The great and grievous Oppression of the SUBJECT; Exhibited in a REMONSTRANCE to the PARLIAMENT: Wherein is more particularly set forth, The unjust Deal of the Two CORPORATIONS OF HULL AND HEADON In the County of YORK.  
By ROBERT RAIKES Gent.  
London, Printed for the Author. 1659.   

For the Right Honourable The Supreme Authority of the Nation, the Commons assembled in Parliament,  
The humble Petition of Robert Raikes of Headon, Gent.  
Humbly showeth unto your Honours,  
THat your Petitioner having been at all times, and in all changes a constant adherer to this present Parliament and Commonwealth, and by reason thereof hath suffered and sustained great loss and damage in his Estate, partly by reason of his goods the Soldiers under the Lord Fairfax took, used and burned of your petitioners, both at Selby and Hull; but more especially by the violent and injust dealing of divers Malignants and Presbyterians in the town of Hull, and the base carriage and continual injust and illegal vexations of the Cavaliers and the drunken Aldermen of the town of Headon, these of Headon having from time to time sought and laid wait for the life of your petitioner, and many times not only driven his goods, but lamed and spoiled his goods so driven, and in the nighttime broken his fences, stolen his goods both cows and mare off his ground, and being so stolen have laid actions on them, and forced extraordinary and extrajudicial compositions. 〈◊〉 ●…anting any Replevin for the goods so surreptiously stolen and take ●●…y, threatening those that came to meat the goods, seizing and imprisoning of their persons, and milking the cows and spoiling them, and countenancing the persons that so did: Being a Town guilty of supposed murder, and of much bloodshed, rapine, spoil, and perverting of Justice; the Magistrates drunken, idle and vicious persons, and all the Corporation for the most part little better, being a nest of Cavaliers, Tinkers, drunken and malignant men, as your Petitioner doubteth not to make apparent to all the world, they having been along-customed to much mischief, and likely they are to commit more, threatening your Petitioner they will make the town of Headon too hot for him; having besides lying in wait to kill him, assaulted him in his own house, wounded and beat him down in his own court-yard with halberds, dragged him out of his own house-porch and all along to prison, refusing Bail proffered by better men than any the drunken Aldermen his prosecutors, to the great hazard of his life, as may more plainly and sully appear in a Discourse called The transcendent villainy of Headon; as also by the malicious Malignants and Presbyterians of Hull, who have by their clandestine dealing, and after by open force and combination, without and against all law and equity and good conscience, put your Petitioner out of a certain House-lease granted unto him formerly under the Hospital common seal and the Master's hand, witnessed by the Mayor and six Aldermen, to his damage in his trade and calling to the value of Three thousand pounds, even to his utter undoing.  
May it therefore please your Honours to refer your Petitioner to some Committee, who may order the Justices and others whom they think fit in the Country; to take the Grievances aforesaid into examination, that upon enquiry the honourable House may be certified in the truth of the premises, and thereupon order relief to your Petitioner as they shall see cause; and your Petitioner doubteth not but to make apparent his wrongs aforesaid, and that the Commonwealth will receive profit by examining the Charters of the town of Hull, upon which your Petitioners Lease is grounded, and so much land concealed given for the maintenance of their Blockhouses, now a daily and great charge to the Commonwealth: But also a great deal of honour to yourselves, and security to the Country, in binding to the Peace and Good-behaviour such idle and evil disposed persons who shall appear guilty of such crimes, and also in restoring the oppressed Inhabitants into the freedom of the rest of the Country, to be governed by the Justices, and free from the villainous extortions and oppressions of those vicious and idle drunken lewd people, the Major and Aldermen of Headon, who neither know how to do right, or able to satisfy for the wrongs and injustice they daily commit. And your Petitioner, as formerly, shall be ever ready to serve you and the Commonwealth with his life and estate, and shall ever pray for the continuance of your health, and your increase of honour, etc.   

A List of the Aldermen of HEADON, As well the Drunken Aldermen, as the other, from the first to the last of their Officers.  
IMprimis, Mr. Lister eldest Alderman, an old illiterate fellow, a Cooper, lives by mending old Tubs and Butter-firkins; in his youth a kind of Professor, but in his age in his last Majoralty led by the drunken sort, and did for  in Ale put a Soldiers wife by violence out of her Jointure-house, against all law, equity and good conscience; for which they gave him and his Officers two quarts of Ale more, in all ten pennyworth of Ale. A poor simple old man, his land and dwellinghouse worth 4 l. or 5 l. per annum: In whose time of Majoralty many oppressions and false imprisonmentsses happened.  
2. Item, Mr. Burstal, one of the drunken sort, and a pitiful old illiterate fellow, saving that he is qualified for one of their Aldermen, being vicious and given to drink; hath Bastards going in town that he owns, and is more careful of then of some of his best children; committed many absurdities in his Majoralty by raising and mispending of Assessments, false imprisonment of good people, and all other the scurvy tricks of the Town, to the great oppression of the people, scandal of religion, and raising of suits and troubles: A man at first worth 16 l. per annum, but gave away to his sons; now worth 5 l. per ann. or thereabouts.  
3. Item, Richard Southwick, formerly a Spademan labourer, now a Chandler, one of the drunken Aldermen, a man given to much lewdness and baseness, a common drunkard and a sottish fellow, will be drunk twice or oftener in a day, and taste it roundly in a corner: One who committed many absurdities in his Majoraly, by raising and mispending of taxes, and false imprisonment of men. Worth at first 10 l. per ann. now worth 6 l. per ann. or under. A pitiful, vicious, and illiterate fellow to make an Alderman of.  
4. Item, Thomas Burton, another of the drunken sort, an illiterate fellow; when his brother died, left shoomaking, and malted; had 12, or 14 l. per ann. but by his unjust and absurd dealing in his Majoralty, and his vicious and lewd living, sold some land, weakened his stock, and now not able to live but by his scandalous keeping of Mr. S. a Boarder. One who will not work at his trade, but idly given; committed many businesses in his Majoralty, for which he stood before the Judge at York-Assizes: It's almost impossible to mention all his absurdities and villainies.  
5. Item, Robert Ambler, another of the drunken sort of Aldermen; first a Spademan, but after the death of his Uncle, an Alderman and Tanner, worth 14 l. per ann. or thereabouts; but by his evil and injust dealing in his Majoralties weakened his estate, sold some land, ran into debt by his evil husbandry in drinking and other vicious courses: In his first Majoralty committed many villainies, had like to have murdered one Thomas Smeadley in his bed, and had made an end of him, had not the Troopers rescued him from death: In his second Majoralty committed many absurdities by false imprisonment, and raising of taxes and mispending of them with much lewdness; A common drunkard, and one that is viciously given; had a contest with a Dutch D●ctor about the curing the heat of his codpiece, to the great scandal of Religion, and the Corporations discredit.  
6. Item, one Robert Blansherd another of the drunken Aldermen, a Joiner, a common drunkard, and an illiterate fellow, and a Cavalier against Hull, made (though unskilfully) those wooden Fireworks did occasion so much death at Cortingham when Hull was besieged, both of King's party and other good people: One who had drunk himself deep in debt, but by begging for the fire hath gotten into some stock, and is 100 l. better then he was; which in regard of his lewd and vicious living will not last long. One that had a hand in the death of Mr Ethrington, and many other cheats and false dealing, being not able to satisfy for the wrongs by him done: His estate worth 12 s. per ann. besides his house.  
7. Item, Richard Barns once a Blacksmith, but by getting two widows turned a Baker; the richest man among them, but simple and illiterate, as all the rest are, and led by those of the drunken sort by reason of his simplicity, in the time of his Majoralty, into much lewdness, oppression and villainy, about the driving of , false imprisonment of men, and receiving of a stolen Mare, stolen by Thomas Newson and some others by the counsel of Samuel Bains the Town-Clerk, and the said Barns with the advice of the drunken Aldermen, with many other absurdities too long to recite.  
8. Item, Nathaniel Norris now Major, a great Prosessor, but very Hypocrite; for he joineth with all the rest in their villainies and drunken courses, and caused a false action to be laid on a stolen Mare, and falsely imprisoned and caused to be apprehdended a servant for meating her master's  which he had caused unjustly to be driven and impounded, and after laid false actions of the said  on purpose to get extrajudicial & extraordinary compositions for fees for the Town-clerk, and to spend among the drunken Aldermen, refusing Bail for the goods impounded. One that hath not a foot of land in all the town, and did give up shop at Hull, sold his corn and stock off the ground to make himself Major of Headon; A drunken consort as can be proved, is much in debt, and but little to pay with of his own goods.  
9 Item, Henry Stringer another of the Aldermen, a Shoemaker, a very pitiful simple fellow and illiterate, and very poor, and led altogether by the drunken sort to all mischief and villainy, worth 40 s per ann. and his house.  
Item, Samuel Bayns Town-Clerk, a lewd and vicious person, formerly tried for his life at Oxford for murder (as is reported) a common quarrel and common drunkard, a keeper of an unlawful Tippling-house unlicensed and irregular, and therein many quarrels, bloodshed and suits are raised by him to the great disturbance of Town and Country; for he holdeth there the meeting of Cavaliers and Papists, to hatch their continual plots against the Commonwealth and the good people thereof; as also there in his Tippling-house aforesaid is hatched and contrived all the villainy of the drunken malignant Aldermen his confederates and associates in mischief; there also he contriveth all his false practices to pervert the Law, and lying in wait for blood and murder, falsifying and forging of Records, to the great vexation of Town and Country; being also a common cheater and a cozener, and a great defrauder of men's estates that have to deal with him, having broken and compounded twice.  
Item, Thomas Robinson Butcher, for his knavery made Sergeant at Mace, and one of the Attorneys of the Court; a common drunkard, one that keeps a common and unlicensed Tippling house where much villainy is hatched and contrived; a common Barrettor and betrayer of men's causes, taking upon him as an Attorney, being but an illiterate fellow; A common cheater, and one that often hath laid wait for blood, both against Mr. George Etherington and Mr. Raikes; and one that hath his Agents abroad to steal men's goods off their grounds, and drive their ; and then with the advice of the drunken Aldermen and the lewd Town-Clerk, extort great compositions, and will suffer none of the relations of those that come to meat and relieve the , so to do, but viol ntly assaulteth and beateth them, and carrieth them prisoners to the Major, who alloweth all their evil dealing and countenanceth them therein, to the great spoil of men's goods and , so that no man can say his goods are his own, if they may so be suffered to take them: And in that Town and Country there is no remedy; for the Country-Justices do not meddle therewith, or are suffered so to do, by reason of the Charter the said Town doth plead, and thereby thinketh they may pervert justice as they themselves list.  
Item, Richard Newton another of the Sergeants at Mace, a Tanner, and an illiterate fellow, a Dingthrist and a common drunkard, a cheater and cozener at his Alehouse-bargains and gaming at cards; made only an Officer for his knavery, false-swearing, and perverting of justice; being an Attorney also of the Court, but so illiterate both he and the other Robinson, that neither of them can write their own name, at leastwise neither of the said Attorney's Robinson and Newton can write a Declaration, or indite any Plea of themselves, being more versed in knavish dealing and pilfering and driving men's goods off their grounds, and receiving such goods so pilfered off other men's grounds, Fence-breakers and Nightwalkers to prey and feed their horses of other men's grounds, then in any honest wi●e to discharge the place and office of Attorney as they ought to do; by reason whereof all Suits in that Court depending are carried as the knavish Town-Clerk will, and he will accept of no Declarations or Pleas but what he makes, nor will make none according to the Instructions given, though never so legal, but on purpose to pervert justice and overthrow the right of those he hates, or help those that will give him most for hire; taketh double or triple fees, a Suit formerly being tried for six or seven shillings, he hath now brought up to twenty four shillings, besides bribes or gratuities he takes, so well known to the Country, none will so much as expect any justice from such vile persons. The said Newton and Robinson being also Nightwalkers, and putting their own and the drunken Alderman's horses, (the greatest oppression that can be, and indeed intolerable and insufferable, that so many base, idle, drunken fellows, so idly and basely given, should be suffered to oppress the Inhabitants by eating up their grounds every year as they do) they putting forty or fifty horses on their lanes (they call banks) which are insufficient for ten horse; and when the banks are bare, nay even at every Fare, they being so accustomed have every year, and do this year also enter the neighbouring grounds to the said banks, all their Township consisting but of ninescore acres, and half of them being and belonging to Foreiners, for so they call all them not within their base jurisdiction, and that will not allow of their base deal as above-written, they continually eat and oppress the stranger's grounds, and no remedy therefore, being a general practice and done in the night by base beggarly Nightwalkers set on by the persons above, who never yet gave any remedy for so general and great a grievance, the Justices in the Country having no power to right such Grievances in their Corporation.  
Item, their other Officers, two Constables chosen for their knavery, well versed, and if not, must learn all the villainy aforesaid, if they mean to be Churchwardens, and so Bailiffs, and at last drunken Aldermen, etc.  
Item, The Pinner one Foster, a notorious Pilferer, Nightwalker, and one reported to be a notorious Thief and insufferable Villain; keeps both Horse and Cow, buys little or no Hay; and if any, at years' end sells more than he buys, and steals other men's Hay in the night. All the other Officers being but slaves and bloodhounds to serve the base lust and commands of their Major and drunken Aldermen; nay it is reported, all the Burgesses do swear at their making free to do whatsoever the Major shall command them; by which much villainy is executed as above, and more, which I leave to your Honours to see remedied.   

The several Misdemeanours which the Drunken Aldermen practise in the Corporation of Headon, both by Commission, and toleration and connivance.  
IMprimis, They tolerate the Town clerk, who is a wicked lewd fellow in all his wickedness, being a man formerly tried for murder at Oxford; A common drunkard and common quarrel, and a raiser of seditions and fomenter of quarrels and suits, a liar in wait for blood, a felonious stealer of men's goods off their ground, and a receiver, counsellor, and abetter of those that so steal men's goods off their grounds, a Nightwalker, and perverter of justice; and borne out in all these by the lewdnesses of the drunken Aldermen aforesaid, to the great disturbance of the public peace.  
Item, A keeper of unlicensed tippling-houses, selling Ale contrary to the Statute, and a common Cheater. In all which he is upholden by the drunken Aldermen aforesaid.  
Item, That after he had come from his Trial at Oxford, and from practising his bloody tricks as a cutthroat Cavalier, keeping at Headon a common Tippling-house unlicensed, and as a Cheater had compounded twice to cousin men and make them take less than their due for their own, yet could not he forbear, but must needs continue his cozening and quarrelling, cheating and seditious practices in his lewd Tippling-house, cozening Robert Swack and others by raising and stirring up Suits when by him enticed to drink, raising divers quarrels, and among the rest, among the Tinkers of the Country, he set together by the ears and made parties among them being drinking with him, and so ordered their quarrels, that those of the Cavalier-party should get the better and escape, and those of the Parliaments party that had been their Soldiers, being lamed and beaten by his wicked contriving, to be falsely imprisoned, and after long Imprisonment to be let go without any charge against them, besides many other quarrels he hath raised, and much bloodshed caused by lying in wait for the life of Mr. George Etherington, by breaking his stable-door and seizing his horse, prosecuting the said Mr. Ethrington even to death when his goods were gone: And as greatly suspected to have occasioned the death of the said Mr. Etherington by laying violent hands on him at Paul, Newton's garth, and Headon, whose death and murder would be inquired into.  
Nor did his murderous intentions rest there, but at the same time he also laid wait for the life of Mr. Robert Raikes; and for many days together on purpose to take the life of the said Robert Raikes, encouraged his Cutthroats he had hired, and that by the drunken Alderman's aid, advice and connivance; by whose wicked practices after much lying in wait, the said Cutthroats assaulted the said Robert Raikes in his own house, knocked him down with Black bills and other unlawful weapons, beat and wounded him, and having so beat and wounded him in his own house, dragged him therefrom by the heels all along the streets to prison, the same day Mr. Etherington was buried; the neighbours crying out of their murder and villainous cruelty, bidding them take heed of committing one murder after another, and bade them first clear themselves of one murder before they committed another upon the body of the said Robert Raikes; the death of Mr. Etherington being fresh in every one's memory, and supposed by their cruelty to be made away, which caused suits and many troubles.  
Yet did not their cruelty so rest, but the drunken Aldermen being all combined to countenance such villainy, after long and false imprisonment, when they could prove nothing just and legal against the said Robert Raikes at the Sessions, yet out of mere malice they tied him to his good abearing without showing any cause why, and yet would not suffer him to live in quiet, but hired lewd and vicious persons to intercept him, and without cause carried him to prison, and scandalising him with lies and untruths, but never proved any thing against him to this day, but on purpose to lame, beat and take the life away of the said Robert Raikes, and to pervert the course of Law and Justice, and that by the whole Court of Aldermen in their drunken Sessions. Nor did their malice so cease, but the drunken Aldermen and Towns-Clerk caused the Fences of the said Robert Raikes to be broken down; and their lewd Underlings whom they keep to swear for them in all their villainy, eat up the ground of the said Robert Raikes to his great damage; and the Fences which the Town and their Tenants, being Town-Officers, should make up and repair, neither the drunken Aldermen nor their lewd Officers would or could be persuaded to repair, but on the contrary made a great deep ditch or pit just at the lane where he should have carried his goods out and in, on purpose to destroy and lame and kill those beasts of Mr. Raikes which they had designed to destroy in the said pit, and should come upon his ground, and carried their own goods hrough Mr. Raikes and other men's ground, by reason the pit they had made to destroy men's goods at the entry of their own, having so spoiled his goods about seventeen head of beasts one time and other. They laid and contrived three false Actions, and arrested the said Robert Raikes; which was contrived by the Town-Clerk and Paget, two Cavalier-knaves: Paget declared for Twenty four shillings for fees, and the Town-Clerk swore falsely the said Robert Raikes owed so much within a little for fees, and promised to pay him, etc. being altogether false: For the said Robert Raikes never employed Paget, or ever was owing him any thing for fees, but employed one Smailes to reverse an Outlawry, and gave him money to discharge it and over: But who did it is not known; for Smailes is upon the Record, and had the money, though he did it knavishly, falsely, and contrary to his Attorney's oath, as by Smailes Note of charges may appear: For, for Paget, he never was employed nor trusted so much then, or allowed to practise, nor never did or could prove any such fees due he sued for.  
The other two Actions were for slandering the Town Clerk for swearing so falsely: But that he swore falsely, is apparent by Record, no Fees proved or due. And the last was a false Action for a supposed Debt the Town-Clerk challenged falsely, it being paid before, and never was a quarter so much, as by his hand may appear; but he did it on purpose to cheat the said Mr. Raikes of a parcel of Cushions he bought of him, and never paid for. Neither did they keep their Court's order, by reason they were all employed about begging for the Fire, and abusing the Justices to make them a Certificate according to the false oaths and informations by them exhibited; by means whereof they got a large Patent, and by it and their begging got two times more than all their losses were by fire, but spent a great part of it as their drunken meetings, as they do of all their Estreats and Forfeitures at the Sessions, and all other the Towns stock, that was not long since worth above Fifteen hundred pounds; besides their daily Re●●s and Forfeitures, whereof few are brought to account, but almost all idly spent as can be easily proved. And as that was, which by a vile and illegal way they extorted from Robert Raikes, sending for him by a Sergeant, who is also Attorney of the Court, and under pretence of friendship by the new Major, who promised he might safely come and go▪ The said Robert Raikes went along to know their pleasure, which the new Major told him, the Court had fined him Twenty shillings for contempts for not appearing to the Actions. He replied, He had desired to see their Declarations, but there were none in Court; and if any were then, he desired to see them; but none appeared till fourteen days after. Then they said, He should have feed his Attorney and answered Court-days: He replied, They were so busy about their Certificate, there was no legal Court kept: They said there was; But it was proved that their Court was neither legally kept, the doors being locked, none could come in, nor any Attorney to fee there. But they said, If the Attorney was not there, his Wife was, and would have received Fee, having let the Major and Clerk in at a backdoor. So because none could get in to see the Sergeant or Jailers wife for an Attorney, they threatened the said Mr. Raikes, unless he would pay them Twenty shillings for that Contempt before Declarations, they would drive his goods, or imprison him. Which the said Mr. Raikes, knowing them to be Knaves that sought his life, fearing they would use him as formerly, or as Mr. George Etherington, he became bound to pay them, and was forced so to do: But that would not so content them neither, but the Town-Clerk came violently upon the ground and chased his cows and ; which having been often used to be evil-intreated by those lewd people, knew them and run from them into the far close, so many as were formerly abused by them and knew their usage; so that there was but one cow left which was not acquainted with their cruelty, and that the Town-clerk stole off the ground, belonging to one Thomas Newsom, who was owing Mr. Raikes ten shillings for her grass.  
Upon what strange composition the poor man had his Cow again, is uncertain: But the Town-clerk and drunken Aldermen, and the knavish Officers counselled the man to steal a Mare from off the ground of Mr. Raikes, that cost six pounds; And having been counsellors and abettors to the man and his associates in the stealing the Mare, they the said Town-clerk, drunken Aldermen and Officers were the receivers of the Mare so stolen, knowing her to be so stolen: And the better to palliate the Felony, they caused an Action to be laid at the suit of Thomas Newsom, who with his associates had stolen the Mare by their council and abetting. The said Raikes being at Hull, he sent word and desired to have his goods so stolen secured, and the Felony enquired after: But by such base people could not get justice; Pilfering and such dealing being publicly countenanced by the drunken Aldermen and their associates. So that the said Robert Raikes can keep neither Cow, nor Horse, nor Swine, for their pilfering; having had One hundred pounds worth of goods spoiled by their illegal deal, and ten or twelve Swine worried by the Dogs of the drunken Aldermen, who keep them contrary to Law to wreck their malice upon their neighbours, to do them hurt. And for their Highways, they cause their Juries to swear even what they list, sometime one way, sometime another way, as guided by the drunken Aldermen; and very few of the Burgesses but are guilty of rash and false swearing, even concerning the Highways, and the keeping their Fare; and are in all such contrary swearing promised to be holden harmless by the drunken Aldermen and their associates, and they led altogether by the Cavaliers to do mischief to those of the Parliaments party: The said Town clerk having always counsels, plottings and contrivings of hurt, treason and mischief, in the Tippling-house of the said Town-clerk, by all the Papists and Cavaliers in the Country; which though the Aldermen know, and Mr. Barns was often complaining of, yet he never remedied, nor any other of the drunken Aldermen; by reason whereof the good peaceable people live in great fear and danger of their lives by reason of the misdemeanours aforesaid.  
FINIS.