The Antipathy of the English Lordly Prelacy, Part 2 · Chapter 7 · Section 9
To the Honourable Assembly of Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, in this present Parliament.
The Humble Petition of some of the Protestant Inhabitants of the Counties of Antrim, Downe, Tyrone, &c. part of the Province of Ulster, in the Kingdome of Ireland;
Humbly
REpresenteth unto your grave Wisedomes, and judicious considerations, That your Petitioners having translated themselves out of the severall parts of his Majesties Kingdomes of England and Scotland to promote the Infant Plantation of Ireland, wherein your Petitioners by their great labour and industry so much contributed to the settlement of that Kingdome, as they were in a most hopefull way of a comfortable abode, and when they expected to reape the …uite of their great and long labour, partly by the cruell severity and a…bit…ary proceedings of the Civill Magistrate, but principally through th… …nblest way of the Prelacy with their faction, ou… Soules are starved, our estates undone, out famil…es impoverished, and many lives among us, cut off and destro…ed.
T…e Prelates (whose pretended Authority, though by some pub…shed to be by divin… Right, as we humbly conceive is directly against the same) have by their Canons of late, their Fines, Fees, and imprisonments at their pleasure, their silencing, suspending, banishing and excommunicating of our learned and conscionable Ministers, their obtruding upon us ignorant, erronious and prophane persons to be our teachers, their censuring of many hundreds even to excommunication, for matters acknowledged by all, to be indifferent, and not necessary, their favouring Popery, (in this Kingdome a double …ault) their persecuting purity, and indeavouring to bring all to a livelesse formality, divers of them being notorious incendiaries of the unquietnesse and unsetled estate betweene these Kingdomes with many the like too tedious to relate, as more fully in our ensuing grievances doth appeare. These our cruell Taske-masters have made of us who were once a people, to become as it were no people, an astonishment to our selves, the object of piety and amazement to others, and hopelesse of remedy, unlesse hee with whom are bowels of compassion, worke in you an heart to interpose for your Petitioners reliefe.
They therefore most humbly pray that this unlawfull Hierarchicall government with all their appendices may be utterly extirpated, such course layd downe, as to your great wisedomes shall …eeme meete for reparation in some measure of our un-utterable dammages, …ustained by the parties thus injuriously grieved, your Petitioners setled in a way whereby their persecuted Ministers may have leave to returne from exile, and be freed from the unjust censures imposed on them, …d an open doore continued unto us for provision of a powerfull and able ministry, the onelyonly best way to promote Plantation, and settle the Kingdome in the profession and practise of true Religion. Which as it is the earnest expectation, so it shall be the dayly prayer of many thousands besides your Petitioners who will ever ent…eate the Lord for your direction herein, and in all other your waighty, and important affaires, as becommeth your poore Petitioners, &c.