the three first sheets having four columns of names, the fourth only two, till the next term; and if any process is already made forth, you are immediately to supersede the same; and for so doing this shall be your warrant.

"Whitehall Treasury Chamber, the 4th of March, 1685.

"To my very loving Friend,
the Clerk of the Pipe."

"ROCHESTER.

After the aforesaid warrant, an order was obtained to lay these suffering cases before Sir Robert Sawyer, the then attorney-general, who after a considerable time, and being very much attended, made his report back to the lord Sunderland, and earl of Middleton, then secretaries of state, who transferred the report to the king in council, where an order was obtained to refer the matter to the lord privy-seal and that a warrant might be passed in that office to the pipe-office, shewing the king had pardoned the offences, and relinquished the fines; but the time this matter took up in soliciting and attending was not a little, nor the fatigue the friends underwent small, as was well known to many; and how that at last the friends' healths were so impaired, that Gilbert was fain to leave his wife and family, being hardly able to get

into the coach which was to take him into the country, where he had not been above a week, but a letter came from his dear companion George Whitehead, of his being taken so ill, that he could not go out of his house; and that Gilbert, if possible, must return, or else the great cause would be at a stand: whereupon Gilbert knowing the concern to be of great weight, breathed unto God for strength to enable him to go on with the service, for the relief of the said suffering people; which desire of Gilbert's being answered by the Lord, and his strength renewed, he returned, and again attended the pipe-office, till the matter was got effected there; and soon after the friends were discharged.

Now after this was effected, friends were not free from sufferings; for, notwithstanding so great a number of friends were thus discharged, abundance were still continued in prison; some for not coming to public worship, or rather, as they called it for not coming to church, were taken up and imprisoned on the writ De excommunicato capiendo, and others also for their obedience to Christ's command, could not in these perilous times forsake meeting often together, to wait upon and worship him, according as they were persuaded, in spirit and truth, for which also many were sorely prosecuted, fined and committed to prison, under close durance,

till they should pay the fines; among these were several scores in Newgate in the city of Bristol, some of whom were merchants and great dealers in the said city; and many being thus under confinement in divers other parts of the nation; for whose relief Gilbert was one that attended the king on their behalf with a petition. It had so good an effect, as to obtain their liberty and relief, as may be perceived by the following report from the attorney general, which take as followeth :

"I have considered of this petition and of the several cases annexed. For those that are in prison for not coming to church, or upon Excommunicato capiendo, for the same, I can discharge upon a former warrant directed to me, which I have offered to do; but the far greater number of those in the schedule are imprisoned until they pay their fines set upon them for unlawful conventicles within the city of Bristol, to which city the fines are granted by their charter; and I do find that the sheriffs, to whom those fines are allotted, have acquitted the same; so that I conceive they may be discharged without further warrant from his majesty: which I shall take care of; and as to those fined in Southwark, annexed to this schedule, or any others which are fined for being at conventicles, whose fines are not pardoned. But if his ma

jesty, of special grace, be pleased to discharge them, the easiest way to them will be by a warrant under his majesty's signet, to acknowledge satisfaction, and thereupon to set them at liberty; and by like warrant, the persons imprisoned upon an excommunication, may be set at liberty. "Robert Sawyer.'

"May the 5th, 1686.

Gilbert was again one of those who attended the king, to lay before him the hardships our friends underwent by mercenary informers: and also gave him an account of friends having been kept out of their meeting-place at the Savoy, in the Strand, some years, which the soldiers kept possession of, and made their guard-house; and that in the same manner they kept friends out of their meeting-place at the Park in Southwark, who also for a considerable time met without doors, the soldiers having converted one part of the meeting-house into a guard-room; and fitted the other part to read mass in. As to the matter which related to some of the chief informers that harassed our meetings, and made great spoil of friends' goods, as mentioned in the petition, a warrant was thereupon granted by the king, for the examination thereof: a copy whereof take as followeth :-

"Whereas several persons called Quakers, have exhibited a petition to his majesty, complaining of several misdemeanours and irregularities of several informers; and his majesty having been pleased to refer the examination to us, by warrant from the right honourable the earl of Middleton, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, we do appoint to consider the same on Friday, being the fourth day of June next ensuing, at four of the clock in the afternooon, at Mr. Graham's chamber, in Clifford's Inn: and we desire you, the persons undernamed, to be present then, in order to our proceedings in the said affair.

"Given under our hands the last day of May, 1686.

"RICHARD GRAHAM.

per BURTON."

"To Jeffrey Nightingale Esq.

Peter Lugg, Esq.

Capt. John Hilton.

Where the friends also appearing, made good their allegations and charges against the informers, so that the informers received a just rebuke, and met with so much discouragement from making further prosecution in that kind, that in a great measure this proved, as it were a fatal stroke to those mercenary men, who had