HAving had former Experience of your goodneſſe, and having been eaſed by your hand, upon my Letter, when I was heretofore under ſome oppreſſion (though of nothing ſo high a nature as now, being with ſome ſcores more of free-born English men, ſold into ſlavery,) That gives me the confidence, & you the trouble of this ſecond Letter, though you cannot now, (as then) ſingly help me, yet in conjunction with others, of your great Aſſembly, (all inclin'd for the freedome of the people) I hope you will further mine and all the others liberties, who are now Slaves at Barbados, and Petitioners at your Bar; For if this man-ſtealing trade hold good, that all they that were at the Salisbury Riſing ſhall be ſold to the Indies for Slaves, becauſe they were there; And all thoſe too, that were not at the Salisbury Riſing, ſhall be alſo ſould thither, becauſe they were not there; which is the caſe of a great number of the Petitioners who never either ſaw Salisbury, or heard of that Riſing, nor knew why they were committed to Priſon, yet found themſelves indicted for treaſon, and being thereupon quitted by the Iury of life & death, which is the caſe of Augustine Greenwood and Nicholas Broadgate (two of the Petitioners) to my knowledge, (whatever more of that petitioning number were ſo quitted, which I do not remember) are notwithſtanding that acquitment inſlaved: If this be allowed, an eaſie underſtanding will quickly find, what muſt neceſſarily become, of all the (formerly free) People of England: And theſe Merchants of men ſhelter themſelves, and hope to continue hidden from the puniſhment of their Iniquities, and to continue and encreaſe Englands ſlavery, by an unheard of wile, which unleſſe this brave Aſſembly of Parliament doe wiſely look into, and vigorouſly ſtand to their own, and the Peoples preſervation; They themſelves, may chance to be cheated of lives, liberties and eſtates. And the Maior, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, by this law, (or rather lawfulneſs) will in time, not be ſpared by theſe Weſt Indian ſpirits; though they begin with Countrey Gentlemen and others, as a more private and ſilent thing: Theſe ſubtile Sophiſters, do not ſeem to be ſo impudent, as publickly to eſtabliſh Iniquity by a Law, for that the free People would perceive, (and at leaſt murmure at, though they might not be able to help) But theſe uſe the way of a more ſly violence, and pick up free People travelling upon their occaſions, and take others out of their houſes upon pretences of publick Iuſtice, and ſo do piouſly ſhelter their own private and profitable malice, of the former number. I believe the greateſt part, (if not all) of the Petitioners were, (amongſt whom, is not any one condemned perſon) but that's no matter, they were as proper men as thoſe taken in Arms at South-moulton, and ſome of them of better trades, and ſo would prove more profitable Commodities, and yield more Sugar, then thoſe Gentlemen, that could not work ſo luſtily) But I'le inſtance but in one taken out of his houſe, (though I could name more) there was one Maſter Diamond, a Devonshire Gentleman, (as proper as ancient) being at his ſale, threeſcore and ſixteen years of age, he was taken up at Tiverton, (where he dwelt) and the greateſt offence, that they accuſed him guilty of, (for ought I could ever hear) was, that when Sir Ioſeph Waggſtaffe, and the party, came through that town, and the poor old Gentleman, wondering to ſee, ſo unexpectedly, ſo many gallant men, travelling together, askt who they were, and 'twas anſwered, Cavaliers. Marry, ſaid he, (as they pretend) they are very brave Gentlemen, were I, as young as I have been, I would goe along with them, whither he ſaid ſo or no, God knows, I know not, but that was all they had to alledge againſt him, which they never went about to prove, though he were kept priſoner a whole year, moſt of the time in the inner priſon, of the common Goal, amongſt the felons and murderers, from which the high Goal of Exon, is never free, and the reſt of the time, in a Room in ſtraw, amongſt three or fourſcore Priſoners more; and he was ſo far from being indicted, that he was never, (I am confident) ſo much as examined by a Iuſtice of Peace; and yet was this good old Gentleman raviſht away with the reſt of us, from the boſome of the wife of his youth, and from the youthfull, (but now unhappy) Children of their aged Parents, and notwithſtanding his age and Innocencie (for it might have been charitably lookt upon as an effect of his doteage, though he ſhould have ſaid as dangerous words, (as had I wiſht, comes to) be; this aged Gentlemen was driven on ſhipboard, the grave Matron his wife, and their dutifull children. (Having firſt made application (but in vain) to the inexorable High Sheriff) followed him with their affectionate teares, and heart-breaking groans, a • far as Plymouth, but could never ſee him, ſo much as to take leave of him but ſent to him on ſhip-board, to let him know, that they were come thither to mourn with him at parting; but off from the ſhip-board, he might not paſs, to ſalute his wife, and bleſs his children, though it had been to have ſaved his ſoul; and to him, he forbad them to come, upon his love and bleſſing, for fear they ſhould make him yet more miſerable, in being ſnatcht away with him: thus was this ancient Gentleman thrown out of the Converſible world at beſt, (if not really into his grave,) then all the voyage, bemoaning himſelf, (to the great grief of all the reſt,) as a miſerable man, to be ſtolne away from his aged wife, of whoſe conſtant affections he had ſcores of years experience, and who he feared would now break her heart for grief, and never be able to ſee her own home again. In this high agony of love, and grief, and fear, and danger, above all he was troubled, that he ſhould goe out of the world, leaving his poor Countrey, in this ſlaviſh condition, which he had ſo many years heretofore ſeen noble and free. Now Sir, if this be the liberty and priviledge of the ſubject, ſo long promiſed us, the people of England are in but a ſad condition. And if there be no redemption of us, already ſo enſlaved by a tyrannicall force, for whoſe ſervice our maſters have nothing under our hands to ſhew, nor have we any thing under their hands to ſhew, whether ever or never the tearm of our ſlavery ſhall end. Sir, I know it cannot but grieve your righteous ſoul, to hear of theſe afflictions of your Brethren, if this be not redreſſed, you know not how ſoon, the Citizens and Commons of London, whoſe Repreſentative you are, may likewiſe be carried into the like ſad captivity; to prevent which, methinks, ſince Petitions are voted the peoples priviledge, they ſhould petition to the Parliament, (if not for our freedome, yet for themſelves, that there may an Act paſſe to ſecure them, and all the free people of England, from this violent ſpiriting, leaſt they alſo upon theſe miſerable tearms, ſhould be brought into this place of torment. Sir, I ſhall pray, that God will bleſſe you, and all the great Aſſembly, in the preſervation of Englands Freedome, and reſt,

THe great Report of your publick ſpirit, and high aſſerting of the enſlaved people of Englands freedome gives me this confidence, to bemoan to you in particular, and to the great counſell of the whole nation in generall, the miſery of my own, (and of the many other ſlaves at Barbados) ſad and to be pitied fate, for though we have never forfeited our ſelves to the Law, by any guilt, yet, notwithſtanding our innocency, by a ſtrange myſterious riddle, a bluſtering power, furious as a ſtormy Harricane, blowing from all the points of the compaſſe, (but fixed in none) are we hurried to the heatheniſh Indies, and are ſold in the publick market, as beaſts, and become to all intents and purpoſes, like thoſe our fellow-creatures that have no underſtanding, being bought and ſold ſtill, from maſter to maſter, or attacht as their goods, by the proceſſe of their cruell creditours, ſo that he that hath a good maſter too day (for ſome ſuch there are) may have a tyrant too morrow, that ſhall whip him at the whipping-poſt, as a revenge on his baffling debtour. Oh Sir, did this glorious nation, whoſe complacent and tender (mixt with a couragious) diſpoſition, was wont to make them appear lovely, to all the nations of the world, ever think that this would have been the Engliſh Tranſlation, of thoſe Latine words, which are as a Proclaimation throughout the earth, being ſo eminently written in capitall Letters of gold. Over the place of the diſplaced ſtatue of the late King Charls, upon the Royall Exchange, London, (the intelligible center of Chriſtendome,)

Anno primo, libertatis Angliae reſtitutae. 1648.

Sir, had theſe men-ſtealers committed this horrid violence, before that publication of liberty, we might have had ſomewhat leſs cauſe to wonder at their felony (though cauſe enough,) being a thing unknown before in any part of the world, and which the Low-Countreys, Holland, and other free nations will not yet believe, though we ſhould ſwear it unto them. Sir, I beſeech you therefore to be inſtrumentall towards the obtaining of a Committee (or ſome other Court) impowred for the hearing of the poor ſlaves, (whoſe Petition is already in your houſe) that ſo your ſervant, (for that title I would fain exchange for ſlave) may make all the points of their Petition appear true, by the teſtimony of able perſons, upon their oaths, to which purpoſe your Petitioner deſires the Parliaments protection of his perſon, which obtained, he ſhall be able to make good both in ſubſtance and circumſtances the ſaddeſt relation of the moſt unparallel'd breach upon Englands freedome, that was yet ever committed ſince the Creation, and from which flaviſh condition I do earneſtly beg, that you would uſe all your powers, (in a Parliamentary way) to redeem us, and to reſtore us once again, to our priſtine condition of being men, and then ſhall I be able more properly to ſubſcribe my ſelf, (which now being not my own) I do preſumptuouſly,

I Beſeech you accept of my thanks, for your charitable and cheerfull delivering of the Slaves Petition to the grand Committee of Grievances, which, I hear was not onely diſcuſſed before them; but the next day ſolemnly debated in the Houſe: Sir in this your gallant aſſerting of the Freedome of your Native Countrey, you have ſhown a Moſaicall courage, that dare do ſo much towards the relieving of the oppreſſed English, from their (more then Egyptian) Taskmaſters. Sir you cannot but know (I believe,) the truth of that part of the Petition which concerns the Ignoramus returned upon my Indictment the acquitment of Nicholas Broadgate by the Iury of life and death, and the Innocency of all the reſt of your Petitioners that were ſent from Exeter: (for although Eight of the there condemned perſons, were ſent and ſold with us, yet we have not intermix'd them within our Petition; referring that to ſome other way of their own, or friends, (as time & opportunity ſhall permit.) Sir I believe alſo you have often heard from the ſad and charitable Citizens of Exon, the Tragicall hiſtory of our being barbarouſly driven thence, into the Land of our Captivity, with much like violence, I believe, as the Heard of ſwine were driven into the ſea, and they needs muſt goe that are ſo driven; when two foot ſouldiers and one horſe-man, all armed, were allotted to the guard of every two (intended) Slaves, the horſe-man riding between every Couple, and on each ſide of the paired Priſoners, a foot ſouldier guardant, beating ſome that came to pity us; and the Power impriſoning one for wiſhing, God bleſſe us, thus they hurried us through the City: Being upon the Forlorn march, which continued three dayes; thoſe few of us, which were allowed beds by the way, had a Guard of armed ſouldiers all night in the Room to guard us in our ſleeps, leaſt we might make an eſcape in our dreams: and we were not ſuffered to write back this ſad kind of uſage, to our friends at Exon, leaſt it ſhould appear too harſh a truth: the breathleſſe priſoners having been ſtifled up, for a whole year, more then threeſcore, lying in a room all that while in ſtraw together, were not able to march ſo luſtily, as their high fed and furious drivers expected, yet being ſurbated and almoſt dead, through ſorenoſſe of travelling, and fainting down through wearineſſe, were thence cudgell'd up again, by theſe unchriſtian Janiſaries, more cruelly, then a mercifull man would have beaten his ruſty jade. Thus began our miſery, and ſo we were brought on ſhip-board, where it continued, for we were all put under deck together, and lockt down. On the ſame deck was a bulk-head (ſo called) or a partition boarded, we being kept on one ſide, and a main Guard of ſeamen on the other ſide of that bulk-head, through which were port-holes made, and through them great guns, laden with caſe-ſhot, levell'd againſt us, that ſo, if there ſhould have been any rebellion under that tyranny (which any one or two rude fellows, againſt the conſent of the reſt, might ſeem to begin, if they had pleaſed, then might the Guard and Gunners more eaſily deſtroy us, which happily vpon a jealouſy (which was once amongſt them,) they would have done, had not our provident and covetous owners (thoſe merchants of Babylon, (taken care to bring us to a more profitable market, to ſecure which Vice Admiral Hatſell offered the Mr. of our ſhip, a ſtates man of war for his Convoy. In this voyage, ſo great oppreſſion was laid upon us by our inviſible Owners, that whereas every vitious ſervant which Bridewell and Newgate had vomited into that ſhip, had an Hamaka to ſleep in, and keep him from the vermin, which amongſt ſuch a crew muſt inevitably ſwarme all the voyage, untill the Extremity of heat (under the Tropick) deſtroy them, we were forced to ly on the bare hard boards, they refuſing to let us to have ſo much as mattes to eaſe our weary bones; though their Factour moved them, (or one of them) to allow it, and he would have disburſed the money. Being arrived at Barbados, we were there ſold as Beaſts, and made otherwayes miſerable, beyond the power of my tongue or pen to expreſſe: From this bruitiſh condition, Sir, if you pleaſe to ſet too your helping hand to free us, and looking upon us, as Beaſts fallen into a ditch, will uſe your endeavour to help us out, 'tis ſuch a piece of charity, as will be acceptable to God, and all good men. So the reward of the mercifull attend you, for they ſhall receive mercy, I reſt,