A public DECLARATION AND solemn Protestation OF The freemen of England and Wales, against the illegal, intolerable, undoing Grievance of freequarter.  
Printed in the year. 1648.   

A public Declaration and solemn Protestation of the Freemen of England and Wales, against the illegal, intolerable, undoing Grievance of freequarter.  
WE the Knights, Esquires, Gentlemen, Freeholders, Citizens, Burgesses, and Freemen of the realm of England and Domion of Wales, do hereby publicly declare, remonstrate and protest to the Honourable Houses of Parliament, the Army and soldiery and all the world, that the keeping up of an overnumerous burdensome Army, since the wars determined, and their forcible entering into our Houses, taking and eating up our provisions for horse and men, and free-quartering upon us, against our wills, to our ineffable vexation, oppression, and undoing (especially in these times of extraordinary dearth, 'samine, and decay of trade) is an express high violation of our fundamental laws, Rights, Properties and Liberties, in the late just defence whereof against the King and his Malignant party, we have spent our estates, blood, and hazarded our dearest lives in the field; a direct breach of Magna Charta c. 22. and 29. (purchased with so much Noble blood of our Ancestors,) prohibited by the 
a rastal. Tit. purveyors; and war.  Satutes of 3. E. 1. c. 7. 28. E. 1. c. 2. 1. E. 3. c. 7. 4. E. 3. c. 3. 5. E. 3. c. 1. 14. E. 3. c. 19 25. E. 3. c. 1. 36. E. 3. c. 2. 6. 9 7. R. 2. c. 8. 2. H. 4. c. 14. 20. H. 6. c. 8. 21. H. 6. c. 2. 14. 28. H. 6. c. 2. which declare and enact the taking away of our provisions and goods of any sorts without our consents, agreeing with and paying us for them, even by purveyors authorized by Law and Commission to be no less than felony, (much more than when taken by Officers and soldiers authorized by no Law nor Commission, under the great seal to do it) and contrary to the very Letter of the Petition of right, 3. Carols, which declares the quartering of soldiers and Mariners upon the King's people against their wills in their Houses to be AGAINST THE laws and customs OF THE realm, and A GREAT grievance and VEXATION TO THE PEOPLE, and enacts, That they shall not be burdened therewith in time to come.  
We likewise further remonstrate, that King Richard the second in the Parliament held at Westminster Anno 1. H. 4 number 22 was among other things impeached and deprived of his crown, for raising a guard of Cheshire soldiers and quartering them as his Court to over-awe the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament at Westminster in the 21. year of his reign, to vote what he prescribed them, and to put the power of the whole Parliament into the hands of a few Lords and Commons of his party; which 
b Grastons Chron. p. 390.  soldiers did assault and beat the King's good Subjects, and take from them their victuals against their wills, and paid therefore little or nothing at their pleasure, and not redressing the same upon complaint to their great oppression and discontent.  
That the whole House of Commons this present Parliament in their 
c An exact Collection.  Remonstrance of the State of the kingdom December 15. 1641. (published by their special Order) declared. That the charging of the kingdom with billeted soldiers heretofore (complained of in the Petition of Right) and the concomitant design of GERMAN HORSE, that the Land might either submit with fear, or be enforced with rigour TO SUCH ARBITRARY CONTRIBUTIONS as should be required of them was a product of the Jesuits, counsels OF Jesuits, Papists, corrupt Prelates, Courtiers and Counsellors to enslave the Subjects and deprive them of their just Liberties. And that both Houses of Parliament and the King himself upon the House of Commons impeachment 
d Mr. St. John's his majesty's solicitor general's argument, at a Committee of both Houses, concerning the Earl's Attainder by Hill, p. 35. 36, &c.  attainted, condemned and executed Thomas late Earl of Strafford, Lord Duputy of Ireland for high Treason by a special Bill this Parliament, for quartering and sessing soldiers upon the King's Subjects in Ireland, and levying forces and moneys on them by Officers and soldiers of the Army against Law, by billeting on them till they were paid, (declared to be a levying of war against the King and his people, and so High Treason within the Statute of 25. E, 3. for which he lost his head on Tower Hill) contrary to the Statute of 18. H. 6 made in Ireland, ch. 3. which enacts; That, no Lord, or ANY OTHER of what condition he be, shall bring or lead Hoblers, Kearnes, or hoarded men, nor any other people nor horses to lie on horse back or on foot upon the King's Subjects without their good wills and consents: but upon their own costs, and without hurt doing to the Commons of the Country; And if any so do, HE SHALL BE ADJUDGED A traitor. And the Statute of Kilkenny in 3. E. 2. c. 1. 2. which enacts and declares it to be mere felony and open Robery for any kern, to live idle on the tenants, farmers and poor people of the Country, or to take any prizes, lodging or sojourning from them against the consent of the owners, or paying and agreeing with them for the same.  
We do moreover further declare, that by the very 
e 24. H. 8. c. 5. 21. Ed. 1. de Malefactoribus in Parcis, Fitz. Coron. 192. 194. 246. 258. 261. 330. 22. Ass 46. Stamford. Pleas. l. 1. c. 5. 6. 7. 11. H. 6. a 16. 14. H. 6. 24. b. 35. H. 6. 51. a. 9 E. 4. 48. b. 11. E. 4. 6. a. 27. H. 7. 36. 12. H. 8. 2. b. Brooke Corone. 63. Trespass. 207. Cook. 5. Report. 91. Ashes. Tables. Coron. 6. 7.  Statute and Common Law of the Land, every man's house is and aught to be his Castle; which he his servants and friends may lawfully defend against all who shall forcibly, and illegally attempt to enter it against his will; and justify the killing of any who shall violently assault the same or enter it feloniously against the consent, which to do is Burglary, and a capital Offence and that every Subject, may by the Common Law defend his goods with force and arms against any who shall illegally offer to take them away, against his consent and not paying for them which to take is direct robbery and felony for which the party taking them ought to suffer death and that the owner and his servants may lawfully justify the beating and killing of such thieves in defence of their goods; and may assemble his Neighbours and friends to defend his house and goods against such violence.  
Which and 〈…〉 Rights and privileges of ours, both Houses of Parliament, in above thirty Remonstrances, and by their solemn League and Covenant, have promised and are daily engaged, under pain of breach of Faith, Honour, Trust, Oath, and the Highest disreputation, inviolably to maintain.  
Yet notwithstanding all the premises, the general and Officers of the Army have ever since the votes of both Houses for the Armies disbanding in April and May last, not only doubly recruited their forces far above their first establishment when the King had two Armies in the field, and many strong Garrisons, without the Houses Order or privity, but quartered them upon us in our houses against our wills, and the laws and Statutes aforesaid, to the utter undoing of many thousands of us, not paying us one farthing for their quarters out of the many months pay they have since received; but instead thereof have levied treble their pay upon us, under colour of freequartering and compositions for it, the horse enforcing us to pay them 14. 16. and 20. shillings a week, and the foot, 6. 7. 8. 10. 12. and sometimes 14. shillings a man towards their quarters, and yet take quarters upon us and others, and sending fresh quarterers on us as soon as the former are removed: which we here protest and declare to be direct Burglary and Felony in them, and no less than Treason in their chief Officers, and a levying of war upon us, by this present Parliaments resolution in the Earl of Straffords case: for which we must now crave reparations and justice against them, and satisfaction for all the quarters thus forcibly taken on us; being resolved to pay no more Taxes towards the Army, till all our quarters, and the money raised and extorted from us for compensation of it, be fully satisfied.  
And seeing divers Officers and soldiers of the Army, notwithstanding the late Ordinances of both Houses against freequarter, and their and the generals and Officers engagements published in print, that upon our paying in of six months' Contribution towards the Army upon the sixty thousand pounds tax, (principally intended for Ireland, but now wholly monopolised by the Army) no Officer nor soldier should after the 15. of January take freequarter upon us under pain of death, against our wills, which notwithstanding they do in many Counties, which have paid in their six months' Contribution, refusing to obey the Parliaments Orders, and protesting they will take freequarter notwithstanding, and forcibly break into our houses, and take away our provisions with more insolency than before: we do here publicly remonstrate, and protest against this dishonourable breach of faith and promise, and this intolerable oppression, and cheating of us to our faces; and demand open and speedy justice and reparations for the same, from the Houses and general; and do require and enjoin all our Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses (who are our Substitutes, and derive 
f This is evident by this clause of the Writ for their Election. Ita quòd iidem Milites, Cives & Burgenses sufficientem potestatem pro se & communitate, Comitatus Civium & Burgensium praedictum ad faciendum & faciendum his, &c. Ita quod pr● defectu ejuusmodi potestatis dicta negotia infecta non remaneant quovis modo.  all their authority and Commission from us, whom we have authorized only to maintain our just Rights, Liberties and Properties, not to invade or betray them) as they will answer the contrary at their perils to the kingdom, and the respective Counties, Cities and boroughs, for which they serve, to right themselves and us; and make good the Houses and their own promises to us herein; otherwise we are resolved never to trust, nor believe them more, and to disclaim them for our trusties or Representatives in Parliament for the future, for breaking of their trusts, and disobeying our Instructions. And because the quartering of soldiers in our Houses against our wills, against the Houses and general's engagements, is such an intolerable Grievance and Vexation, as utterly deprives us of the freedom comfort, and command of our own houses, wives, children, servants, beds, stables, bread, here, provisions for horse and men, which are all exposed to the arbitrary commands of every base dominiering, deboist and insolent soldier and Officer, who command all we have, and may cut our throats at pleasure every hour in our own houses, where we cannot sleep nor remain secure, & now renders our condition worse than any turkey-galley-slave, undoing and enslaving us at once, even to those who were once our servants, and now become our Lords and Tyrants over us, who do nothing but pick quarrels with us, and will be content with no ordinary provisions, purposely to extort compositions from us in money, above double and treble their pay: whereby they grow rich, and the whole kingdom poor, even to extremity, all trading being now utterly gone and decayed by reason of freequarter and excessive raves daily multiplied, which ingrosteth all the Treasure of the kingdom, whereby trade should be supported and the poor employed; who are now upon the point of starving, and are ready to rise up and mutiny in City and Country for want of bread and employment; whiles many thousands of strong lusty boys, youths, soldiers, and their horses (whose labours might much enrich the commonwealth) lie idly like so many drones and caterpillars upon us, taking both pay & freequarter too for doing nothing, but eating, drinking, swearing, whoring, stealing, robbing, and undoing us, and the realm too: We do here publicly Protest and declare, against allowing any more freequarter to any Officers or soldiers on us for the future as such an intolerable and undoing Grievance, as we neither can nor will any longer undergo; and that if any of them shall hereafter, against our wills, forcibly enter our houses, or take away or devour our provisions and goods (as they have injuriously and feloniously done for many months last past) we are unanimously resolved to proceed against them for it, as Burglairs, thieves and Felons, and to defend our houses and goods, against them with force and arms, with the hazard of our lives; resolving rather to die freemen, then live any longer Slaves, especially to those who have been our mercenary servants, and pretend they have hitherto fought and continued in arms together by their own authority, almost a full year against both houses Votes for their disbanding, of purpose (as they pretended in their printed Declarations, though we find it otherwise) to make us absolute freemen; Whereas we feel and discern by woeful experience, that their design is quite contrary, even to make us, the King, kingdom and Parliament no other than conquered slaves, as many of them stick not to term us to our faces, who dare not be any longer accessories and contributors to our own and the kingdoms imminent ruin, bondage and captivity in the least degree against our right and Covenant, and will no longer sit still, like so many tame silent fools, and conquered slaves, whiles they put new yokes of bondage on our necks, and fetters on our feet, to enthrall us to a more intolerable Arbitrary Power and tyranny, than ever the King or his cavaliers intended in England, or Strafford himself in Ireland; and rule us only by the Sword and martial Law; And our very Knights, Citizens and Burgesses, representing us in Parliament, whom they impeach, suspend, expel the House, and over-awe by their power, new Guards and Garrisons put upon them, and the Lord's House too, at pleasure, so as they neither can, nor dare to do us that right, ease and relief against the soldiery, as otherwise they would, and are bound to do, being enforced daily to pass new Ordinances of indemnity from them, even for their very felonies, burglaries, plunders and murders too, for which they must not be questioned, which encourageth them now to commit the like offences with greater boldness than ever, in hopes of the like indemnity for the future, as they have forcibly obtained for what is past.  
Our 
(g) Grastons Chronicle, p. 162. 163. Cambdens Brittania, p. 143.  Historians record that in the reign of King Egelred the Danish soldiers exercised such pride and abusive oppressions over the people in England, on whom they quartered, that they caused Husband men to do all their vile labour, and the Danes held their wives in the mean time at pleasure, with daughter and servant: And when the husbandman came home he should scarcely have of his own as his servants had so as the Dane had all at his commandment and did eat and drink his fill of the best, when the owner had scant his fill of the worst. And besides this, the common people were so of them oppressed, that for fear and dread they called them (in every such house as they had will of and quartered in) LORD DANE, which so vexed and discontented the people, that by secret Commission, from the King directed to all the good Towns, boroughs and Cities of the Land, they were on St. Brice day, at a certain hour assigned, all suddenly assaulted, and slain by the people, every mother's son of them throughout all England: this slaughter of theirs beginning in Hertfordshire, at a little town called Welden, for the which deed it took the first name, because the weal of that County (as it was then thought) was there first won. And the Sicilians did the like to the Dominiering French forces, who oppressed them with their insolences and freequarter, cutting all their throats in one evening, and so freeing their country from captivity.  
Truly our condition now under the Lording Army and soldiery hath been and yet is altogether as bad, if not worse in many places, than our Predecessors was under their free-quartering Lord Danes, or the Sicilians under the French forces: and we heartily wish it may not now produce the like tragical and bloody effects, which pure necessity will enforce the Malignant and poorer sort now ready to starve, and the very best friends to the Parliament unto, for their own self preservation and defence, as we may justly fear, if not timely prevented by the Houses and general's strict care and discipline, in making good their Engagements to us, wherein they have hitherto failed, and speedily reduce the Army to such a small proportion of five or six thousand only, as they may well pay and master; and quarter in inns and Alehouses without any pressure to us. Being peremptorily resolved in their defaults, by God's assisting power to right and ease ourselves of them, and all other oppressing Grievances, by the best and most expeditions means we may, to preserve ourselves, our Posterities, kingdom and neglected Ireland, (whose supplies are wholly frustrated and engrossed by our idle super-numerary, and supernecessary Army and soldiers) from utter vassalage and ruin. And therefore we do hereby earnestly desire and admonish all Officers and soldiers at their utmost peril, from henceforth after this our public Remonstrance, to take no more freequarter, nor force any more moneys from us, against our wills; but carefully to follow John Baptist's Lesson to them (a burning and shining Light) Luk. 2. 14. And the soldiers likewise came to John, saying; And what shall we do? And he said unto them: do violence to no man; neither accuse any man falsely, and be content with your wages; Lest they so far discontent and enrage us so far, as to fall a quartering of them in good earnest, which we heartily desire (if possible) to prevent by this timely admonition, and notice of our unalterable, just and necessary resolutions, from which neither fear nor flattery, nor entreaties shall remove us.  
And shall likewise humbly importune the Honourable Houses of Parliament to order and declare according to the Tenor of the Petition of Right that all Officers and soldiers whatsoever shall be liable to the Jurisdiction, Arrests, Warrants and power of High Sheriffs, Justices of Peace, Mayors, bailiffs, Constables, tythingmen, and other public Officers of Justice, for Felonies, Breaches of Peace, and other misdemeanours punishable by the laws and Statutes of the realm, as farforth as any other Subjects are and be; and that all those may be particularly enjoined to discharge their duties herein; and all Officers of the Army ordered to be aiding and assisting to them therein under pain of felony and being cashiered; without which we shall enjoy neither security nor peace in Country or City, no nor in our own beds and Houses.  
FINIS.