"
The sentence we have italicised seems to show that even amongst the
Justices of the Peace and Officers of the Land the doctrines of the
Diggers had found sympathisers, who were unwilling that they should be
proceeded against. Nor can we be surprised at this when we bear in mind
the terrible state of the rural population of the "meaner sort" at the
time. Some idea of same may be gathered in the Declaration from
Wellinborrow, which is more than fully confirmed in the pages of
Whitelocke, from which we take the following brief entries:
(P. 398.) Under date April 30th, 1649:
"Letters from Lancashire of their want of bread, so that many
families were starved."
(P. 399.) Under date May 1649:
"Letters from Newcastle that many in Cumberland and Westmoreland
died in the Highways for want of bread, and divers left their
habitations, travelling with their wives and children to other
parts to get Relief, but could have none. That the Committees and
Justices of the Peace of Cumberland signed a certificate, that
there were Thirty Thousand Families that had neither seed nor bread
corn, nor money to buy either, and they desired a collection for
them, which was made, but much too little to relieve so great a
multitude."
(P. 404.) Under date May 1649:
"Letters from Lancashire of great scarcity of corn, and that the
famine was sore among them, after which the plague overspread
itself in many parts of the country, taking away whole families
together, and few escaped where any house was visited, and that the
Levellers got into arms, but were suppressed speedily by the
Governor.
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