Part 16 (1/2)
”Secondly, Let none go about to suppress that Ranting power by the punis.h.i.+ng hand; for it is the work of the Righteous and Rational Spirit within, not thy hand without, that must suppress it. But if thou wilt need be punis.h.i.+ng, then see thou be without sin thyself, and then cast the first stone at the Ranter. Let not sinners punish others for sin, but let the power of thy reason and righteous action shame and so beat down their unrational actings. Wouldst thou live in peace, then look to thy own ways, mind thy own Kingdom within.... Let everyone alone to stand or fall their own Master; for thou being a sinner and striving to suppress sinners by force, thou wilt thereby but increase their rage and thine own trouble.
But do thou keep close to the Law of Righteous Reason, and thou shalt presently see a return of the Ranters: for that Spirit within must shame them and turn them and pull them out of darkness.”
After emphasising the fact that such evil actions must necessarily bring evil on those who indulge in them, the pamphlet concludes with the following words:
”This I was made to write as a Vindication of the Diggers, who are slandered with the Ranting action. My end is only to advance the Kingdom of Peace in and among mankind, which is and will be torn in pieces by the Ranting power, if Reason do not kill this fine-hearted or sensitive Beast. All you that are merely civil and that are of a loving and flexible disposition, wanting the strength of Reason, and the Life of Universal Love, leading you forth to seek the peace and preservation of every single body as of one's self, you are the people that are likely to be tempted, and set upon and torn into pieces by this devouring Beast, the Ranting Power.
”GERRARD WINSTANLEY.
”_Feb. this 20, 1649 (1650)._”
On March 4th he adds the following interesting postscript:
”I am told there are some people going up and down the country among such as are friends to the Diggers, gathering monies in their name. And they have a note wherein my name and divers others are subscribed. This is to certify that I never subscribed my name to any such note. Neither have we that are called Diggers received any money by any such collections. Therefore to prevent this cheat, we desire, if any are willing to cast a gift in to further our work of digging upon the Commons, that they would send it to our own hands by some trusty friends of their own.”
If others could get monies in their name, the Diggers evidently thought that they might themselves take advantage of the same means to maintain the public work on which they were engaged. For we gather the following from a contemporary news-sheet,[148:1] _A Perfect Diurnal_, April 1-8:
”_April 4 (Thursday)._--THE TRUE COPY OF A LETTER taken at Wellingborough, Northamptons.h.i.+re, with some men that were there apprehended for going about to incite people to Digging, and under such pretence gathered money of the well-affected for their a.s.sistance.
”These are to certify all that are Friends to Universal Freedom, and that look upon the Digging and Planting of the Commons to be the first springing up of Freedom: To make the Earth a Common Treasury that everyone may enjoy food and raiment freely by his labour upon the Earth, without paying Rents or Homage to any Fellow-creature of his own kind; that everyone may be delivered from the Tyranny of the Conquering Power, and to rise up out of that Bondage to enjoy the benefit of his Creation: This, I say, is to certify all such that those Men that have begun to lay the First Stone in the Foundation of this Freedom (by digging upon Georges Hill on the Common called Little Heath in Cobham) in regard of the great opposition hitherto from the Enemy, by reason whereof they lost the last Summer's work, yet, through inward faithfulness to advance Freedom, they keep the field still, ... but in regard to poverty their work is like to flag and drop: Therefore if the hearts of any be stirred up to drop anything into this Treasury, to buy victuals to keep the men alive, and to buy Corn to cast into the ground, it will keep alive the Spirit of Public Freedom to the whole Land, which otherwise is ready to die again for want of help.
And if you hear hereafter that there was a people appeared to stand up to advance Public Freedom, and struggled with the Opposing Power of the Land, for that they begin to let them alone, and yet these men and their public work were crushed, because they wanted a.s.sistance of food and corn to keep them alive: I say, if you hear this, it will be trouble to you when it is too late, that you had monies in your hand, and would not part with any of it to purchase Freedom, therefore you deservedly groan under Tyranny, and no Saviour appears. But let your Reason weigh the excellency of this work, and I am sure you will cast in something.
”And because there were some treacherous persons drew up a note and subscribed our names to it, and by that moved some friends to give money to this work of ours, when as we know of no such note, nor subscribed our names to any, nor ever received any money from such collection. Therefore to prevent such a cheat, I have mentioned a word or two in the end of a printed book against that treachery, that neither we nor our friends may be cheated. And I desire if any be willing to communicate of their substance unto our work, that they would make a collection among themselves, and send that money to Cobham to the Diggers' own hands, by some trusty friend of your own, and so neither you nor we shall be cheated.
”The Bearers hereof, Thomas Haydon and Adam Knight, can relate by word of mouth more largely the condition of the Diggers and their work, and so we leave this to you to do as you are moved.
”Jacob Heard, Jo. South junior, Henry Barton, Tho. Barnard, Tho.
Adams, Will Hitchc.o.c.ke, Anthony Wren, Robert Draper, William Smith, Robert Coster, Gerrard Winstanley, Jo. South, Tho. Heydon, Jo.
Palmer, Tho. South, Henry Handc.o.c.ke, Jo. Batt, Dan Ireland, Jo.
Hayman, Robert Sawyer, Tho. Starre, Tho. Edcer, besides their wives and families, and many more if there were food for them.”
Then follows this detailed account of their travels:
”A COPY OF THEIR TRAVELS, that was taken with the four men at Wellingborow.
”Out of Buckinghams.h.i.+re into Surrey; from Surrey to Middles.e.x, from thence to Hartfords.h.i.+re, to Bedfords.h.i.+re, again to Buckinghams.h.i.+re, so to Berks.h.i.+re, and then to Surrey, thence to Middles.e.x, and so to Hartfords.h.i.+re, and to Bedfords.h.i.+re, thence into Huntingdons.h.i.+re, from thence to Bedfords.h.i.+re, and so into Northamptons.h.i.+re, and there they were apprehended.
”They visited these towns to promote the business: Colebrook, Hanworth, Hounslow, Harrowhill, Watford, Redburn, Dunstable, Barton, Amersley, Bedford, Kempson, North Crawley, Cranfield, Newport, Stony Stratford, Winslow, Wendover, Wickham, Windsor, Cobham, London, Whetston, Mine, Wellin, Dunton, Putney, Royston, St. Needs, G.o.dmanchester, Wetne, Stanton, Warbays, Kimolton, from Kimolton to Wellingborrow.”
Before this date, however, some of the inhabitants of Wellingborrow had followed the example of their brothers in Surrey. From a beautifully printed broadsheet,[150:1] bearing date March 12th, 1649 (1650), and issued by Giles Calvert, we find the following account of their doings, which incidentally reveals the terrible state of the rural working population at the time it was written:
”A DECLARATION OF THE GROUNDS AND REASONS why we the poor inhabitants of the Town of Wellinborrow, in the County of Northampton, have begun and give consent to dig up, manure and sow corn upon the Commons and Waste Ground called Bareshanke, belonging to the inhabitants of Wellinborrow, by those that have subscribed and hundreds more that give consent.
”1. We find in the word of G.o.d that G.o.d made the Earth for the use and comfort of all mankind, and sat him in it to till and dress it, and said, That in the sweat of his brow he should eat his bread.
And also we find that G.o.d never gave it to any sort of people that they should have it all to themselves, and shut out all the rest, but He saith, The Earth hath He given to the children of men, which is every man.
”2. We find that no creature that ever G.o.d made was ever deprived of the benefit of the Earth, but Mankind; and that it is nothing but covetousness, pride and hardness of heart that hath caused man so far to degenerate.
”3. We find in the Scriptures, that the Prophets and Apostles have left it upon record, That in the last day the oppressor and proud man shall cease, and G.o.d will restore the waste places of the Earth to the use and comfort of man, and that none shall hurt nor destroy in all His Holy Mountain.
”4. We have great encouragement from these two righteous Acts, which the Parliament of England have set forth, the one against Kingly Power and the other to make England a Free Common-wealth.