Watches to be kept in Tyndale in tyme of necessitie.

Spye, Thruspick, Haling, Midleborne, Blackhallborne, Bootslawe, Jerdin, Smayle, Shortelawe, Heade of Lysborne, Leapilishe, Southside of Tyne; Kealderedge, Plashetts, Blackharme, North Tyne.

The Bounders of the frontyrs of this Mydle Marche is knowne all a long by thes places aforenamed, begining at Cheveat, being the ende of the East March of England, and endeth at Kirsopp head, being the bounder of the West March of England.

Betwixt the Cribbhead in Cheveat and Kirsop heade is xxtie myles.

The opposite Warden called Sir Rob. Kerr, Laird of Sefford, who hath twoe houses, Sefford fronting on England, and Halladen in Easte Tyvidayle, for which East and Weste Tyvidayle the said opposite Warden aunswereth, except Baclugh, Farmhirst and Hunthill, his landes exempted by the King.

Lyddesdayle only governed by Baclughe, and exempted from the Marche.

THE ISLE OF MAN.

[The dispute between William Earl of Derby and his three nieces, daughters of Ferdinando, has been already mentioned (p. 133). The following letter from Popham to Lord Ellesmere has relation to the claims of the Earl and the heirs general, and it seems that the Chief Justice was strongly impressed with the invalidity of the original Patent of Henry IV. Consequently the lordship of the island would again have fallen into the Queen's hands, but Camden tells us (" Annals" in Kennett, ii. 580) that she relinquished her right, and that then an agreement was made between the contesting parties. "The lawyers, (he observes) were of opinion that the King (i. e. Henry IV.) could not legally make any such grant for life, because he was not yet entitled to the forfeiture; and consequently that the Letters Patent, being grounded on the delivery of the former, were invalid, but that the King had been imposed upon by a false pretence, and therefore the grant was null and insignificant."]

CAMD. SOC. 12.

20

To the ryght honorable my very good L. Syr Thomas Egerton, knyght, L. Keeper of the Great Seal.

My humble deuty don unto your L. We have thys afternowne hadd some farther hyeryng off the matter touchyng the Ile of Man; and for the title of the Earle, for any thyng yet shewed, yt ys lyke to prove with [not legible] in all our opynyons, for that neyther the Statute of Uses, nor the Statute of Wylles, nor the Statute De Donis Conditionalibus wyll extend to that Iland. Neyther do we for anythyng yet appearing se that [not legible] wyll ryse of landes in that Ile. And for the objectyons made agaynst the orygynall patent of Kyng Henry the fowerth, under which both the Earl and the heires generall must clayme, the severall objectyons made therunto by Mr. Attorney the laste day before your L. and the rest, we fynd them not answered as yet, but rather fortefyed more strongly and som others more fallen out now to impech that pattent, for which the Earles consell prayed further tyme to seke the recordes to se yf they cowld fynd any pattent for lyff to John Stanley, meaning betwene October ao 6 H. 4 and Mche. ao 7 H. 4, that ys existent for seysure and custody; but none yet appearying for lyff as ys mentyoned in the rehersall and consyderation of that of ao 7 H. 4, and therfore, for any thyng yet appearyng, we are very farre drawen to hold that pattent voyd. We told the Earles cownsell they must serche for these thynges to satesfye your L. and the rest therin by Fryday at the farthest, but touchyng the poynt of the pattent the consell of the heyres generall wold not stand to desyer yt. And even so I humbly take my leave. At Serjantes Inn, the xvijth of June, 1598.

Your L. most humbly,

JO. POPHAM.

C. J. POPHAM'S LETTER REGARDING TIN.

[Why any question respecting "the matter of Tin" came before Sir John Popham does not appear; and in the following letter from him to the Queen (which no doubt Elizabeth transmitted to Lord Ellesmere) he speaks of "the weakness of his understanding in matters of that nature." The "brief discourse," which he states he

sent to the Lord Keeper, has not survived. The whole of what is given below is in Popham's handwriting.]

Indorsed by Lord Ellesmere "My L. Chief Justices letter to the Q. Matre."

To the Q. most excelent Matie.

My most gracious Q. Yt doth not a litle appall me to enter into a dewe consyderation to whose vewe and sensure these and what else hath ben commanded me shall come: wherfore I do most humbly beseke your Matie to beare with and pardon such errors and oversightes as in the depthe of your jugement maye easily be found to have passed therin.

The cawse that hath hytherunto moved me to forbeare to wryte touchyng the matter of Tynne, as your Matie gave me in charge, hath ben for that I desyered fyrst to have spoken with one whome I may trust, that came very latelye out of the liberty, by whome I expected (if I cold have gotten hym) to have ben better informed off the trewe valewe of Tynne in those partes; for I well know that ordynarye merchantes are not to be dealt with therin, who seke by all meanes to conceale the great benefytt of their trades, whether it growe through the Englishe or forrein comodytes; and I can not thynke that by meanes of the generall companyes of Merchantes your Matie shalbe able to advance suche benyfytt to your selff off the Tynne as ys sett downe in the notes, but some other way must be thought off to rayse that, or happely some greater commodyte, which upon conferens hadd with the partie that gate the information (who as yt seemeth hathe muche and to purpose labored in the cawse) may be effected as I am perswaded. Upon my conferens off late with Mr. Myddelton, I fynd ther can

not be so muche Tynne vented out of this realme yearly as ys pretended by these notes, for upon vewe hadd of his late travelles in the matter of coynage, I perceive that for five yeares together there was yearly brought to the coynage, accounting one yeare with an other, not passing xije thowsand powndes weight off Tynne, muche wherof is yearly spent in thys realme, as happely some fowerth parte therof; and yf so, then there can not be transported out of thys realme yearly above some ixe thowsand powndes weight theroff; after which proportion, notwithstandyng, yf it myght be reysed to some perticuler merchantes here from xlviijs the hundred (which is the pryce sett downe) to viijd the pownd weight, (which is iiijs the hundred) yet wold yt amount in yearly benyfytt to xiiijm ccccli sterling, and I can not thynke that meanes myght be used that the same or a farre greatter proffyt myght be reysed therof yearly, yf it myght be well handeled and loked into, being as yt ys affirmed to be at some places within the Liberty (at the least) at fower tymes the valewe that yt ys at here. And to be assertained what ys transported yearly I have wysshed Mr. Mydelton to informe hymselff by the costome bookes, which he hath promysed to do, which done, and the partie spoken with that delyvered the notes, there may some sure grownd be hadd to settle a more sownd resolution what were fytt to be donne. For the matter of coyne and transportyng of gold out of the realme, I have alredy sent inclosed in a letter to the L. Keper a breiff discorse to be delyvered unto your Matie as oportunyte may serve; wherin, as I must trewly acknowledge that I have layd open to your Maties vewe the wekenes of my understanding in matters of that nature, yet hadd I rather subject the same to your Matys most gracious and favorable construction, who hath often heretofore boren with many my imperfections, then to have my disobedyens in not performyng what your Maty hath commanded justly sensured against me. And even so I do most humbly [pray] hym never to cesse to protect and preserve you, who hy

therunto hath never leaft to defend you. At Wellington, the ixth of August, 1598.

Your Matys most humble and most devoted subject and servant, in all deuty and obedyens,

SALE OF CROWN LANDS.

[The Commission appointing certain individuals to regulate and superintend the sale of Crown Lands in the spring of the year 1600, is not extant among the MSS. at Bridgewater House, but the following "Instructions" to them under the sign manual, and subscribed by Sir Robert Cecill, has been preserved in the original. Blackstone, speaking of the stat. 1 Anne, st. 1, ch. 7, complains that it did not pass until it was nearly too late for its object, as "almost every valuable possession of the Crown had been granted away for ever" by previous Sovereigns.]

Indorsed by Lord Ellesmere, "9 Martij ao 41 Eliz."

The Queen's Instructions for the Sale of Manors, &c.

ELIZABETH R.

Instructions prescribed by the Queenes most excellent Matie to the nowe Commissioners for the sale of certaine of her Mates Mannors, Landes, Tenements and Heriditaments, and comaunded by her Matie to be dewly observed, the nynthe daie of Marche, in the one and fortieth yeere of her highnes Raigne.