And if
you prove us transgressors, then we shall lay down our work and
acknowledge that we have trespassed against you in digging upon the
Commons, and then punish us. But if we prove by Scripture and
Reason that undeniably the Land belongs to one as well as another,
then you shall own our work, justify our cause, and declare that
you have done wrong to Christ, who you say is your Lord and Master,
in abusing us His servants and your fellow-creatures, while we are
doing His work. Therefore, knowing you to be men of moderation in
outward show, I desire that your actions towards your
fellow-creatures may not be like one beast to another, but carry
yourselves like man to man, for your proceeding in your pretence of
Law hitherto against us is both unrighteous, beastly, and devilish,
and nothing of the spirit of man seen in it. You Attornies and
Lawyers, you say you are Ministers of Justice, and we know that
equity and reason is or ought to be the foundation of Law. If so,
then plead not for money altogether, but stand for Universal
Justice and Equity: then you will have peace; otherwise both you
and the corrupt Clergy will be cast out as unsavoury salt."
As will have been seen from the above, and as we shall show more fully
later on, the little company of Diggers were having a rather troublesome
time. Within two days of the delivery of their first letter to Lord
Fairfax, on June 11th, some of them were grievously assaulted by two of
the local freeholders, accompanied by men in women's garments; but,
according to their own account, they made no attempt to defend
themselves.
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