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Biskett, if ther should be occasion of a sudden martche, since for want of it I haue known much inconuience insue. And also to mount some Cannon in Cittadels and Sea Ports; 2,500l. would goe farr in this work now corne is fallen in its Price by Reason of ye Warr; and work-men & Timber are cheaper for ye same cause. To all wh: I must of necessity ad, ye Greate use of a small Trayne of Artillery to be reddy to martch in euery Prouince on a dayse warninge, For mischeifs are easily supprest at yo very First; And ye hope-fullest way to Prevent Ill Designes is to be in a good Posture to oppose them.

7th. His Majty Has not in This kingdom one Harbour Fortefyed, soe as to defend His owne, or His subjects ships in case of need. This made me an Humble & earnest suitor Last yeere, to Him, yt Kinsale might haue a Forte Royall erected on it; for Tis not only ye harbour, to wh: all ye Nauy Royall Resort, but also is situated,. exceedinge well, in ye Rode of ye Gratest Tradeinge & Nauigation, & is ye most Capable of any to be more stronge. In it likewise Are Large Howses for Magazeens, built by my La Strafford, & a Faire Dock under yo old Forte; but dayly goeing to decay, yet a little at Present would Repaire it. His Majty was Graciously Pleased, in ye Greate honour of a letter to me, All written with His owne hand, to order me in 9ber last, to begin a Forte Royal ther, & both to order me one Thousand Pound to Prepare Materialls, & to Declare His Pleasure of sendinge me over an Ingeneere, but ye Ingeneere I neuer yet saw, & of ye 1000l., I receiued but 500l. soe yt euer since ye latter end of Feb: last I haue with my owne mony & creddit kept yt necessary worke in motion, but if mony & yo Ingeneere be not suddenly sent (in ye Procuringe wherof I humbly beg yo' Fauour) ye Artificers & labours must be discharged, wh: will not only be a greate disgrace, but also a uery considerable Prejudice. I have written so longe & Frequently to my Ld Ranelagh & Mr Secry Treuour on this subject.

I have Put all ye Forces, Garrisons, & Militia of this Prouence in ye best Posture I can, for ye honour of His Majts service. I haue

also fixed all yo old Armes in His Majts store in Munster. I haue made a small Trayne of Batteringe Artillery reddy, on six hours warninge to martch; mounted seuerall ordnance on seuerall needful Places. Settled ye best courses I could, for speedy and True Intelligence; & coñded strictly All ye Officers & Solders to their Garrisons & Quarters, & not to stir from thence without leaue on writinge from His Exce or myselfe. But I haue not yet had one Penny sent me out of ye Tresuery for all thes needful works; but I owe all I haue to His Majts Goodness & I will cheerfully spend All I am worth in ye Honour & Duty of His Seruice."

II. THE EARL OF ORRERY TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.
[Stowe MS. 499, fo. 43.]

MY LORD,

Ballymartir, y 4th of June, 1672.

I humbly thanke Yor LP for assuringe me you will come fully Impoured in Relation to the Corporations of this kingdom. That is an Essentiall Point, For on them cheifly, under God, does Depend The safety, The Trade, & ye Law-makers in this kingdom. If none be Restored to Freedom in Corporations but such as are Adjudged innocent by ye king's Court of Claymes, such men have Justice done them, & all others, who were Free of Corporations, but have forfited their Freedoms by their voluntary Guilt, cannot in Reason Complayne, that they are not Restored to such Priueledges as they did voluntoryly Imploy against ye Crowne & forfited by often Rebellinge against it. Yet God forbid but such as were Free of Corporations, & are now Traders by Sea, or Carryers on of Wollen & Linnen Manefactures (wh: are honeste

a The advice contained in this letter is urgently repeated on June 4. On July 6 the Lord Chancellor writes that "money is miserably exhausted; there will scarce be a possibility of publick payments if some sudden course be not taken to prevent the transporting of coyne and plate out of this countrie.". Orrery wrote on August 9th, "I finde the Englishe disanimated, and the Irishe very high."

callings in themselues, beneficiall to ye kinge & usefull to ye kingdom) may not while they continue Peaceable Subjects, & follow laboriously such Vocations, be admitted to Trade in Corporations as Free men in all things, but Electinge Members of Parlt & ye Anuall choyce of Magistrates: And that none others of ye Romish Religion, be admitted to Liue in y° Garrisons & Corporations, or to Purchass or take howses in them without His Majts Licence in writinge, or ye Ld Lts, or ye Presidts of Munster & Connaught, in their Respective Prouences. Thus Justice wilbe done to ye Adjudged Innocent, Fauour wilbe extended, to ye Industrious Trader by Sea, & to ye men of Linnen & Wollen Manufacture, a full Authority to admitt diuers other Particular Persons who may be usefull & not dangerous, tho' neither Restored as Inno cents, nor Traders by sea, nor men of ye Wollen & Linnen Manufacture; And yet His Majts Garrisons & Corporations maybe kept safe.

I beg yor LPS Pardon, yt I am soe Tedious on this subject; but above 30 yeers experience & the miseries this kingdom has suffered for want of due care in this one Point is ye cause of it. I would goe as farr in it as ye safety of His Majts Service can admitt; & beiond That I can thinke nothinge advizable.

That ther needs to be som Publike Rules giuen, or Explanations made on ye late Printed Acts of Councill at Dublin, I beleeue is but too obuious & Therefore haueinge thought on That subject all I could, I could not light on any Juster, more fauorable, & more safe Rules, then I haue humbly offered to yo' consideration, only I beg earnestly, That what euer Rules are made, or Explanation is giuen therein, maybe soe Plainly & Cleerly worded, That he that Runs may Read & understand them, els what is to End Doubts may Raise them; And yt ther can be nothinge Intended but what may be written particularly, I humbly recommend to yor LPs care, That if ye word Merchants be Incerted in thos Rules, wh: are to admitt men (Without Particular Lycence in Writinge) into Garrisons & Corporations, That that worde Mer

chant may be Limitted to such Merchants as are Actually Traders by Sea not Nominally but Really, yt is not yt only Trade by Sea, only to be admitted into Corporations & Garrisons, & to such as men of Manufacture Indeed in ye Linnen or Woollen Trade, els under ye name of Merchants; (unles soe Explayned) all ye Garrisons willbe full of ye loosest and most dangerous Persons of Ireland; For y Generalty of ye Irish are not very Crittical in their words, but who euer is a shop-keeper is amongst most of them a Merchant; and who euer sells Ale, Tobacco, Sneezinge, Broges, &c. is an Irish Merchant in ye Largest Acceptation, wh: they will take up, if it be for their Benefitt.

I promiss myselfe yt ye Paymt of ye Ciuill & Military Lists wilbe 'Punctual, while my L Ranelagh's undertakinge continues. But yt cannot last longer then Tradinge does, and Tradinge alreddy is soe decay'd, for want of a Garde on ye Coasts, yt ye natiue comodities of this Prouince are alreddy fallen one Third Part. I doubt it is ye like over ye Kingdom, for this Prouince is ye Greatest Province of Trade in Ireland. And yt yr LP may see, & by you His Majty know, what an inconsiderable Thinge the Trade of ye Irish was by sea in Times of ye highest Peace, I am assured, & I fully beleeue it, That only Two Tounes of this County of Corke, viz., Corke and Yoghall, have now more Ships belonginge only to ye English Merchants in them then All ye Irish of Ireland had in my La Strafford's Govt or at any time before. And yet this Prouince, in wh: I Incourage all I possibly can buildinge of Ships of our owne (for Fraigtinge of Forringhners distresse us), Navigation & Manufacture, must in time be Ruin'd, because ye King's Dutyse in Munster doe amount Anually to much more then Payse His Majts Ciuill and Military charges in ye Prouince & ye overplus of Thos. Dutyse is carryed in cash quarterly out of ye Province, wh: neuer Returnes again, for Dublin in Ireland makes not the same Circulation yt London does in England. But I hope yo Lps fauour and wisedom will finde out a Remedy for us heerein. Howeuer, I have summoned

All ye Chief Merchants of this Prouince, and after much debate they have assured me, if His Majty will allow them a Frigget of 24 Guns, only to Convey ye Merchants Ships of this Prouince, they will All sett to Trade again. If ye kinge cannot Spare such a Friggett, we will, at His Majtt coste, Provide our victuall, officer & man her, whereby His Majts will Receive Ten Times more in Port dutyse then ye charge of yt Frigget will amount unto & His subjects continue their Trade. I have written soe at large on this subject to my La Ranelagh & Mr Secry Treuour, yt I will not Repeate it to yo' L', but Begg y' Favour in callinge on them to Hasten to us, what my L Ranelagh assured me then [the] kinge has granted to us, els our Trade wilbe dead.

We dayly sawe Rich West India Ships in this Prouince, wh: are dayly chased into our Harbours by ye Dutch.

I have been necessitated to Repaire, man, & send ordnance into Crook-hauen and yo Iland of Innishertroe for yt end.

I have also made 3 new Cittadels in y° Cittys of Corke and Lymericke in wh: I haue Planted ordnance and lodged Sold's to Prevent surprises, but I haue not yet had one Penny alowed.

My La,

Yr LPs most humble

& most obedient faithfull Serut, ORRERY.

III. CHARLES II. TO THE EARL OF ESSEX.

[The restrictions upon the export of woollen manufactured articles," prohibited an account of the cheapness of wool in Ireland, and the consequent danger of underselling the English manufacturers, are to be mitigated, and offences against them pardoned according to Essex's discretion.]

[Vol. i. fo. 76.]

a In 1698 this trade was practically suppressed by the English Parliament. See Macaulay, vol. iv. p. 370.

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