TWO PETITIONS OF THE Sequestered Clergy of England and Wales.  
ONE, To the Kings most excellent Majesty: THE OTHER, To Sir THOMAS FAIRFAX.  
WITH The Declaration of the General, and his Council of War thereupon.  
AS ALSO, His Majesty's Proclamation against Intruding into other men's Cures, and detaining their Tithes.  
LONDON, Printed for Richard Royston, August 2. 1647.   

To the Kings most Excellent Majesty.  
The Humble Petition of many thousands of Your Majesty's loyal Subjects, the poor sequestered Clergy of England and Wales,  
Humbly showeth,  
THat whereas your Petitioners have a long time been destitute of all livelihood, by means of sequestration of their Estates and other losses, and are at present driven to extreme necessities how to provide for themselves and their families, and the season now approaching for the receiving the benefits of the Harvest before which time, if some charitable course be not taken, they are like to starve or beg another year.  
May it therefore please Your most Sacred Majesty to take our sad condition into Your Gracious consideration and care, that some course may be taken for our speedy relief, as may preserve us alive, and enable us to do more service in God's Church to Your Majesty and the Kingdom.  
And as in duty bound, we shall ever pray for Your Majesty's happy establishment, and long and prosperous Reign.  
This Petition was delivered to His Majesty, on Saturday July 17. by two of the sequestered Clergy, employed by others of their Brethren to prosecute this business. His Majesty very graciously expressed himself how deeply sensible he was of their condition, and bid them rest assured, that whatsoever was in his power for their relief, should not be wanting; but for the present all that he could do, was to recommend the Petition to the General and the Commanders of the Army; which accordingly he did both by special Messengers, and by word of mouth at several times.  
Hereupon this Petition ensuing was delivered to the General, and Copies thereof left with some of the chief Commanders.  
To His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax.  
The Humble Petition of many thousands of the poor sequestered Clergy of England and Wales,  
Humbly showeth,  
THat whereas the eyes of all the oppressed people of the Kingdom are fixed upon Your Excellency and the Army, as the great Instruments (under God) to restore them to their legal Rights and Liberties, which they do justly ground upon Your several Declarations published to the World.  
And whereas your Petitioners (a considerable number of the freeborn men of this Kingdom) have been for divers years outed of their livelihood and free-holds, contrary to Magna Charta, and other fundamental Laws of the Land, by the arbitrary power of Committees; whose proceed usually have been by no Rule of any known Law, but by their own wills: of whose orders no Record is kept, nor scarce any notes or memorial, whereby it may appear when, by whom, or for what your Petitioners were removed, the Committee: for scandalous and for plundered Ministers (by whom the greatest part are turned out) being grounded not so much as upon any Ordinance of both Houses; the most of your Petitioners outed for refusing the Covenant, or adhering to the King and the Religion established according to their Judgements and Consciences; and, of those, divers never called to answer, scarce one had any Articles proved by oath, or other legal process, and some put out upon private information given to the Chairman Mr. White: by which unheard of proceed not to be paralleled in any age, Your Petitioners, who have lived heretofore in good esteem, according to their Calling, Degrees, Birth and Education, are reduced to extreme misery and want, with their Wives and children, that they must either starve or beg, if some speedy course be not taken for their relief. And whereas those, who are put into our places, labour by all means to stir up the people to involve this Kingdom in a new war, and are generally men ignorant and unable to instruct the People, and many of them scandalous in their practices, if impartially examined, and divers of them bold three or four of the best Benefices, whilst divers other Churches are void and without any constant Preacher: And Your Petitioners are ready to submit themselves for their Rights to trial by the known Laws of the Land, and if any appear guilty of any legal scandal (which we know to have been unjustly charged upon many, and is a great part of their present sufferings) we shall leave them to undergo the severest punishment and censure, which by any known Law can be inflicted.  
And forasmuch as the main profits of our Benefices consist in the Harvest, which is now at hand; which many of the present possessors, if they could receive, would presently be gone, whereby the burden of the Cure will lie upon Your Petitioners, having nothing to live upon all the next year.  
Your Petitioners therefore Humbly pray, that Your Excellency would be pleased to make stay of the Profits of this Harvest, in such way as Your Excellency shall think fit, that such as are charged with any legal scandal, may come to a just trial, and both they (if they be found innocent) and the rest, may enjoy their Rights, and have the benefit of Subjects, according to the known Law of the Land, and Your Petitioners shall ever pray, etc.  
Upon the delivery of this Petition, the matter was debated at a Council of War, July 19 and afterwards by the Prosecutors of the Clergy, and others whom His Majesty had entrusted herewith, with the General, lieutenant-general, commissary-general, and others at several meetings; And the result of all in conclusion was this:  
That whereas the General and his Council of War had resolved to send a Proposition or Declaration to the Parliament, that the estates of all sequestered persons should remain in the hands of the Tenants and occupiers, until a general peace be settled, That this Proposition should extend to the Clergy as well as others, so as to include the Tithes, and all other Ecclesiastical profits due to them, to remain in the hands of the Parishioners, or others their Tenants or occupiers, until the said public settlement. And accordingly the said Declaration was drawn up, and agreed upon by the General and Council of War, upon Thursday, July 22. to this effect, viz.  
That the estates of all persons, of what rank or condition soever, whether real or personal, under any sequestration, howsoever or to whomsoever disposed, shall remain in the hands of the Tenants, Parishioners, or any other persons from whom they are legally due, until the general peace be settled, and then to be restored and accounted for, to those to whom they shall be justly and legally due.  
This Proposition, which by reason of the present distractions hopning since in the Parliament, hath been hindered from passing by way of Ordinance, is thought fit to be now published in regard of the present Harvest, as containing a Declaration of the sense of the Army, grounded upon apparent equity and justice, that so as well the Parishioners, as the Intruders, and all others whom it doth concern, may take notice thereof, and conform themselves thereunto; and that the Parishioners may prevent thereby such further Inconveniences as may happen to them, if they shall pay the deuce of this Harvest justly belonging to the rightful Incumbents, to any unjust and usurping Intruders. Which that they may be the better forewarned of, they may take notice of His Majesty's Proclamation to this purpose formerly published by Royal authority, and still in force, and now reprinted, as followeth:  

C R  HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE  royal English blazon or coat of arms By the KING. ¶ A Proclamation against the Oppression of the Clergy by the Intrusion of Factious and Schismatical Persons into their Cures, and inverting and detaining their Tithes and Possessions by Orders of one or both Houses of Parliament, contrary to all Law and Justice.  
WHereas by the great Charter of the Liberties of England it is provided, that the Church should have all its Rights whole, and Liberties inviolable; & amongst others the Church hath these privileges, That regularly no Ecclesiastical Possessions may be extended, seized or sequestered but by the Ordinary, And that Distresses may not be taken of Lands wherewith Churches have been anciently endowed: And that Churches presentative cannot be filled, and the lawful Incumbents thereof removed but by the Ordinary, nor the Cure of the Incumbents served by Curates, Lecturers, or others, but by their own appointment, or in their default by the appointment of the Ordinary; neither are any of Our Subjects of the Laity by the Common Laws of Our Realm capable to take or receive Tithes (which are the portion of the Clergy) unless by demise from them, or such as are appropriate and made Layfee: Nevertheless by colour of Orders or pretended Ordinances of one or both Houses of Parliament, the Estates Real and Personal as well of Our Clergy as Laity have been and are daily seized, sequestered and taken from them, & their Possessions distrained for illegal Taxes and Contributions for supporting the Rebellion against Us: Which being clearly against law and unwarrantable, We did forbid by Our Proclamation of the seventh of April last, and do hereby forbid the same, under the penalties in that Our Proclamation contained. And whereas divers of Our Clergy eminent for their Piety and Learning, because they publish Our lawful and just Commands and Declarations, and will not, against the known Laws of the Land and their own Consciences, submit to Contributions, nor publicly pray against Us and Our Assistants, but conform themselves to the Book of Common Prayer established by Law, and preach God's Word according to the purity thereof, and in their Sermons will not teach Sedition, nor will publish illegal Commands and Orders for fomenting the unnatural War levied against Us, are some of them driven and forced from their Cures and Habitations, some others frienced and discharged from the exercise of their Cures, and persecuted; and their Curates, if Orthodox, or placed, and others, who are Factious and Schismatical intruded and put in, to sow Sedition, and seduce Our good Subjects from their obedience, expressly contrary to the Word of God, and the Laws of the Land; and the Glebes, Tithes, and other emoluments of right belonging to such Incumbents as will not conform to that Faction, are diverted in all Parishes where such Arbitrary power prevails, and distributes, part to such lacious Curates, and the rest to the maintenance of this War, against Law & the Liberties of the Church: Our Will and Pleasure therefore is, and We do hereby straily charge and command all Our Subjects, as well Ecclesiastical as Temporal, not to presume to intermeddle in discharging or hindering any of Our said Clergy for the cause aforesaid, or any other the like pretences, or any of them from the exercise of their Cures and Functions, or in displacing the said Curates substituted by them: nor do presume to intrude or cause any Curates, Lecturers or others, to be intruded or put into such Cures; or to take or dispose the Glebes, Tithes, Fruits or Emoluments belonging to any of Our said Clergy, who are so silenced, forced from their Cures, and persecuted as aforesaid. And We do hereby require and command all Our Subjects duly to set forth and pay their Tithes to their several and respective lawful Incumbents of their Parishes, or to their Farmers, Assigns, or Deputies, without any guilt or fraud, and so as the same may be received and enjoyed by the same Incumbents, without any diminution, substraction or diversion, notwithstanding any sequestration or pretended Orders or Ordinances, or other command whatsoever of one or both Houses of Parliament. And if any person or persons whatsoever shall presume to transgress this Our Command, We do hereby declare and signify, That they do not only oppugn and infringe the good old Laws of the Land, and the Liberties of the Church (which all Our Subjects, as well as Ourself, are bound to maintain and observe) but do also assist a Rebellion against Us, for which We shall proceed against them according to Law, as they shall be apprehended and brought to the hands of justice, and will give direction for taking their Lands and Goods into safe custody in the mean time.  
And We do hereby farther straight command and require all Churchwardens, Sides-men & Parishioners whatsoever, to resist such persons as shall be so intruded or put in into any of the Cures aforesaid, by or upon pretext of any such pretended Orders or Ordinances or commands as aforesaid, and to assist (as much as in them lieth) the lawful Incumbents, their Curates, Farmers, Assigns or Deputies, in the receiving, taking and enjoying the Glebe, Tithes, Fruits and Emoluments to them of right belonging. Willing and commanding all Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, justices of Peace, Constables, Head-boroughs, and other Our Officers and loving Subjects whatsoever, upon their Allegiance, and the severest punishment that by the Law may be inflicted upon them, not only to obey and observe carefully these Our commands, but to be aiding and assisting to the utmost of their power to all such persons as shall require their assistance and protection in this behalf, and to resist and repel, by force of Arms, all such as shall oppose this Our Legal command. And Our Will and Pleasure is, That this Our Proclamation be read in all Churches and Chappells in this Our Kingdom. Given at Our Court at Oxford, the fifteenth day of May, in the nineteenth year of Our Reign.  
God save the King.