free People of England are yet subject unto, by reason of those Arbitrary practices that are still continued, acted, and perpetrated upon us by some prerogative-men of this Kingdom; whom we humbly conceive, have no power over our bodies or Estates, they being not elected thereunto by the freemen of England; and therefore may not commi● our bodies to prison (contrary to the fundamental laws of this Kingdom) as we suppose hath been done to some freemen of this kingdom without producing any legal authority, that your Petitioners can hear of; for what they did. Wherefore your Petitioners most humble desire is, that you would, according to the respective appeals of the said Free Subjects unto this supreme House, be pleased to take their cause into the legal judgement, and speedy determination of this House, as the whole matter thereof shall be reported unto you, by the honourable Committee, for consideration of the Commons Liberties, who have their whole manner of the proceedings against them, together with their respective defences ready to represent unto your Honours, and to grant unto them your indubitable justice (according to their late petitionary, and still constant desires) whereby they may receive the Sentence of this House, either for their present justification, or condemnation; that they may not be ruined and undone by an arbitrary and injustifiable Imprisonment. And if that, through the urgent affairs of the kingdom, your occasions will not afford you so much time, as to consider and expedite their business at present: Our humble request is, that you would by an Order from this House, forthwith set them free out of prison; they giving legal security for their future forthcoming, until such time as your honours shall be pleased to hand out to them full and effectual Justice. And that you would be pleased, in case the principal Informers and Actors be found guilty, to grant them full and ample reparations according to the Law of the Land. And further, that you would take care, for the time to come, to free us and our children from the fear and prejudice of the like arbitrary and Prerogative-proceedings, according to your late promise in your most just Declaration of the 17. of April, 1646. And your Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c.  

Instructions agreed upon as the sense of the Petitioners of Buckinghamshire, and Hartfordshire.  
First, the persons imprisoned, Lieutenant colonel John Lilburne, Mr. Overton, his Wife and Brother, Mr. Larners, Brother and Maid, &c.  
Secondly, by Prerogative-men, we mean such as sit to try Commoners, and are not elected by the free choice of the people.  
Thirdly, by Arbitrary practices, we mean such as are contrary to the Law of the kingdom.  
As first, for any persons to try those that are not their Peers or equals: witness Magna Charta. C. 29, E. 3. 1. 6. Sir Edward cook's exposition of the 14. and 29. Chapters of Magna Charta, &c. (as the House of Lords have done and would have done all the above mentioned.)  
Secondly, for any to imprison men for not answering to Interrogatories in criminal Causes.   

To the Reader,  
THis Petition was signed with almost ten thousand hands, and was brought to the Parliament on the 11. of Febr. 1646. with about 500 Gentlemen and yeomen, who did not find that fair access unto the Parliament that they expected. In which regard, they went all out of the Town, saving six whom they chused out from among themselves, as Commissioners. with whom they left the aforesaid Instructions to explain somethings in the Petition, in case it were demanded of them, and also gave them further order to improve their utmost interest to get the Petition read and answered.  
But, those they had to deal with, bearing (as it seems) a greater affection to the tyranny of the House of Lords, then to the Liberties and Freedoms of those that choose, and trusted them, would not vouchsafe it a reading in their House, though the aforesaid Commissioners attended many days at the doors of the House, and with all earnestnest, and faithfulness pressed to have it read, but could not prevail, and so were forced in great discontent to return to their several dwellings, and truly to acquaint the rest of their fellow-Petitioners, what hard dealings they had found from the hands of the people's great trustee at Westminster.  
But in regard that myself and all the Commons of the Kingdom, are so much concerned in this Petition; I therefore out of an apprehension of a singular duty have published to myself, and to the whole Nation, to the view of all the Commons of England the Petition with the Instructions, and these few lines, and remain,  
Thy true friend, if thou be true to the Liberties of the Commons of England. Richard Overton. Prerogative-Prisoner in! Newgate,