L I L R U R N E. 



an armed mob which a(rembled at Weftniinfter, and cried 

 out for juilice ugainft the carl of Strafford, for whicli he 

 was brought to the bar of tlie lioiifc of lords on a charge of 

 treafon, but difmified. In the following year the houie of 

 commons voted " That the lenience of the (lar-chamber 

 againft Mr. Lilbnrne was illegal, barbarous, bloody, and 

 tyrannical, and that reparations ought to be given him for 

 his imprilonment, fuflerings, and lofles fiillained by that 

 illegal fentcnce." Ncvertlielefs, he tells us, that he never 

 received any remuneration, though he had been put to the 

 cxpence of from loon to i joo/., and had endured feven 

 or eijjht imprifoimients for nothing. When an army was 

 raifed by parhament, I.ilbnrnc entered into it as a volun- 

 teer, and, at the battle of Edge-hill, he acted as a captain 

 of infantry. He behaved with diilinguilhed bravery at the 

 battle of Brentford, where he was made prifoner, carried to 

 Oxford, and arraigned on a ciiarge of high-trcaibn. but was 

 faved by a declaration of parliament, threatening reprifalf, 

 and was foon after exchanged, was received with triumph b)- 

 his party, and rewarded with ^joo/. as a C(nnpcnfation for 

 his fiiffcrings. Cromwell and I'airfax would willinglv have 

 employed him after lliey had ncw-niodelled the army in 

 164,, and given him a high comiT\and ; but his dillike to 

 the Prefbyterian chiu'ch government would not permit him 

 to ferve the party then in power, and lie laid down his fword 

 to rcfume his pen, which he employed againft Prynne, 

 I^eiithall, and other perfons. He was in confetjucnce com- 

 mitted to Newgate on a charge of feditii>ns practices, but 

 no bill being found againll him, he was releafed without 

 trial. He next was brought before the honfc of lords for 

 certain reflections call on the earl of Manchefter, in a work 

 entitled " The Juft Man's .Tuftification :" being examined 

 upon interrogatories refpefting the writing of that work, he 

 not only retufed to aniwer q\ieftions, but protelled againtl 

 their jurifdiftion over him. He had llated the argument on 

 this point, in full, in his " Legal and Fundamental Liberties 

 of the People of England ;" which he had maintained in 

 the houfe, but wiiicli proved of no avail, as the houfe im- 

 mediately made an order " that he be committed a clofe 

 prifoner in Newgate, and that none have accefs to hiin but 

 his keeper, until this court doth take farther order ;" that 

 is, fail! Lilburne, "when they turn honell and jufl:, which 

 I confidently believe will never be." So much was he now 

 regarded by the people as a champion of liberty, that a 

 remonftrance, ligncd by many tluuifand names, was preientcd 

 to the houfe of commons in his behalf. This failing of 

 effeft, he continued to publilli pamplilets, in which he dif- 

 played his grievances in fuch bold and virulent language, 

 that he rendered tlie leading men of all parties his enemies. 

 It (hould, however, be obferved, that the leading men al- 

 luded to, were thofe who were either adherents to the king, 

 cr thofe who were attached to Cromwell ; but Lilburne, 

 perceiving that both parties were hoflile to the liberties of 

 the fubjeC'l, did not fcruple to oppofe all their projects, 

 which he fufpefted, and juilly too, would lead to the cda- 

 blilhmcnt of a tyraimy in (ome fliape or other. He charged 

 Cromwell with a delign of ufurping the fovereignty ; and 

 accufed him and his relation Ireton of high treafon, for 

 ■which h-.; was ordered to be tried as a libeller. At this 

 period he had fo many friends among the people, that the 

 houfe ot commons judged it proper to difchargo him from 

 prilon, and make an order for remunerating him for his fuf- 

 f^rings. At the time of the king's death, Lilburjie was 

 bufy in plans for fetth»:g a new model of government. 

 Finding the leaders of the army refolved to keep the power 

 in theiv own hands, he oppofed them with his ulual ir.tre- 

 pij'.iy, and maintained the right of the people to form a 



conftitution for themfelves. So dangerous now did he ap- 

 pear to Cromwell and his council, that he was again com- 

 mitted to the Tower, and was brought to his trial for high 

 treaion before a fpccial couunillion. On this occafion he 

 defended himlelf witli great firmncfs, never once (liewing a 

 difpofition to crouch to his profecutors or his judges : he 

 felt that he Hood on firm ground, and was determined not 

 to bend to the circumllances of the times. The trial laftcd 

 many hours, and when the jury were about to retire to con- 

 fider their verditl, the foreman afl<ed permifTion of the court 

 to take a cnp of fack among them ; to wliich the judge 

 replied, it was impolhble, they could have no manner of 

 refrelhment while impannelled in a cafe of high treafon. 

 One of the court was willing they fliould be indulged, but 

 the chief juilice faid he dare not permit it. Mr. I^il- 

 burne's jury retired for three quarters of an hour, and then 

 brought in a verdict of Not Guilty : which, fays the 

 reporter of the trial, was received with unanimous plaudits 

 from within and without, that continued without intcrmif- 

 iion for more than half an hour. The judges, who feem to 

 'have llraiiied hard for a verdi''t of guilty, were abaflied and 

 confounded. Lilburne Hood fdcnt, alTedted and oppreffed 

 with the gratulatiims of his ccnmtrymen, unable to exprefs 

 thofe fenfatioiis which he unqueilionably felt for the general 

 interell which was taken in his caufe. A medal was ftruck 

 of his head, with the following infcription : " .John Lil- 

 burne, faved by the power of the Lord and the integrity of 

 his jury, who are judges of law as well as of fail." The 

 names of the jurymen were given on the rcverfe ; names which 

 mull live fo long as England is a free country. Mr. Hume, 

 fpcaking on this fubject, and of thofe v.ho had ufurped the 

 government, and of their unwillingnefs to trull tlieir caufe 

 to the decifion of juries, chofen according to the ancient 

 conllitution of the country, fays, " They had evidently 

 feen in the trial of Lilburne what they could expeft from 

 juries. This man, the moil turbulent, but the moll up- 

 right and courageous of human kind, was tried for a tranf- 

 grefhon of the new llatute of trcafons ; but though he was 

 plainly guilty, he was acquitted to the great joy of the peo- 

 ple. Never did any ellablilhed power receive fo llrong a 

 declaration of its ufurpation and invalidity, and from no 

 inllitution, befides the admirable one of juries, could be ex- 

 pedled this magnanimous cllort." 



A new offence which he gave to parliament caufed that 

 body to pais a fentence of heavy line and punifliment againit 

 him, upon which he retired to Holland. Here he remained 

 till the diffolution of the Long Parliament, when he uled all 

 his interell to obtain a paffport fi;r his rehirn to England, 

 and not iucceeding, he ventured, in June i')53, to come back 

 without one. He was very fion apprehended and com- 

 milted to Newgate, and being brought once more to trial, 

 he defended himftlf on the plea of illegality in his fentence 

 of banifhment, and was accordingly acquitted by his jury. 

 The government, however, ordered him to be immediately 

 fent out of the kingdom, but giving fecurity for his future 

 quiet behaviour, he was fuffered to remain. The nature of 

 the fecurity here referred to has excited fome doubts m the 

 hillorian ; but the writer of the article in the Uiographia 

 Britannica, makes it appear highly probable, that Lilburne'3 

 brother Robert became fecurity in this inllancc for his future 

 peaceable demeanour. Having brought together the argu- 

 ments in favour of this hypothelis, the writer referred to 

 fays, " Laying then all thefe circumllances together, can 

 there be any reafonable doubt who was the perfon that 

 averted Cromwell's wrath againll our author, and faved hurt 

 from tranfportation, and after going through an uncommon 

 variety oi llorms, tenipells, and fliipwrecks, fettling the 



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