Quotes Related to the 1670 Trial of William Penn and William Mead and Bushel's Case
Quotes that appear on this page are taken either from the post-trial account written about the famous 1670 Trial of William Penn and William Mead or for the related case known as Bushel's Case. The first case mentioned is that of William Penn and William Mead, codefendants who were criminally accused of causing a tumult in Gracechurch Street in London by preaching the Quaker religion in public after the government locked them out of their meeting room. The second is the appeal of some of the jurors, led by jury foreman Edward Bushel, of the punishment doled out to them by a judge in Penn's and Mead's trial for refusing to bring in a guilty verdict as instructed by the court. Because of the relationship between these cases, we present these quotes together on one page.
Individuals quoted include (click on a name to jump to their section):
- William Penn, one of the accused,
- John Howel, one of the judges in the trial
- John Vaughan, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, to which Edward Bushel and other jurors appealed for relief from punishment for their verdicts
Quotes are presented in a variety of formats for your convenience. You can copy and paste the text versions or download any of the graphics to share around. FIJA uses the 1024 x 512 pixel graphics on Twitter, and the 400 x 400 pixel graphics on Facebook and our website. You may also find use on other social media or elsewhere for the 800 x 800 pixel graphics.
William Penn Quotes
These quotes are taken from the account written up after the famous 1670 trial of William Penn and William Mead, who were being prosecuted for supposedly causing a tumult by preaching the Quaker religion in Gracechurch Street in London.
Text versions for copy and paste:
"What hope is there of ever having justice done, when Juries are threatened, and their Verdicts rejected?... Unhappy are those Juries, who are threatened to be fined, and starved, and ruined, if they give not in Verdicts contrary to their Consciences."
—William Penn, The Tryal of William Penn and William Mead, 1670
"The Agreement of Twelve Men is a Verdict in Law, and such a one being given by the Jury, I require the Clerk of the Peace to record it, as he will answer it at his Peril. And if the Jury bring in another Verdict contradictory to this, I affirm they are perjur'd Men in Law. [And looking upon the Jury] You are Englishmen, mind your Privilege, give not away your Right."
—William Penn, The Tryal of William Penn and William Mead, 1670
"If Not guilty be not a Verdict, then you make of the Jury and Magna Charta but a meer Nose of Wax."
—William Penn, The Tryal of William Penn and William Mead, 1670
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John Howel Quotes
This quote is taken from the account written up after the famous 1670 trial of William Penn and William Mead, who were being prosecuted for supposedly causing a tumult by preaching the Quaker religion in Gracechurch Street in London.
Text version for copy and paste:
"Gentlemen, You shall not be dismist till we have a Verdict, that the Court will accept; and you shall be lockt up, without Meat, Drink, Fire, and Tobacco; you shall not think thus to abuse the Court, we will have a Verdict, by the help of God, or you shall starve for it."
—John Howel, one of the judges on the bench in The Tryal of William Penn and William Mead, 1670
Downloadable graphics sized 1024 x 512 pixels:
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John Vaughan Quotes
Coming soon!
