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  • Know your sovereignty

    • The experiences of South London Permaculture have been duly recorded and more information can be found in the website. The defining line between SLP and myself can be very fine, since I bulk most of SLP’s activities, a situation I hope will change by next year. But of late I pre-empted this article regarding going to court for not paying my council tax. Below I unfold the story, that I hope in a way shows true justice of the law and how primarily those who follow an instinctive way of life in perception and action are naturally protected by the grace of the land or God, one way or another.

    Unfortunately back in March the members of the Lewisham council and the nature reserve at the top of Devonshire Road decided to trash my greenhouse without due consultation to me. They just smashed it up and skipped it. After various responses they admitted to it but claimed it was theirs because it was on their land. I asked them to resolve this issue but they could only deeply apologise. They even tried to claim afterward that it was dangerous because there were missing panels. Admittedly this was true because during transportation the greenhouse was damaged. But it was still a safe structure. In fact, the nature group had lost contact with the one project leader who helped me construct it. She had resigned from her activities because of the general out-of-touch attitude of the committee there. They did not want to replace it so I refused to pay the council tax on the basis that I am not a legal entity (corporate body) but rather a human being. I quoted Common Law and told them it was a violation of private property, and that they have broken the law. It went to court but I issued a Notice to the courts (opposite) stating my position as a human being. The council were uncomfortable with the idea and tried to deter me from asking for a hearing. They suggested that I should just pay up with an additional fine. I advised them that they have not resolved the issue of the greenhouse, and that as an Officer of the Peace they had rejected my own resolution. So I looked the judge in the eye and said that I was sovereign here, that I did not have to use the courts to resolve this case of the unpaid council tax, that I was not a corporate body, i.e. a legal entity, and that I am setting a precedent. I went under the commonly known name of Merlyn Peter, not Mr. Merlyn Peter. So she asked me what would I have them do. I said that as one corporate body to another (from the courts to the council) they should enforce the council to resolve the issue of the greenhouse first before I could even be considered a legal entity. They discussed it for a while and then ordered Mr. Merlyn Peter to pay the outstanding amount of council tax from May this year. I walked out saying politely thanks very much, telling them I did not need to be here anymore. They also thanked me for my time. “The Magistrates are purely there for issuing summary judgement for profit.” No letter from the courts was forthcoming. Instead I have received a letter from the bailiffs telling me to pay the outstanding balance and fine. They are now knocking on my door. This is a violation of my peace. I don't vote/am not on the electoral role. I claim no monies from the government. I don't pay taxes. I don't earn enough to pay off my debts (my rent is £5,000 a year). I want nothing to do with the system - I am a freeman. I have a right to protect myself.

    My suggested course of action is to form a militia to protect the natural rights of the common man and hand a Notice of Intent to bailiffs Whyte & Co. based in Swanley, Kent stating that it is gross negligence to not know the difference between Common Law and Statutory Law. That as Freeman we have a right to be left alone in peace without violation to our property and selves. Who will join me?

    See YouTube for an illegally shot video in a magistrates court regarding the payment of council tax. There is only the 1992 Local Government Finance Act which can only be enforced with consent.

    MerlynX

    NOTICE
    Dated 6th September 2011
    Issued to:
    Bromley Magistrates Court
    Bromley, Kent BR1 1RA

    Let me state firstly that I am not acting in “person”, as a corporate body. I am Merlyn Peter, a human being exercising my sovereign rights. This includes the application of the Common Law as distinct from Statutory Law or corporate law. I do not consent to being governed under the legal system and as such have not “contracted” with either yourselves or any other legal corporate entity concerning the matter of council tax payments. I am Merlyn Peter, an identity I choose to represent my true human self and not given to me at birth. When you address me in court it is in this capacity that you must proceed. To uphold the Common Law and to be protected by your ‘oath-spoken’ or ‘juris-diction’, a power invested by the community, you should give clear evidence of your conviction here.

    Now, in clarification of the outstanding issue, the reason for the withdrawal of my council tax payments is due to the violation of the Common Law by the claiming party, in this case Lewisham Council. I have given, I believe, ample reason indicated in the communications between myself and the said corporate body. The destruction of my property by Lewisham Council and the offer of a peace settlement was rejected or not simply accommodated by them. I have written to the Mayor and other heads of their departments and notified them of my actions. The enforcement of a liability order against me contravenes any peaceful resolution under Common Law. Under these conditions I will not legally contract to pay any further instalments unless the offending said body seeks to grant me compensation for the loss, and acknowledge the power of Common Law. A conditional acceptance to their demands must first deal with the said lawful issue of the destruction of the greenhouse before any legal issues regarding council tax payments can be finalised. Likewise, I set a precedent here, that all corporate bodies wanting to exact my consent under legislative law should prove my own corporate liability as well as theirs. And also, that any further court appearances or legal afflictions upon myself, a human being, is subject to retributive costs of one sorts or another.

    I hereby witness the existence of this document.

    Witness (1)………………….….
    Witness (2)……………………..
    Witness (3)……………………..

  • Further case examples for the use of Common Law

    • Jeff Edwards 16th April 2013

    In this example I had the tricky situation of balancing my client relations with a need to maintain my personal advantage and repertoir in my local society. Whilst I was in Lebanon after my bike journey there I was seeking the funds to pay for a return flight. One of the foresightful necessities I put in place was to offer work to a friend who needed it and who was already an established gardener, thus not needing to be taught basic maintenance. I offerred Leonardo Delgado a handful of my top clients who had mainly given me a free hand in their gardens. Despite his distance in north London from my locale, which in retrospect was lack of foresight, Leo could quite easily have still worked a 6 hour day plus travel time. I offerred him £8 an hour and asked him to record all dates, work descriptions and garden locations. After a few months it had sufficed that he hadn't done much work at all due to the rather wet summer in 2012. This led to frustration with my equipment, wrongfully claiming that it wasn't in good shape. I had preempted this situation by informing him that I would pay him to service any power tools, i.e. fine tuning them. On communicating with Leo just before needing to return from Lebanon, and not for the first time, he replied with a pittance of hours that he wanted to be paid for, something like 25-30 hours over 6 months. On questioning his attitude a third of those hours was for work in my own back garden, something I didn't ask for. I refused to pay him those hours and, infact, my housekeepers paid him instead. He then re-juggled the figures and claimed a fresh set of hours, maybe 15. There were no work descriptions, nor dates. He just pleaded to be paid because he was desperate for money. I trusted him as a friend of 7 years. Thus I paid him monies I was hoping to recuperate from the clients. This did not happen and I found myself temporarily stranded in Lebanon without a flight fare. The communication between the client in question, Leo and myself soured after both Leo and Jeff refused to come to an agreement, the client stating that he did not believe Leo had done that work. So in exchanging their telephone numbers I tried to get them to talk to each other whilst I was away, but to no avail. Leo replied with the crass statement, "it is the law of the land". Having paid Leo I was out of pocket and have never since received any pay from the client. on returning I eventually wrote this letter to Jeff Edwards.

    Hi Jeff,
    I wanted to make you aware of the circumstances we find ourselves in. On the last text message I asked you to pay for the work you thought Leo had done during 2012 whilst I was travelling and he was working for me. You have consistently admitted this point but have refused to clarify any hours, only that he could have cut the grass on two occasions. Consequently you paid for the work I have done since returning to England but refused any payment for Leo’s contribution even though I have paid him for 15 hours work in your garden. Your implied reason is that you feel I owe you rent on your garage space for keeping my tools there. In fact on returning from my travels you locked the garage from the inside and prevented me from earning money through my gardening business. In similar vein refusal to pay for Leo’s work left me stranded in Lebanon at the time whilst I sought the funds elsewhere. As an advocate of Common Law I would like to clarify a few issues to you.

    Under common law every human being is protected against molestation, damage to private property, and has right of access to common land, in order to lead a peaceful life. This law is much older than legislative law. When Leo refused to contact you, likewise yourself in refusing to contact Leo even though I tried in vain to act as an officer of the peace and engage you two in peaceful relations, Leo responded to me by saying ‘it is the law of the land’. That was the last contact I received from him, and due to his poignant manner must assume that he also stole my bike that was left in your garage and which is an essential piece of equipment for pulling the bike trailer loaded with tools. For this reason it is justifiable to make my financial differences with Leo first before I can consider the matter resolved since he was vague regarding the actual dates he worked. He claimed 4 or 5 sessions at 15 hours all told.

    When I suggested to you that you needed a gardener because the garden was looking messy you agreed to ‘re-employ’ me at a reduced rate of £10 (£4 discount) per hour because this satisfied your quibble regarding rent on tools and equipment left in your garage. If you hadn’t paid me for the work I done on returning I would have had a personal case against you, but you did and as I say, you did not offer any extra monies for the work that Leo might have done. Consequently this throws the issue wide open again because you violated legislative law. Firstly, we had already agreed an initial verbal contract regarding storage of items in your garage of £12 (£2 discount) per hour for gardening work. Refusing to pay for the work Leo done even though you admitted the grass had been cut, which on a wet Spring and Summer of that year would have required two cuts in order to allow a mower on top of it i.e. it needs to be strimmed first, is every lawful reason to not do any more work until I get paid for it. Hence our verbal contract was not terminated, merely in suspension. You contacted me whilst I was overseas but on refusing to pay any monies I was in my right to continue storing my equipment in your garage. I estimate, going on personal experience, that wet long grass in your back garden would have required 2.5 - 3 hours cutting time, including raking up. Leo claimed he pruned the shrubs but you say not, even though you could not give me a date for the work he done but still claim to have checked it. Considering the speed of growth during that growing season I estimate Leo probably done about 10 hours actual work and added another 5 hours collecting equipment and getting it to work. His obstinacy in clarifying this work is only equal to yours.

    Maybe now you can understand why I don’t declare my earnings to the government and have become an anarchist and a Freeman. I don’t earn enough to pay taxes but that is beside the point. The legal system is abused and you proved it to me because you don’t understand the law. As an officer of the peace (under common law) I have done all I can to resolve this matter; I cannot be faulted. Considering I have been your gardener for maybe 8 years and to be treated like this only shows up your own insecurity. But as an officer of the peace it is my duty to inform you of the law. Not only did you contravene legislative (statutory) law in my opinion, but in withholding my equipment you violated my personal common rights to make a living. As far as I can see you are not protected under either law here.

    I would like to continue our agreement of £10 per hour though, and maintain my position as an officer of the peace.

    Regards,

    Merlyn Peter, a human being

    Witness (1) (Print & sign)..... Date....
    Witness (2) (Print & sign)..... Date....
    Witness (3) (Print & sign)..... Date....

    What is apparent in my letter to the client is firstly, the power I offer him in my honesty about paying taxes. Had he wished to, Jeff could have threatened me here, but this would have left him exposed to a rebuttal concerning locking up my tools and violating legislative law as well as Common Law. I also clearly expand on my personal ethos and predicament concerning my duty as an officer of the peace. That is, before I can even exact any monies from Jeff I must first get from Leo a proper work description and dates. Likewise, in stealing my bike the onus falls upon Leo to come clean first before I can address Jeff with an enforcement. Effectively Jeff gets let off the hook here. Jeff though, has agreed that Leo did "some work" even though he won't pay me for anything. On giving a copy of the above letter to Jeff he merely ripped in up neatly and left it on my lawn mower. On top of this I lost another top client for lack of work contribution during the said period. Other clients were not attended to at all.

    I am satisfied that I did all I can. In taking the "passive" approach I cannot go any further unless one or another makes a conscious move to resolve this issue. I obviously still have access to Jeff's garage, an earning capacity in his garden, access to one of my favourite gardens also, a psychological hold on both men for seeking the high moral ground, and a definite personal reason for not paying my taxes under the basis that the social environment continues to misinform of its duty to protect me as a legal citizen. All I lose out on are any material incentives which cannot be the basis for the existence of the Common Law, only legislative law. Instead, I found the Common Law on my religious attitude to God and Providence in nature.

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