A REQUEST TO THE JUSTICES Not to Make Convictions Without Hearing the Accusers and the Accused Face to Face in Matters about RELIGION: According to the Law of God( and the Roman Laws,) in many SCRIPTURES cited both out of the OLD and NEW TESTAMENT.  
WE do entreat the Iustices of Peace not take any Witness or Information from Informers against us, to convict us behind our backs, until you hear us together Face to Face: And we do believe that would ease you of a great deal of Trouble in your Courts and Sessions: for in some places the Justices have seen many of the Informers have sworn falsely against us, to have been at a M●eting, when some of us the same time have been in the country, and other●●ave not been at a Meeti●g that day, as in several places have be●n pr●ved in open Court; and the In●ormers have been cast: so that if we and our Accusers were brought face to face before a Justice of Peace before Conviction many of our Causes would there end, and never trouble your Courts nor us further. And therefore we entreat you to red these Scriptures following▪ and you may see what the Law of God and the Roman Laws say in behalf of our Case.  
Nicodemus saith,( who was a Ruler of the Jews) when Christ was accused by the Officers of the Jews, and Chief Priests and Pharisees, Doth our Law judge a●y Man before it heareth him, and knoweth what he doth? John 7.45.51. And was not the Jews Law, the Law of God? which Nicodemus calls Our Law.  
And the Lord said to Moses, the chief Magistrate, Both the Men between whom the Controvers●is, shall stand before the Judge, &c. And the Judge shall make diligent search; and if the Witness be a false Witness, and have testified falsely against his Brother; then shall and do unto the false Witness, as he thought to have done against his Brother, Deut. 19.15, 16.  
And Solomon saith, A False Witness shall not be unpunish●d; and he that tells Lies shall not escape, Prov. 9.5, 9. And Solomon heard the two Women concerning the dead and the living Child, Face to Face, 1 Kings 3.16.  
And again, it is said, For all man●er of Trespasses, &c. which another challengeth to be his; the Case of both Partys shall come before the Judge.[ Mark, Both Partys] Exod. 22.9. And was not this the Law of God from Mount Sinai? that saith, Both Partys shall come before the Judge, &c.  
And the Lord said, The Jews were to have one manner of Law, as well for the Stranger, as for one of their own Country, i. the Jews, Lev. 24.22. So here was no hearing of any Case or Trespass to make any Conviction before the Judge, but Face to Face.  
And when the Officers brought Christ Jesus before Caiaphas the High-Priest, where the Scribes and Elders were assembled; The Chief Priests and Elders, and all the Co●nsel sought False Witnesses against Jesus, to put him to Death, but found none; at last came two False Witn●sses, and said, This Fellow said, I am able to destroy the Temple of God, and build it again in three days, Mat. 26.59, 60, 61. John 18.12. Luke 22.5, 2.  
Now here you may see in the High Priests Court, the False Witnesses were brought Face to Face against Jesus before the High Priest.  
And after, when they lead Jesus unto Pilate the governor; the Chief Priests and Scribes stood up, and vehemently accused him; so Pilate the Roman governor, heard Christ, and his False Accusers and Witnesses, namely, the Chief Priests and Scribes, Face to Face, before he condemned Christ, Luke 23. from 1. to ●6.  
And the Roman Chief Captain of the Castle in Jerusalem, when Paul was accused of the Jews, commanded the Chief Priests which accused Paul, and their Counsel to appear before Paul and him Face to Face, and set Paul before them; so this Roman Captain, a Soldier, heard Paul and his Accusers Face to Face, in matter of Religion, and not only so, but delivered him out of their envious hands. A brave Act of a Roman soldier, as you may see i● Acts 22.30. and 23.1, 2, 3, 4.  
And this Captain sends Paul to Caesarea unto Faelix the governor, and gives a Relation how he heard Paul and his Accusers Face to Fa●e, in matter of Religion: And Faelix the governor sa●d to Paul, I will bear thee when thine Accusers are also come. So we see that Faelix the governor, did not hear Paul till his Accusers were come Face to Face, Acts 23.35. And after five days, Ananias the High Priest d●scended with the Elders, and with a certain Orator, called Tertullus, and said to the governor Faelix, We have found this Man( namely Paul) a pestilent Fellow, and a m●ver of Sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a Ringleader of the S●ct of the Nazareens. Here this governor Fael●x heard Paul and the Chief Priests, False Accusers, and Witnesses against him in matters of Religion, Face to Face. But Paul cleared himself from their False Accusation before them, Acts 24. whole Chap. And when the High Priests and Chief of the Jews, Informed Festus against Paul at Jerusalem, behind his back, when Paul was at Caesarea a Prisoner; Festus did not make a Conviction of it behind Pauls back, upon the High Priests and Chief of the Jews Information. But Festus answered them like a Wise Man, and said, Go down to Caesarea, which among you are a●le, and accuse this Man, to wit, Paul. So they went to Caesarea, and laid grievous Complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.  
So here you may see, Festus did hear Paul and his Accusers, in Matters of religion and Worship, Face to Face. And Festus said to King Agrippa; When I was at Jerusalem, the Chief Priest● and Elders of the Jews Informed me against Paul, and desired to have judgement against him. To whom I answered, 'tis not the manner of the Romans to deliver a Man to die, before he that is Accused have his Accusers Face to Face, and have licence to Answer for him●●●f concerning the Crimes laid against him. So these made not Convictions behind back.  
And here you may see, the Chief Priests and Elders of the ●●ws, would have acted contrary to their own Law, ●he Law of God,( for Nicodemus saith, Doth our Law judge a Man before it hear● him?) and contrary to the Roman Law, which doth not judge a Man, before his Accusers be brought Face to Face, and he to answer for himself, as you may see Acts 25. to the end. And Festus said to King Agrippa, That after Examination,( namely, hearing of both parties Face to Face) it s●em'd to him a thing unreas●nable to sand a Prisoner to Augustus Caesar, and not withal to signify the Crimes laid aga●●st him, Acts 25.26.  
So if the Law of God in the Old Testament, and the Roman Law, did hear Men Face to Face, concerning matters of Outward things and Religion,( for Pauls case was a matter of Religion, and in this the Roman Captain and the Governours did hear Paul and his Accusers Face to Face, before they made a Conviction, or sent Paul to Caesar) then surely Christians should not ●ct below the Law of God and the Roman Laws, to Convict People behind their backs; so that they cannot hear nor see their Accusers Face to Face, till after Conviction,  
And likewise in Acts 6.7. The Chief Priests heard Steven and the False Witnesses against him Face to Face, in matters concerning Religion, before they stoned him to Death. But in Acts 25.15. The Chief Priests and Elders were so envious and mad, that they would have had judgement of Festus against Paul beh●nd his back. But Festus answered, 'tis not the manner of the Romans, &c. before he that is accused have his Accusers Face to Face, and licence to answer for himself, concerning the Crimes laid against him.  
And therefore we do entreat you to consider us in these things; and let not Convictions be made upon u● behind our backs, by such as we know not what qualities they be of, nor who they are; but let our Con●ictions be Face to Face, that we may be heard ●efore we be Convicted, according to the L●w of God, and the Romans Law, which is but reason. And it is commonly said, That the Laws of the Land, are grounded upon the Law of God, Scripture and Reason.  
In Gen. 3.9, to 19. you may see, after Adam and Eve had ●ransgressed the command of God, how the Lord examined them, and heard what they could say for themselves, before he passed Sentence on Adam and Eve, and upon the Serpent. And not only so, but he said, The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpents head. Christ Jesus, who through Death destroys Death that Man and Woman were brought into, by eating that which God forbade. And likewise destroys the Devil, the power of Death: For as in Adam all dies; even so in Christ shall all be made alive, 1 Cor. 15.22.  
And in Gen. 4 9, to 16. you may see, the Lord examined Cain, and asked him, Where is Abel thy Brother? after he had killed him, and the Lord said, What hast thou done? The Voice of thy Brothers Blood crieth unto me from the Ground; which was a Witness against Cain. And so here you may see the Lord examined Cain, before he made a Conviction upon him, and Condemned him. And do you think the Lord could not have ●ondemned Cain, and have passed Sentence u●o● him, without asking where his Brother Abel was; but to give Example?  
And in Gen. 6. God looked upon the Earth, and behold it was Corrupted. For all Flesh had corrupted his way upon the Earth. And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not alwa es strive with Man, &c. I will destroy Man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth. Here the Lord look't upon them, and striven with them, before he destroyed them.  
And in Gen. 11. when Nimrod and his Company were b●ilding of Babel, the Lord God said, Behold, the People are one, and they have all one Language, and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they imagine to do And the Lord said, Go to, let us go down, and There[ Mark, There] confounded their Language, that they may not understand one anothers Speech. So the Lord confounded and scattered them over all the Face of the Earth. So here you may see what the Lord said, Let us go down, and there confounded their Languages. So he confo●nded them, and scattered them abroad upon the face of all the Earth.  
And in Gen. 13.13. The Men of Sodom were Wicked and Sinners before the Lord exceedingly. And in Gen. 18.20, 21. The Lord said, Because the cry of the City of Sodom is great, and because their Sin is grievous, I will go down, know, and see, whether they have done altogether according to the Cry of it, which is come unto me. If not, I will know. Now 'tis said in the Margin, God speaketh after the f●sh●on of M●n. That is, I will enter into judgement with good advice.  
Here you may see, before the Lord did destroy Sodom, he said, I will go down a●d s●e, whether they have done altogether according to the Cr , which is come to me. If not, I will know. And do you think any th●ng was hide from the Lord, concerning Sodom before? But th● Lord wou●d manifest his Righteous and Just Proceedings unto the Eyes o● Men.  
And when Tamer was accused as being with Child by whoredom, Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burned. And when she was brought forth, she Convicted ●udah with his Signet, Bracel●t and Staff. Which made Judah confess, That Tamar was more Rig●teous than he. So 'tis not good to make Convictions, and give judgement behind Peoples backs, lest they be made to confess as Judah did, They whom they make Convictions or give their Judgments against behind their backs, are more righteous then th●y who judge them.  
But we do think it very hard, that several Justices of Peace should make so many Convictions in some places behind our backs, without hearing us and our Accusers and Witnesses Face to Face, who if they did hear us Face to Face, we do believe it would ease the Sessions of a great dea● of Trouble, and prevent many False Swearers against us, as hath been proved in some Courts; which hath put us to a great deal of Trouble and Charges in the trial of our Appeals. And when they have been cast,& proved forsworn, we have had little relief against them as yet: But the Informers have gone on still But if we were but heard before Conviction, it might prevent many False Oaths,& the Trouble at your Sessions,& a great deal of Charges we are put unto. So we shall leave all those things to your weighty Consideration, and desire that the Lord may give you Wisdom and Understanding to hear and judge of our Suffering Case.  
From the People called Quakers, first month, 1684.   
THE END.