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XLVIII.-THE EARL OF ESSEX TO FRANCIS GODOLPHIN.

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Here is a generall report, as if some Act were preparing to prohibite ye transportacion of any more Wooll into England. You know well how great a share of my revenue arises from ye duty on it payable to ye Sword; if any such thing be in agitation, 'twere necessary some compensation may be thought on for ye Governor here, wch may be equivalent to ye profitts of it. As to ye publick concerne of this matter, were I no ways interested in it I could not but say that such an Act would be most pernicious to England, for if this Countrie be prohibited to carry it into England, they must either vent it in forraine parts or manufacture it at home, either of wch would be very apparently destructive to ye manufacture of England.

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XLIX. THE EARL OF ORRERY TO THE EARL OF ESSEX. MY LORD,

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Ballymarten, ye 25th of March 1673. *

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Ther is noe doubt but ye house of Comos in the First Article of their adres to his Majty about Ireland doe as much as they can by an Adress owne ye Acts of Settlemt & explanation, wch, if they stand firme, disapoints all ye hopes the Irish had of more lands.

Their Desyer yt his Majty will Revoke his Letter of Feb. 1671 & ye Act of Councill & Proclamation thereupon for ye Gen" Admittance of Papists into Corporations (if granted) will not only

exclude them from beinge Freemen, but also Inhabbitants in thos Corporations.

That ye Desier of haveinge all Titular Arch BPs, Bps, &c. Pretendinge Ecclesiasticall Jurisdiction from ye See of Rome comded by Proclaon to depart this Kingdom, & on their Faylor to be proceeded against accordinge to Law (if Granted) will exasperate ye Irish in what is most Tender to all, and exceedingly soe to thos who are most superstitious.a

That ye votes (if Granted) yt noe Papist shall be Officers & Sold's in ye Army, that noe Papist be a Justice of ye Peace or any Civill Magistrat, & that all Papists be disarmed, & that all Convents be dissolved, & all Regular Priests Banished, will at once in their judgmts Deprive them of their Religion, hoped for Estates, all Imploymts Civill & Military, all Trade & Freedom, & expell them out of Corporations, & disarme them. Wherby if thes be actually done they will be wholy disabled from any atempts in ye Townes or Field, wch probably so many of their Eminentest Clergie, Nobilite & Gentry, who most influence ye Body of ye People, will not faile to mind them of, espetially since ye Dutch are abandoned by ye Elect" of Brondenburge, & consequently yt they must either speedily close with His Majty or the French, whereby France, and all other Popish Kingdoms will be at liberty to act against our Religion as vigorously as we act against Popery, & therfore tis to be wished, yt all callings & Degrees of the Irish beinge thus Exasperated, & haveinge such Powerfull Fomentors thereof, as ye Universallity of their Clergie, most of their Nobility, Gentry, & all their Merchants &c., they doe not make some atempt; when they are not Ignorant, how many of this small Army have bin disbanded, how many sent for England, & how thinn of Sold's are ye Few Garrisons we keepe, & how much wantinge in most of all things to secure them, espetially of Victualls, and how many more of thes exasperated People ther are in them then ther are of Sold's & loyall Subjects, if this juncture be layd hold of.

a Charles was obliged to act in accordance with the terms of the address. VOL. I.

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I cannot say this they will doe, but I can say to yor Exce only, that tis likelyer they should doe somthinge now then yt they should atempt what they did 1641; & what they did then atempt we shall not easily forget.

Then they had noe Provocation; now they will beleeve they have.

Then an English Parlmt yt were active enough against Popery were sittinge, yet yt did not deter them then. At that time their Clergie were not neere soe high as now, nor their Gentry soe exasperated as they call it, nor soe much Soldry then as now ther people are, nor was France and Spain then at Peace as now they are, nor were ye Forrighn Protestante Princes & States soe disunited & shattered as now they are.

All this and many other considerations, too many for a letter & a gouty hand to write, makes me humbly beg yor Exces consideration whether ye best disposition of ye small Forces you have, may not be best Imploy'd for his Majts Service, by placeinge them (till we see what thes votes will Produce) into ye most important Garrisons only; I meane as well ye Horse as ye Foot. And whether it be not for his Majts Service, that som quantity of Victualls be sent into ye most important Cittadels; & som Cannon in them mounted, & yt ye Militias be with out noyse inspected; & ye Officers & Sold's kept strictly at their Duty, & ye Gor of Important Places be Privatly Required to Double their wonted Care & Dilligence. Som wise men doe now much more apprehend ye Disunited Irish Stirring now then when Indulgences were extended to them.

All this I have written is only to Yor Exes owne selfe, if any thinge in this letter be worth your consideration I am sure you will thinke on it, if noethinge be, pray burne it, & Pardon my zeale to his Majts Service, Yor Exces Peaceable Govt, & my love to my Country, wch dictated thes things to me; only I have still observed yt mischefs are easier prevented then cured.

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L.-THE EARL OF ESSEX TO FRANCIS GODOLPHIN.

MR. GODOLPHIN,

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Dublin Castle, Aprill 1st 1673. I know not whether Mr Brunker may have deceiv'd you in his assurances concerning ye Grant of ye Phoenix Parke, but I am sure he has not at all me, for I never expected any thing of truth, or integritie from him. I doubt not of yr care in watching that business, nor doe I thinke my selfe more concerned to have it look'd after, now it appears that ye intention is to deprive me of it, then if it had bin taken from them, who shall succeed me in this employmt, for it is clear that whoever should have ye grant of it after my time, it will create an interest in them to procure my removall as soon as may be; but that wch I value more then any private concern of my owne, and both doth and will, upon all occasions, engage me much further, is ye obligation upon me to use my endeavours to hinder a thing so indecent, and wch will give so universall a distaste to all men in this country; and therefore if it should be offer'd, that my concerne should be provided for in this case, yet I would not by any means consent to it. I am pretty confident that my Commission under ye great Seale secures it to me, this Employmt being granted wth all Vailes, Sallaries, etc. thereunto belonging; and tho' his Majtie may, when ever he thinks fitt, recall me from hence, yet sure, as long as he continues me here on this Patent, ye accustomed allowances cannot be retrenched.

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LI-THE EARL OF ESSEX TO LORD CLIFford.

MY LORD, Dublin Castle, Aprill 2nd, 1673. Having receiv'd advice out of England, that his Majestie hath given, or is about to give away, ye Parke here near Dublin, cal'd ye Phoenix Parke, I cannot but concern myself to write to yr LoP, as I have done to my La Chancell1, and other my friends, to interpose wth his Majtie that it may be continued (as ye greatest and best part of it hath ever done) to ye sword, and without ye accommodation whereof ye Governor will be exceeding straitned, and as many of ye Nobilitie and Gentry who come hither, as well as all ye Citizens of this Place, will be greatly disappointed of ye pleasure and satisfaction they find therein; it being as necessary and convenient to this Citty, and especially to ye Governor in its Proportion, as ye Parke of St James to you at London. I doe assure y1 Lõ1 ye report of ye alienation of this Parke from ye present use is generally apprehended wth as much trouble as anything of this nature can be capable of, and yr Lop will not only oblige me and all my successors, but ye whole Kingdome besides.

LII. THE EARL OF ESSEX TO THE EARL of Arlington.

MY LORD,

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Dublin Castle, April 4th, 1673.
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Some of ye Noblemen of this Kingdome are, I perceive, very ill pleased wth me for removing their Troops from their old Stations, and tis possible they may prevaile wth some of their friends in England to move the King in this matter; I give yr Lop this hint, that you should hear of it you would justify my Proceedings, for I intend to continue this cours of moving them, without wch ye

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