The picklock of the old Fenne project: or, Heads of Sir John Maynard his severall speeches, taken in short-hand, at the committee for Lincolneshire Fens, in the exchequer chamber. Consisting of matter of fact. Matter of law. Presidents quæres and answers.

The picklock of the old Fenne project: or, Heads of Sir John Maynard his severall speeches, taken in short-hand, at the committee for Lincolneshire Fens, in the exchequer chamber. Consisting of matter of fact. Matter of law. Presidents quæres and answers.

Table of contents

Title page

The Picklock of the Old-Fenne-Project.

§

§

The Presidents.

The Quaeries.

§

§

[Page]

THE PICKLOCK OF THE Old Fenne Project: OR, Heads of Sir JOHN MAYNARD his severall SPEECHES, TAKEN In Short-hand, at the Committee for LINCOLNESHIRE FENS, in the Exchequer Chamber. Consisting of

Matter of Fact.

Matter of Law.

Presidents

Quaeres and Answers.

LONDON, Printed by J. B. 1650.

The Picklock of the Old-Fenne-Project.

[Page]

[Page]

Mr. Goodwin,

I Shall observe this Method in answering the Councell on the other side:

First, I shall speake to the matter of Fact. Secondly, to the matter of Law. And thirdly, I shall cite some Presidents in the point.

§

Sir William Killagrew hath mis-stated the matter of Fact in his Printed Case, for therein he alleadges that the Commissioners first invited the King to recommend to them an Undertaker; whereas it appears otherwise in the Kings Letters, and in three of his Letters the King varies. The Undertakers, which no question was by Sir Robert Killagrew, Sir William Killagrew, and Master Robert Longs procurement. The Kings first Letter is most observable, therein are couched all the fallacies of the Undertakers, and the foundation of the project: They informed and perswaded the King, that he might appoint and command a Tax to be laid of a Marke the Acre, without any respect to the interest of particular persons, or consult the owners: And further, That the Tax should be made by the Commissioners on you, without Verdict; and that their judgement must be the rule of proceedings in this case, and not the consent of the Owners, whose aversenesse must not prejudice the Publique good. In the Kings second Letter, the Earl of Lindsey, Sir Rob. Killagrew, [Page] Sir William Killagrew, are recommended by way of Mandamus to be Undertakers, As we expect, and we do command all manner of persons to forbeare to make any particular bargains or works, &c.

In the third Letter it is still by way of Mandamus, We have made choice of him (meaning the Earle of Lindsey) to be the Ʋndertaker. And in the Kings last Letter, the King offers to give his Royall Assent. The Commissioners began legally, for they impannel'd a Jury of the Neighbourhood, of twenty five, who found that the Levell was not hurtfully surrounded. When Mr. Robert Long saw how the Countrey was bent, he wisely sold his share for 1500l. to Mr. Herne, Mr. Nicholas Love, and one Mr. Hoyden, and they were to be at the charge of draining. Likewise Mr. Long perswaded Mr. Thomas Killagrew, and Mr. Henry, to sell their shares, but Sir William Killagrew would not be advised, but built a faire House on another folks Lands, and fortified it, and furnished it with men, Ammunition, and Artillery.

Muskets, Horsemen, and Pistols, in a Warlike manner, and entertained French and Dutch.

Yet the Countrey would never yeeld possession, but alwaies opposed Sir William, and the rest of the Undertakers, the Countrymen were Pursuivanted, imprisoned by Councell-Table-Warrants; some we heare were wounded and affrighted with Mastiffe-Dogs.

Many men were utterly undone and wearied out, and forced to subscribe and enter into Bonds.

Assoone as the Courtiers saw the Commissioners joyned with the Countrey, they procured worthy Patriots to be put out of Commission, and Courtiers, Servants to the Undertakers, and many of themselves were Jndges and Parties; After the Jury found the Levell not hurtfully surrounded, they were laid aside.

And the Commissioners, many being Undertakers (and consequently Judges and Parties) got upon Boston Steeple, and adjudged all they saw was hurtfully surrounded. They might, as well have got upon Pauls Steeple, and adjudged [Page] all the rich Meadows and Marshes on both sides the Thames to be hurtfully surrounded, when they are overflowne by Land-floods.

If you will see to the end, you must observe the meanes, The Undertakers gave the King 3000. Acres by way of bribe; and the King gave them 14000. Acres, for being Judges and Parties; they might be their own carvers.

Likewise the Undertakers gave some thousands of Acres to divers Lords of the Councell, and both the Secretaries.

I pray Observe some materiall circumstances: First the time when this project was set on foot.

It was in the Intervals of Parliaments, the onely harvest for Projectors, then Parliaments were damn'd at Court. And observe the persons that were the Patrons of those Projectors; they were inveterate enemies to Parliaments. The Lord Treasurer Weston, who was accused by Sir John Elliot in 3 Car. and most instrumentall to imprison those worthy Members, and Sir John Elliot died a Martyr for the Parliament in the Tower: The Earle of Lindsey, father and son, and all the Undertakers, have been against the Parliament. Alas there is a bed-roule of other grievances, and 200. witnesses were examined when Mr. Ellis had the chaire. So much in brief to the matter of Fact.

§

For the Matter of Law, we conceive these Undertakers are higher offenders then the Earle of Strafford, for they have not onely indeavoured, but traiterously, maliciously, and premeditately, against the light of their own consciences and knowledges, have actually subverted the fundamentall Lawes of the Land, and introduced an Arbitrary and Tirannicall Government: For contrary to the 29. Chap. of Magna Charta (which is confirmed by thirty two Sessions of Parliament, whereof the Petition of Right, and the Act for the abolishing the Star-chamber are two; they have imprisoned our persons, and destroyed Juries, and put out the two eyes of the Law, Liberty, and Property. Likewise contrary to the 15 and 16 chap. of the great Charter, wherein it is expressed, That no man shall be compelled and distrained to make new ban [...] or bridges, but as [Page] formerly; the same is confirmed in the 25. Ed. the 3. ch. 2. the 1. of H. 4. chap. 12. the 6. of H. 6. chap. 5. the 8. of H. 6. chap. 2. the 12. Ed. 4. ch. 7. the 6. of H. 8. chap. 10. All which are knit up in the 23. of H. 8. chap. the 5. yet the Undertakers, many being Commissioners, have acted point blank against these known Laws.

For the Commissioners could do nothing without the Jury, which are Judges of the matter of Fact, and they are to finde the defaulters according to the 12. of Edw. 4. and the 23. of H. 8. and to amerce individuals, and not a generall levell; and the Commissioners are to approve of such Amerciaments.

Object. But say they the undertakers, by the 23. of Hen. 8. the Commissioners may proceed without Juries by view, according to their discretion.

Answ. Sir Edward Cook explains discretion, which is Secundum consuetudines & leges Angliae, otherwise their proceedings are irrationall and illegall; Besides the Commissioners could not lay a Tax, because they were new moulded of Courtiers which were Judges and Parties, and the Countrey Gentlemen contrary to Usance, Custom, and Law, were put out and Strangers put in, some not worth fourty Marks per Annum, which by the Law they ought to have been; so they were not legall Commissioners, because they were Undertakers, and consequently Judges and Parties, and could not contract with themselves: Had they been legall Commissioners they could not do it without Juries, and they laid it likewise upon no body, for generals signifies nothing, but as I said formerly, it must be done by the Jury upon individuals. All the Kings Letters, which are supposed to be indited by Master Role [...] Long, were diametrially contrary to Law; The King could lay no Tax, nor give the Commissioners leave to proceed without Juries, nor to appoint Undertakers, which is contrary to the 43. of Eliz and the 4. and 7. of King Iames: In the 43. of Elizabeth there is the first mention of an Undertaker, and therein he is limited and directed, what, how, [...]d with whom he must contract: A [Page] Commissioner likewise hath no authority to contract, but the Contract must be by the direction and approbation of the Lords, Owners, and Commoners, under their hands and seals in writing indented: Here was no such matter, they followed their own lights, which were Ignes fatui, and so fell into those pits they digged for others.

They made a Contract with the King, which was an evil bargain, and they had the Kings Royall Assent, which signifies nothing out of Parliament, who ought by Law to speak onely by his Writs; For Det Lex Regi quod Rex Legi, quae Rex jure potest, Rex ea sola potest; but my fellow Courtiers, thought they were above and beyond the Arm of the Law, though they were both reached and over-reached at the last.

The Judges for Ship money were accused for Treason, by reason it was destructive to Propriety, yet that was not three in the pound; but the Fenne-Project cuts our estates asunder at a blow.

In Ship-Money the King had a Judgement by the sworn, or rather forsworn Judges, but the Undertakers were the old Levelling Courtiers, destroyers of Propriety, and got the Kings hand to Letters of their own inditing; and just as the Earl of Strafford produced blanks for all his horrid illegall Acts, as disarming the Protestants and arming the Papists, so did the Undertakers produce the Kings Letters upon all occasions, especially to destroy Jucies, and to take away our reall estates, without consulting the Owners.

It is the same with the Forrest business, for the Judges some of them would have made all England a Forrest; So this generation of Undertakers would have incorporated, and got a standing Commission in all Counties, and so made England the Levell, and England to be surrounded, and in short time would have taken all we had; This was as bad as their Levying War against the Parliament: And we conceive Sir William Killagrew did actually Levy War against the Nation, and had his project succeeded we had been no more a People: Alas the Law of the Land was [Page] used by the Undertakers as a Murderer in Frame, whose joynts are broken on the Wheel, whilest he is yet alive, and in good health. I should Answer the Counsellors prolix Argument, but I know not how to finde the beginning, nor end of his ravelled discourse; He hath played the part of a flourishing Writer, who usually buries the Capitall Letter in a curious knot, and instead of enucleating the business, I can see no kernell but husks and shels.

In my apprehension the Gentleman that spake last hath gleaned his Argument from my Lord Finch, and some of the Ship-Money Judges; All he hath spoken, is for the Kings Prerogative against the Law, that is not now Ala mode. But Master Goodwin, I beseech you observe, this Honourable Committee hath spent one quarter of a year on the point of possession, and I hope we have beaten the Undertakers from that Post.

Then they pressed to state their case in Law, and shew their title, so that we hope now we have gained that Post likewise, and not only got possession, which is eleven points in Law, but the twelfth likewise.

Now the Undertakers are building Castles in the Ayre, or rather upon a Quicksandy foundation of the old Arbitrary Government of conveniency and inconveniency, if that poynt crack, then they will flie to necessity, the old Court Retreat: Let, them traverse their ground and sence as well as they can, we shall hit them still, and beat them at their own weapon.

The Presidents.

IN Queen Elizabeths days this project was set on foot by the then Earl of Lincoln, who procured a Patent from the Queen to drain some of these Fens: when he was making his Works and new Drains, contrary to Law, the Country rose, and the Lord Willoughby of Erby, then Governour of Berwick, raised the Trained Bands and assisted the Countrey in beating the workmen off: the Earl of Lincoln, complained to the Queen of the Riot committed by the Lord Willoughby, who was sent for to the Councell Table: The Lord Willoughby proved the Earl of Lincoln [Page] had not the Countreys consent, but some few Tenants and others of his own faction, that it was for private ends and lucre, not onely to drayne himself and drown his Neighbours, but to take great propoitions of Land, which were never drowned for melioration; and the means my Lord of Lincoln used was bribes to Courtiers to procure such an illegall Commission that himself and his friends might be Judges and Parties; and that it was against the 23. of H. 8. The Queen upon full hearing of the business in great passion resumed her Commission, and was wroth with the Earl of Lincoln, who had been committed to prison, but that his Lordship made great friends at Court, and the Queen thanked the Lord Willoughby of Erby for assisting her good people in so honest and just a cause.

In the first of King James the same project was set on foot and a Petition was delivered unto his Majestie as though it had proceeded from the Country, just such a Petition as Sir William Killagrew procured by two Alehouse keepers: For it was onely a few of the Undertakers faction, like to the Agreement of the People: Sir, Miles Sandes had made many friends at Court, and the King was prepossessed it was a glorious work, and for the Publique good, and the King was made believe the Isle of Ely, and the Southside the River Grant was hurtfully surrounded; but when the King was hunting, the Lord Garret of Chippenbam, Sir John Cotton of Chenely, Sir John Paytan of Iselham, and Sir Thomas Gee acquainted the King with all the cheats of the Undertakers, that they being Judges and Parties had made many thousand Acres, that were never drowned, and the most part of the Land which was the better by overflowing in the nature of River Meadows, to be Land hurtfully surrounded.

That they dreyned and meliorated a little hurtfully surrounded Lands of their own, and pejorated ten times as much Lands; which were never hurtfully drowned before, and that which was most gross and palpable, they must not onely have a third part of that Land so pejorated, [Page] but a third of such Lands as were never drowned, for melioration: When the King was fully instructed, he injoyned secrecy, and went up to the Parliament and discovered all the Undertakers sallacies, and concluded wittily.

It is just the same case, my Lords, at though a pack of thieves should give me 20000 l to give them a Pat [...] under my Broad Seal to rob my Loyall Subjects of 200000 l. by the which I should perjure my self, and become a Theif and Tyrant: Thereupon the Parliament [...]ung it out for a base cheating Monopoly; some of Sir Miles Sands friends moved he might have satisfaction for the vast sums he had expended; Sir Edward Cook answered, Let those pay him that set him a work, and further added, that it was fit Sir Miles should give compensation to the oppressed Country; for trying experiments against the Owners consents.

The Maxime is, ‘Plura potest interrogare Asmus, quam respondere Aristotele.’

But let the Undertakers ask as many and what questions they please, we hope to give full satisfaction to this Honourable Committee; but I wil state the most difficult Quaeres, I ever heard of from the Undertakers, and give them satisfactory Answers.

The Quaeries.

1. Quaere. Why did not the Countrey pay the Tax of a Mark the Acre?

Answ. Because it was illegall in many respects.

First the Commissioners were illegall that laid it on the Countrey, for the Nobility and Gentry were put out of Commission, and there was a new Commission where the Earl of Lindsey, Sir Robert Killagrew, Sir William Killagrew, Master Robert Long, and divers Privie Counsellors who were bribed, and Courtiers were put in their rooms contrary to usance, prescription and custom, which is the Law of the Land; and many of them had not a foot of Land in the Country, whereas by Law they ought to have fourty Marks per Annum.

Had the Commissioners been legall they could not lay a Tax without a Jury, and had the Commissions and Juries [Page] been legall they could neither lay a Tax to make new works, which is cleared by the 15. and 16. Chap. of the Great Charter: Likewise neither the Kings Commissioners nor Jurors have any thing to do with the matter of Undertaking, that belongs onely to the major part of Lords, Owners and Commoners; For they may Contract under hand and Seal with whom they please, so that Commissioners cannot be Undertakers, for then they should be Judges and Parties: Likewise it is against sence and reason that Commissioners and Undertakers (as they were) should Contract with themselves, and give the Countreys Lands one to another, as my Lord of Lindsey gave a Warrant to the Commissioners to Judge 14000. Acres dreyned, his Lordship being the chief Undertaker himself: Besides the Tax was laid on no body, because it was laid on the Levell in generall, whereas by Law it ought to be laid on particular Towns and Individuals, so it could not be paid legally by any body.

2. Quaere. Whether is not dreyning good for the Common wealth?

Answ. There are two kindes of dreyning, the one is by the Ancient Commissions of Sewers.

The other by the more recent way of Undertaking; both these are legall and illegall.

Legall dreyning (viz.) by Commissioners of Sewers of the Nobility, and wel-affected Gentry of their own Country, and honest goodmen of the Neighbourhood, who are to be Jurors, and consequently Judges of the matter of Fact, who return Defaultors according to the 12. of Edw. the 4. and thereupon, the Commissioners confirm their Amerciaments: were the old dreyns thus legally scowred twice or thrice the year, there would little Land lye hurtfully surrounded, this is good for the Common-wealth. But illegall dreyning, that is, to put in Courtiers, sharers, sharks and strangers to be Commissioners, and by the Kings Prerogative to make them Judges and Parties, and to impower them to take away the Free Peoples Estates against their consents by view onely, without Juries, [Page] and to make new Works for private ends, contrary to the great Charter, which is confirmed by 32 Sessions of Parliament: This is destructive to Propriety, and the bane of the Common-wealth: Undertaking is a distinct thing from the Commissions of Sewers, neither has the Kings Commissioners of Sewers nor Jurors any thing to do with the matter or manner of undertaking: This is likewise two fold, legall or illegall; Legall undertaking, according to 43 Eliz. is when the major part of the Lords, Owners, and Commoners, do agree with any person or persons, or Corporations, for a certain sum of money under their hands and Seales, for the draining such Lands as they finde hurtfully surrounded. This is good for the Common-wealth, because it is with their free consents, so ‘Volenti non sit injuria.’

Illegall undertaking is when the Kings Commissioners of Sewers, or others by vertue of the Kings Authority, by violence, oppression, or Councell-Table-Warrants, will Act as Undertakers against the Owners consents; this is the heighth of Arbitrary Government, and Tiranny it self, which is a speedy destruction to a Nation, and the Pest of the Common-wealth.

3 Quaere. Whether drayning Land hurtfully surrounded, is good for the Common-wealth?

Answ. If the Drayners be legall, and do more good then hurt, it may be good for the Common-wealth; but if they do more hurt then good, it must of necessity be bad for the Common-wealth. The Undertaker is like the Tinker, he stops one hole, and makes two; he draynes one Acre for himself, and drownes two of his neighbours; nay sometimes twenty: certainly this is bad for the Commonwealth.

Yet he hath drained Lands hurtfully surrounded, and drowned Lands not hurtfully surrounded, and must have a third part of those Lands that were never hurtfully drowned for Melioration, so the same former distinction still holds good, Legall is good, illegall is bad for the Common-wealth.

[Page] 4 Quaere. Whether is this Levell of the Earle of Lindsey hurtfully surrounded?

Answ. There are two Verdicts, and fourty Witnesses, that have proved it is not hurtfully surrounded; But if draining Lands hurtfully surrounded were good, then draining Lands not hurtfully surrounded certainly is bad for the Commonwealth.

For to draine dry Land, it is to take away the Humidum Radicale, and so consequently to spoile it: Besides to drain the Lands floods from our fodder-Fens, and to divert the Rivers from overflowing, we should not have half so much Fodder for our Cattell in winter.

This Levell is of this condition in both respects, and the Earles new Draines do much more hurt then good, by draining dry grounds, which the Undertakers keep for themselves, and leaves the worst to the Country, and so contrives their new Draines, that they hurtfully surround those Lands which were not hurtfully surrounded before; so they drown us to drain us, but the remedy is worse then the disease.

There are severall Witnesses that have proved this, and we can demonstrate it mathematically.

That by opening the old Draines, it would be far more beneficiall to the Commonwealth, and it would not stand the Country in the tenth part of the charge: All which can and will be done by a legall Commission of Sewers, of the well-affected Gentry of the Countrey, and honest Jurors of the Neighbourhood.

5. Quaere. Why hath not the Countrey drained themselves all this while, will they be like the Dog in the Manger, neither do their selves good, nor suffer others to help them?

Ans. The Country are, and have been ever willing, but they have been obstructed these sixty yeares by powerfull Courtiers, as Lord Keepers, Attorneys-Generall, and the dissolution and Intervals of Parliaments have impeded us; but when we are rid of the Undertakers, the worke will quickly be done, both for the Honour and profit of the Nation, without fraud or coven.

[Page] 6 Quaere, But had not the Earle of Lindsey the Major part of the Lords, Owners, and Commoners consents, his Lordship had a Petition signed with many hands.

Answ. Ten for one of the Lords, Owners, and Commoners, are against the Earls undertaking; Those hands for the Earle were procured by two Alehouse-keepers, and most of them were Cottagers, no Lords, and but very few Owners and Commoners.

7 Quaere. Would it not be a brave improvement to have Rape and Cole-seed, Hemp, Flax, and likewise Corne?

Answ. They calculate and reckon without their Host, that the Customes will amount to 10000 l. 1 s. 8 d. ob. per annum.

This is Ala Mountebanco, or Sharlaton like: Our Fens as they are, produce great store of Wooll and Lambe, and large fat Mutton, besides infinite quantities of Butter and Cheese, and do breed great store of Cattell, and are stockt with Horses, Mares, and Colts, and we send fat Beefe to the Markets, which affords Hides and Tallow, and for Corne, the Fodder we mow off the Fens in summer, feeds our Cattell in the winter: By which meanes wee gather such quantities of Dung, that it inriches our upland, and Corne-ground, (which are contiguous halfe in halfe. Besides, our Fennes relieves our neighbours, the Uplanders, in a dry summer, and many adjacent Counties: So thousands of Cattell besides our owne are preserved, which otherwise would perish. So take away a third of our Fens, you extinguish our Rents in our Commoning Houses, and our Pastures, and Corne-ground, proportionably; besides thousands of Cottagers which have no right of commoning, must go a begging, which the Owners connive at, because they cannot prevent it, being so numerous. So that Rape, Cole-seed, and Hemp, is a Dutch Commodity, and but trash and trumpery, and pils Land in respect of the afore recited Commodities, which are the Oare of the Common-wealth.

8 Quaere. Is it not pitty, when Sir William Killagrew having done so much good by his drayning, and hath spent 30000 l. [Page] but that the Countrey should re-imburse his moneys, there is all the conscience and reason in the world for this?

Answ. First, it hath been proved, he hath done a great deale more hurt then good by his new Dreyners, and when the Countrey shall make use of the Undertakers Dreynes, we will give satisfaction for them, but they are uselesse, nay pernicious and broken Cisternes to the Commoners in Summer, both by dreyning our dry grounds, so we are constreyned to buy water, and to drive our Cattell very far in Summer to water them; whereas our old Dreynes have ever furnished us with water enough. Then on the other extreame, their new Works have so hurtfully surrounded us, that our Upland and Corne-grounds have been spoyled by them; this is fully proved by many uninteressed Witnesses, the Countrey is daminified at the least 60000 l. by these Undertakers.

9 Quaere. Whether are the old Draynes or the new, most usefull for dreyning?

Answ. The old Dreynes are as the naturall sinks, or rather Vent of the Body of the Fens; Suppose a mans fundament were stopped, and that a hundred Issues were made in the body, the whole masse of blood would quickly be corrupted, and the body would breake out in botches and biles.

So stop the old Sewers, you will quickly perceive the sores or Quagmires will increase; and whereas there is but one Acre now hurtfully surrounded were the old Draines duly scowred, if they be stopped there will be tenne.

This is proved by Master Thorpe Mathematician, and he gives his reason, which is Mathematicall and necessary. Because the old Dreynes have farre greater descents then the new, so that the old Dreynes were never without water in summer, which now they want exceedingly, by reason of these Undertakers Dreynes; which was proved before Master Ellis, when he had the Chaire, by twenty Witnesses.

[Page] Likewise the new Dreynes, wanting that descent the old had, the least floods in Summer or Winter overflow those Lands sooner and longer, which is the cause that these Fennes are ten times more hurtfully surrounded then before. This is not my bare information, but Mathematicall, or necessary, and proved by many Witnesses: For I say what Master Walpoole hath alleadged is not Mathematicall at all, but pragmaticall and fantasticall.

It is a strange Chymaera and Phrenzie in the Undertakers to expect satisfaction of the Parliament for the money they have expended; It were just the same, as though the old Ship-money Judges should be preferred to be Judges, and that their Fines should be restored, and they rewarded over and above, and the present Reverend Judges who have adhered to the Parliament should be displaced and Fined.

O Monstrum horrendum in forme ingens.

Quodcunque ostendas, mihi, sie incredulus odi.

We hope the Parliament will either Fine them, as they did the Ship-money Judges, or the old Farmers of the Custom-house; and that this Fine shall be imployed by Lawfull Commissioners of Sewers, towards the doing of the Work, or relieving the poor; or that we shall be left to the Common-Law, as the Parliament left Sir Robert Barkham, Captain Hall, and Master Waldrum.

If Sir William Killagrew finde himself agrieved, he may then appeal to the Parliament.

The Rule in Divinity is, ‘Deus non vult contradictoria, Sic Parliamentum non vult contradictoria;’ In the first Grand Remonstrance, this individuall business is declared to be an Injustice, Oppression, Violence, Project and Grievance, and they particularize it, For this horrid Project furnished the Parliament with those choice Materials, which builded their Grand Remonstrance.

These are their express words:

[Page] Large Quantities of Commons and severalls have been taken away by the colour of the Statute of Improvement, that is, by falsifying and adulterating it, which is meant by the 43. of Eliz. and by abuse of the Commission of Sewers (which dissolves that excellent Law of the 23. of H. the 8. without their consent, and against it) which is the destruction of the Great Charter, Petition of Right, the Act for abolishing the Star-Chamber, and all the fundamentall Laws of the Land.

And against twenty of the Parliaments Declarations, which are in Print to the view of all the world; yet the Undertakers are so impudent that they are confident to pass a Law, and to inslave us, who have conquered them; but we so Confide in our Trustees, that we know it is impossible, being contrary to the principles of a Republique, who acknowledge the Supream Power resides in the People, and the Supream Authority is derived from them, and the Soul and heart of the Common-wealth is Liberty and Property.

These Undertakers were formidable Monsters to the Countrey, and had they continued a little longer, probably they would not only have torn in pieces, but devoured and swallowed up the whole Nation; For they were Legislators out of Parliament, and Anti-Legislators, Parliamentarians, and Anti-Parliamentarians, Bribers, Judges, Juries and Parties. They were Legislators, for they have made severall Laws, and they bribed the King with 3000. Acres to purchase his Royall Assent, though I believe they might have had it for nothing. This was the Root of all our Miseries; For could the Parliament by their humble Petitions have obtained the Kings Royall Assent, as these Courtiers could do with ease by their importunity, opportunity and flattery, this War had probably been prevented: Certainly the Undertakers were the onely Impeders and partition walls betwixt King and People; and they had closed and been reconciled, had it not been for such Imposters as they, who cared not for God, King, nor Countrey, but sought themselves and preferred [Page] their owne gaine before the Publique.

That Prince is unhappy that prefers Persons or Individuals, before the Representative of so numerous a People and great Nation. They were Anti-Legislators, for all their Laws were point blank against the great Charter, Petition of Right, and all the Fundamentall Laws of the Land; they were Parliamentarians to call a Parliament, to sell Ship-money for twelve Subsidies, and to raise money to make Wars against the Scots, who wrestled for their Liberties, and were not such tame slaves, as they expected: When the Parliament would give no Subsidies to inslave themselves, then the Courtiers dissolved that Parliament. That the Undertakers were Bribers is upon Record, and likewise that they were Judges, Juries, and Parties: Sir Edward Cook was wont to say, that it never failed, that those which brake Parliaments were alwayes broken by them; yet these Undertakers hope to be repayred for their project, which was onely to keep off Parliaments; And this one Project (had it succeeded) would have commanded all the Land in England to have been at the Kings disposing; Then all had been their own; for the King was little the better by such Projects, the Courtiers gained all.

FINIS.

[Page]

Information about this book

Title statement

The picklock of the old Fenne project: or, Heads of Sir John Maynard his severall speeches, taken in short-hand, at the committee for Lincolneshire Fens, in the exchequer chamber. Consisting of matter of fact. Matter of law. Presidents quæres and answers.

Maynard, John, Sir, 1602-1690.

Edition statement

1650

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A88998

ID [STC]

Wing M1457

ID [STC]

Thomason E594_4

ID [STC]

ESTC R206914

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

99866004

ID [PROQUEST]

99866004

ID [VID]

118263

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A88998)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 118263)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 91:E594[4])

Source

— The picklock of the old Fenne project: or, Heads of Sir John Maynard his severall speeches, taken in short-hand, at the committee for Lincolneshire Fens, in the exchequer chamber. Consisting of matter of fact. Matter of law. Presidents quæres and answers., Maynard, John, Sir, 1602-1690..

Extent

[2], 16, [2] p.

Printed by J.B.,. London :: 1650.. (The words "maater of fact .. answers" are bracketed together on the title page.) (The final leaf is blank.) (Annotation on Thomason copy: "Feb 22 1649".) (Reproduction of the original in the British Library.)

Creation

Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.

Editorial practices

EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO.

EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org).

The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.