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acquainte King wth the necessity of it & how impossible it was else to have reduced them considering the many & strong retreats they have; gave him some particular instances of ye violences they had since committed one upon another, ye effects it had had, & ye great peace & security the Country was in by your great care & dilligence in that matter. I left them in my opinion well satisfied in all those things I could then thinke of. Upon my very first arivall here I had notice given me that Ranelagh & Seymour had endeavord to possesse Trear. that notwithstanding all yt W. Harbord should say to him, Trear. would see him sticke to Essex agt him & bid him beware of him; & being forewarned I prepared my self accordingly; I found him at first cooler in his reception then when I left him, whereupon I told him what I had heard & parted from him wth great kindnesse; after at least 2 hours discourse, during wch he shewd me severall Articles that were preparing against himselfe by Litleton, Powys, Meeres, Candish, Sr John Coventry, &c., among wch there were two to this effect, if not in the same words, That Trear. had privately contrived & contracted wth Essex to share & governe all ye Affaires of Ireland contrary to all former formes to their mutuall benefitt & advantage; & that in order to it ye 2 Secretarys were kept wholly in ignorance & strangers to ye Affairs of that Kingdome. That Essex & Trear. had private Instructions between themselves; that Trear. had lately procured from King thirteen thousand pounds for Essex, of wch Trear. was to have three for himselfe, That Trear. had lately contracted wth some persons in the name of Jeames Herbert for y renewing of y Irish Farme & that Essex was Privy to it, whereby Essex & Trear. would gett hundred thousand pounds to themselves; he doth not seeme concerned at this storme but told me that he thought that instead of Jeames they meant me; he hath many friends & they may somewhat bespatter him but not hurt him by it. Tis a Tryall of skill between Arlington & Trear. wth ye malice of some members to either side to lett King see wch of them hath best interest.

I suppose yt yr Excellency hath now receaved Sr Henry Capell's Letter about Sec: Coventry, whome I finde wonderfully dissatisfied wth Essex & believes himselfe to have been extreamly ill used by him, for ye other day when Essex writt to Ranelagh to move Trear. for a resolution from King what Essex should doe wth those Letters & directions wch laye before Essex; Ranelagh did prepare the heads of an Order for to passe the Councell & gave it to Trear. as he was goeing in. Trear. proposed it, & S. Coventry did make such a muttance [?] upon that affaire & so warmly reflecting on Trear. & his sending private Instructions to Essex wthout either Secretary's knowledge; for want of wch ye King's Commands rendered ineffectual, & yf the same were admitted in Forrain parts it might endanger y very publick safety of the Kingdome. I finde that Arlington engaged warmly for S. Coventry & many others on each side till at last King was forced to end y debate not only by interposing but expressing an angry dislike of their warmth in that place; all this was put on Essex his shoulders, for Trear. did affirme that these private Instructions (I meane those of July last from Windsore) were desired & writt by Essex, & yt Trear. had 20 Letters to shew to yt Effect. Councell did aprove of ye private Instructions, first in regard That Trear. assured them yt Essex writt for them in order to the enabling him to prevent ye granting & giving away y King's Lands, Monys, &c., Rents, wch ye Secretarys had bin very bold wth, but Councell were absolutely of opinion that those Instructions aught to have bin enterd at y Secretarys of that Province to wch they were sent, ye not doeing whereof even Trear. ownes a great fault, & saith that he did really thinke it had bin donne. Sec: Coventry, who at this time wayes infinitely in ye Nation, thought himselfe in y Right, both as to Trear. sending Instructions to Ministers abroad, was so surprised to hear Trear. say that Essex had by Letters desired them, & hot in one thought fitt to communicate y having such to Coventry that he is I feare lost to Essex, & to some of his most

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private friends complaines of Essex his usage to him, and this being by them attributed as a Returne for Essex House it hath great Effect in altering mens minds from Essex, & think him not so well settled nor fixed in friendship with men of such principles as y most virtuous men here now value & notwithstanding all my enemies may suggest to Essex I assure him yt I am most faithfully, &c.

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I pray consider of some way of giving Sec: Coventry some satisfaction in this occasiona for he is most worthely y1 friend

CCXX. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO WILLIAM HARBORD.

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For what you say in ye latter end of yr Lře concerning Essex House, I am still of opinion yt had not that matter bin bungled, it would not have made halfe ye noise it hath done, being only a Grace & bounty of his Majesties, & I cannot see why any man should thinke it amiss, yt ye King should give me such a gift: My La D: of Ormond has recd above 300,000!b. in this Kingdome, besides all his great places & Employments, & I am sure ye Losses in his private Estate have not bin equall to those I have suffered, & yet he is so happy as no exception is taken to it; but I am confident tis all idle talke, &, as I have already said, occasioned in a great measure by perplexing ye Affairs at first.

Essex explains matters satisfactorily on April 24.

CAMD. SOC.

2 T

VOL. I

CCXXI.-THE EARL OF ESSEX TO WILLIAM HARBORD.

MR HARBORD,

Dublin Castle, April: 27: 75. You have now at length cleared ye matter concerning Essex House, viz., yt because y1 selfe was not employed in ye Affaire, you judged it inconvenient for me to have it; I cannot compare this wth any thing better then that wch you tell me in ye end of yr Lře, namely, yt in case Moneys be asked in ye House by any of ye Treasurers friends, ye opposite party are immediately resolved to putt in a charge agt ye Treasurer, so as in ye mean Time his Majesties Affairs are in a good posture, since ye Two Factions are separately resolved, yt ye publick shall not be supplied, unless it come purely by one of their means, each endeavouring by some by way to obstruct what ye other doth, & in ye like manner will my owne concerns be, if you hold to these methods, not to lett any Thing be done, but what yr selfe has a hand in, & are ye Doer thereof, wch I hope you will take warning for ye future, rather to observe what I direct then to oppose Things, because you did not advise them. In relacon to ye House it selfe, tho' I would be glad to be master of it, if it might come fairly & hansomly, & like it ye best of any scat about ye Towne, yet I never desired or would engage any of my friends for Acts of Parliamt to serve private turns, but if in ye comon prohibition of New buildings ye turning of this into Tenemts be obstructed, I would not omitt ye opportunitie of goeing on with that purchase, & this you may let any of ye members of Parliamt know either of mine or y owne acquaintance.

In case any Thing should be stirring in Parliam1, as if I com bined with my Lord Trear to divert ye methods of governm' in this Kingdome, that weh I have writt at large to my brother in one by this packett, & Two other Letters, will sufficiently instruct both him & you, what to answer in it; you need not be nice in telling any of ye members ye Truth, should there be occasion for it, for I am apt to believe (if you manage ye Affaire rightly in England)

ye plain dealing wch I have steadily pursued, when it come to Light, will fix me firmer both in ye favor of his Majestie & in y esteeme of all good men then ever I could have bin had not this instance to demonstrate it arrived.

I have some few days since reed a Lře from ye D. of Monmouth concerning young Mr Sarsfields death, & other particulars relating to y Estate; Let ye Duke know, yt I have only delayed ye Answering his Letter till I have advised wth ye Kgs: Councell here, & yt in a little Time I shall be able to returne him an Acct wch will be satisfactory.

CCXXII.-LORD RANELAGH TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

MAY IT PLEASE YR EXY,

London, Aprill 13th, 1675. The Honour of yor Exlys of the 7th Instant I have Received, and shall not fayle to give his May the account it brings of the French Recruites, wch I had donne this day, but that the beginning of the Parliament made it unseasonable. What passed in both Houses I am sure yr Ex1y will receave from better Hands. This day they satt much longer then is usuall the first of their meeting, and too morrow they meet againe, and it is thought their debates will be

very warme.

As to Essex House, I cannot give yr Ex'y soe good an account as I would. Barebone we have had before the Councell twice, and the Orders upon his hearing are as large as care would allow them to be, My Lord Keeper and Lord Treasurer concerning themselves most Hartily to recover the House for yr Ex1, but nether of

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