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CXI. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO THE EARL OF ARLINGTON.

MY LORD,

Dublin Castle, Jan 28, 7.

Captain Crofts being just going off, ye news arrived of those transactions wch were in ye House of Coñons relating to y' Lo3, I could not let slip this opportunitie of telling yr Lop how much I rejoice at ye good success you have there had, & I confess my satisfaction in it is much encreased by what I heare, that some of my neerest friends & relations have had an eminent share in doeing you right upon this occasion. The Times are so nice & difficult that I durs't scarce write such expressions as these by ye ordinary Post, being very confident that some foul play hath bin used, even in ye opening of yr LPs Lies & mine, weh passed betwixt us, & therefore, if there be less of complement in what by ye ordinary way I write to y Lop then is usuall, I hope you will not from it judge my affection to ye service, but wth all assurance believe & rely upon me to be ever, &c.

CXII. LORD AUNGIER TO THE EARL of Essex.

MÁY IT PLEASE YOR EXCYE,

Lond., Jan. 31, 1673.

Since my last there has not been anything of greate moment transacted in ye Howse of Coms, only this day they have voted that the addresse for removeing ye Duke of Lawderdale from all his Employmts & from His Maties Councills & presence for ever as a person obnoxious & dangerous to ye Govemt, should be forthwth made to his Matie in order to wch ye members of ye Privy Councill are directed to acquaint His Matie with it, & to knowe what time His Matie will appoint for ye Speaker wth ye whole Howse to attend him wth ye sayd addresse. Imediately after this the addresse concerning His Grace of Bucks

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was proposed, wch begott a debate whether we should not in his case desire the concurrence of ye Lords in reguard he is a Peere, & ye day being farre spent, ye further debate of it was putt of till Thursday next. This morning the Lords alsoe spent upon His Grace's affaire wth my Lady Shrewsburye, in wch His Grace at first made an ingenuous confession, & beg'd pardon of ye Howse, And out of his great generositye & kindnesse to yt noble family desired that all mention of yt affaire should be taken of ye file and razed out of ye Records, wch request of his Grace's being not complyed wth, He then retracted his confession, because he has owned more then ye Petitions agt him could prove, wch begott a debate whether the Howse should accept of his submission or reteine ye cause any longer, wch spunn out their time till two of ye clocke, at wch time they adjourned the further debate of it till Tuesday next. This day, upon a discourse accidentally started concerning a coñon Fame that severall Members had receaved Money and Pensions, and yt it was reported a Member should say he hoped to make this Sessions worth him 5000ld, The Howse have appoynted a comittee to examine this matter, and to prepare some test for ye members to take & vindicate themselves from this scandalous imputation.

In the Lords House the preservation of ye French allyance was a considerable parte of ye debate concerning ye addresse to be made to His Matie about a peace wth ye States Gent. But it was overruled there as well as in ye Howse of Coñons, And I suppose on Tuesday both Howses will agree on ye manner of their Addresse, there haveing beene allready interchangeable messages sent to one another. The newes from Holland is that ye Prince of Orange & his posterity are declared State Holders for ever.

CXIII. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO LORD RANELAGH.

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From severall hands I hear that yr Lop hath thought fit to lay ye blame of ye nonpaymt of some moneys due to ye Office of ye Ordnance in England upon me, by telling his Matie that ye money was ready, but my Ord's upon his Maties Lres were wanting to authorise you & ye partners to make paymt thereof, whereas I doe assure y1 Lop these Lies were never delivered. That only wch related to ye Arms & Amunition sent in my Time, indeed, I once saw, but it was not left wth me, & for ye other wch concern'd ye 3000 to be payd in part for Arms sent in my Lord Robart's Time, it never came to my hands, nor I believe had it now, but that upon notice out of England I made strict enquiry after it, and found it among ye Partners here.

I cannot but tell yr LoP upon this occasion that I doe abominate all Artifices of this kind," & have just reason to take it very ill at yr hands, that you should endeavour to lay y owne faults upon me, & make any representations, as if I were negligent of my duty in a matter wherein ye blame is wholly y' owne. If you have any imagination that Practices of this sort will pass upon me, you will finde y' selfe mistaken in yr man, for as I have ever used plain & clear dealing with all, so where I finde other then ye like, I am not, nor ever shall be, scrupulous of telling them their owne, whoever they are, that endeavor to circumvent me by their subleties. Nevertheless how disobliging soever these y' proceedings have bin, I doe & shall look upon y1 undertaking to be a branch of ye King's

On February 17, Ranelagh wrote to Essex utterly denying the charge contained in this letter.

business committed to my charge, & as such shall not faile to give it all due and just encouragement, It being my Principle never to suffer his Maties affairs to be prejudiced upon any Acct of my

owne.

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Dublin Castle, Feb. 14th, '7.

CXIV. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO WILLIAM HARBORD. MR HARBORD, All men here have great hopes that a bill will pass in England this Sessions to take off that restraint, wch for some years hath bin upon ye importation of Catle; wch bill, if it should pass, would in some measure prejudice ye proffitts of my place here, for when Catle went free into England I cannot learn that any more then 1500ld, or at most 2000ld a year, was ever made for wooll dutys to ye chief Govern'; but since this prohibition of Catle that income hath advanced to 4000ld p Añn; & ye reasons of this Improvem are evident, for while ye exportation of Catle from hence into England was free, great numbers of Sheep were sent over, wch payd no duty for ye wooll upon their backs. This in so many thousands, as were carryed, amounted to a reasonable summe; but ye great Improvmt arose from this cause, that ye importacon of Catle being prohibited, men changed their methods of Husbandry, from their breeding of great Catle into breeding of Sheep, & this they did because they carryed ye Wooll out, & made money of it in England. Tis also well known how infinitely ye breed of Sheep hath encreased since this prohibition, all wch, if ye former Libertie of carrying Catle be allowed, will soon fall agen to its old rate.

I am not willing that a particular concerne of mine should any way hinder a publick good to this Kingdome, & therefore I would not by any means upon such an Acct as this obstruct ye bill; yet

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however, in case it should pass, I conceive it may not be amiss for you to represent to his Matie ye damage it would be to me. My La Duke of Ormond had 3000ld a year constant pay upon ye Establishmt more then ye present Govern'. This was first taken off when my Lord Robarts came. I am very fully satisfied, & that by experience, that ye revenue belonging to this Place, as now it is, may with good management maintaine ye Lieut in that splendor as is fitt for ye King's Minister to live here; but sure I am this is all it will doe, & therefore if any diminution should happen to ye present Income "Twill not bee possible for me to uphold ye dignitie of my Employm1, & at ye same Time keep my selfe from doeing irregular things, or making litle gains unworthy my Place, by selling Offices, etc., all wch I have absolutely resolved never to doe.

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CXV.-LORD AUNGIER TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

MAY IT PLEASE YOR EXCYE,

Lond. Feb. 7th, 1673.

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Yesterday the Duke of Bucks made a very submissive recantation to ye Howse of Peeres, acknowledging ye miserable & lewd life he had led; And though it was a very heavy burthen to lye under the displeasure of ye Howse & the sence of his transgressions, Yett he had reason to give God thankes for it since it had opened his Eyes & discovered to him the foulenesse of his past life, wch he was resolved for ye future to amend; & haveing added severall other patheticke expressions to testifye ye sincerity of his Repentance, The Howse at last absolved him upon promise never more to converse wth my Lady Shrewesbury; forwth both His

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