field still, ... but in regard to
poverty their work is like to flag and drop: Therefore if the
hearts of any be stirred up to drop anything into this Treasury, to
buy victuals to keep the men alive, and to buy Corn to cast into
the ground, it will keep alive the Spirit of Public Freedom to the
whole Land, which otherwise is ready to die again for want of help.
And if you hear hereafter that there was a people appeared to stand
up to advance Public Freedom, and struggled with the Opposing Power
of the Land, for that they begin to let them alone, and yet these
men and their public work were crushed, because they wanted
assistance of food and corn to keep them alive: I say, if you hear
this, it will be trouble to you when it is too late, that you had
monies in your hand, and would not part with any of it to purchase
Freedom, therefore you deservedly groan under Tyranny, and no
Saviour appears. But let your Reason weigh the excellency of this
work, and I am sure you will cast in something.

"And because there were some treacherous persons drew up a note and
subscribed our names to it, and by that moved some friends to give
money to this work of ours, when as we know of no such note, nor
subscribed our names to any, nor ever received any money from such
collection. Therefore to prevent such a cheat, I have mentioned a
word or two in the end of a printed book against that treachery,
that neither we nor our friends may be cheated. And I desire if any
be willing to communicate of their substance unto our work, that
they would make a collection among themselves, and send that money
to Cobham to the Diggers' own hands, by some trusty friend of your
own, and so neither you nor we shall be cheated.

"The Bearers hereof, Thomas Haydon and Adam Knight, can relate by
word of mouth more largely the condition of the Diggers and their
work, and so we leave this to you to do as you are moved.

"Jacob Heard, Jo. South junior, Henry Barton, Tho. Barnard, Tho.
Adams, Will Hitchcocke, Anthony Wren, Robert Draper, William Smith,
Robert Coster, Gerrard Winstanley, Jo. South, Tho. Heydon, Jo.
Palmer, Tho. South, Henry Handcocke, Jo. Batt, Dan Ireland, Jo.
Hayman, Robert Sawyer, Tho. Starre, Tho. Edcer, besides their wives
and families, and many more if there were food for