yr Graces recomendation I shall inevitably suffer shipwreck, wch I doe not value upon my owne acct, but that I see through my sides ye Church will be wounded. The only remedy is to procure a Lře from his Majestie to discharge ye Convocation, wch will calme this storme, & qnench all these ambitious & seditious designes, wch are now on Foot to disturbe ye peace of ye Church; they are already come to that height of insolence, that one Mr Cant a presbyter hath shaken off all fear of God and his canonicall Oathes & did call me a great grievance of ye Church. My dear Lord & brother, bestirre yr selfe in this matter, & remember ye woe that is pronounced agt them that are at ease whilst others are in distress for recomending this to y1 care. I am, my Lord, Yr Graces affectionate brother & To the ArchBP of Canterbury. ST. ANDREWS. CLXI. SIR ARTHUR FORBES TO THE EARL OF ESSEX. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCY, Bathe, This 25 Juli, 1679. Nowe King, Duke, Treasurer sime resolved to invite Parliam' to toune, all speeke kindli of him [Essex] ase of a parson yusfule to the Kinge's sarvise. Lodderdale, who is hire, simes to be of the same mind, professes kindness to Essex, and desired me to asure hime the reportes wiche ware rased ware malisius. Arthur Forbese expecktet sudanli to leve this kingdom, King having signified so muche to him latli. Scotch are note in a good yumur buy whate I can lerne. Essex is well here. All his frendes wish his still continuing whare he is ase a parson yusefule bothe to the Kinge and kingdom. * * * * * CLXII. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO THE EARL OF ARLINGTON. MY LORD, Dublin Castle, July 28, '74. In a Letter from my Lord of Orrery, dated at Marleborough ye 17th of July, there was this passage :-"On Wednesday ye 15th of July, in ye evening, my Lord Treasurer brought me ye King's Order, signed by his Majestie, directed to Mr Atturney Genr" or Mr Sollicitor, forthwth to prepare a patent to give me all those powers in Military Affairs in ye province of Munster, under ye great Seale of England, that I had formerly, while presidt of Munster, under ye great Seale of Ireland." Upon ye receipt of this I sent for a Copy of my Lord of Orrery's Commission, & upon perusall thereof I finde He has, in ye absence of ye Chiefe Governor out of that province, ye comand of all Forces there as Generall. The words are, "To raise, gather, levy, & assemble from Time to Time such of our subjects within our sd province of Munster as to you or either of you (viz., Himselfe or Vicepresid1), shall be thought expedient for ye service aforesd. And also to have ye leading Govermt & Comand of all our Martial forces already residing & placed within ye sd Province." His LP hath very often since my coming presst me, wth much earnestness, to put ye Militia in a posture there, & indeed I have bin in some difficultie to know how to answer him, and yet not appear unwilling to forward that worke, wch ye generallity of ye protestants in this Kingdome are vehemently sett upon. My reasons agt ye forming of this Force were so fully expressd in a Letter I writt to ye King himselfe as I can adde litle to it, & therefore for that part I shall say no more, but herewth transmitt you a Copy of so much of my Letter as concerned this subject. Now, should his LP come over armed wth such a Comission as He pretends to, He would undoubtedly, so soon as he arrives, call together y° Militia of that province & exercise them, & then I shall be putt upon this streight, either to deny doeing ye like in ye other three provinces, & thereby loose all ye Interest I have bin gaining with ye protestants, or by forming them into Troops & Companys, to putt Arms into such men's hands, as should any disorders happen in England or Scotland I dare not rely upon; & whether I doe ye one or ye other this will certainly fall out, that my Lord of Orrery first setting up that Militia in Munster, He will be regarded as ye great patron of ye protestant Interest, & thereby become popular wth that party, & I shall be looked upon, if I refuse to doe ye like in other parts, as a man ill affected to them, or if I doe it, as one who was necessitated thereunto by his example. The misfortune of this Affair relating to ye Militia is such as I dare not seem to oppose it, & yet I am sufficiently convinced of ye hazard & danger thereof to his Maties service, & have therefore all along managed my selfe, so as in appearance to approve of & like it. However, in my thoughts I was utterly resolved agt it, & truly I have bin soe lucky as at present to lay it asleep in all men's minds, none having for these three or four months so much as spoken of it, nor I believe will, till his LP revive that matter againe. I looke upon ye Army now here to be fully sufficient to keep all things quiett at home, yet if any apprehension should be of an Invasion by a Forreigner, this Militia would doubtlesse be of very good use; but as to our selves, especially whilst there are any discontents either in England or Scotland, it will certeinly be ye most pernicious Thing imaginable. If his Majestie doe therefore resolve to proceed in this Comission to my Lord of Orrery, ye only Expedient I can thinke of to obviate ye raising ye Militia will be this, that an order be dispatched together wth ye Comission, or at least sent so soon as may be after it, requiring his LP not to Act any thing in relation to ye Militia of that province without a particular Comand from his Majestie, & that I may have a copy of that Ord sent to me. is Your LP may perhaps thinke of some properer course, but this best that occurres to my apprehension, & I earnestly intreat yr LP that it may not be known whence this Advice comes, for ye should it ever take vent twould turne much to my prejudice, & make me less able to doe his Majestie service here among his Protestant subjects. SB, CLXIII. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO SIR ARTHUR FOrbes. Dublin Castle, July 30: '74. I have recd yrs dated at Bath ye 18th of July, & have according to yr advice spoken with Captain Cunningham to setle a correspondence in ye North, that I may have what notice he can give me of Motions there. I have had Intelligence from thence of divers of ye phanatick preachers, who of late have bin observed to goe back into Scotland, & some of them are returned hither againe, & I doe know they are at this present a litle more then ordinary busy among ye people; about a week since I gave my Lord of Arlington a List of severall of their names, & that part of Scotland they did frequent, so that if they thought it worth ye doeing, some of those Incendiarys might be apprehended. I perceive there are those in England, and such as have great influence on Affairs at this present, who are not at all pleased wth my being here, & tho' I finde they cannot alter ye King in relation to my Removall, yet they doe prevaile to have many Things done that may give me distaste, and this I am confident wth an Intent to make me so weary of ye Governmt as to desire a dismission; but since this is their Aime, I doe assure them I will be no Lord Robarts, for when I once finde that things are done on purpose to make me angry, I will not be provoked, if it be but to disappoint those who designe my prejudice. Tis somewhat strange to me that when a Thing is well it cannot be let alone. Is not ye Nation here in perfect quiett? Are not all men satisfied that the Army we now have is more then sufficiently able to keep all secure within ourselves? Is not every body sensible too that this Army now is in a much better posture then ever it hath bin since his Majesties restauration? Nay, as to my Ld of Orrery's particular, does not He as Major Genr11 comand not only ye Forces in Munster, but elsewhere, why then this extraordinary Commission? or indeed, since his Majestie hath bin pleased to trust me in ye Goverm1, it may seem a litle strange that I was never consulted therein before It were ordered. I write freely my thoughts to you, having so good an opportunity for their safe conveyance. These Expostulations are only between you & me, for, as I said before, lett them doe what they will, I will be so cross as not to shew my selfe froward upon it; only when a thing happens as this relating to ye Militia, wch I conceive may be mischievious to his Majesties affaires, my duty obligeth me to represent such inconveniences, but as to any affront to my selfe, I shall waite my own opportunitie to doe my business wth that circumspection as may make it more successfull. You see ye freedome wherewth I impart my mind to you, & by it you may judge ye reallity & Truth of my being. CLXIV. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO SIR A. FORBES. Dublin Castle, Aug. 11, $74. [Essex perceives that there is much communication going on between "the discontented party now in Scotland" and their friends in the north of Ireland, and a "perpetual going to and fro of those preaching fellows"; he has therefore strengthened the garrisons in Londonderry, Charlemont, and Carrickfergus.] * * * * * |