A few of the cruel abuses described, which were acted in the Goal of Bury, by Robert Newton the Goaler, and by some of his prisoners, and his servants, which he and they have acted against us, who are sufferers for the truth, (by the cruelty of oppressors in the said Goal,) whom the world calls Quakers: The abuses as followeth.

UPon the 21 day of the 10 month 1655. the aforesaid Goaler did smite George Rose upon the face before several witnesses, til he drew blood; also upon the 28 day of the 10 moneth, the Goaler smote George Fox and Iohn Harwood upon their faces before severall witnesses, &c. also upon the 21 day of the 11 month, the Goaler came to us in the Goal yard, and George VVhitehead reproved him for his lies, which severall who stood thereby heard him utter forth, for which he smote George VVhitehead on the face and mouth til the blood came out of his mouth, [Page 3]so one woman of his own generation that stood by, seeing his cruelty and fierceness, told him he dishonoured the gospel; and severall other times the said goaler hath abused us, both in words and actions, as can be made evidently appear, and also his Servant the Tapster hath often abused us, and the Goaler hath sometime in our own hearing given him leave to abuse us, and the said Tapster hath often threatned us, and one time cast a stone violently; and hit one of us on the back with it; and another time in great rage he took up a stool, with it to have smitten some of us, or to have cast it at some of us, but one present seeing him so violent, took hold of it, so he was hindered from casting the stool, but often he hath slandered and beaten some of us on the faces, and buffeted some of us severall times together with his fists violently on our faces for speaking the truth; and also we have been often abused by some of the Prisoners, for some of them have often taken away our food from us, and sometimes have confessed the Goaler bad them, or gave them leave to take our Food, and the Goaler would have had us to have ta­ken a chamber, and beds of him to have laid in, to have upholden his Oppression, which we denyed, as to pay 4.d. a night each of us for our lodging, and because we rather choosed to suffer in the Common-Prison, then to uphold such Oppression, the Goaler was much inraged a­gainst us, and thereby some wicked Prisoners that were with us in the Common-goal, took greater occasion to do us mischif, thinking thereby to make us go out of the Common-goal, to uphold the Goalers Oppressi­on, which we could not; and also some of the Prisoners have severall times bear some of us, and stoned us, & dispitefully used us, and threat­ned often to kill some of us, and to knock some of us in the heads, and one said, if he did kill some of us he might not be h [...]nged for it, and said, that there is no Law for us if he killed us, and when the Goaler suffered him to have too much strong Drink till he was drunken, he kicked some of us with his feet, and one time wounded some of us on the Legs, and did exceedingly abuse us so far as his power reached, but when he was som­thing more moderate, that he was not so much drunk with strong drink, he told us that the Goaler made him worse then he would have been against us; and also much drunkenness and swearing is acted in this Prison by prisoners, and the Goalers servants; and drunkenness is suffered and allowed of by the Goaler, in that he suffers and allows his servant the Tapster to let them have so much strong Drink till they be drunk, but so that the unrighteous gain returns to him, it appears he makes no conscience of his obtaining it, though in words he professes godliness, and hath often on the first dayes of the weeks, taught the prisoners concerning the things of God, as he pretends, but his profes­sion, and teaching, and praying, as he pretends, will not cover his de­ceit and cruelty, which he hath acted against us who are innocent, and do not suffer as Malefactors, though we undergo greater cruelty, and more straitned of our outward liberty then Malefactors are, as it is made plainly appear.

[Page 4] And upon the 16. day of the 2. month, 1656. Robert Newton the goa­ler came into the common Goal to us, and asked us if we would pay him for keeping of us here; some of us asked him what we owed him, he said, fourteen pence a weak each of you, though some of us had then been 31. weeks in this Common Goal, and none of us there did lye in any bedding of the Goalers, but when they brought us straw to lye upon, which was allowed by the Countrey for the Prisoners use, we paid them for bringing of it, else we might not have had it; and when the Goaler demanded 14.d. a week of us, we told him, that we demanded a free pri­son after we were committed, and when some of us had demanded a free pri­son, he caused us to be put into this place; so presently he commanded the Key-turner to take away our clothes which we laid in in the nights, say­ing to the Key-turner, Take away their clothes, and leave them nothing but the straw to lye upon, and take away their boxes; so the Key-turner and the Tap­ster took away all these our things, which the Goaler commanded to take away, and they left us not so much of these things as our Night-Caps, which hung in a basket by the wall, but took the basket and them; and moreover the Goaler threatned to take the coats from off our backs, we told him he might do so if be would, for as wel he might take them as other things of [...]urs, as [...] bed, clothes, and a coat, and a cloak which they took, and our Boxes, wherein was our food and lin­nen, and other things, but he said he would not take our coats till war­mer wheather; and some of us told him h [...] would shame his profession, he said, that is no matter, for you are all Hereticks. And soon after these our things were taken away, Deborah the Goalers Daughter said to one of us, They have robbed you of all, but in patience we suffer, and therein rejoyce, in as much as we suffer with them who ever suffered for righteousness sake, who suffered the spoyling of their goods joyfully, and we are willing, as they were, to lay down our lives for Christs sake.

And when Iohn VVateridge was Prisoner here, and the Goaler had or­der or command to let him go out of prison, the Goaler demanded 4.s. 4.d. for Fees of him, so Iohn demanded to see his Table for it, and what Law he had to demand such Fees of him, who was not committed for the breach of the Law, and had not been a week in prison when he de­manded it, and laid in no bedding of the Goalers, and the Goaler de­manded 4.d. a night of Iohn VVateridge for lodging, though Iohn had no bedding, but laid on the Chamber Planchers; and the Goaler kept him above a week in prison after that he order to let him forth of prison: And upon the 26. day of the 2. month, the Key-turner took away Iohn VVateridges cloak, as the Goaler had commanded, as he pretended, for Fees: so when they had taken away his Cloak, they caused Iohn VVa­teridge to go forth of prison, but kept his Cloak. And upon the 28. day of the second Month, the Goaler told us, That it was his curtesie to us that he suffered us to have our cloathes in the winter, for he said he had order from [Page 5]the Justices to take them from us then; and moreover upon the same day, a woman who is a friend to us, living in this Town, came to this prison with something for us, as two Shirts, two Caps, two bands, and four Handkerchiefs, all which the Goaler caused to be taken from her, and would not suffer her to deliver them to us; and the Key-turner, took a­way George Rofes coat, which usually he did wear; and other times when the woman comes to bring us food, the Key-turner will not suffer her to deliver us our food, till he have searched her, and seen what food she brings us, and herein he serves the Goaler, and submits to his cruel will, who would not suffer us to have our linnen, and other things con­venient for our necessities.

And upon the thirtieth day of the second Month, the Goaler came to us, and asked us 14.d. a week for each of us for lodging, and if we would give him so much, he said he would give us our things again he had ta­ken from us; we asked him what Law he could shew for it, as to de­mand that of us who were in the common Goal, and there laid on no beds of his; but he could shew us no Law for it, but told us, if we would have beds of his, and pay each of us seven groats a week, and fourteen pence a week for the time we had been in the common Goal, we should have the pri­viledges in the house, and a larger yard to walk in, and we might go into his garden and take our pleasure, and then he said, our friends should come to us though he had order to the contrary, but his deceit and oppression, we de­nyed, and to take pleasure in these things which are changeable, which might be gained through upholding his oppression, which we utterly deny, and in the will of him stands our pleasure, who enters not into the temptations of the wicked.

And upon they 3. day of the 3 month, the goaler commanded his servant the Tapster, to take George Fox's hat from him, which the Tapster took from off his head; but the same day the Goalers wife brought him his hat again, & said, that she did not know that her husband commanded to take it from him; & on the night following next, the 17. day of the 3. month, one of the Prisoners, whom they often allow strong drink in the Goal, till often he be drunk; he did beat us, and exceedingly abuse us, and often smote some of us on the faces, and kicked some of us, and threw some of us violently down on the store; & when he had ceased to beat us, the Goalers servants, the Key-turner, and the Tapster came to us, though in the time when he abused us, some of them heard him abuse us, but did not reprove him for it, and when the Key-turner and the Tapster came, the prisoner thereby was but the more incouraged to do us mischief, for the Tapster did then also beat one of us on the face when we told him the truth concerning their wicked proceedings, and thus the go on in these courses of wickedness and cruelty, against the righteous, who in innocencie suffer with Christ, who suffered buffetings and contradi­ction, and despitefull usage, as the righteous ever did, who gave his back [Page 6]to the Smiter, and his cheeks to him that plucked of the Hair, and here we have a cloud of Witnesses for our sufferings, and therein have peace, which the envie of the world cannot take away, and we know that if we were of the world, we should not thus suffer by the world, for it loves its own; but we are of God, chosen out of the world, and therefore the world hate us; but now let all that have eyes to see, see the government that is in this Goal, though it be a place pretended to punish Malefac­tors in, but they have their fredome to wickedness, and being allowed therein wax worse and worse; but the rigteous suffers, and the unrigh­teous seeks by their cruelty to add affliction to the bonds of the righte­ous; and though few there be that lay the cause of the righteous to heart, yet it is come before the Lord, and wo to the wicked and them that winck at such cruelty, for the fruits of their doing shall they re­ceive: