J. C. being brought to the bar:
C. Judge. When did you take the oath of allegiance?
J. C. I desire to be heard.
C. Judge. Answer to the question, and you shall be heard.
J. C. I have been about six weeks in prison, and am I now called to accuse myself? For the answering to this question in the negative, is to accuse myself, which you ought not to put me upon; for, Nemo debet seipsum prodere.[23] I am an Englishman, and by the law of England I ought not to be taken, nor imprisoned, nor disseized of my freehold, nor called in question, nor put to answer, but according to the law of the land; which I challenge as my birthright, on my own behalf, and all that hear me this day; (or words to this purpose.) I stand here at this bar as a delinquent, and do desire that my accuser may be brought forth to accuse me for my delinquency, and then I shall answer to my charge, if any I be guilty of.
[23] No one ought to betray himself.
C. Judge. You are here demanded to take the oath of allegiance, and when you have done that, then you shall be heard about the other; for we have power to tender it to any man.
J. C. Not to me upon this occasion, in this place; for I am brought hither as an offender already, and not to be made an offender here, or to accuse myself; for I am an Englishman, as I have said to you, and challenge the benefit of the laws of England; for by them is a better inheritance derived to me as an Englishman, than that which I received from my parents: for by the former the latter is preserved; and this is seen in the 29th chapter of Magna Charta, and the petition of right, mentioned in the third of Car. I. and in other good laws of England; and therefore I desire the benefit and observance of them: and you that are judges upon the bench, ought to be my counsel, and not my accusers, but to inform me of the benefit of those laws; and wherein I am ignorant, you ought to inform me, that I may not suffer through my own ignorance of those advantages, which the laws of England afford me as an Englishman.
Reader, I here give thee a brief account of my taking and imprisoning, that thou may the better judge what justice I had from the court aforesaid; which is as followeth.
I being in John’s street, London, about the 13th day of the Third month, (called May,) with some other of the people of God, to wait upon him, as we were sat together, there came in a rude man called Miller, with a long cane in his hand, who laid violent hands upon me, with some others, beating some, and commanding the constables who came in after him, but having no warrant, were not willing to meddle; but as his threatenings prevailed, they, being afraid of him, joined with him to carry several of us before justice Powel, (so called,) who the next day sent us to the sessions, at Hicks’s Hall; where after some discourse several times with them; we manifested to them the illegality both of our commitment, and their proceedings thereupon; yet notwithstanding, they committed me and others, and caused an indictment to be drawn against us, founded upon the late act against Quakers and others; and then remanded us to New Prison, where we continued for some days; and then removed us to Newgate, where we remained until the sessions in the Old Bailey aforesaid: whereby thou mayest understand what justice I met withal, by what went before, and now further follows: