Home page In Praise of John Lilburne, a good Englishman John Lilburne was born in 1615 near what is now known as Sunderland. His mother, Margaret died soon after he was born. In 1630, at the age of 15, he was sent to London by his father to be an apprentice in the cloth trade. When Lilburne was 22 he met John Bastwick. Bastwick was a Puritan preacher who had had his ears cut off for criticizing the Archbishop of Canterbury (William Laud). Lilburne was shocked that such a punishment could be metred out to someone for expressing their approach to religion. Tasting prejudicial punishment Lilburne volunteered to assist Bastwick in his opposition to the Anglican Church. Lilburne agreed to go to Holland to organise the printing of a book written by Bastwick. But, already by December 1637 Lilburne had been arrested for printing and circulating "unlicensed" books. He was fined £500, whipped, pilloried and put in prison. In March 1638 he was walked from the Fleet Prison to the Palace Yard in London being whipped all the way. He was placed in a pillory where he tried to make a speech praising John Bastwick and was gagged.Lilburne described his punishments and attacked the Anglican Church in publications "The Work of the Beast" (1638) and "Come Out of Her, My People" (1639). A journey begins So by the age of 24, Lilburne knew, at first hand, the nature of the religious and political environment of England. But, rather than become cowed into submission his response was to become electrified into action since he recognised that to build a fair society there was a need to destroy the structures which permitted arbitrary decisions and tyranny. To achieve this he also recognised the need for a major change in outlook amongst the people. Lilburne dedicated himself to this purpose. There is so much more to tell... No doubt, it might be possible to return to survey all that Lilburne and his colleagues proposed in their speeches, writings and pamphlets. But, in this short article some of the seminal issues they raised will be mentioned. An innovative Constitution written in a prison In May of 1649, John Lilburne, William Walwyn, Thomas Prince and Richard Overton, then imprisoned in the Tower of London by Oliver Cromwell, wrote a declaration called "An Agreement of the Free People of England". This document is in essence a proposal for a written Constitution for England. It is a document which contains some of the more important Amendments to the American Constitution declared in March 1789, some 140 years later. The document is written in an archaec English and therefore what follows is a plain English paraphrasing of the principal aspects. But basic principles, to be perfected Within the text, the authors state that their proposals are not detailed out but that such improved redrafting work (perfection) should be undertaken by faithful representatives (of the people). That we may be free and happy . . Lilburne and his colleagues sought to secure fundamental rights and in their preamble to their declaration they set the context of their proposal. They wrote that the nation should be free and happy and that all differences should be reconciled, so that all can stand with a clear conscience, preventing interests and private advantages, that actions should not be driven by malice against anyone, or as a result of disagreement over opinions, but geared towards peace and prosperity for all. That the free people of England establish a government without arbitrary power and with bounds and limits on the supreme and all subordinate authority and to remove all grievances. Organizing a parliament They proposed a government of 400 people and a basic quorum for operation of 200, to be elected in a way to represent the distribution of the population across England. They built in a guarantee against conflicts of interest by not allowing people within specific professions to exercise them while acting as representative of their community (members of parliament). Each member of parliament could only be elected once meaning that they hand to stand down at the next election. Members of parliament could be elected in a subsequent election. This was essentially to prevent the build up of embedded interests or generating a class of "professional" politicians. Another proposal was that parliaments would exist for one year only, there would be annual elections. The purpose of the parliament was (1) to conserve peace and commerce with other nations, (2) to secure safeguards and security fore the lives and persons of all people, their liberties, properties and estates as well as safe guards contained in the Petition of Right 1 and, (3) to raise funds to support those ends, that is expand our freedoms, redress grievances and promote prosperity. Religious freedom The group proposed that no man should be restrained from any service nor subjected to any laws or regulations on account of their religion and that religion be an issue of the conscience of each person. Also no government can force a person to fight on behalf of the country either within the territory or abroad (this group later published a pamphlet on the right to conscientious objection). No one above the law No one, either by status or rank of any sort are above the law but all are subject to the laws of the country. Parliament has no authority to pass judgement on anyone and that the issue of grievances should no longer be approached through petitions, which are ignored, but through the forces of law which parliament must obey. Efficient law and representation In criminal cases no person can be punished for refusing to self-incriminate. That legal cases should be wound up within less than 6 months, including appeals, and that the proceedings should be in English and that people can plead their own case or have others represent them (plead on their behalf). Free trade Parliament should not make laws limiting anyone or people from trading or merchandising anywhere overseas. That parliament should not impose duties on commodities but should raise funds on the basis of a flat rate tax applied to estates. Debtors provided every opportunity to recuperate No one should be imprisoned for debt since this is unchristian, does not benefit the creditor and is a reproach and prejudice to the general welbeing of the nation. Trial by jury Normal and trivial offences should not put at risk people's lives, limbs, liberties or estates (possessions) but that recompense should be paid to damaged parties according to the conscience of the jury. All more serious cases must be tried by a jury selected from the neighbourhood. Religious institutions an issue for their adherents The parliament cannot demand tithes (payments to support state religion) but congregations should support their own churches. Ministers cannot be forced upon a locality but should be chosen by the population. Avoidance of corruption by limiting growth of parties and factions Likewise public officials should be chosen by representatives (members of parliament) but as in the case of parliamentarians must be renewed each year. This was a move to destroy so-called parties and factions who would become embedded as permanent and, as far as Lilburne was concerned, would develop arbitrary power and therefore become increasingly prone to corruption. Transparency in public accounting All public accounts, including gifts, purchase contracts and transfers of money authorised by parliament must be correctly recorded. Avoiding dictatorship and arbitrary power Civil authority will remain superior to and will control military authority. The raising of forces is to be organized within constituencies by representatives who can appoint officers linked to regiments, troops and companies according to the needs of safety, peace and freedom of the people (commonwealth). Curtaining arbitrary and tyrannical powers Governments must be dissolved each year and elections held each year. Not to do so is an act of High Treason. Ahead of their time Such writings can be seen to contain a modern view on the weaknesses of administrations and indeed to present simple remedies. However, such writings at the time of their release were considered to be subversive and dangerous by those who wished to remain in power. On several occasions, although at first an admirer of Lilburne, Oliver Cromwell had Lilburne thrown into prison. Indeed, Lilburne spent much of his life in prison never desisting from his mission to fashion innovative ways and means and to chart out courses which had the objective of freeing the people of England from what he saw as forces leading to tyranny. He is known to have written over 83 pamphlets and proposals. It is notable that many in England have remained largely unaware, to this day, of Lilburne and his group. The powers that were, kept their writings somewhat under wraps. And yet, even today, many of their ideas can be revisited, with advantage, as guides to solutions to current day problems. The end of Free-Born John John Lilburne died at the age of 42, on August 29th 1657, the day he was due back in prison at Dover Castle. He had been visiting his wife Elizabeth and family; she had just given birth to their tenth child. The long suffering and brave John died in the arms of the woman who had loved him with faith and devotion, who had supported him with courage and a conviction second only to his own, and, it is said, knew no greater pride than that of being John Lilburne's wife. Never to be forgotten? A common tragedy of those who contribute so much, but who did not belong to some institution, some party or some faction, is that they are so easily forgotten. They have no champions. And yet it is such people as John Lilburne who had a mission to try and free the then current and the future generations of English men and women. Much of what he fought for, sooner or later, over a period of over 300 years, became essential supporting elements of our basic freedoms and others have received the praise for their introduction. This it would seem, has been as slow and pathetic as it has been unfair. As free men and women should we not be curious enough to look back to see who, amongst others, helped to make us so? And surely, in the relative security and contentment of such freedoms, can we not agree that John Lilburne should never be forgotten? Notes: 1 The Petition of Right was drawn up by Edward Coke (115-1634) in 1628 and essentially establishes the freedom of Englishmen from impositions of arbitrary taxes and levies by Royalty. No imprisonment, loss of property or fines without due process of law. The right to habeas corpus, that is release from prison to appear before a court to give evidence in one's defence as well as establish whether or not, under the law, that person should in fact be in prison. That people do not have to put up soldiers who are in their localities. No differential privileges according to status under the law. The Petition of Right refers to the Charter of Liberties of England enacted in 1100 by Henry 1st and upon which was based the Magna Carta of 1215, and under which Henry 1st submits himself to the law of the land.