‘To all archbishops and bishops, to their chancellors and commissioners, and to all archdeacons and their officials, and all other ordinaries and persons executing ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

By his majesty’s command,
SUNDERLAND.’

This was the king’s first step towards liberty of conscience, as well for Papists, as other persons mentioned in the schedule annexed, which put an effectual stop to persecution, and the power of the informers was thereby much broken. And since the most of these were generally base fellows, and profligate persons, who did not care what they did, provided they might enrich themselves, they often dealt treacherously even with the persecuting justices; who also were eager for having part of the prey, and yet by the artifices of these rapacious wretches were deprived of it, which some of them now smarted for. Among the rest, I find that one John Hilton was committed to jail, as may appear from this warrant of the recorder.

To the keeper of Newgate.

‘Receive into your custody the body of John Hilton, herewith sent you, being charged upon oath before me, for compounding several warrants under my hand and seal, for levying of several sums of money on persons convicted for being at several conventicles in Kent, London, and Middlesex; and being also indicted for the same in the several counties aforesaid, and the bills found against him; and also that he the said John Hilton, hath refused to obey the right honourable sir Edward Herbert, lord chief justice’s warrant. And him safely keep, until he shall be discharged by due course of law. And for so doing this shall be your warrant. Dated the 23d of December, 1685.

THO. JENNER, Recorder.

‘Let notice be given to me before he be discharged.’

Thus the informers met with a stop, and the persecuted Quakers got some rest; for persecution not only ceased, but many, who for religion’s sake had been several years kept in prison, obtained liberty by the favour of a popish prince, which they had not been able to get from his brother, king Charles the Second. Now many of the fierce persecutors came to shame, some to poverty, and others to a miserable end, of which no small number of instances might be produced, if I were minded to enlarge; however I will mention one or two.

One Edward Davis, who once professed to be a Quaker, but not being sincere, found that way too narrow for him, and so left his friends, whom afterwards, being become keeper of the jail of Ivelchester in Somersetshire, he vexed most grievously; and from mere malice fettered some, saying to John Whiting, and another, whom he had hand-bolted together, those bolts should not be taken off if lice did eat them up. And his comrade Joseph Newberry was but little better, for when somebody told him, that their hands did swell with the irons, he said, he did not care if their hearts did swell also. And when one John Dando once asked Davis, what he thought would become of him when he came to die; he answered, that he knew what would become of him then, and therefore he would make the best of his time now. Also, that he knew where he went out, and where he must come in again, if ever he was saved; and if he thought he should never return again, he would be as wicked as he could. Truly a most desperate saying, just as if the door of mercy always continued open for man, and the day of the visitation of God’s love never passed over his head, though he persevered in rebellion. But this Davis came to a most pitiful state, so that he fell into poverty, and was himself imprisoned for debts, of which more hereafter. And Newberry fell into a sad condition, being taken with a severe palsy, and yet he did not leave off cursing and swearing, talking of the devil in a dreadful manner. And by lying long in bed, the flesh rotted on his back, and he who had formerly said concerning the hand-bolted prisoners, he did not care if their hearts did swell, got now such a sore tongue, that it swelled out of his mouth, and grew black, and so he died miserably on the 10th of December. Thus God sometimes punisheth the wicked even in this life. And though persecutors come not always to such a miserable end, yet many of these fell into poverty, and others were discontented because they saw that those whom they had cruelly persecuted, now enjoyed an undisturbed liberty; for the king who was now on the throne, continued to give liberty to those that had been oppressed for religion.