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mony lately coyned, and that there is a generall discontent among them all; his ambition may cost him deare; I intend to goe to Grafton for some part of ye Holidayes, & then to be up again. This is all at present from

88. Bridgman.

89. Lady Shrewsbury.

90. Portsmouth.

91. My Lord Councell of Ireland.

92. Ireland.

93. Sr Will Temple.

94. Kingston.

95. Sr Morrice Eustace.

96. Elliott.

97. Chiffing.

CLXXXVII.-THE EARL OF ESSEX TO CHARLES II.

MAY IT PLEASE YR MAJESTIE,

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Sr Arthur Forbese is lately come from thence, & tells me He hath had severall Messengers he sent into Scotland returned to him agen, & these have discourst wth divers of ye discontented people there; ye grievance they seem to complaine of is, that ye Like Liberty & Indulgence to Dissentirs in matters of Religion is not allowed in that Kingdome, as is in others of yr Majesties Dominions; Sr Arthur assures me this comes from ye most considerable of them, what Use y' Majestie will make of ye Informacon I shall submitt to y Wisedome. Sr Arthur Forbese is a very freehearted Man, & his being wth this party has occasioned a considerable Expence to him, when therefore any Thing proper to accommodate him wth

shall come to my knowledge, I shall presume to mind yr Majestie of his services.

MEMORANDUM.

CLXXXVIII.-CONCERNING YE EXPORTATION OF WOOLL FROM IRELAND.

Several Statutes of Ireland have imposed so great a Custom upon all Wool whatever exported, as it amounts to a most strict prohibition. This was done, as ye preambles of ye sd Statutes doe recite, wth an intention to oblige ye people to manufacture all ye Wool within ye Kingdome, but it being found by experience that in ye Country, alwaies too thinly inhabited, there were not hands enough to worke up ye Wool wch ye Stock of Sheep on ye Lands could produce, It has ever bin allowd to ye chiefe Govern' to dispence wth these Laws, & grant Licences for ye Exportacon of Wooll into England only, ye person who exported it entring into good securitie that ye Wool be delivered into some port of that Kingdom, & that Certeficates should be returned of their soe doeing, for wch Licence ye Chiefe Govern' reed a duty of 4d for every great Stone consisting of 18 pas weight so licenced to be exported.

The proffitt being very great of vending this comodity into forreine parts, That is to say, France, Flanders, & Holland, in comparison of ye gaine they make when sold in England, hath sett all men's Inventions on worke in contrivance of ways & means to evade ye Lawe, & it being every man's Interest here, who hath any Thing in ye Kingdome, to encourage or at least connive at ye exportacón at large, may be some reason why much of ye Wooll of this Country doth goe into forreine parts, or will be one obstruction to ye due regulacon thereof; For first Tis ye Chiefe Govern Interest to have as much as may be exported, no matter whether

into England or else where, y carrying out of it encreasing his Income; Next Tis ye Interest of all ye Judges & Magistrates, who are ever Landed Men, to have it goe freely, it encreasing their rents; And, lastly, Tis more ye Interest of Merchts & Traders to carry it thither, in regard of ye High Rates they may gett for it. Thus, it conducing to ye profitt of all Men here to have it freely exported, it may easily be supposed that all connivance imaginable will be used for ye encouragement thereof, & that when ever any shall be prosecuted for undue Exportacons, some grains of favor will probably be allowd them, even in ye Courts here; but for this no through remedy can be prescribed till ye Country be fully stockd wth people, & then, men's Interests being changed, it will become every man's concerne to keep this commodity manufactured within our selves. However, ye present Chiefe Govern' will not faile of doeing his part effectually to obstruct all frauderlent practices in this matter, tho' it may a little lessen his gaine, & a strictness in this point also render him somewhat ungratefull to ye Landed Men and Merchants in this Kingdome.

Causes of ye Undue Exportacon of Wooll out of ye
Kingdom of Ireland.

1. The Multitude of Ports in this Kingdome doe give great opportunitie for ye Shipping of Wooll into forrein parts.

2. The carelessness of ye Customs, & other Officers in ye severall ports, in performing their duty, either neglecting to take any Securities upon y passing of Wooll, or else excepting such as are insolvent.

It appears by 3. A patent to St Nich: Armorer & Sr Gabriel Silvius of all ye Records in ye Excheq y of forfeitures incurred upon ye bonds enterd into for ye delivery of ye 22.900 penal- Wooll into some Port in England, wherein is an Expresse Clause conteynd empowring ye Patentees to make compositions for these bonds.

ties incurred

since this

Patent was on foot there hath bin received and brought to acct but 7701

4. The Wooll being Shipt & Securitie taken for ye delivery thereof in England by ye corruption of some Officers in yo English ports, Certeficates are signed of ye Landing of it there, tho' it were never really put on shoar; As also sometimes Certificates are counterfeited.

5. A late practice hath likewise bin discoverd of rolling up Wooll into great Twist, & so passing it as Yarne, & when it arrives into forrein parts 'Tis untwisted agen & becomes Wooll.

Remedies to prevent ye Exportacon of Wooll out of Ireland
into forrein parts.

To ye 1st. That ye ports be limited to a certain Numb', out of wch
& no other Wooll shall be exported. These Ports may be Dublin,
Drogheda, Waterford, Ross, Corke, Youghall, Limmericke, &
Galloway.

To ye 2nd. When ever any Officer shall be found faulty in permitting any Wooll to goe without Licence, or neglecting to take securitie, or taking such as is insolvent, that He doe infallibly loose his place, & receive such further punishmt as ye Law appoints.

have sold their

ye Customs

means, being Trading men,

To ye 3rd. That This Patent be vacated, wch 'Tis conceived may The Patentees be done at his Majesties Will & pleasure (but then it will be rea- patent to yo sonable, his Majestie intending ye Patentees a favor when He gave present Farm's it them, may allow them some compensation when 'Tis revoked), influence on all who having & that no Compositions be ever made or allowd of to ye persons ye Officers of forfeiting their bonds, but ye utmost rigor & extremity taken agt will by this them as punishmts due by Law. To ye 4th. That upon ye giving dispatch to every Vessel that carry wooll as shall Lade Wooll from Ireland, The Officers of ye Customs doe into all parts, forthwth transmitt a Duplicate of each Entry of Wooll to ye Treary but ye Ld Lieut Office, & another Duplicate of each entry of Wooll to ye Comm's of ye Customs in England, at ye Custome House in London, to be by them registerd in their Office, & transmitted to ye severall Ports to weh ye sd Wooll shall be said to be consigned. Whereunto may be

they please

ye Excheq' not

hath ordered

to allow of this sale, so as that

mischiefe will be prevented.

The Order by Added, that some Trusty person be employd in each Port in Engmy La Trears land where Wooll is usually Landed, to give an Acct from Time to

Lre.

Time of ye Wooll that is really exported from Ireland. It is also proposed, that ye Comm's of ye Customs in England doe send over to ye Ld Lieut, at every six or Twelve months End, Copies of ye Returns they have received from ye Ports in Ireland, wch may be compared wth ye booke of Licences kept in ye Secretarys Office, & by that will be seen whether all ye Wooll wch went hath bin truly Licenced.

ye

aforsa

To ye 5th. Woollen Yarne being within ye prohibition of Acts, the Lord Lieut hath already given Ord' that no Woollen Yarne whatever shall be Exported without Licence in ye same Forme as in ye case of Wooll, for wch neverthelesse no duty, tho' by ye Statute it might, is exacted by ye Chiefe Govern', but for ye present ye Licences are allowd gratis.

It is

That some one person be employd in each of ye Ports abroad where English or Irish Wooll is usually Landed to observe what Wooll comes over, & to returne an Acct, either by ye Lord Trear or one of ye Secretarys, of ye proportions of Wooll that are there unladen, what Ships they are that bring it, who ye Master of ye så Ship is, & from what part of his Maties Dominions it comes. supposed that six persons may doe this worke, there being not above that number of Ports to wch our Wooll usually goes, and 100l. a year to a man may suffice. This as is conceived may be so effectuall for ye discouery of ye fraudulent Exportacon of Wooll, as if it be put in practice, & fitt men employd therein only for 3 or 4 years, it will utterly breake those that follow this illegall Trade, wch being once done every one will probably be soe cautions as they will not readily venture upon ye like practices, & so this sort of Traffique will be at an end, & consequently ye Expence to these Informs will also determine.

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