The lamentable CASE OF THE SAILORS OF THE English Navy, MOST Humbly offered to the Consideration of the Honourable House of Commons.   

Some further REASONS Humbly offered by the SAILORS, TO THE Consideration of the Honourable House of Commons, for taking off the Q 's and R 's set upon their Names in the Navy Books.  
WE know your Honours are not insensible of the great Advantage of the Fleet to the security of the Realm, Nature having placed your Island in such a part of the watery Globe, that the Land-men cannot be secure without the assistance of the Sailors; nor can the Nation subsist under its own Laws and Fundamental Rights, without a good understanding betwixt both. The Sea not only affords you floating Castles, which are the Walls and Bulwarks of your Nation, but it supplies you with the greatest part of the Money raised for the Defence of the Kingdom, for which Reason, the Abuses of the Sailors seem yet the more hard in point of Pay; for thus they seem to have a Natural as well as Rightful Claim to their Wages. Had the Money raised upon Land, been the only Sum appropriated for the payment of the Army, and the Tonnage and Poundage upon Shipping, with all Duties laid on Merchandise, outward and inward, appropriated for the Navy, the Sailors would have had a very generous Allowance.  
We do not complain of the Allowance made us by this Honourable House, it is indeed generous enough; we are content with our Wages, had we any way to come at our own; and we are persuaded that your Honours, when you gave us such Allowances for Provision and Pay, did intent it should be equally distributed according to the true Intent and Meaning of your Acts. We cannot find in any of your Acts the Commissioners of the Admiraltry or Navy empowered to stop our Wages, under pretence of Q's and Rs. We yet believe ourselves to be English Men, entitled to our Franchises and free Birthrights, and must judge ourselves to be so, until such time as we are Bastardised by Act of Parliament.  
The Soldiers have Judicatures appointed them, whether they may appeal, when abused in point of Pay; But the Sailors, who are bold to assert, that they have done the Nation as much Service, and earned their Money as hard as any, can appeal no where but to such Persons as have done them the highest Injustice, and are solely left to the Judgement of their Enemies.  
We are here unwilling to recriminate and urge the Hardships we have met with at Sea, by being put to short Allowance in the Channel, a thing unknown to former Ages; we are willing to forget our bad Provisions, the Pease, Bread, and stinking Beef and Pork we have eaten, when this Honourable House allowed us all Species good in their kind. But the want of our Pay, after these Hardships, is a Grievance intolerable, when after so tedious an absence from our Wives and Families, we must have the unhappy entertainment to see them Starve at Home, and be cursed by the Parishes to which they are now burdensome.  
We hope this Honourable House is throughly sensible of our Hardship, in having our Wages detained from us, under the pretence of Q's and Rs, and the deplorable Condition of our necessitous Families, occasioned by this Grievance, is worth the Consideration of this Honourable House, as also of their Compassion. A Sailor is able by his Employment to keep his Family from the Parish, when his Wages are duly paid him; but when detained from him after this manner, not only he, but those that have trusted him with their Stocks, in expectation of just Payment, must be burdensome to their Neighbour.  
We would therefore humbly urge our deplorable Circumstances as highly worthy the Consideration of this Honourable House: We hope our good Service may plead for us, and that the loss of our Blood and Limbs in the Service of our Country, shall be no occasion of the loss of our Pay. The Story of la Hogue will be a standing Monument of our Bravery to future Ages, and we had no share in the Affair of Monsieur Pointy, or that of Tholoun, yet kept out of our Pay, when such Commanders as run away with their Ships had no R put upon their Names in the Navy-Books. We envy them not the Bounty allowed them; we are contented with our Wages when we can get it. All we desire is the Payment of what we ventured our Lives to get; and we in all Humility hope we shall not incure the Displeasure of this Honourable House, when we complain of our loss of Pay, and of our being whipped and pickled into the Bargain.  
All which is humbly submitted to the Wisdom of this Honourable House.