These grew
to be the subjects of the mirth and wit of the court ;
and so much license was e manifested in it, that gave
infinite scandal to those who observed it, and to those
who received the reports of it : and all serious and
prudent men took it as an ill presage, that whilst all
warlike preparations were made in abundance suit-
able to the occasion, there should so little prepara-
tion of spirit be for a war against an enemy, who
might possibly be without some of our virtues, but
assuredly was without any of our vices.
to be the subjects of the mirth and wit of the court ;
and so much license was e manifested in it, that gave
infinite scandal to those who observed it, and to those
who received the reports of it : and all serious and
prudent men took it as an ill presage, that whilst all
warlike preparations were made in abundance suit-
able to the occasion, there should so little prepara-
tion of spirit be for a war against an enemy, who
might possibly be without some of our virtues, but
assuredly was without any of our vices.
Edward Hyde - Earl of Clarendon
That
province, being committed to the duke as lord high
admiral of England, was entirely h engrossed by his
servants, in truth by Mr. Coventry, who was newly
made his secretary, and who made use of his
other servants, who were better known to him, to
infuse into his highness the opinion, " that whoever
" presumed to meddle in any thing that related to
" the navy or the admiralty, invaded his jurisdiction,
" and would lessen him in the eyes of the people ;
" and that he ought to be jealous of such men, as of
" those who would undermine his greatness ; and
" that as he was superior to all men by being the
" king's brother, so being high admiral he was to
" render account to none but to the king, nor suffer
" any body else to interpose in any thing relating to
" it. " Whereas in truth there is no officer of the
crown more subject to the council-board than the
admiral of England, who is to give an account of all
his actions and of every branch of his office con-
stantly to the board, and to receive their orders :
nor hath he the nomination of the captains of the
ships, till upon the presentation of their names he
receives their approbation, which is never denied.
Nor was there any counsellor who had ever sat at
the board in the last king's time, to whom this was
not as much known as any order of the table.
h entirely] so entirely
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 327
But there was no retrieving this authority, not 1665.
only from the influence Mr. Coventry, and they of ~
the family who adhered to him, had upon the duke,
but from the king's own inclination, who thought
that those officers, who immediately depended upon
himself and only upon himself, were more at his
devotion than they who were obliged to give an
account to any other superior. And from the time
that he came first into France, he had not been ac-
customed to any discourse more than to the under-
valuing the privy-council, as if it shadowed the king
too much, and usurped too much of his authority,
and too often superseded his own commands. And
the queen his mother had, upon these discourses,
always some instances of the authority which in
such a case the council had assumed against the
king's judgment ; the exception to which, according
to the relation which nobody could question, seemed
to be very reasonable. This kind of discourse, be-
ing the subject of every day, made so great impres-
sion that it could never be defaced, and made the
election and nomination of counsellors less consi-
dered, since they were to be no more advised with
afterwards than before.
Another argument, that used to be as frequently
insisted upon by the queen, and with more passion
and indignation, was of the little respect and reve-
rence that by the law or custom of England was
paid to the younger sons of the crown ; and though
there was nobody present in those conversations who
knew any thing of the law or custom in those cases,
yet all that was said was taken as granted. And
not only the duke but the king himself had a mar-
vellous prejudice to the nation in that part of good
Y 4
328 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. manners: and it was easily agreed, that the model
~" of France was in those and other cases much more
preferable, and which was afterwards observed in
too many.
This being then the state and temper of the royal
family when the king returned, which then consisted
of the duke of Gloucester, and two princesses more
than it now hath ; the very next morning after the
fleet came to Scheveling, the duke went on board
and took possession of it as lord high admiral : and
so his secretary provided new commissions for all
the officers who were in present command, for which
it is probable they all paid very liberally ; for with
him the custom began to receive five pounds for
every warrant signed by the duke, and for which
uo secretary to any lord admiral formerly had ever
received above twenty shillings. Mr. Coventry, who
was utterly unacquainted with all the rules and cus-
toms of the sea, and knew none of the officers, but
was much courted by all, as the secretary to the
admiral always is, made choice of captain Pen,
whom the king knighted as soon as he came on
board ; who from a common man had grown up un-
der Cromwell to the highest command, and was in
great favour with him till he failed in the action of
St. Domingo, when he went admiral at sea, as Ven-
ables was general at land, for which they were both
imprisoned in the Tower by Cromwell, nor ever em-
ployed by him afterwards : but upon his death he
had command again at sea, as he had at this time
under Mountague when he came to attend the king.
With this man Mr. Coventry made a fast friendship,
and was guided by him in all things.
All the offices which belonged to the ships, to the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 329
navy,' to the yards, to the whole admiralty, (except 1665.
the three superior officers, which are not in the dis-~
posal of the admiral,) were now void, and to be
supplied by the duke, that is, by Mr. Coventry;
who by the advice of sir William Pen, who was
solely trusted by him in the brocage, conferred them
upon those (without observing any other rule) who
would give most money, not i considering any honest
seaman who had continued in the king's service, or
suffered long imprisonment for him. And because
an incredible sum of money did k and would rise
this way, some principal officers in the yards, as the
master smith and others, and the keepers of the
stores, yielding seven, eight hundred, or a thousand
pounds ; he had the skill to move the duke to be-
stow such money as would arise upon such place
upon sir Charles Berkley, for another to another, and
for some to be divided between two or three : by
which means the whole family was obliged, and re-
tained to justify him ; and the duke himself looked
upon it as a generosity in Mr. Coventry, to accom-
modate his fellow servants with what he might have
asked or kept for himself. But it was the best hus-
bandry he could have used : for by this means all
men's mouths were stopped, and all- clamour se-
cured ; whilst the lesser sums for a multitude of
offices of all kinds were reserved to himself, and
which, in the estimation of those who were at no
great distance, amounted to a very great 1 sum, and
more than any officer under the king could possibly
get by all the perquisites of his place in many years.
By this means,- the whole navy and ships were
' not] nor k did] was ' great] Omitted in MS.
330 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. filled with the same men who had enjoyed the same
"~ places and offices under Cromwell, and thereby were
the better able to pay well for them ; whereof many
of the most infamous persons which that time took
notice of were now become the king's officers, to
the great scandal of their honest neighbours, who
observed that they retained the same manners and
affections, and used the same discourses they had
formerly done.
Besides many other irreparable inconveniences
and mischiefs which resulted from this corruption
and choice, one grew quickly visible and notorious,
in the stealing and embezzling all manner of things
out of the ships, even when they were in service :
but when they returned from any voyages, incredible
proportions of powder, match, cordage, sails, anchors,
and all other things, instead of being restored to the
several proper officers whiclr were to receive them,
were embezzled and sold, and very often sold to the
king himself for the setting out other ships and for
replenishing his stores. And when this was disco-
vered (as many times it was) and the criminal per-
son apprehended, it was alleged by him as a defence
or excuse, " that he had paid so dear for his place,
" that he could not maintain himself and family
" without practising such shifts :" and none of those
fellows were ever brought to exemplary justice, and
most of them were restored to their employments.
The three superior officers of the navy were pos-
sessed of their offices by patents under the great
seal of England before the king's return ; and they
are the natural established council of the lord high
admiral, and are to attend him when he requires it,
and always used of course to be with him one cer-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 331
tain day in a week, to render him an account of all 1665.
the state of the office, and to receive his orders and ~
to give their advice. And now, because these three
depended not enough upon him, but especially out
of animosity against sir George Carteret, who, be-
sides being treasurer of the navy, was vice-cham-
berlain of the king's household, and so a privy
counsellor; Mr. Coventry proposed to the duke,
" that in regard of the multiplicity of business in
" the navy, much more than in former times, and the
" setting out greater fleets than had been accus-
" tomed in that age when those officers and that
" model for the government of the navy had been
" established, his royal highness would propose to
" the king to make an addition, by commissioners,
" of some other persons always to sit with the other
" officers with equal authority, and to sign all bills with
" them ;" which was a thing never heard of before,
and is in truth a lessening of the power of the admiral.
It is very true, there have frequently been commis-
sioners for the navy ; but it hath been in the same
place m of the admiral and to perform his office : but
in the time of an admiral commissioners have not
been heard of. One principal end in this was, to
draw from the treasurer of the navy (whose office
Mr. Coventry thought too great, and had implacable
animosity against him from the first hour after he
had made his friendship with Pen) out of his fees
(which, though no greater than were granted by his
patent and had been always enjoyed by his pre-
decessors, were indeed greater than had used to be
in times of peace, when much less money passed
m place] Not in MS.
332 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. through his hands) what should be enough to pay
those commissioners ; for it was not reasonable they
should serve for nothing, nor that they should be
upon the king's charge, since the treasurer's perqui-
sites might be enough for all.
The duke liked the proposition well, and, with-
out conferring with any body else upon it, proposed
it to the king at the council-board, where nobody
thought fit to examine or debate what the duke pro-
posed ; and the king approved it, and ordered, " that
" the commissioners should receive each five hun-
" dred pounds by the year :" but finding afterwards
that the treasurer of the navy's fees were granted
to him under the great seal, his majesty did not
think it just to take it from him, but would bear it
himself, and appointed the treasurer to pay and pass
those pensions in his account. The commissioners
named and commended by the duke to the king
were the lord Berkley, sir John Lawson, sir William
Pen, and sir George Ayscue ; the three last n the
most eminent sea-officers under Cromwell, but it
must not be denied but that they served the king
afterwards very faithfully. These the king made
his commissioners, with a pension to each of five
hundred pounds the year, and in some time after
added Mr. Coventry to the number with the same
pension : so that this first reformation in the time
of peace cost the king one way or other no less
than three thousand pounds yearly, without the
le,ast visible benefit or advantage. The lord Berkley
understood nothing that related either to the office
or employment, and therefore very seldom was pre-
" last] Not in MS. lated either] neither understood
" understood nothing that re- any thing that related
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 333
sent in the execution. But after he had enjoyed 1665.
the pension a year or thereabout, he procured leave"
to sell? his place, and procured a gentleman, Mr.
Thomas Harvey, to give him three thousand pounds
for it : so soon this temporary commission, which
might have expired within a month, got the reputa-
tion of an office for life by the good managery of an
officer.
This was the state of the navy before the war The state of
. i .
with Holland was resolved upon. Let us in the the "oZ. *
next place see what alterations were made in it, or
what other preparations were made, or counsels en-
tered upon, for the better conduct of this war : and
a clear and impartial view or reflection upon what
was then said and done, gave discerning men an un-
happy presage of what would follow. There was no
discourse now in the court, after this royal subsidy
of five and twenty hundred thousand pounds was
granted, but, " of giving the law to the whole trade
" of Christendom ; of making all ships which passed
" by or through the narrow seas to pay an imposi-
" tion to the king, as all do to the king of Denmark
" who pass by the Sound ; and making all who pass
" near to pay contribution to his majesty ;" which
must concern all the princes of Christendom : and
the king and duke were often desired to discounte-
nance and suppress this impertinent talk, which
must increase the number of the enemies. Commis-
sioners were appointed to reside in all or the most
eminent port-towns, for the sale of all prize-goods ;
and these were. chosen for the most part out of those
P sell] sell in
334 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. members of the house of commons, who were active
~ to advance the king's service, or who promised to
be so, to whom liberal salaries were assigned.
There were then commissioners appointed to
appeals ap. judge all appeals, which should be made upon and
pointed. a g ams t a ll sentences given by the judge of the ad-
miralty and his deputies ; and these were all privy
counsellors, the earl of Lautherdale, the lord Ash-
ley, and the secretaries of state, who were like to
The injus- be most careful of the king's profit. But then the
tice of their
sentences, rules which were prescribed to judge by were such
as were warranted r by no former precedents, nor s
acknowledged to be just by the practice of any
neighbour nation, and such as would make all ships
which traded for Holland, from what kingdom so-
ever, lawful prize ; which was foreseen would bring
complaints from all places, as it did as soon as the
war begun. French and Spaniard and Swede and
Dane were alike treated; whilst their ambassadors
made loud complaints every day to the king and
the council for the injustice and the rapine, without
remedy, more than references to the admiralty, and
then to the lords commissioners of appeal, which in-
creased the charge, and raised and improved the
indignity. Above all, the Hanse -Towns of Ham-
burgh, Lubeck, Bremen, and the rest, (who had
large exemptions and privileges by charter granted
by former kings and now renewed by this,) had the
worst luck ; for none of them could ever be distin-
guished from the Dutch. Their ships were so like,
and their language so near, that not one of their
r warranted] Omitted in MS. ? nor] and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 335
vessels were met with, from what part of the world 1665.
soever they came, or whithersoever they were t
bound, but they were brought in u ; and if the evi-
dence was such as there could be no colour to retain
them, but that they must be released, they always
carried with them sad remembrances of the com-
pany they had been in.
There was one sure rule to make any ship prize,
which was, if above three Dutch mariners were
aboard it there need no x further proof for the for-
feiture ; which being no where known could not be
prevented, all merchants' ships, when they are ready
for their voyage, taking all seamen on board of what
nation soever who are necessary for their service :
so that those Dutchmen who run from their own
country to avoid fighting, (as very many did, and
very many more would have done,) and put them-
selves on board merchants' ships of any other coun-
try, where they were willingly entertained, made
those ships lawful prize in which they served, by a
rule that nobody knew nor would submit to.
It was resolved that all possible encouragement TOO much
should be given to privateers, that is, to as many ^"g^i
as would take commissions from the admiral to set * pnva "
iccrs.
out vessels of war, as they call them, to take prizes
from the enemy ; which no articles or obligations
can restrain from all the villany they can act, and
are a people, how countenanced soever or thought
necessary, that do bring an unavoidable scandal, and
it is to be feared a curse, upon the justest war that
was ever made at sea. A sail ! A sail ! is the word
with them ; friend or foe is the same ; they possess
1 were] Omitted in MS. * no] Omitted in MS.
in] Not in MS.
336 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. all they can master, and run with it to any obscure
"place where they can sell it, (which retreats are
never wanting,) and never attend the ceremony of
an adjudication. Besides the horrible scandal and
clamour that this classis of men brought upon the
king and the whole government for defect of justice,
the prejudice which resulted from thence to the
public and to the carrying on the service is unspeak-
able: all seamen run to them. And though the
king now assigned an ample share of all prizes
taken by his own ships to the seamen, over and
above their wages ; yet there was great difference
between the condition of the one and the other : in
the king's fleet they might gain well, but they were
sure of blows, nothing could be got there without
fighting ; with the privateers there was rarely fight-
ing, they took all who could make little resistance,
and fled from all who were too strong for them.
And so those fellows were always well manned,
when the king's ships were compelled to stay many
days for want of men, who were raised by press-
ing and with great difficulty. And whoever spake
against those lewd people, upon any case whatso-
ever, was thought to have no regard for the duke's
profit, nor to desire to weaken the enemy.
In all former wars at sea, as there was great care
taken to appoint commissioners for the sale of all
prize-goods, who understood the value of those com-
modities they had to sell, yet were compelled to sell
better bargains than are usually got in public mar-
kets ; so there was all strictness used in bringing
all receivers to as punctual an account, as any other
of the king's receivers are bound to make, and to
compel them to pay in all the money they receive
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 337
into the exchequer, that it might be issued out to the 1665.
treasurer of the navy or to other officers for the""
expense of the war. And it had been a great argu-
ment in the first consultations upon this war, " that
" it would support itself; and that after one good ,
" fleet should be set out once to beat the Dutch,"
(for that was never thought worthy of a doubt,)
" the prizes, which would every day after be taken,
" would plentifully do all the rest ; besides the great
" sum that the Dutch would give to purchase their
" peace, and the yearly rent they would give for
" the liberty of fishing ;" with all which it was not
thought fit to allow them " to keep above such a
" number of ships of war, limited to so many ton and
" to so many guns ;" with many particulars of that
nature, which were carefully digested by those who
promoted the war. But now, after this supply given
by the parliament, there was no more danger of
want of money : and many discourses there were,
" that the prize-money might be better disposed in
" rebuilding the king's houses, and many other good
" uses which would occur ;" and the king forbore
to speak any more of appointing receivers and trea-
surers for that purpose, when all or most other offi-
cers, who were judged necessary for the service,
were already named ; and the lord treasurer, who
by his office should have the recommendation of
those officers to the king, had a list of men, who for
the reputation and experience they had were in his
judgment worthy to be trusted, to be presented to
the king when he should enter upon that subject.
But one evening a servant of the lord Ashley
ley obtains
came to the chancellor with a bill signed, and de- a grant a P -
sired in his master's name, " that it might be sealed hf
VOL. II. Z
338 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " that night. " The bill was, " to make and consti-
surer of " tute the lord Ashley treasurer of all the money
prize- ^at should be raised upon the sale of all prizes,
money.
" which were or should be taken in this present
" war, with power to make all such officers as should
" be necessary for the service ; and that he should
" account for all monies so received to the king him-
" self, and to no other person whatsoever, and pay
" and issue out all those monies which he should re-
" ceive, in such manner as his majesty should ap-
" point by warrant under his sign manual, and by no
" other warrant ; and that he should be free and ex-
" empt from accounting into the exchequer. " When
the chancellor had seen the contents, he bade the
messenger tell his lord, " that he would speak with
" the king before he would seal that grant, and that
" he desired much to speak with himself. "
The chan- The next morning he waited upon the king, and
monstrates informed him " of the bill that was brought to him,
seatihg this " an d doubted that he had been surprised : that it
grant. was no t; on iy such an original as was without any
" precedent, but in itself in many particulars de-
" structive to his service and to the right of other
" men. That all receivers of any part of his re-
" venue were accountable in the exchequer, and
" could receive their discharge in no other place :
" and that if so great a receipt, as this was already,"
(for the fleet of wine and other ships already seized
were by a general computation valued at one hun-
dred thousand pounds,) " and as it evidently would
" be, should pass without the most formal account ;
" his majesty might be abominably cozened, nor
'" could it any other way be prevented- And in the
" next place, that this grant was not only deroga-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON, 339
" tory to the lord treasurer, but did really degrade 1665.
" him, there being another treasurer made more ab-
" solute than himself, and without dependence upon
" him. " And therefore he besought his majesty,
" that he would reconsider the thing itself and hear
" it debated, at least that the treasurer might be
" first heard, without which it could not be done in
" justice :" to which he added, " that he would speak
" with the lord Ashley himself, and tell him how
" much he was to blame to affect such a province,
" which might bring great inconveniences upon his
" person and his estate. "
He quickly found that the king had not been
surprised in what he had done, " which," he said,
" was absolutely in his own power to do ; and that
" it would bring prejudice only to himself, which he
" had sufficiently provided against. " However, he
seemed willing to decline any thing that looked like
an affront to the treasurer, and therefore was con-
tent that the sealing it might be suspended till he
had further considered.
The lord Ashley came shortly to the chancellor,
and seemed " to take it unkindly that his patent
" was not sealed :" to which he answered, " that he
" had suspended the immediate sealing it for three
" reasons ; whereof one was, that he might first
" speak with the king, who he believed would re-
" ceive much prejudice by it ; another, that it would
" not consist with the respect he owed to the lord
" treasurer, who was much affronted in it, to seal it
" before he was made acquainted with it. And in
" the last place, that he had stopped it for his,
" the lord Ashley's, own sake : and that he believed
*' he had neither enough considered the indignity
z 2
1665. " that was offered to the lord treasurer, to whom he
~~ " professed so much respect, and by whose favour
" and powerful interposition he enjoyed the office he
" held, nor his own true interest, in submitting his
" estate to those incumbrances which such a receipt
" would inevitably expose it to. And that the ex-
" emption from making any account but to the king
" himself would deceive him : and as it was an un-
" usual and unnatural privilege, so it would never
" be allowed in any court of justice, which would
" exact both the account and the payment or lawful
" discharge of what money he should receive ; and
" " if he depended upon the exemption he would live
" to repent it. "
He answered little to the particulars more than
with some sullenness, " that the king had given
" him the office, and knew best what is good for his
" own service ; and that except his majesty retracted
" his grant, he would look to enjoy the benefit of it.
" That he did not desire to put an affront upon the
" lord treasurer ; and if there were any expressions
" in his commission which reflected upon him, he
" was content they should be mended or left out :
" in all other respects he was resolved to run the
" hazard. "
The treasurer himself, though he knew that he
was not well used, and exceedingly disdained the
behaviour of his nephew, (for the lord Ashley had
married his niece,) who he well knew had by new
friendships cancelled all the obligations to him, would
not appear to oppose what the king resolved, but sat
The king unconcerned, and took no notice of any thing. And
obliges him . , . . .
to seal it. so within a short time the king sent a positive order
to the chancellor to seal the commission ; which he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 341
could no longer refuse, and did it with the more 1665.
trouble, because he very well knew, that few men ~
knew the lord Ashley better than the king himself
did, or had a worse opinion of his integrity. But
he was now gotten into friendships which were most
behooveful to him, and which could remove or re-
concile all prejudices : he was fast linked to sir Harry
Bennet and Mr. Coventry in a league offensive and
defensive, the same friends and the same enemies,
and had got "an entire trust with the lady, who very
well understood the benefit such an officer would be
to her. Nor was it difficult to persuade the king
(who thought himself more rich in having one thou-
sand pounds in his closet that nobody knew of, than
in fifty thousand pounds in his exchequer) how
many conveniences he would find in having so
much money at his own immediate disposal, with-
out the formality of privy seals and other men's
warrants, and the indecency and mischief which
would attend a formal account of all his generous
donatives and expense, which should be known only
to himself.
Though the king seemed to continue the same Measures
, . . taken to
gracious countenance towards the chancellor which prejudice
he had used, and frequently came to his house when ^ainsMhe
he was indisposed with the gout, and consulted all chancellor -
his business, which he thought of public importance,
with him with equal freedom ; yet he himself found,
and many others observed, that he had not the same
credit and power with him. The nightly meetings
had of late made him more' the subject of the dis-
course ; and since the time of the new secretary they
had taken more liberty to talk of what was done in
z 3
342 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. council, than they had done formerly ; and the duke
~~of Buckingham pleased himself and all the com-
pany in acting all the persons who spake there in
their looks and motions, in which piece of mimicry
he had an especial faculty ; and in this exercise the
chancellor had a full part. In the height of mirth,
if the king said " he would go such a journey or do
" such a trivial thing to-morrow," somebody would
lay a wager that he would not do it ; and when he
asked why, it was answered, " that the chancellor
" would not let him :" and then another would pro-
test, " that he thought there was no ground for that
" imputation ; however, he could not deny that it
" was generally believed abroad, that his majesty
" was entirely and implicitly governed by the chan-
" cellor. " Which often put the king to declare in
some passion, " that the chancellor had served him
" long, and understood his business, in which he
" trusted him : but in any other matter than his
" business, he had no other credit with him than
" any other man ;" which they reported with great
joy in other companies.
A proposal j n the former session of the parliament, the lord
made to the
king for ]. Ashley, out of his indifferency in matters of religion,
conscience, and the lord Arlington out of his good-will to the
Roman catholics, had drawn in the lord privy seal,
whose interest was most in the presbyterians, to
propose to the king an indulgence for liberty of
conscience : for which they offered two motives ;
the one, " the probability of a war with the Dutch ;"
though it was not then declared ; " and in that case
" the prosecution of people at home for their several
" opinions in religion would be very inconvenient,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 343
" and might prove mischievous. " The other was, 1665.
" that the y fright men were in by reason of the "~
" late bill against conventicles, and the warmth the
" parliament expressed with reference to the church,
" had so prepared all sorts of non-conformists, that
" they would gladly compound for liberty at any
'* reasonable rates : and by this means a good yearly
" revenue might be raised to the king, and a firm
" concord and tranquillity be established in the
" kingdom, if power were granted by the parliament
" to the king to grant dispensations to such whom
" he knew to be peaceably affected, for their exer-
" cise of that religion which was agreeable to their
" conscience, without undergoing the penalty of the
" laws. " And they had prepared a schedule, in
which they computed what every Roman catholic
would be willing to pay yearly for the exercise of
his religion, and so of every other sect ; which, upon
the estimate they made, would indeed have amounted
to a very great sum of money yearly.
The king liked the arguments and the project The king
very well, and wished them to prepare such a bill ; ap
which was done quickly, very short, and without
any mention of other advantage to grow from it,
than " the peace and quiet of the kingdom? , and an
" entire reference to the king's own judgment and
" discretion in dispensing his dispensations. " This
was equally approved : and though hitherto it had
been managed with great secrecy, that it might not
come to the knowledge of the chancellor and the
treasurer, who they well knew would never consent
to it; yet the king resolved to impart it to them.
>' the] in the z kingdom] quiet by mistake in MS.
z 4
844 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. And the chancellor being then afflicted with the
""gout, the committee that used to be called was ap-
pointed to meet at Worcester-house : and thither
likewise came the privy seal, and the lord Ashley,
who had never before been present in those meet-
ings.
The chan- The king informed them of the occasion of their
treasure" conference, and caused the draught for the bill to
t*he private* ^ e rea d to them ; which was done, and such reasons
committee. gi ven by those who promoted it, as they thought
fit ; the chief of which was, " that there could be no
" danger in trusting the king, whose zeal to the
" protestant religion was so well known, that no-
" body would doubt that he would use this power,
" when granted to him, otherwise than should be
*' for the good and benefit of the church and state. "
The chancellor and the treasurer, as had been pre-
saged, were very warm against it, and used many
arguments to dissuade the king from prosecuting it,
" as a thing that could never find the concurrence
" of either or both houses, and which would raise a
" jealousy in both, and in the people generally, of
" his affection to the papists, which would not be
" good for either, and every body knew that he had
" no favour for either of the other factions. " But
what the others said, who were of another opinion,
prevailed more ; and his majesty declared, " that the
" bill should be presented to the house of peers as
" from him, and in his name ; and that he hoped
" none of his servants, who knew his mind as well
" as every body there did, would oppose it, but
"either be absent or silent:" to which both the
lords answered, " that they should not be absent
" purposely, and if they were present, they hoped
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 345
" his majesty would excuse them if they spake ac- 1665.
" cording to their conscience and judgment, which"
" they could not forbear to do ;" with which his
majesty seemed unsatisfied, though the lords of the '
combination were better pleased than they would
have been with their concurrence.
Within few days after, the chancellor remaining The biiiprc.
still in his chamber without being able to go, the the house of
bill was presented in the house of peers by the lord lords '
privy seal, as by the king's direction and approba-
tion, and thereupon had the first reading : and as
soon as it was read, the lord treasurer spake against
it, " as unfit to be received and to have the counte- The trea-
. . . surer and
" nance of another reading in the house, being a de- bishops op-
" sign against the protestant religion and in favour fheVrst 1
" of the papists," with many sharp reflections upon readin S'
those who had spoken for it ; and many of the bi-
shops spake to the same purpose, and urged many
weighty arguments against it. However it was
moved, " that since it was averred that it was
" with the king's privity, it would be a thing un-
" heard of to deny it a second reading :" and that
there might be no danger of a surprisal by its being
read in a thin house, it was ordered " that it should
" be read the second time" upon a day named "at ten
" of the clock in the morning ;" with which all were
satisfied.
In the mean time great pains were taken to per-
suade particular men to approve it : and some of
the bishops were sharply reprehended for opposing
the king's prerogative, with some intimation " that
" if they continued in that obstinacy they would a
a vvonld] should
346 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. repent it;" to which they made such answers as
in honesty and wisdom they ought to do, without
being shaken in their resolution. It was rather in-
sinuated than declared, " that the bill had been per-
" used," some said " drawn, by the chancellor," and
averred " that he was not against it :" which being
confidently reported, and believed or not believed as
he was more or less known to the persons present,
he thought himself obliged to make his own sense
known. And so on the day appointed for the se-
cond reading, with pain and difficulty he was in his
place in the house : and so after the second reading
The trea- of the bill, he was of course to propose the commit-
bL'hopTop- ment of it. Many of the bishops and others spake
fiercely against it, as a way to undermine religion ;
an( j ^he lord treasurer, with his usual weight of
words, shewed the ill consequence that must attend
it, and " that in the bottom it was a project to get
" money at the price of religion ; which he believed
" was not intended or known to the king, but only
" to those who had projected it, and, it may be, im-
" posed upon others who meant well. "
The lord privy seal, either upon the observation
of the countenance of the house or advertisement of
his friends b , or unwilling to venture his reputation
in the enterprise, had given over the game the first
Lord Ash- d a y 9 an( j nO w spake not at all : but the lord Ashley
ley speaks
for it. adhered firmly to his point, spake often and with
great sharpness of wit, and had a cadence in his
words and pronunciation that drew attention. He
said, " it was the king's misfortune that a matter of
" so great concernment to him, and such a preroga-
b friends} friend
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 347
" tive as it may be would be found to be inherent 1665.
" in him without any declaration of parliament,"
" should be supported only by such weak men as
. " himself, who served his majesty at a distance,
" whilst the great officers of the crown thought fit
" to oppose it ; which he more wondered at, because
" nobody knew more than they the king's unshake-
" able firmness in his religion, that had resisted and
" vanquished so many great temptations ; and there-
" fore he could not be thought unworthy of a
" greater trust with reference to it, than he would
" have by this bill. "
The chancellor, having not been present at theThechau-
former debate upon the first day, thought it fit to sp eaks
sit silent in this, till he found the house in some ex- again
pectation to hear his opinion : and 'then he stood up
and said, " that no man could say more, if it were
" necessary or pertinent, of the king's . constancy in
" his religion, and of his understanding the constitu-
" tion and foundation of the church of England,
" than he ; no man had been witness to more as-
" saults which he had sustained than he had been,
" and of many victories ; and therefore, if the ques-
" tion were how far he might be trusted in that
" point, he should make no scruple in declaring,
" that he thought him more worthy to be trusted
'* than any man alive. But there was nothing in
" that bill that could make that the question, which
" had confounded all notions of religion, and erected
"a chaos of policy to overthrow all religion and go-
" vernment : so that the question was not, whether
" the king were worthy of that trust, but whether
" that trust were worthy of the king. That it had
" been no new thing for kings to divest themselves
348 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
\
1665. " of many particular rights and powers, because
~~ " they were thereby exposed to more trouble and
" vexation, and so deputed that authority to others
" qualified by them c : and he thought it a very un-
" reasonable and unjust thing to commit such a
" trust to the king, which nobody could suppose he
" could execute himself, and yet must subject him
" to daily and hourly importunities, which must be
" so much the more uneasy to a nature of so great
" bounty and generosity, that nothing is so un-
" grateful to him as to be obliged to deny. "
And drops In the vehemence of this debate, the lord Ashley
some un- ,,-, in
guarded ex- having used some language that he knew reflected
upon him, the chancellor let fall some unwary ex-
pressions, which were turned to his reproach and re-
membered long after. When he insisted upon the
wildness and illimitedness in the bill, he said, "it
" was ship-money in religion, that nobody could
" know the end of, or where it would rest ; that if
" it were passed, Dr. Goffe or any other apostate
" from the church of England might be made a bi-
" shop or archbishop here, all oaths and statutes
" and subscriptions being dispensed with :" which
were thought two envious instances, and gave
his enemies opportunities to make glosses and re-
flections upon to his disadvantage. In this debate
it fell out that the duke of York appeared very
much against the bill ; which was imputed to the
chancellor, and served to " heap coals of fire upon
" his head. " In the end, very few having spoken
for it, though there were many who would have
consented to it, besides the catholic lords, it was
c them] him
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 349
agreed that there should be no question put for the 1665.
commitment ; which was the most civil way of re- ~~
jecting it, and left it to be no more called for.
The king was infinitely troubled at the ill sue- The king
cess of this bill, which he had been assured would with the
pass notwithstanding the opposition that was ex-
pected ; and it had produced one effect that was rer;
foreseen though not believed, in renewing the bit-
terness against the Roman catholics. And they,
who watched all occasions to perform those offices,
had now a large field to express their malice against
the chancellor and the treasurer, " whose pride only
" had disposed them to shew their power and credit
" in diverting the house from gratifying the king,
" to which they had been inclined ;" and his majesty
heard all that could be said against them without
any dislike. After two or three days he sent for
them both together into his closet, which made it
generally believed in the court, that he resolved to
take both their offices from them, and they did in
truth believe and expect it (1 : but there was never
any cause appeared after to think that it was in his
purpose. He spake to them of other business, with-
out taking the least notice of the other matter, and
dismissed them with a countenance less open than
he used to have towards them, and made it evident
that he had not the same thoughts of them he had
formerly.
And when the next day the chancellor went to
him alone, and was admitted into his cabinet, and
began to take notice " that he seemed to have dis-
" satisfaction in his looks towards him ;" the king, in
d it] Omitted in MS.
350 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. more choler thairhe had ever before seen him, told
~ him, " his looks were such as they ought to be ;
" that he was very much unsatisfied with him, and
" thought he had used him very ill ; that he had de-
" served better of him, and did not expect that he
" would have carried himself in that manner as he
" had done in the house of peers, having known his
" majesty's own opinion from himself, which it seem-
" ed was of no authority with him if it differed from
" his judgment, to which he would not submit
" against his reason. "
The other, with the confidence of an honest man,
entered upon the discourse of the matter, assured
him " the very proposing it had done his majesty
" much prejudice, and that they who were best af-
" fected to his service in both houses were much
" troubled and afflicted with it : and of those who
" advised him to it, one knew nothing of the con-
" stitution of England, and was not thought to wish
" well to the religion of it ; and the other was so
" well known to him, that nothing was more won-
" derful than that his majesty should take him for a
" safe counsellor. " He had recourse then again to the
matter, and used some arguments against it which
had not been urged before, and which seemed to
make impression. He heard all he said with pa-
tience, but seemed not to change his mind, and an-
swered ho more than " that it was no time to speak
" to the matter, which was now passed ; and if it
" had been unseasonably urged, he might still have
" carried himself otherwise than he had done ;" and
so spake of somewhat else.
His majesty did not withdraw any of his trust or
confidence from him in his business, and seemed to
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 351
have the same kindness for him : but from that time 1665.
he never had the same credit with him as he had ~
before. The lord Ashley got no ground, but sir
Harry Bennet very much, who, though he spake
very little in council, shewed his power out of it, by
persuading his majesty to recede from many resolu-
tions he had taken there. And afterwards, in all
the debates in council which were preparatory to
the war, and upon those particulars which have
been mentioned before, which concerned the justice
and policy that was to be observed, whatsoever was
offered by the chancellor or treasurer was never
considered. It was answer enough, " that they were
" enemies to the war;" which was true, as long as it
was in deliberation : but from the time it was re-
solved and remediless, none of them who promoted
it contributed any thing to the carrying it on pro-
portionably to what was done by the other two.
There was another and a greater mischief than And witu
hath been mentioned, that resulted from that un- shops.
happy debate ; . which was the prejudice and disad-
vantage that the bishops underwent by their so una-
nimous dislike of that bill. For from that time the
king never treated any of them with that respect as
he had done formerly, and often spake of them too
slightly ; which easily encouraged others not only
to mention their persons very negligently, but their
function and religion itself, as an invention to im-
pose upon the free judgments and understandings of
men. What was preached in the pulpit was com-
mented upon and derided in the chamber, and
preachers acted, and sermons vilified as laboured dis-
courses, which the preachers made only to shew
their own parts and wit, without any other design
352 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. than to be commended and preferred.
These grew
to be the subjects of the mirth and wit of the court ;
and so much license was e manifested in it, that gave
infinite scandal to those who observed it, and to those
who received the reports of it : and all serious and
prudent men took it as an ill presage, that whilst all
warlike preparations were made in abundance suit-
able to the occasion, there should so little prepara-
tion of spirit be for a war against an enemy, who
might possibly be without some of our virtues, but
assuredly was without any of our vices.
The plague There begun now to appear another enemy, much
breaks out. '
more formidable than the Dutch, and more difficult
to be struggled with ; which was the plague, that
brake out in the winter, and made such an early
progress in the spring, that though the weekly num-
bers did not rise high, and it appeared to be only in
the outskirts of the town, and in the most obscure
alleys, amongst the poorest people ; yet the ancient
men, who well remembered in what manner the last
great plague (which had been near forty years be-
fore) first brake out, and the progress it afterwards
made, foretold a terrible summer. And many of
them removed their families out of the city to coun-
try habitations ; when their neighbours laughed at
their providence, and thought they might have
stayed without danger: but they found shortly that
they had done wisely. In March it spread so much,
that the parliament was very willing to part : which
was likewise the more necessary, in regard that so
many of the members of the house of commons were
assigned to so many offices and employments which
e was] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 353
related to the war, and which required their imme- I6G5.
diate attendance. For though the fleet was not yt ~"
gone out, yet there were many prizes daily brought
in, besides the first seizure, which by this time was
adjudged d lawful prize; in all which great loss was
sustained by the license of officers as well as com-
mon men, and the absence of such as should restrain
and punish it : so that, as soon as the bill was passed
the houses for the good aid they had given the king,
and was ready for the royal assent, his majesty
passed it, and prorogued the parliament in April The parii
(which was in I665 e ) till September following; his l"Ji. ro ~
majesty declaring, " that if it pleased God to extin-
" guish or allay the fierceness of the plague," which
at that time raged more, " he should be glad to meet
" them then ; by which time they would judge by
" some success of the war, what was more to be
" done. But if that visitation increased, they should
" have notice by proclamation that they might not
" hazard themselves. "
The parliament being thus prorogued, there was The fleet
the same reason to hasten out the fleet; towards prepar
which the duke left nothing undone, which his un-
wearied industry and example could contribute to-
wards it f , being himself on board, and having got
all things necessary into his own ship that he cared
for. But he found that it was absolutely requisite
to put out to sea, though many things were wanting
in other ships, even of beer and other provision of
victual; not only to be before the enemy, but be-
cause % he saw it would be impossible, whilst the
ships were in port, to keep the seamen from going
d adjudged] adjusted f it] Omitted in MS.
* 1665] by error in MS. 55. B because] Omitted in MS.
VOL. II. A. a
354 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. on shore, by which they might bring the plague on
~~ bgard with them ; and there was already a suspicion
that the infection was got into one of the smaller
ships.
It hath been said before, that all things relating
to the fleet were upon the matter wholly governed
The duke by Mr. Coventry. It is very true, that the officers
ch of the navy constantly attended the duke together
those three sea-captains who have been named
b e f ore : \) U ^ from the time that the war was declared,
his highness consulted daily, for his own informa-
tion and instruction, with sir John Lawson and sir
George Ayscue and sir William Pen, all men of
great experience, and who had commanded in seve-
ral battles. Upon the advice of these men the duke
always made his estimates and all propositions to
the king. There was somewhat of rivalship between
the two last, because they had been in equal com-
mand : therefore the duke took sir William Pen
into his own ship, and made him captain of it ;
which was a great trust, and a very honourable com-
mand, that exempted him from receiving any or-
ders but from the duke, and so extinguished the
other emulation, the other two being flag-officers
and to command several squadrons.
In all conferences with these men Mr. Coventry's
presence and attendance was necessary, both to re-
duce all things into writing which were agreed upon,
and to be able to put the duke in mind of what he
was to do. Lawson was the man of whose judg-
ment the duke had the best esteem; and he was
in truth, of a man of that breeding, (for he was a
perfect tarpawlin,) a very extraordinary person ;
he understood his profession incomparably well,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 355
spake clearly and pertinently, but not pertinaciously 1CG5.
enough when he was contradicted. Ayscue was a
gentleman, but had kept ill company too long, which
had blunted his understanding, if it had been ever
sharp : he was of few words, yet spake to the pur-
pose and to be easily understood. Pen, who had
much the worst understanding, had a great mind to
appear better bred, and to speak like a gentleman ;
he had got many good words, which he used at ad-
venture ; he was a formal man, and spake very lei-
surely but much, and left the matter more intricate
and perplexed than he found it. He was entirely
governed by Mr/Coventry, who still learned enough
of him to offer any thing rationally in the debate, or
to cross what was not agreeable to his own fancy,
by which he was still swayed out of the pride and
perverseness of his will.
Upon debate and conference with these men, the
duke brought propositions to the king reduced into
writing by Mr. Coventry ; and the king commonly
consulted them with the lord treasurer in his h pre-
sence, the propositions being commonly for increase
of the expense, which Mr. Coventry was solicitous
by all the ways possible to contrive. To those con-
sultations the duke always brought the sea-officers,
and Mr. Coventry, who spake much more than they,
to explain especially what sir William Pen said, who
took upon himself to speak most, and often what
the others had never thought though they durst not
contradict ; and sir John Lawson often complained,
" that Mr. Coventry put that in writing which had
" never been proposed by them, and would continue
h his] the
A a 2
356 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " disputing it till they yielded. " Every conference
~~ raised the charge very much ; and what they pro-
posed yesterday as enough was to-day made twice as
much ; if they proposed six fire-ships to be provided,
within two or three days they demanded twelve :
so there could be no possible computation of the
charge.
The duke By this means the fleet that was now ready to
LI. put to sea amounted to fourscore sail ; and the king
willingly consented, upon the reasons the duke pre-
sented to him, that they should set sail as soon as
was possible. And before the end of April the duke
was with the whole fleet at sea, and visited the coast
of Holland, and took many ships in their view, their
Many no- fleet being not yet in readiness. Many noblemen,
blemen go IO-T-* i i -i T^
as voiun- the earl of Peterborough, the lord viscount Ferrers,
and others, with many gentlemen of quality, went
as volunteers, and were distributed into the several
ships with much countenance by the duke, and as
many taken into his own ship as could be done with
convenience.
The duke of Buckingham had from the first men-
tion of the war, which he promoted all he could, de-
clared " that he would make one in it :" and when it
was declared, he desired to have the command of a
ship, which the duke positively denied to give him,
except the king commanded it, (and his majesty
was content to refer that, as he did the nomination
of all the other officers, to his brother,) and did not
think fit that a man, of what quality soever, who
had never been at sea, should his first voyage have
the command of any considerable ship, (and a small
one had not been for his honour ;) at which he was
much troubled. Yet his friends told him that he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 357
was too far engaged, to stay at home when his royal 1 665.
highness ventured his own person : and thereupon ~
he resolved to go a volunteer, and put himself on
board a flag-ship, the captain whereof was in his fa-
vour. And then he desired, " that in respect of his
" quality, and his being a privy counsellor, he might
" be present in all councils of war. " The duke
thought this not reasonable, and would not make a
new precedent. There were many of the ancient
nobility, earls and barons, who were then on board
as volunteers ; and if the consideration of quality
might entitle them to be present in council, all or-
ders would be broken, there being none called but
flag-officers : and therefore his royal highness posi-
tively refused to gratify him in that point ; which
the duke of Buckingham thought (it being enough
known that the duke had neither esteem or kind-
ness for him) to be such a personal disobligation, that
would well excuse him for declining the enterprise.
And pretending that he did appeal to the king in
point of light, he left the fleet, and returned to the
shore to complain. And we return back too to the
view of other particulars.
There were two persons, whom the king and his Some new
brother did desire to make remarkable by some pe
extraordinary favours : one of which was equally
grateful to both, sir Charles Berkley, who had been sir Charles
lately created an Irish viscount by the name of lord
Fitzharding, the old and true surname of the fa-
mily; upon whom the king had, for reasons only
known to himself, set his affection so much, that he
had never denied any thing he asked for himself or
for any body else, and was well content that he
should be looked upon as his favourite. He had
A a 3
358 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. been long thought so to the duke, who was willing
~~ to promote any thing to his advantage : and the
king had deferred those instances only till the par-
liament should be prorogued, lest it should raise the
appetites of others to make suits, which he had hi-
therto defended himself from, by declaring he would
make no more lords. But the parliament was no
sooner prorogued, than it was resolved to be put in
execution : and when it was to be done, the chan-
cellor had the honour to be present alone with the
king and duke, when it seemed to be first thought
of. And when the duke proposed it as a suit to the
king, that he would make the lord Fitzharding an
earl, extolling his courage and affection to the king ;
he was pleased with the motion to that degree, that
he extolled him with praises which could be applied
to few men : and it was quickly resolved that he
should be an earl of England, and a title was as soon
found out ; and so he was created earl of Falmouth,
before he had one foot of land in the world.
And to gratify the king for this favour, the duke
likewise proposed that the king would make sir
And sir H. Harry Bennet a lord, whom all the world knew he
Arlington! did not care for ; which was as willingly granted :
and he had no more estate than the other, and could
not so easily find a title for his barony. But be-
cause he had no mind to retain his own name, which
was no good one, his first warrant was to be created
Cheney, which was an ancient barony expired, and
to which family he had not the least relation : and
for some days upon the signing the warrant he was
called lord Cheney, until a gentleman of the best
1 he] who
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 359
quality in Buckinghamshire, who, though he had no 1665.
title to the barony, was yet of the same family, and~~
inherited most part of the estate, which was very
considerable, and was married to a daughter of the
duke of Newcastle, heard of it, and made haste to
stop it. He went first to sir Harry Bennet himself,
and desired him " not to affect a title to which he
" had no relation ; and to which though he could
" not pretend of direct right, yet he was not so k
" obscure but that himself or a son of his might
" hereafter be thought worthy of it by the crown ;
" and in that respect it would be some trouble to
" him to see it vested in the family of a stranger. "
The secretary did not give him so civil an answer
as he expected, having no knowledge of the gentle-
man. Yet shortly after, upon information of his
condition and quality, (as he was in all respects very
worthy of consideration,) the patent being not yet
prepared, he was contented to take the title of a
little farm that had belonged to his father and was
sold by him, and now in . the possession of another
private person ; and so was created lord Arlington,
the proper and true name of the place being Har-
lington, a little* village between London and Ux~
bridge.
The king took the occasion to make these two Mr. Fre*.
noblemen from an obligation that lay upon him to created ior<i
confer two honours at the same time ; the one upon ^
Mr. Frescheville, of a very ancient family in Derby-
shire, and a fair estate, who had been always bred
in the court, a menial servant of the last king, and
had served him in the head of a troop of horse raised
k so] Not in MS.
A a 4
360 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. at his own charge^ in the war, and whom his late
~ majesty had promised to make a baron.
And Mr. The other was Mr. Richard Amndel of Trerice
in Cornwall, a gentleman as well known by what
el ne na d done and suffered in the late time, as by the
eminency of his family, and the fortune he was still
master of after the great depredation of the time.
John Arundel, his father, was of the best interest
and estate of the gentlemen of Cornwall: and in
the beginning of the troubles, when the lord Hopton
* tne otner gentlemen with him were forced to
i>>y- retire into Cornwall, he and his friends supported
them, and gave the first turn and opposition to the
Current of the parliament's usurpation; and to them,
their courage and activity, all the success that the
lord Hopton had afterwards was justly to be im-
puted as to the first rise. The old gentleman was
then above seventy years of age, and infirm ; but all
his sons he engaged in the war : the two eldest
were eminent officers, both members of the house of
commons, and the more zealous soldiers by having
been witnesses of the naughty proceedings of those
who had raised the rebellion. The eldest was
killed in the head of his troop, charging and driving
back a bold sally that was made out of Plymouth
when it was besieged : and this other gentleman of
whom we now speak, and who was then the younger
brother, was an excellent colonel of foot to the end
of the war.
When sir Nicholas Slanning, who was governor of
Pendennis, lost his life bravely in the siege of Bris-
tol, the king knew not into what hands to commit
that important place so securely, as by sending a
commission to old John Arundel of Trerice to com-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 361
mand, well knowing that it must be preserved prin- 1 665.
cipally by his interest ; and in respect of his age ~
joined his eldest son with him : and after his death
he added the younger brother to the command, of
whom we are speaking, who was in truth then
looked upon as the most powerful person in that
county.
When the king, then prince, was compelled, after
almost the whole west was lost, to retire into Corn-
wall, he remained in Pendennis castle, and from
thence made his first embarkation to Scilly : and at
parting, out of a princely sense of the affection and
service of that family, he took the old gentleman
aside, and in the presence of his son wished him "to
" defend the place as long as he could, because re-
" lief might come, of which there was some hope
" from abroad;" and promised him, "if he lived to
" come back into England, he would make him a
" baron ; and if he were dead, he would make it
" good to his son. " The old man behaved him
bravely to his death, having all his estate taken
from him ; and his son remained as eminently faith-
ful, and had as deep marks of it as any man : so
that at the king's return, who never forgat his pro-
mise, he might have received the effect of it in the
first creation, if he had desired it ; but he chose ra-
ther to recover the bruises his fortune had endured
by seizures and sequestrations, before he would em-
bark him in a condition that must presently raise
his expense in his way of living. And as soon as
he found himself at ease in that respect, he got a
friend to inform the king, " that he was ready to re-
" ceive his bounty. "
And his majesty, being under these two obliga-
362 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. tions, was willing to take the same opportunity to
"prefer the two other persons he loved so well. But
at the same time that he declared his resolution for
the last two, (but what concerned the others had
been long known and expected,) his majesty re-
flected upon the number of the house of peers,
which was in many respects found grievous, and de-
clared to his brother and the chancellor, who were
only present, "that no importunity should prevail
" with him to make any more lords in many years,
" and till the present number should be lessened ;"
in which resolution the duke willingly concurred,
and protested " that he would never more importune
" him in that point. " The reason of mentioning
this declaration and resolution will appear here-
after. This creation was no sooner over, than the
new earl of Falmouth went with the duke to sea :
for though his relation was now immediately to the
king and near his person, yet he thought himself
obliged not to be from the duke when he was to be
engaged in so much danger ; and he was confessed
by all men to abound in a most fearless cou-
rage.
A parti- It will not be unseasonable in this place to take a
of 6 *~ view of an act of state that passed about this time,
pa- an( ^ which afterwards administered matter of re-
tent, proach against the chancellor, and was made use of
by his enemies as an evidence of his corruption ; for
the better understanding whereof, it will be neces-
sary to begin the relation from the original ground
of the counsel. About the first Christmas after the
king's happy return into England, the chancellor,
treasurer, privy seal, and the two chief justices
(being the persons appointed by the statute for that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 363
purpose) met together to set the prices upon the 1665.
several sorts of wines ; and were attended, according
to custom, by the company of vintners, and the
chief merchants in the city who traded in that com-
modity. And being first to limit the merchants to
a reasonable rate, before they could prescribe any
price to the vintners upon the retail, they found, by
the best inquiry they could make, that the first
prices beyond the seas which the merchants paid for
their wines were so excessive, that the retail could
not be brought within any compass ; and that since
the beginning of the troubles the price of wines in
general was exceedingly increased, and particularly
that of the Canaries was almost double to what it
had been in the year 1640.
The chancellor knew very well, by the corre-
spondence he had held in the Canaries, (during the
time that he had served his majesty as his ambas-
sador in Spain,) that the whole trade for the Canary
wine was driven solely by the English, and the com-
modity entirely vended in the king's dominions, all
Christendom beside not spending any quantity of
that wine : and thereupon he asked the merchants
" whether what he had reported was not true, and
" what would be the way to remedy that mis-
chief. "
They all confessed it to be very true, and " that
" it was a great reproach to the nation to be so
" much imposed upon in a trade that they might
" govern themselves : and that the unreasonable
" prices of the wine were not the greatest prejudice
" that was befallen that trade. That before the
" troubles they had been so far from employing any
" stock of money for the support of that traffick, that
364 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " they used to send their ships fully laden with all
~" " commodities thither, which yielded very good
" markets, being sent from thence into the West
" Indies with their Plate fleets ; and that the very
" pipe-staves which they carried did very near sup-
" ply the value of their wine, so that they brought
" home the proceed of their commodities either in
" pieces of eight, or such other merchandizes as had
" been brought thither from the Indies, and upon
" which they received great profit. OQ the con-
" trary, that the trade was now wholly driven by
" ready money ; that the commodities they send thi-
" ther are not taken off, except at their own prices,
" so that they have for the late years sent their ves-
" sels empty thither, except only with some few
" pipe-staves, which by the destruction in Ireland
" they could not send in any great proportion ; and
" that their ships return from thence with no other
" lading but those wines, which they trade for in
" ready money, either by pieces of eight sent in
" their ships from hence, or by bills of exchange
" charged upon some known merchants in Spain.
" That over and above these disadvantages, the
" Spaniards in those islands had of late imposed
" new duties upon the wine, and laid other imposi-
" tions upon the merchants than the English nation
" had been ever accustomed to. " They said, " all
" these inconveniences proceeded from the immo-
" derate appetite this nation hath for that sort of
" wine, and therefore they take from them as much
" as they can make ; and from our own disorder
" and irregularity in buying them, and contending
" who shall get the most, and so raising the price
" upon one another, and making the Spaniards
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 365
themselves the judges what the merchants shall 1G65.
" pay.
The lords, upon consultation between themselves,
found the matter too hard for them, and that the
reformation of so much evil must be made by de-
grees, and upon a representation of the whole, with
the difficulties which attended it, to the king and
his privy-council, whose wisdoms only could provide
a remedy proportionable to the mischiefs. For the
present, as they resolved not to raise the prices at
which wine was at that time bought and sold, (which
they believed, how reasonably soever it might be
done, would yet be very unpopular,) so they thought
it not just to draw down and abate those prices,
since it appeared to them that the wines cost more
in proportion upon the places of their growth. They
declared therefore to the merchants and to the vint-
ners, " that though for the present they would per-
" mit the same prices to continue for the next year,
" which they had been sold for the present year,"
and which indeed were confirmed by the late act of
parliament, " they should hereafter take care what
" markets they made ; for that they were resolved
" the next year to make the prices much lower botli
" to the merchant and to the vintner :" and so, upon
the report made by the lords of the whole matter to
the king in council, and of what they thought fit to
be done for the present, a proclamation was pub-
lished accordingly.
The next year both the merchants and vintners
were very earnest suitors to the lords at their ac-
customed meeting, that greater prices might be al-
lowed, or at least that the same might be continued ;
making it very evident, that their wines cost them
366 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. more than they had done the year before. Upon the
"debate the Canary merchants were much divided.
Some of them insisted very importunately to have
the price raised, " because it was notorious that
" they had paid much more than formerly, by rea-
" son," as they alleged, " that the vintage had not
" yielded near the proportion that it used to do. "
Others, though confessing the increase of price, yet
pretended a more public spirit and the necessity of a
reformation : and therefore they pressed as earn-
estly, " that the price might not be raised, but that
" they might be permitted to take what they had
" done already for this year. " It was quickly dis-
covered whence this moderation proceeded ; and
that the last proposers had a great quantity of wine
upon their hands, which had been provided the year
before, and so might well be sold at the same price ,
but that the former had no old wine left, but were
supplied with a full provision of new, which had
cost them so much dearer. Both the one and the
other desired the lords, " that whatever resolution
" they took for the present, a clause might be in-
" serted in the proclamation, that, the next year
" which followed, Canary wine should not be sold
" for above four and twenty pounds the pipe, and
" that every year after it should be drawn lower,"
as it might well be, it having been sold in the year
1640 for twenty pounds the pipe; though, in the
year when his majesty returned, it had been per-
mitted to be sold at six and thirty pounds the pipe.
" Such a clause," they said, " would give notice to
" the islanders, and oblige them to sell their wines
. " at more reasonable rates, and would render the
" merchants unexcusable if they should give greater. "
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 367
Notwithstanding all their allegations, the lords re-
membered what they had declared to them the last
year, which was as fair a warning as any thing they
could now say would be. And accordingly they set
lower prices upon all wines for the year to come
than had been allowed the last, as the most effec-
tual warning for the future : which was thought a
very rigorous proceeding ; but being reported to the
king and council, what they had done was allowed
and confirmed, and his majesty was well contented
that such a clause -as they had proposed should be
inserted in the proclamation ; which was accordingly
done.
The year following, when the lords met again
according to custom, which is, as hath been said,
about Christmas, they found not the least reforma-
tion ; on the contrary, that the Canary merchants
had paid dearer than ever, which made them all
more solicitous to have the price raised, and the
vintners as importunate for their retail. And in-
deed the vintners seemed to be in a much worse
condition than the merchants. And they made it
appear, " that they were often compelled to pay
" higher prices to the merchant than were l imposed
" by their lordships ; without which they could get
" no good wine, and so must give over their keep-
" ing house : that the penalty upon the merchant
" was very small, being not above forty shillings a
" pipe, and the crime not easy to be discovered, as
" was evident by there not having been one mer-
" chant questioned in many years for that common
" transgression ; whereas on the vintner's part the
1 were] was
368 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " penalty was very severe, and easily discovered by
~ " any man who went to a tavern and would be an
" informer, and that most of the vintners in Lon-
" don were at that very time sued in the exchequer
" upon those very penalties, which, if exacted, must
" produce their ruin. "
The merchants excused themselves for their pre-
sent pretence, and for their having given more for
their wines than was lawful for them to have done
by their own desire : " that they had done their
" best, and that the greatest traders amongst them
" had consented between themselves not to suffer
" the prices to be raised upon them ; but that they
" found it ineffectual, and that though they should
" give over their trades, it would produce no refor-
" mation. That the trade was open to all adven-
" turers, and that there had been many ships sent
" from England in that very year by Jews, and
" people of several trades, who had never been be-
" fore known to trade to the Canaries : insomuch
" as when they who had been long bred up to the
" trade, and had been long factors in those islands,
" sent their ships thither, they found other English
" ships there, and the wines bought at a greater
" price than they had allowed their factors to give ;
" so that they must either have their ships return
" empty and unladen, or take the wines at the prices
" other men gave. That they had chosen the latter, as
" well to continue their trade, as to draw home some
" part of the stock they had in that country. That
" they could imagine but two ways to reform that
" excess : the one, by putting the trade into such a
" method and m under such rules, as might restrain
ra and"! as in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 369
" that license, and not leave it in the power of per- 1(565.
" sons who never had been in the trade to give the ~~
" law to it ; and by this means the islanders would
" find it necessary to set reasonable prices . upon
" their commodities, and to yield such other advan-
" tages and privileges to the merchants as they had
" heretofore enjoyed. The other, that the king
" would by his proclamation prohibit the importa-
" tion of any Canary wines into his dominions : and
" hereby he would quickly receive such propositions
" from Spain, as would put it into his own power to
" make the reformation ; otherwise the islanders had
" been persuaded that England could not live with-
" out their wines. "
The lords were resolved, notwithstanding all that
had been said, that they would execute the former
proclamation, and reduce the prices of wines to
what had been then determined : and after they
had given a full account of the whole business to
the king in council, the resolution was approved,
and a proclamation was issued out to that purpose.
The merchants and vintners applied themselves to
his majesty, and to many of the lords of the council,
and thought they had encouragement enough to
hope for a relief in an appeal to the king and coun-
cil by petition ; and they had thereupon a day as-
signed to be heard. Many of the lords thought it
very hard, if not unjust, to compel men to sell
cheaper than they bought, which was the truth of
the case, and which must oblige both merchants and
vintners to sophisticate and corrupt their wines to
preserve their estates ; which might probably turn
to the great damage of the whole kingdom, in pro-
ducing sickness and diseases : and this charitable
VOL. II. B b
370 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. and generous consideration prevailed with the major
~ part of the lords to be well contented, and to wish
that some indulgence might be exercised towards
them. On the contrary, when the king had well
weighed the whole proceedings, and with trouble
and indignation considered the obstinate vice of the
nation, which made it ridiculous to all the world, he
expressed a positive resolution to vindicate himself
and his government from this reproach. He thought
the adhering firmly to the prices which had been re-
solved upon by the lords would be the best preface
to this reformation, though it might be attended
with particular damage to particular persons, who
had yet less cause to complain, because their own
advice had been followed. And thereupon his ma-
jesty declared, " that he would make no alteration ;"
but withal told them, " that if they could make any
" proposition to him for the better regulation of the
" trade," (for they had themselves mentioned a char-
ter,) " he would graciously receive any propositions
" they would make, and gratify them in what was
" just :" and so, notwithstanding all attempts which
were often repeated, the price set by the lords was
ratified for the year following.
The pnnci- Shortly after, many of the merchants who had al-
pal Canary . . . . . . . . . i
merchants ways traded to the Cananes did petition the king,
^ " that they might be incorporated ; and that none
" might be permitted to trade thither but such who
" would be of that corporation, and observe the con-
" stitutions which should be made by them :" which
petition was presented to the king at the council-
board ; and being read, his majesty (according to
his custom in matters of difficulty and public con-
cernment) directed it to be read again on that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 371
day month, at which time his majesty presumed 1665.
that all who would oppose it would present their"
reasons and objections against it, which he desired
to hear. At the day appointed, though there was
no petition against it, yet it was observed that there
were many of the most eminent merchants of that
trade, whose names were not to the petition, nor who"
otherwise appeared desirous to have a charter grant-
ed : which his majesty considering, he put off the de-
bate for another week, and directed " that the other
" merchants by name should be desired to be present,
" and to give their advice freely upon the point. "
And there was at that day a very full appearance ;
when his majesty directed, " that a relation should
" be made to them of the whole progress that had
" been in the business, and the damage and disho-
" nour the nation underwent in the carrying on
" that trade : that many merchants had presented a
" petition to him, containing an expedient to bring
" it into better order ; but finding them not to ap-
" pear in it, and being informed that they were best
" acquainted with and most engaged in that trade,
" he had sent for them to know their opinion, whe-
" ther they thought what was proposed to be rea-
" sonable and fit to be granted, and if so, why they
" did not concern themselves in it. " They an-
swered, "that the reason why they had not ap-
" peared in it was, because they thought they
" should be losers by it, and therefore were not soli-
" citous to procure a grant from his majesty to their
" own damage ;" and so enlarged " upon the nature
" of the trade, their long experience in it, and the
" greatness of their stock, which they should not be
" who] Not in MS.
B b2
372 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665 - " allowed to continue under any regulation. But
" as they did not think themselves in a situation
" to be solicitous for a change, so they could not
" deny, being required by his majesty to speak the
" truth, but that the proposition that was made was
" for the public good and benefit of the kingdom,
" and that they conceived no other way to redeem
" that trade, and the nation from the insolence
" which the Spaniard exercised upon them;" imply-
ing, " that if his majesty would command them,
" they would likewise, concur and join in the carry-
ing " ing on the service. " To which his majesty giving
thepetu them gracious encouragement, they all seemed to
depart of one mind ; and his majesty remained con-
firmed in the former opinion he had of it.
But there remained yet an objection, which was
principally insisted on by the ministers of the re-
venue, who alleged very reasonably, "that this new-
" modelling the trade must produce some alteration,
" and would meet some opposition from the Spa-
" niard, which for the time would lessen the customs
" and entitle the farmers to a defalcation. " The
petition was therefore referred to the farmers of the
customs, who were to attend the next council-day :
and being then called, they did acknowledge, " that
" the design proposed would prove very profitable
" to the kingdom in many respects," upon which
they enlarged, " and that in the end it would not be
" attended with any diminutions of the customs ;
" but for the present," they said, " they could not
" but expect, that the obstinacy and contradiction of
" the Spaniard would give such a stop to trade, at
in a situation] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 373
" least for one year, that if his majesty did not reim- 1665.
" burse them for what should fall short in the re-~
" ceipt of custom, they must look to be very great
" losers. " The merchants on the other hand offered
" to be bound, that if they did not the first year
" bring in as much as had been usually entered,
" they would make good what should be wanting to
" the farmers upon a medium. " Whereupon his
majesty himself declared, " that he would not, for a
" small damage to himself, hinder the kingdom
" from enjoying so great a benefit:" and he com-
manded his solicitor general, who then attended the
board, " to prepare such a charter as might provide
" for all those good ends which were desired in the
" petition," and which had been so largely debated ;
and it was notorious, that there had never been
a greater concurrence of the board in any direc-
tion.
Many months passed before the charter was pre-
pared ; in which time there was never the least new
objection made against it, nor was it known that
any man was unsatisfied with it. After it was en-
grossed and had passed the king's hand, it was
brought to the great seal ; and there the lord mayor The city of
of London and the court of aldermen had entered
caveat to stop the passing of it. The chancellor, ac-
cording to course, appointed a time when he would
hear all parties. The city alleged an order made a
year or two before by the king in council, upon a
complaint then exhibited by the court of aldermen
against the Turkey company and other corporations,
" in which," they said, " there were very many mer-
" chants of the best trade and of the greatest estates
" in the city, who would never take out their free-
BbS
374 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " dom, and so refused to bear any charge or office
"" " in it, to the very great prejudice and dishonour of
" the city and of the government thereof; since
" they were thereby compelled to call inferior ci-
" tizens to be aldermen, before they had estates to
. " bear the charge of it, whilst the gravest and
" the richest men, who were most fit, could not be
" obliged to accept of it, because they were not free-
" men. " The persons concerned, which were indeed
a great number of very valuable and substantial
men and of great estates, answered, " that they had
" traded very many years without finding any rea-
" son to take out their freedom, which they might
" do or not do as they thought best for themselves ;
" that they had always paid scot and lot in the se-
" veral parishes where they lived with the highest of
" the inhabitants, and were taxed the more because
" they had not taken out their freedom, they who
" taxed them being always freemen ; that they
" were grown old now, and had no mind to become
" young freemen, but would rather give over their
" trade, and retire into the country where they had
" estates. "
Besides the rules which the king gave upon the
difference then in question, he was pleased to de-
clare, and appointed it to be entered as an order in
the council-book, "that care should be taken, that
" in all charters which he should hereafter renew or
" grant to any companies or corporations in the city
" of London, they should first make themselves free-
" men of the city ; by which they might be liable
" to the charges of it, as other citizens are. " They
said, " that there were many of this company that
" was now to be incorporated who were not free-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 375
" men :" and therefore the lord mayor and court of J66. 0.
aldermen desired the benefit of the king's order,"
which was read.
The merchants confessed, "that many of them
" were not freemen, and resolved not to be :" they
said, " they had never heard of this order, and were
" sorry that they had spent so much money to no
" purpose. " The chancellor declared to them, " that The
" he could not seal their charter till they had com- fuses to
" plied with the king's determination, and given 86
" court of aldermen satisfaction :" and they .
had satisfied
seemed as positive that they would rather be with- thecit y-
out their charter, than they would submit to the
other inconveniences : and so they departed. But
after some days' deliberation and consultation be-
tween themselves, and when they found that there
was no possibility to procure a dispensation from
that order, they treated with the city, and agreed
with them in the preparing a clause to be inserted
in their charter, by which they were obliged in so
many years to become freemen ; which clause,
being approved by all parties, was in the king's pre-
sence entered in the bill that his majesty had
signed, and being afterwards added to the engross-
ment, it was again thus reformed and sent to the
great seal, and presented to the chancellor to be
sealed.
There were by this time several new caveats en-
tered against it at the seal ; all which the chancellor
heard, and settled every one of them to the joint sa-
tisfaction of all parties, and all caveats were with-
drawn. There was then a rumour, that there
would be some motions made against it in the house
of commons : and some parliament-men, who serv-
B b 4
376 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. ed for the western boroughs, came to the chancellor,
~ and desired him " that he would defer the sealing it
" for some days till they might be heard, since it
" would undo their western trade ; and," they said,
" they resolved to move the house of commons to
" put a stop to it. " The chancellor informed them
of the whole progress it had passed, and told them,
" he believed that they would hardly be able to
"offer any good reasons against it:" however,
since it was then well known that the parliament
would be prorogued within ten or twelve days, he
said " he would suspend the sealing it till then, to
" the elid that they might offer any objections
" against it there or any where else. " But though
the parliament sat longer than it was then con-
ceived it would have done, there was no mention or
notice taken of it : and after the prorogation no ap-
plication was further made for the stopping it, and
the merchants pressed very importunately that it
might be sealed, alleging with reason " that the de-
" ferring it so long had been very much to their
" prejudice. " Whereupon the chancellor conceived
that it would not consist with his duty to delay it
longer, and so affixed the great seal to it.
The company then chose a governor and other
officers according to their charter, and made such
orders and by-laws as they thought fit for the carry-
ing on and advancement of their trade, which they
might alter when they thought convenient ; and for
the present they resolved upon a joint stock, and
assigned so many shares to each particular man.
Somediffe- _ 5 . . / ,. . , .
In this composition and distribution there fell out
some difference between themselves, which could
e taken n otice of abroad : and even some of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 377
them, who first petitioned and were most solicitous 1655.
to procure the charter, did what they could to hin-
der the effect of it ; sent privately to their factors
at the Canaries, " to oppose any orders that should
" be sent from the governor and the company, and
" that they should do all they could to incense the
" Spaniards against the charter," and bade them
promise " that all their wine should be taken off in
"spite of the corporation.
province, being committed to the duke as lord high
admiral of England, was entirely h engrossed by his
servants, in truth by Mr. Coventry, who was newly
made his secretary, and who made use of his
other servants, who were better known to him, to
infuse into his highness the opinion, " that whoever
" presumed to meddle in any thing that related to
" the navy or the admiralty, invaded his jurisdiction,
" and would lessen him in the eyes of the people ;
" and that he ought to be jealous of such men, as of
" those who would undermine his greatness ; and
" that as he was superior to all men by being the
" king's brother, so being high admiral he was to
" render account to none but to the king, nor suffer
" any body else to interpose in any thing relating to
" it. " Whereas in truth there is no officer of the
crown more subject to the council-board than the
admiral of England, who is to give an account of all
his actions and of every branch of his office con-
stantly to the board, and to receive their orders :
nor hath he the nomination of the captains of the
ships, till upon the presentation of their names he
receives their approbation, which is never denied.
Nor was there any counsellor who had ever sat at
the board in the last king's time, to whom this was
not as much known as any order of the table.
h entirely] so entirely
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 327
But there was no retrieving this authority, not 1665.
only from the influence Mr. Coventry, and they of ~
the family who adhered to him, had upon the duke,
but from the king's own inclination, who thought
that those officers, who immediately depended upon
himself and only upon himself, were more at his
devotion than they who were obliged to give an
account to any other superior. And from the time
that he came first into France, he had not been ac-
customed to any discourse more than to the under-
valuing the privy-council, as if it shadowed the king
too much, and usurped too much of his authority,
and too often superseded his own commands. And
the queen his mother had, upon these discourses,
always some instances of the authority which in
such a case the council had assumed against the
king's judgment ; the exception to which, according
to the relation which nobody could question, seemed
to be very reasonable. This kind of discourse, be-
ing the subject of every day, made so great impres-
sion that it could never be defaced, and made the
election and nomination of counsellors less consi-
dered, since they were to be no more advised with
afterwards than before.
Another argument, that used to be as frequently
insisted upon by the queen, and with more passion
and indignation, was of the little respect and reve-
rence that by the law or custom of England was
paid to the younger sons of the crown ; and though
there was nobody present in those conversations who
knew any thing of the law or custom in those cases,
yet all that was said was taken as granted. And
not only the duke but the king himself had a mar-
vellous prejudice to the nation in that part of good
Y 4
328 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. manners: and it was easily agreed, that the model
~" of France was in those and other cases much more
preferable, and which was afterwards observed in
too many.
This being then the state and temper of the royal
family when the king returned, which then consisted
of the duke of Gloucester, and two princesses more
than it now hath ; the very next morning after the
fleet came to Scheveling, the duke went on board
and took possession of it as lord high admiral : and
so his secretary provided new commissions for all
the officers who were in present command, for which
it is probable they all paid very liberally ; for with
him the custom began to receive five pounds for
every warrant signed by the duke, and for which
uo secretary to any lord admiral formerly had ever
received above twenty shillings. Mr. Coventry, who
was utterly unacquainted with all the rules and cus-
toms of the sea, and knew none of the officers, but
was much courted by all, as the secretary to the
admiral always is, made choice of captain Pen,
whom the king knighted as soon as he came on
board ; who from a common man had grown up un-
der Cromwell to the highest command, and was in
great favour with him till he failed in the action of
St. Domingo, when he went admiral at sea, as Ven-
ables was general at land, for which they were both
imprisoned in the Tower by Cromwell, nor ever em-
ployed by him afterwards : but upon his death he
had command again at sea, as he had at this time
under Mountague when he came to attend the king.
With this man Mr. Coventry made a fast friendship,
and was guided by him in all things.
All the offices which belonged to the ships, to the
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 329
navy,' to the yards, to the whole admiralty, (except 1665.
the three superior officers, which are not in the dis-~
posal of the admiral,) were now void, and to be
supplied by the duke, that is, by Mr. Coventry;
who by the advice of sir William Pen, who was
solely trusted by him in the brocage, conferred them
upon those (without observing any other rule) who
would give most money, not i considering any honest
seaman who had continued in the king's service, or
suffered long imprisonment for him. And because
an incredible sum of money did k and would rise
this way, some principal officers in the yards, as the
master smith and others, and the keepers of the
stores, yielding seven, eight hundred, or a thousand
pounds ; he had the skill to move the duke to be-
stow such money as would arise upon such place
upon sir Charles Berkley, for another to another, and
for some to be divided between two or three : by
which means the whole family was obliged, and re-
tained to justify him ; and the duke himself looked
upon it as a generosity in Mr. Coventry, to accom-
modate his fellow servants with what he might have
asked or kept for himself. But it was the best hus-
bandry he could have used : for by this means all
men's mouths were stopped, and all- clamour se-
cured ; whilst the lesser sums for a multitude of
offices of all kinds were reserved to himself, and
which, in the estimation of those who were at no
great distance, amounted to a very great 1 sum, and
more than any officer under the king could possibly
get by all the perquisites of his place in many years.
By this means,- the whole navy and ships were
' not] nor k did] was ' great] Omitted in MS.
330 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. filled with the same men who had enjoyed the same
"~ places and offices under Cromwell, and thereby were
the better able to pay well for them ; whereof many
of the most infamous persons which that time took
notice of were now become the king's officers, to
the great scandal of their honest neighbours, who
observed that they retained the same manners and
affections, and used the same discourses they had
formerly done.
Besides many other irreparable inconveniences
and mischiefs which resulted from this corruption
and choice, one grew quickly visible and notorious,
in the stealing and embezzling all manner of things
out of the ships, even when they were in service :
but when they returned from any voyages, incredible
proportions of powder, match, cordage, sails, anchors,
and all other things, instead of being restored to the
several proper officers whiclr were to receive them,
were embezzled and sold, and very often sold to the
king himself for the setting out other ships and for
replenishing his stores. And when this was disco-
vered (as many times it was) and the criminal per-
son apprehended, it was alleged by him as a defence
or excuse, " that he had paid so dear for his place,
" that he could not maintain himself and family
" without practising such shifts :" and none of those
fellows were ever brought to exemplary justice, and
most of them were restored to their employments.
The three superior officers of the navy were pos-
sessed of their offices by patents under the great
seal of England before the king's return ; and they
are the natural established council of the lord high
admiral, and are to attend him when he requires it,
and always used of course to be with him one cer-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 331
tain day in a week, to render him an account of all 1665.
the state of the office, and to receive his orders and ~
to give their advice. And now, because these three
depended not enough upon him, but especially out
of animosity against sir George Carteret, who, be-
sides being treasurer of the navy, was vice-cham-
berlain of the king's household, and so a privy
counsellor; Mr. Coventry proposed to the duke,
" that in regard of the multiplicity of business in
" the navy, much more than in former times, and the
" setting out greater fleets than had been accus-
" tomed in that age when those officers and that
" model for the government of the navy had been
" established, his royal highness would propose to
" the king to make an addition, by commissioners,
" of some other persons always to sit with the other
" officers with equal authority, and to sign all bills with
" them ;" which was a thing never heard of before,
and is in truth a lessening of the power of the admiral.
It is very true, there have frequently been commis-
sioners for the navy ; but it hath been in the same
place m of the admiral and to perform his office : but
in the time of an admiral commissioners have not
been heard of. One principal end in this was, to
draw from the treasurer of the navy (whose office
Mr. Coventry thought too great, and had implacable
animosity against him from the first hour after he
had made his friendship with Pen) out of his fees
(which, though no greater than were granted by his
patent and had been always enjoyed by his pre-
decessors, were indeed greater than had used to be
in times of peace, when much less money passed
m place] Not in MS.
332 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. through his hands) what should be enough to pay
those commissioners ; for it was not reasonable they
should serve for nothing, nor that they should be
upon the king's charge, since the treasurer's perqui-
sites might be enough for all.
The duke liked the proposition well, and, with-
out conferring with any body else upon it, proposed
it to the king at the council-board, where nobody
thought fit to examine or debate what the duke pro-
posed ; and the king approved it, and ordered, " that
" the commissioners should receive each five hun-
" dred pounds by the year :" but finding afterwards
that the treasurer of the navy's fees were granted
to him under the great seal, his majesty did not
think it just to take it from him, but would bear it
himself, and appointed the treasurer to pay and pass
those pensions in his account. The commissioners
named and commended by the duke to the king
were the lord Berkley, sir John Lawson, sir William
Pen, and sir George Ayscue ; the three last n the
most eminent sea-officers under Cromwell, but it
must not be denied but that they served the king
afterwards very faithfully. These the king made
his commissioners, with a pension to each of five
hundred pounds the year, and in some time after
added Mr. Coventry to the number with the same
pension : so that this first reformation in the time
of peace cost the king one way or other no less
than three thousand pounds yearly, without the
le,ast visible benefit or advantage. The lord Berkley
understood nothing that related either to the office
or employment, and therefore very seldom was pre-
" last] Not in MS. lated either] neither understood
" understood nothing that re- any thing that related
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 333
sent in the execution. But after he had enjoyed 1665.
the pension a year or thereabout, he procured leave"
to sell? his place, and procured a gentleman, Mr.
Thomas Harvey, to give him three thousand pounds
for it : so soon this temporary commission, which
might have expired within a month, got the reputa-
tion of an office for life by the good managery of an
officer.
This was the state of the navy before the war The state of
. i .
with Holland was resolved upon. Let us in the the "oZ. *
next place see what alterations were made in it, or
what other preparations were made, or counsels en-
tered upon, for the better conduct of this war : and
a clear and impartial view or reflection upon what
was then said and done, gave discerning men an un-
happy presage of what would follow. There was no
discourse now in the court, after this royal subsidy
of five and twenty hundred thousand pounds was
granted, but, " of giving the law to the whole trade
" of Christendom ; of making all ships which passed
" by or through the narrow seas to pay an imposi-
" tion to the king, as all do to the king of Denmark
" who pass by the Sound ; and making all who pass
" near to pay contribution to his majesty ;" which
must concern all the princes of Christendom : and
the king and duke were often desired to discounte-
nance and suppress this impertinent talk, which
must increase the number of the enemies. Commis-
sioners were appointed to reside in all or the most
eminent port-towns, for the sale of all prize-goods ;
and these were. chosen for the most part out of those
P sell] sell in
334 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. members of the house of commons, who were active
~ to advance the king's service, or who promised to
be so, to whom liberal salaries were assigned.
There were then commissioners appointed to
appeals ap. judge all appeals, which should be made upon and
pointed. a g ams t a ll sentences given by the judge of the ad-
miralty and his deputies ; and these were all privy
counsellors, the earl of Lautherdale, the lord Ash-
ley, and the secretaries of state, who were like to
The injus- be most careful of the king's profit. But then the
tice of their
sentences, rules which were prescribed to judge by were such
as were warranted r by no former precedents, nor s
acknowledged to be just by the practice of any
neighbour nation, and such as would make all ships
which traded for Holland, from what kingdom so-
ever, lawful prize ; which was foreseen would bring
complaints from all places, as it did as soon as the
war begun. French and Spaniard and Swede and
Dane were alike treated; whilst their ambassadors
made loud complaints every day to the king and
the council for the injustice and the rapine, without
remedy, more than references to the admiralty, and
then to the lords commissioners of appeal, which in-
creased the charge, and raised and improved the
indignity. Above all, the Hanse -Towns of Ham-
burgh, Lubeck, Bremen, and the rest, (who had
large exemptions and privileges by charter granted
by former kings and now renewed by this,) had the
worst luck ; for none of them could ever be distin-
guished from the Dutch. Their ships were so like,
and their language so near, that not one of their
r warranted] Omitted in MS. ? nor] and
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 335
vessels were met with, from what part of the world 1665.
soever they came, or whithersoever they were t
bound, but they were brought in u ; and if the evi-
dence was such as there could be no colour to retain
them, but that they must be released, they always
carried with them sad remembrances of the com-
pany they had been in.
There was one sure rule to make any ship prize,
which was, if above three Dutch mariners were
aboard it there need no x further proof for the for-
feiture ; which being no where known could not be
prevented, all merchants' ships, when they are ready
for their voyage, taking all seamen on board of what
nation soever who are necessary for their service :
so that those Dutchmen who run from their own
country to avoid fighting, (as very many did, and
very many more would have done,) and put them-
selves on board merchants' ships of any other coun-
try, where they were willingly entertained, made
those ships lawful prize in which they served, by a
rule that nobody knew nor would submit to.
It was resolved that all possible encouragement TOO much
should be given to privateers, that is, to as many ^"g^i
as would take commissions from the admiral to set * pnva "
iccrs.
out vessels of war, as they call them, to take prizes
from the enemy ; which no articles or obligations
can restrain from all the villany they can act, and
are a people, how countenanced soever or thought
necessary, that do bring an unavoidable scandal, and
it is to be feared a curse, upon the justest war that
was ever made at sea. A sail ! A sail ! is the word
with them ; friend or foe is the same ; they possess
1 were] Omitted in MS. * no] Omitted in MS.
in] Not in MS.
336 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. all they can master, and run with it to any obscure
"place where they can sell it, (which retreats are
never wanting,) and never attend the ceremony of
an adjudication. Besides the horrible scandal and
clamour that this classis of men brought upon the
king and the whole government for defect of justice,
the prejudice which resulted from thence to the
public and to the carrying on the service is unspeak-
able: all seamen run to them. And though the
king now assigned an ample share of all prizes
taken by his own ships to the seamen, over and
above their wages ; yet there was great difference
between the condition of the one and the other : in
the king's fleet they might gain well, but they were
sure of blows, nothing could be got there without
fighting ; with the privateers there was rarely fight-
ing, they took all who could make little resistance,
and fled from all who were too strong for them.
And so those fellows were always well manned,
when the king's ships were compelled to stay many
days for want of men, who were raised by press-
ing and with great difficulty. And whoever spake
against those lewd people, upon any case whatso-
ever, was thought to have no regard for the duke's
profit, nor to desire to weaken the enemy.
In all former wars at sea, as there was great care
taken to appoint commissioners for the sale of all
prize-goods, who understood the value of those com-
modities they had to sell, yet were compelled to sell
better bargains than are usually got in public mar-
kets ; so there was all strictness used in bringing
all receivers to as punctual an account, as any other
of the king's receivers are bound to make, and to
compel them to pay in all the money they receive
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 337
into the exchequer, that it might be issued out to the 1665.
treasurer of the navy or to other officers for the""
expense of the war. And it had been a great argu-
ment in the first consultations upon this war, " that
" it would support itself; and that after one good ,
" fleet should be set out once to beat the Dutch,"
(for that was never thought worthy of a doubt,)
" the prizes, which would every day after be taken,
" would plentifully do all the rest ; besides the great
" sum that the Dutch would give to purchase their
" peace, and the yearly rent they would give for
" the liberty of fishing ;" with all which it was not
thought fit to allow them " to keep above such a
" number of ships of war, limited to so many ton and
" to so many guns ;" with many particulars of that
nature, which were carefully digested by those who
promoted the war. But now, after this supply given
by the parliament, there was no more danger of
want of money : and many discourses there were,
" that the prize-money might be better disposed in
" rebuilding the king's houses, and many other good
" uses which would occur ;" and the king forbore
to speak any more of appointing receivers and trea-
surers for that purpose, when all or most other offi-
cers, who were judged necessary for the service,
were already named ; and the lord treasurer, who
by his office should have the recommendation of
those officers to the king, had a list of men, who for
the reputation and experience they had were in his
judgment worthy to be trusted, to be presented to
the king when he should enter upon that subject.
But one evening a servant of the lord Ashley
ley obtains
came to the chancellor with a bill signed, and de- a grant a P -
sired in his master's name, " that it might be sealed hf
VOL. II. Z
338 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " that night. " The bill was, " to make and consti-
surer of " tute the lord Ashley treasurer of all the money
prize- ^at should be raised upon the sale of all prizes,
money.
" which were or should be taken in this present
" war, with power to make all such officers as should
" be necessary for the service ; and that he should
" account for all monies so received to the king him-
" self, and to no other person whatsoever, and pay
" and issue out all those monies which he should re-
" ceive, in such manner as his majesty should ap-
" point by warrant under his sign manual, and by no
" other warrant ; and that he should be free and ex-
" empt from accounting into the exchequer. " When
the chancellor had seen the contents, he bade the
messenger tell his lord, " that he would speak with
" the king before he would seal that grant, and that
" he desired much to speak with himself. "
The chan- The next morning he waited upon the king, and
monstrates informed him " of the bill that was brought to him,
seatihg this " an d doubted that he had been surprised : that it
grant. was no t; on iy such an original as was without any
" precedent, but in itself in many particulars de-
" structive to his service and to the right of other
" men. That all receivers of any part of his re-
" venue were accountable in the exchequer, and
" could receive their discharge in no other place :
" and that if so great a receipt, as this was already,"
(for the fleet of wine and other ships already seized
were by a general computation valued at one hun-
dred thousand pounds,) " and as it evidently would
" be, should pass without the most formal account ;
" his majesty might be abominably cozened, nor
'" could it any other way be prevented- And in the
" next place, that this grant was not only deroga-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON, 339
" tory to the lord treasurer, but did really degrade 1665.
" him, there being another treasurer made more ab-
" solute than himself, and without dependence upon
" him. " And therefore he besought his majesty,
" that he would reconsider the thing itself and hear
" it debated, at least that the treasurer might be
" first heard, without which it could not be done in
" justice :" to which he added, " that he would speak
" with the lord Ashley himself, and tell him how
" much he was to blame to affect such a province,
" which might bring great inconveniences upon his
" person and his estate. "
He quickly found that the king had not been
surprised in what he had done, " which," he said,
" was absolutely in his own power to do ; and that
" it would bring prejudice only to himself, which he
" had sufficiently provided against. " However, he
seemed willing to decline any thing that looked like
an affront to the treasurer, and therefore was con-
tent that the sealing it might be suspended till he
had further considered.
The lord Ashley came shortly to the chancellor,
and seemed " to take it unkindly that his patent
" was not sealed :" to which he answered, " that he
" had suspended the immediate sealing it for three
" reasons ; whereof one was, that he might first
" speak with the king, who he believed would re-
" ceive much prejudice by it ; another, that it would
" not consist with the respect he owed to the lord
" treasurer, who was much affronted in it, to seal it
" before he was made acquainted with it. And in
" the last place, that he had stopped it for his,
" the lord Ashley's, own sake : and that he believed
*' he had neither enough considered the indignity
z 2
1665. " that was offered to the lord treasurer, to whom he
~~ " professed so much respect, and by whose favour
" and powerful interposition he enjoyed the office he
" held, nor his own true interest, in submitting his
" estate to those incumbrances which such a receipt
" would inevitably expose it to. And that the ex-
" emption from making any account but to the king
" himself would deceive him : and as it was an un-
" usual and unnatural privilege, so it would never
" be allowed in any court of justice, which would
" exact both the account and the payment or lawful
" discharge of what money he should receive ; and
" " if he depended upon the exemption he would live
" to repent it. "
He answered little to the particulars more than
with some sullenness, " that the king had given
" him the office, and knew best what is good for his
" own service ; and that except his majesty retracted
" his grant, he would look to enjoy the benefit of it.
" That he did not desire to put an affront upon the
" lord treasurer ; and if there were any expressions
" in his commission which reflected upon him, he
" was content they should be mended or left out :
" in all other respects he was resolved to run the
" hazard. "
The treasurer himself, though he knew that he
was not well used, and exceedingly disdained the
behaviour of his nephew, (for the lord Ashley had
married his niece,) who he well knew had by new
friendships cancelled all the obligations to him, would
not appear to oppose what the king resolved, but sat
The king unconcerned, and took no notice of any thing. And
obliges him . , . . .
to seal it. so within a short time the king sent a positive order
to the chancellor to seal the commission ; which he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 341
could no longer refuse, and did it with the more 1665.
trouble, because he very well knew, that few men ~
knew the lord Ashley better than the king himself
did, or had a worse opinion of his integrity. But
he was now gotten into friendships which were most
behooveful to him, and which could remove or re-
concile all prejudices : he was fast linked to sir Harry
Bennet and Mr. Coventry in a league offensive and
defensive, the same friends and the same enemies,
and had got "an entire trust with the lady, who very
well understood the benefit such an officer would be
to her. Nor was it difficult to persuade the king
(who thought himself more rich in having one thou-
sand pounds in his closet that nobody knew of, than
in fifty thousand pounds in his exchequer) how
many conveniences he would find in having so
much money at his own immediate disposal, with-
out the formality of privy seals and other men's
warrants, and the indecency and mischief which
would attend a formal account of all his generous
donatives and expense, which should be known only
to himself.
Though the king seemed to continue the same Measures
, . . taken to
gracious countenance towards the chancellor which prejudice
he had used, and frequently came to his house when ^ainsMhe
he was indisposed with the gout, and consulted all chancellor -
his business, which he thought of public importance,
with him with equal freedom ; yet he himself found,
and many others observed, that he had not the same
credit and power with him. The nightly meetings
had of late made him more' the subject of the dis-
course ; and since the time of the new secretary they
had taken more liberty to talk of what was done in
z 3
342 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. council, than they had done formerly ; and the duke
~~of Buckingham pleased himself and all the com-
pany in acting all the persons who spake there in
their looks and motions, in which piece of mimicry
he had an especial faculty ; and in this exercise the
chancellor had a full part. In the height of mirth,
if the king said " he would go such a journey or do
" such a trivial thing to-morrow," somebody would
lay a wager that he would not do it ; and when he
asked why, it was answered, " that the chancellor
" would not let him :" and then another would pro-
test, " that he thought there was no ground for that
" imputation ; however, he could not deny that it
" was generally believed abroad, that his majesty
" was entirely and implicitly governed by the chan-
" cellor. " Which often put the king to declare in
some passion, " that the chancellor had served him
" long, and understood his business, in which he
" trusted him : but in any other matter than his
" business, he had no other credit with him than
" any other man ;" which they reported with great
joy in other companies.
A proposal j n the former session of the parliament, the lord
made to the
king for ]. Ashley, out of his indifferency in matters of religion,
conscience, and the lord Arlington out of his good-will to the
Roman catholics, had drawn in the lord privy seal,
whose interest was most in the presbyterians, to
propose to the king an indulgence for liberty of
conscience : for which they offered two motives ;
the one, " the probability of a war with the Dutch ;"
though it was not then declared ; " and in that case
" the prosecution of people at home for their several
" opinions in religion would be very inconvenient,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 343
" and might prove mischievous. " The other was, 1665.
" that the y fright men were in by reason of the "~
" late bill against conventicles, and the warmth the
" parliament expressed with reference to the church,
" had so prepared all sorts of non-conformists, that
" they would gladly compound for liberty at any
'* reasonable rates : and by this means a good yearly
" revenue might be raised to the king, and a firm
" concord and tranquillity be established in the
" kingdom, if power were granted by the parliament
" to the king to grant dispensations to such whom
" he knew to be peaceably affected, for their exer-
" cise of that religion which was agreeable to their
" conscience, without undergoing the penalty of the
" laws. " And they had prepared a schedule, in
which they computed what every Roman catholic
would be willing to pay yearly for the exercise of
his religion, and so of every other sect ; which, upon
the estimate they made, would indeed have amounted
to a very great sum of money yearly.
The king liked the arguments and the project The king
very well, and wished them to prepare such a bill ; ap
which was done quickly, very short, and without
any mention of other advantage to grow from it,
than " the peace and quiet of the kingdom? , and an
" entire reference to the king's own judgment and
" discretion in dispensing his dispensations. " This
was equally approved : and though hitherto it had
been managed with great secrecy, that it might not
come to the knowledge of the chancellor and the
treasurer, who they well knew would never consent
to it; yet the king resolved to impart it to them.
>' the] in the z kingdom] quiet by mistake in MS.
z 4
844 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. And the chancellor being then afflicted with the
""gout, the committee that used to be called was ap-
pointed to meet at Worcester-house : and thither
likewise came the privy seal, and the lord Ashley,
who had never before been present in those meet-
ings.
The chan- The king informed them of the occasion of their
treasure" conference, and caused the draught for the bill to
t*he private* ^ e rea d to them ; which was done, and such reasons
committee. gi ven by those who promoted it, as they thought
fit ; the chief of which was, " that there could be no
" danger in trusting the king, whose zeal to the
" protestant religion was so well known, that no-
" body would doubt that he would use this power,
" when granted to him, otherwise than should be
*' for the good and benefit of the church and state. "
The chancellor and the treasurer, as had been pre-
saged, were very warm against it, and used many
arguments to dissuade the king from prosecuting it,
" as a thing that could never find the concurrence
" of either or both houses, and which would raise a
" jealousy in both, and in the people generally, of
" his affection to the papists, which would not be
" good for either, and every body knew that he had
" no favour for either of the other factions. " But
what the others said, who were of another opinion,
prevailed more ; and his majesty declared, " that the
" bill should be presented to the house of peers as
" from him, and in his name ; and that he hoped
" none of his servants, who knew his mind as well
" as every body there did, would oppose it, but
"either be absent or silent:" to which both the
lords answered, " that they should not be absent
" purposely, and if they were present, they hoped
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 345
" his majesty would excuse them if they spake ac- 1665.
" cording to their conscience and judgment, which"
" they could not forbear to do ;" with which his
majesty seemed unsatisfied, though the lords of the '
combination were better pleased than they would
have been with their concurrence.
Within few days after, the chancellor remaining The biiiprc.
still in his chamber without being able to go, the the house of
bill was presented in the house of peers by the lord lords '
privy seal, as by the king's direction and approba-
tion, and thereupon had the first reading : and as
soon as it was read, the lord treasurer spake against
it, " as unfit to be received and to have the counte- The trea-
. . . surer and
" nance of another reading in the house, being a de- bishops op-
" sign against the protestant religion and in favour fheVrst 1
" of the papists," with many sharp reflections upon readin S'
those who had spoken for it ; and many of the bi-
shops spake to the same purpose, and urged many
weighty arguments against it. However it was
moved, " that since it was averred that it was
" with the king's privity, it would be a thing un-
" heard of to deny it a second reading :" and that
there might be no danger of a surprisal by its being
read in a thin house, it was ordered " that it should
" be read the second time" upon a day named "at ten
" of the clock in the morning ;" with which all were
satisfied.
In the mean time great pains were taken to per-
suade particular men to approve it : and some of
the bishops were sharply reprehended for opposing
the king's prerogative, with some intimation " that
" if they continued in that obstinacy they would a
a vvonld] should
346 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. repent it;" to which they made such answers as
in honesty and wisdom they ought to do, without
being shaken in their resolution. It was rather in-
sinuated than declared, " that the bill had been per-
" used," some said " drawn, by the chancellor," and
averred " that he was not against it :" which being
confidently reported, and believed or not believed as
he was more or less known to the persons present,
he thought himself obliged to make his own sense
known. And so on the day appointed for the se-
cond reading, with pain and difficulty he was in his
place in the house : and so after the second reading
The trea- of the bill, he was of course to propose the commit-
bL'hopTop- ment of it. Many of the bishops and others spake
fiercely against it, as a way to undermine religion ;
an( j ^he lord treasurer, with his usual weight of
words, shewed the ill consequence that must attend
it, and " that in the bottom it was a project to get
" money at the price of religion ; which he believed
" was not intended or known to the king, but only
" to those who had projected it, and, it may be, im-
" posed upon others who meant well. "
The lord privy seal, either upon the observation
of the countenance of the house or advertisement of
his friends b , or unwilling to venture his reputation
in the enterprise, had given over the game the first
Lord Ash- d a y 9 an( j nO w spake not at all : but the lord Ashley
ley speaks
for it. adhered firmly to his point, spake often and with
great sharpness of wit, and had a cadence in his
words and pronunciation that drew attention. He
said, " it was the king's misfortune that a matter of
" so great concernment to him, and such a preroga-
b friends} friend
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 347
" tive as it may be would be found to be inherent 1665.
" in him without any declaration of parliament,"
" should be supported only by such weak men as
. " himself, who served his majesty at a distance,
" whilst the great officers of the crown thought fit
" to oppose it ; which he more wondered at, because
" nobody knew more than they the king's unshake-
" able firmness in his religion, that had resisted and
" vanquished so many great temptations ; and there-
" fore he could not be thought unworthy of a
" greater trust with reference to it, than he would
" have by this bill. "
The chancellor, having not been present at theThechau-
former debate upon the first day, thought it fit to sp eaks
sit silent in this, till he found the house in some ex- again
pectation to hear his opinion : and 'then he stood up
and said, " that no man could say more, if it were
" necessary or pertinent, of the king's . constancy in
" his religion, and of his understanding the constitu-
" tion and foundation of the church of England,
" than he ; no man had been witness to more as-
" saults which he had sustained than he had been,
" and of many victories ; and therefore, if the ques-
" tion were how far he might be trusted in that
" point, he should make no scruple in declaring,
" that he thought him more worthy to be trusted
'* than any man alive. But there was nothing in
" that bill that could make that the question, which
" had confounded all notions of religion, and erected
"a chaos of policy to overthrow all religion and go-
" vernment : so that the question was not, whether
" the king were worthy of that trust, but whether
" that trust were worthy of the king. That it had
" been no new thing for kings to divest themselves
348 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
\
1665. " of many particular rights and powers, because
~~ " they were thereby exposed to more trouble and
" vexation, and so deputed that authority to others
" qualified by them c : and he thought it a very un-
" reasonable and unjust thing to commit such a
" trust to the king, which nobody could suppose he
" could execute himself, and yet must subject him
" to daily and hourly importunities, which must be
" so much the more uneasy to a nature of so great
" bounty and generosity, that nothing is so un-
" grateful to him as to be obliged to deny. "
And drops In the vehemence of this debate, the lord Ashley
some un- ,,-, in
guarded ex- having used some language that he knew reflected
upon him, the chancellor let fall some unwary ex-
pressions, which were turned to his reproach and re-
membered long after. When he insisted upon the
wildness and illimitedness in the bill, he said, "it
" was ship-money in religion, that nobody could
" know the end of, or where it would rest ; that if
" it were passed, Dr. Goffe or any other apostate
" from the church of England might be made a bi-
" shop or archbishop here, all oaths and statutes
" and subscriptions being dispensed with :" which
were thought two envious instances, and gave
his enemies opportunities to make glosses and re-
flections upon to his disadvantage. In this debate
it fell out that the duke of York appeared very
much against the bill ; which was imputed to the
chancellor, and served to " heap coals of fire upon
" his head. " In the end, very few having spoken
for it, though there were many who would have
consented to it, besides the catholic lords, it was
c them] him
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 349
agreed that there should be no question put for the 1665.
commitment ; which was the most civil way of re- ~~
jecting it, and left it to be no more called for.
The king was infinitely troubled at the ill sue- The king
cess of this bill, which he had been assured would with the
pass notwithstanding the opposition that was ex-
pected ; and it had produced one effect that was rer;
foreseen though not believed, in renewing the bit-
terness against the Roman catholics. And they,
who watched all occasions to perform those offices,
had now a large field to express their malice against
the chancellor and the treasurer, " whose pride only
" had disposed them to shew their power and credit
" in diverting the house from gratifying the king,
" to which they had been inclined ;" and his majesty
heard all that could be said against them without
any dislike. After two or three days he sent for
them both together into his closet, which made it
generally believed in the court, that he resolved to
take both their offices from them, and they did in
truth believe and expect it (1 : but there was never
any cause appeared after to think that it was in his
purpose. He spake to them of other business, with-
out taking the least notice of the other matter, and
dismissed them with a countenance less open than
he used to have towards them, and made it evident
that he had not the same thoughts of them he had
formerly.
And when the next day the chancellor went to
him alone, and was admitted into his cabinet, and
began to take notice " that he seemed to have dis-
" satisfaction in his looks towards him ;" the king, in
d it] Omitted in MS.
350 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. more choler thairhe had ever before seen him, told
~ him, " his looks were such as they ought to be ;
" that he was very much unsatisfied with him, and
" thought he had used him very ill ; that he had de-
" served better of him, and did not expect that he
" would have carried himself in that manner as he
" had done in the house of peers, having known his
" majesty's own opinion from himself, which it seem-
" ed was of no authority with him if it differed from
" his judgment, to which he would not submit
" against his reason. "
The other, with the confidence of an honest man,
entered upon the discourse of the matter, assured
him " the very proposing it had done his majesty
" much prejudice, and that they who were best af-
" fected to his service in both houses were much
" troubled and afflicted with it : and of those who
" advised him to it, one knew nothing of the con-
" stitution of England, and was not thought to wish
" well to the religion of it ; and the other was so
" well known to him, that nothing was more won-
" derful than that his majesty should take him for a
" safe counsellor. " He had recourse then again to the
matter, and used some arguments against it which
had not been urged before, and which seemed to
make impression. He heard all he said with pa-
tience, but seemed not to change his mind, and an-
swered ho more than " that it was no time to speak
" to the matter, which was now passed ; and if it
" had been unseasonably urged, he might still have
" carried himself otherwise than he had done ;" and
so spake of somewhat else.
His majesty did not withdraw any of his trust or
confidence from him in his business, and seemed to
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 351
have the same kindness for him : but from that time 1665.
he never had the same credit with him as he had ~
before. The lord Ashley got no ground, but sir
Harry Bennet very much, who, though he spake
very little in council, shewed his power out of it, by
persuading his majesty to recede from many resolu-
tions he had taken there. And afterwards, in all
the debates in council which were preparatory to
the war, and upon those particulars which have
been mentioned before, which concerned the justice
and policy that was to be observed, whatsoever was
offered by the chancellor or treasurer was never
considered. It was answer enough, " that they were
" enemies to the war;" which was true, as long as it
was in deliberation : but from the time it was re-
solved and remediless, none of them who promoted
it contributed any thing to the carrying it on pro-
portionably to what was done by the other two.
There was another and a greater mischief than And witu
hath been mentioned, that resulted from that un- shops.
happy debate ; . which was the prejudice and disad-
vantage that the bishops underwent by their so una-
nimous dislike of that bill. For from that time the
king never treated any of them with that respect as
he had done formerly, and often spake of them too
slightly ; which easily encouraged others not only
to mention their persons very negligently, but their
function and religion itself, as an invention to im-
pose upon the free judgments and understandings of
men. What was preached in the pulpit was com-
mented upon and derided in the chamber, and
preachers acted, and sermons vilified as laboured dis-
courses, which the preachers made only to shew
their own parts and wit, without any other design
352 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. than to be commended and preferred.
These grew
to be the subjects of the mirth and wit of the court ;
and so much license was e manifested in it, that gave
infinite scandal to those who observed it, and to those
who received the reports of it : and all serious and
prudent men took it as an ill presage, that whilst all
warlike preparations were made in abundance suit-
able to the occasion, there should so little prepara-
tion of spirit be for a war against an enemy, who
might possibly be without some of our virtues, but
assuredly was without any of our vices.
The plague There begun now to appear another enemy, much
breaks out. '
more formidable than the Dutch, and more difficult
to be struggled with ; which was the plague, that
brake out in the winter, and made such an early
progress in the spring, that though the weekly num-
bers did not rise high, and it appeared to be only in
the outskirts of the town, and in the most obscure
alleys, amongst the poorest people ; yet the ancient
men, who well remembered in what manner the last
great plague (which had been near forty years be-
fore) first brake out, and the progress it afterwards
made, foretold a terrible summer. And many of
them removed their families out of the city to coun-
try habitations ; when their neighbours laughed at
their providence, and thought they might have
stayed without danger: but they found shortly that
they had done wisely. In March it spread so much,
that the parliament was very willing to part : which
was likewise the more necessary, in regard that so
many of the members of the house of commons were
assigned to so many offices and employments which
e was] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 353
related to the war, and which required their imme- I6G5.
diate attendance. For though the fleet was not yt ~"
gone out, yet there were many prizes daily brought
in, besides the first seizure, which by this time was
adjudged d lawful prize; in all which great loss was
sustained by the license of officers as well as com-
mon men, and the absence of such as should restrain
and punish it : so that, as soon as the bill was passed
the houses for the good aid they had given the king,
and was ready for the royal assent, his majesty
passed it, and prorogued the parliament in April The parii
(which was in I665 e ) till September following; his l"Ji. ro ~
majesty declaring, " that if it pleased God to extin-
" guish or allay the fierceness of the plague," which
at that time raged more, " he should be glad to meet
" them then ; by which time they would judge by
" some success of the war, what was more to be
" done. But if that visitation increased, they should
" have notice by proclamation that they might not
" hazard themselves. "
The parliament being thus prorogued, there was The fleet
the same reason to hasten out the fleet; towards prepar
which the duke left nothing undone, which his un-
wearied industry and example could contribute to-
wards it f , being himself on board, and having got
all things necessary into his own ship that he cared
for. But he found that it was absolutely requisite
to put out to sea, though many things were wanting
in other ships, even of beer and other provision of
victual; not only to be before the enemy, but be-
cause % he saw it would be impossible, whilst the
ships were in port, to keep the seamen from going
d adjudged] adjusted f it] Omitted in MS.
* 1665] by error in MS. 55. B because] Omitted in MS.
VOL. II. A. a
354 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. on shore, by which they might bring the plague on
~~ bgard with them ; and there was already a suspicion
that the infection was got into one of the smaller
ships.
It hath been said before, that all things relating
to the fleet were upon the matter wholly governed
The duke by Mr. Coventry. It is very true, that the officers
ch of the navy constantly attended the duke together
those three sea-captains who have been named
b e f ore : \) U ^ from the time that the war was declared,
his highness consulted daily, for his own informa-
tion and instruction, with sir John Lawson and sir
George Ayscue and sir William Pen, all men of
great experience, and who had commanded in seve-
ral battles. Upon the advice of these men the duke
always made his estimates and all propositions to
the king. There was somewhat of rivalship between
the two last, because they had been in equal com-
mand : therefore the duke took sir William Pen
into his own ship, and made him captain of it ;
which was a great trust, and a very honourable com-
mand, that exempted him from receiving any or-
ders but from the duke, and so extinguished the
other emulation, the other two being flag-officers
and to command several squadrons.
In all conferences with these men Mr. Coventry's
presence and attendance was necessary, both to re-
duce all things into writing which were agreed upon,
and to be able to put the duke in mind of what he
was to do. Lawson was the man of whose judg-
ment the duke had the best esteem; and he was
in truth, of a man of that breeding, (for he was a
perfect tarpawlin,) a very extraordinary person ;
he understood his profession incomparably well,
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 355
spake clearly and pertinently, but not pertinaciously 1CG5.
enough when he was contradicted. Ayscue was a
gentleman, but had kept ill company too long, which
had blunted his understanding, if it had been ever
sharp : he was of few words, yet spake to the pur-
pose and to be easily understood. Pen, who had
much the worst understanding, had a great mind to
appear better bred, and to speak like a gentleman ;
he had got many good words, which he used at ad-
venture ; he was a formal man, and spake very lei-
surely but much, and left the matter more intricate
and perplexed than he found it. He was entirely
governed by Mr/Coventry, who still learned enough
of him to offer any thing rationally in the debate, or
to cross what was not agreeable to his own fancy,
by which he was still swayed out of the pride and
perverseness of his will.
Upon debate and conference with these men, the
duke brought propositions to the king reduced into
writing by Mr. Coventry ; and the king commonly
consulted them with the lord treasurer in his h pre-
sence, the propositions being commonly for increase
of the expense, which Mr. Coventry was solicitous
by all the ways possible to contrive. To those con-
sultations the duke always brought the sea-officers,
and Mr. Coventry, who spake much more than they,
to explain especially what sir William Pen said, who
took upon himself to speak most, and often what
the others had never thought though they durst not
contradict ; and sir John Lawson often complained,
" that Mr. Coventry put that in writing which had
" never been proposed by them, and would continue
h his] the
A a 2
356 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " disputing it till they yielded. " Every conference
~~ raised the charge very much ; and what they pro-
posed yesterday as enough was to-day made twice as
much ; if they proposed six fire-ships to be provided,
within two or three days they demanded twelve :
so there could be no possible computation of the
charge.
The duke By this means the fleet that was now ready to
LI. put to sea amounted to fourscore sail ; and the king
willingly consented, upon the reasons the duke pre-
sented to him, that they should set sail as soon as
was possible. And before the end of April the duke
was with the whole fleet at sea, and visited the coast
of Holland, and took many ships in their view, their
Many no- fleet being not yet in readiness. Many noblemen,
blemen go IO-T-* i i -i T^
as voiun- the earl of Peterborough, the lord viscount Ferrers,
and others, with many gentlemen of quality, went
as volunteers, and were distributed into the several
ships with much countenance by the duke, and as
many taken into his own ship as could be done with
convenience.
The duke of Buckingham had from the first men-
tion of the war, which he promoted all he could, de-
clared " that he would make one in it :" and when it
was declared, he desired to have the command of a
ship, which the duke positively denied to give him,
except the king commanded it, (and his majesty
was content to refer that, as he did the nomination
of all the other officers, to his brother,) and did not
think fit that a man, of what quality soever, who
had never been at sea, should his first voyage have
the command of any considerable ship, (and a small
one had not been for his honour ;) at which he was
much troubled. Yet his friends told him that he
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 357
was too far engaged, to stay at home when his royal 1 665.
highness ventured his own person : and thereupon ~
he resolved to go a volunteer, and put himself on
board a flag-ship, the captain whereof was in his fa-
vour. And then he desired, " that in respect of his
" quality, and his being a privy counsellor, he might
" be present in all councils of war. " The duke
thought this not reasonable, and would not make a
new precedent. There were many of the ancient
nobility, earls and barons, who were then on board
as volunteers ; and if the consideration of quality
might entitle them to be present in council, all or-
ders would be broken, there being none called but
flag-officers : and therefore his royal highness posi-
tively refused to gratify him in that point ; which
the duke of Buckingham thought (it being enough
known that the duke had neither esteem or kind-
ness for him) to be such a personal disobligation, that
would well excuse him for declining the enterprise.
And pretending that he did appeal to the king in
point of light, he left the fleet, and returned to the
shore to complain. And we return back too to the
view of other particulars.
There were two persons, whom the king and his Some new
brother did desire to make remarkable by some pe
extraordinary favours : one of which was equally
grateful to both, sir Charles Berkley, who had been sir Charles
lately created an Irish viscount by the name of lord
Fitzharding, the old and true surname of the fa-
mily; upon whom the king had, for reasons only
known to himself, set his affection so much, that he
had never denied any thing he asked for himself or
for any body else, and was well content that he
should be looked upon as his favourite. He had
A a 3
358 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. been long thought so to the duke, who was willing
~~ to promote any thing to his advantage : and the
king had deferred those instances only till the par-
liament should be prorogued, lest it should raise the
appetites of others to make suits, which he had hi-
therto defended himself from, by declaring he would
make no more lords. But the parliament was no
sooner prorogued, than it was resolved to be put in
execution : and when it was to be done, the chan-
cellor had the honour to be present alone with the
king and duke, when it seemed to be first thought
of. And when the duke proposed it as a suit to the
king, that he would make the lord Fitzharding an
earl, extolling his courage and affection to the king ;
he was pleased with the motion to that degree, that
he extolled him with praises which could be applied
to few men : and it was quickly resolved that he
should be an earl of England, and a title was as soon
found out ; and so he was created earl of Falmouth,
before he had one foot of land in the world.
And to gratify the king for this favour, the duke
likewise proposed that the king would make sir
And sir H. Harry Bennet a lord, whom all the world knew he
Arlington! did not care for ; which was as willingly granted :
and he had no more estate than the other, and could
not so easily find a title for his barony. But be-
cause he had no mind to retain his own name, which
was no good one, his first warrant was to be created
Cheney, which was an ancient barony expired, and
to which family he had not the least relation : and
for some days upon the signing the warrant he was
called lord Cheney, until a gentleman of the best
1 he] who
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 359
quality in Buckinghamshire, who, though he had no 1665.
title to the barony, was yet of the same family, and~~
inherited most part of the estate, which was very
considerable, and was married to a daughter of the
duke of Newcastle, heard of it, and made haste to
stop it. He went first to sir Harry Bennet himself,
and desired him " not to affect a title to which he
" had no relation ; and to which though he could
" not pretend of direct right, yet he was not so k
" obscure but that himself or a son of his might
" hereafter be thought worthy of it by the crown ;
" and in that respect it would be some trouble to
" him to see it vested in the family of a stranger. "
The secretary did not give him so civil an answer
as he expected, having no knowledge of the gentle-
man. Yet shortly after, upon information of his
condition and quality, (as he was in all respects very
worthy of consideration,) the patent being not yet
prepared, he was contented to take the title of a
little farm that had belonged to his father and was
sold by him, and now in . the possession of another
private person ; and so was created lord Arlington,
the proper and true name of the place being Har-
lington, a little* village between London and Ux~
bridge.
The king took the occasion to make these two Mr. Fre*.
noblemen from an obligation that lay upon him to created ior<i
confer two honours at the same time ; the one upon ^
Mr. Frescheville, of a very ancient family in Derby-
shire, and a fair estate, who had been always bred
in the court, a menial servant of the last king, and
had served him in the head of a troop of horse raised
k so] Not in MS.
A a 4
360 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. at his own charge^ in the war, and whom his late
~ majesty had promised to make a baron.
And Mr. The other was Mr. Richard Amndel of Trerice
in Cornwall, a gentleman as well known by what
el ne na d done and suffered in the late time, as by the
eminency of his family, and the fortune he was still
master of after the great depredation of the time.
John Arundel, his father, was of the best interest
and estate of the gentlemen of Cornwall: and in
the beginning of the troubles, when the lord Hopton
* tne otner gentlemen with him were forced to
i>>y- retire into Cornwall, he and his friends supported
them, and gave the first turn and opposition to the
Current of the parliament's usurpation; and to them,
their courage and activity, all the success that the
lord Hopton had afterwards was justly to be im-
puted as to the first rise. The old gentleman was
then above seventy years of age, and infirm ; but all
his sons he engaged in the war : the two eldest
were eminent officers, both members of the house of
commons, and the more zealous soldiers by having
been witnesses of the naughty proceedings of those
who had raised the rebellion. The eldest was
killed in the head of his troop, charging and driving
back a bold sally that was made out of Plymouth
when it was besieged : and this other gentleman of
whom we now speak, and who was then the younger
brother, was an excellent colonel of foot to the end
of the war.
When sir Nicholas Slanning, who was governor of
Pendennis, lost his life bravely in the siege of Bris-
tol, the king knew not into what hands to commit
that important place so securely, as by sending a
commission to old John Arundel of Trerice to com-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 361
mand, well knowing that it must be preserved prin- 1 665.
cipally by his interest ; and in respect of his age ~
joined his eldest son with him : and after his death
he added the younger brother to the command, of
whom we are speaking, who was in truth then
looked upon as the most powerful person in that
county.
When the king, then prince, was compelled, after
almost the whole west was lost, to retire into Corn-
wall, he remained in Pendennis castle, and from
thence made his first embarkation to Scilly : and at
parting, out of a princely sense of the affection and
service of that family, he took the old gentleman
aside, and in the presence of his son wished him "to
" defend the place as long as he could, because re-
" lief might come, of which there was some hope
" from abroad;" and promised him, "if he lived to
" come back into England, he would make him a
" baron ; and if he were dead, he would make it
" good to his son. " The old man behaved him
bravely to his death, having all his estate taken
from him ; and his son remained as eminently faith-
ful, and had as deep marks of it as any man : so
that at the king's return, who never forgat his pro-
mise, he might have received the effect of it in the
first creation, if he had desired it ; but he chose ra-
ther to recover the bruises his fortune had endured
by seizures and sequestrations, before he would em-
bark him in a condition that must presently raise
his expense in his way of living. And as soon as
he found himself at ease in that respect, he got a
friend to inform the king, " that he was ready to re-
" ceive his bounty. "
And his majesty, being under these two obliga-
362 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. tions, was willing to take the same opportunity to
"prefer the two other persons he loved so well. But
at the same time that he declared his resolution for
the last two, (but what concerned the others had
been long known and expected,) his majesty re-
flected upon the number of the house of peers,
which was in many respects found grievous, and de-
clared to his brother and the chancellor, who were
only present, "that no importunity should prevail
" with him to make any more lords in many years,
" and till the present number should be lessened ;"
in which resolution the duke willingly concurred,
and protested " that he would never more importune
" him in that point. " The reason of mentioning
this declaration and resolution will appear here-
after. This creation was no sooner over, than the
new earl of Falmouth went with the duke to sea :
for though his relation was now immediately to the
king and near his person, yet he thought himself
obliged not to be from the duke when he was to be
engaged in so much danger ; and he was confessed
by all men to abound in a most fearless cou-
rage.
A parti- It will not be unseasonable in this place to take a
of 6 *~ view of an act of state that passed about this time,
pa- an( ^ which afterwards administered matter of re-
tent, proach against the chancellor, and was made use of
by his enemies as an evidence of his corruption ; for
the better understanding whereof, it will be neces-
sary to begin the relation from the original ground
of the counsel. About the first Christmas after the
king's happy return into England, the chancellor,
treasurer, privy seal, and the two chief justices
(being the persons appointed by the statute for that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 363
purpose) met together to set the prices upon the 1665.
several sorts of wines ; and were attended, according
to custom, by the company of vintners, and the
chief merchants in the city who traded in that com-
modity. And being first to limit the merchants to
a reasonable rate, before they could prescribe any
price to the vintners upon the retail, they found, by
the best inquiry they could make, that the first
prices beyond the seas which the merchants paid for
their wines were so excessive, that the retail could
not be brought within any compass ; and that since
the beginning of the troubles the price of wines in
general was exceedingly increased, and particularly
that of the Canaries was almost double to what it
had been in the year 1640.
The chancellor knew very well, by the corre-
spondence he had held in the Canaries, (during the
time that he had served his majesty as his ambas-
sador in Spain,) that the whole trade for the Canary
wine was driven solely by the English, and the com-
modity entirely vended in the king's dominions, all
Christendom beside not spending any quantity of
that wine : and thereupon he asked the merchants
" whether what he had reported was not true, and
" what would be the way to remedy that mis-
chief. "
They all confessed it to be very true, and " that
" it was a great reproach to the nation to be so
" much imposed upon in a trade that they might
" govern themselves : and that the unreasonable
" prices of the wine were not the greatest prejudice
" that was befallen that trade. That before the
" troubles they had been so far from employing any
" stock of money for the support of that traffick, that
364 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " they used to send their ships fully laden with all
~" " commodities thither, which yielded very good
" markets, being sent from thence into the West
" Indies with their Plate fleets ; and that the very
" pipe-staves which they carried did very near sup-
" ply the value of their wine, so that they brought
" home the proceed of their commodities either in
" pieces of eight, or such other merchandizes as had
" been brought thither from the Indies, and upon
" which they received great profit. OQ the con-
" trary, that the trade was now wholly driven by
" ready money ; that the commodities they send thi-
" ther are not taken off, except at their own prices,
" so that they have for the late years sent their ves-
" sels empty thither, except only with some few
" pipe-staves, which by the destruction in Ireland
" they could not send in any great proportion ; and
" that their ships return from thence with no other
" lading but those wines, which they trade for in
" ready money, either by pieces of eight sent in
" their ships from hence, or by bills of exchange
" charged upon some known merchants in Spain.
" That over and above these disadvantages, the
" Spaniards in those islands had of late imposed
" new duties upon the wine, and laid other imposi-
" tions upon the merchants than the English nation
" had been ever accustomed to. " They said, " all
" these inconveniences proceeded from the immo-
" derate appetite this nation hath for that sort of
" wine, and therefore they take from them as much
" as they can make ; and from our own disorder
" and irregularity in buying them, and contending
" who shall get the most, and so raising the price
" upon one another, and making the Spaniards
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 365
themselves the judges what the merchants shall 1G65.
" pay.
The lords, upon consultation between themselves,
found the matter too hard for them, and that the
reformation of so much evil must be made by de-
grees, and upon a representation of the whole, with
the difficulties which attended it, to the king and
his privy-council, whose wisdoms only could provide
a remedy proportionable to the mischiefs. For the
present, as they resolved not to raise the prices at
which wine was at that time bought and sold, (which
they believed, how reasonably soever it might be
done, would yet be very unpopular,) so they thought
it not just to draw down and abate those prices,
since it appeared to them that the wines cost more
in proportion upon the places of their growth. They
declared therefore to the merchants and to the vint-
ners, " that though for the present they would per-
" mit the same prices to continue for the next year,
" which they had been sold for the present year,"
and which indeed were confirmed by the late act of
parliament, " they should hereafter take care what
" markets they made ; for that they were resolved
" the next year to make the prices much lower botli
" to the merchant and to the vintner :" and so, upon
the report made by the lords of the whole matter to
the king in council, and of what they thought fit to
be done for the present, a proclamation was pub-
lished accordingly.
The next year both the merchants and vintners
were very earnest suitors to the lords at their ac-
customed meeting, that greater prices might be al-
lowed, or at least that the same might be continued ;
making it very evident, that their wines cost them
366 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. more than they had done the year before. Upon the
"debate the Canary merchants were much divided.
Some of them insisted very importunately to have
the price raised, " because it was notorious that
" they had paid much more than formerly, by rea-
" son," as they alleged, " that the vintage had not
" yielded near the proportion that it used to do. "
Others, though confessing the increase of price, yet
pretended a more public spirit and the necessity of a
reformation : and therefore they pressed as earn-
estly, " that the price might not be raised, but that
" they might be permitted to take what they had
" done already for this year. " It was quickly dis-
covered whence this moderation proceeded ; and
that the last proposers had a great quantity of wine
upon their hands, which had been provided the year
before, and so might well be sold at the same price ,
but that the former had no old wine left, but were
supplied with a full provision of new, which had
cost them so much dearer. Both the one and the
other desired the lords, " that whatever resolution
" they took for the present, a clause might be in-
" serted in the proclamation, that, the next year
" which followed, Canary wine should not be sold
" for above four and twenty pounds the pipe, and
" that every year after it should be drawn lower,"
as it might well be, it having been sold in the year
1640 for twenty pounds the pipe; though, in the
year when his majesty returned, it had been per-
mitted to be sold at six and thirty pounds the pipe.
" Such a clause," they said, " would give notice to
" the islanders, and oblige them to sell their wines
. " at more reasonable rates, and would render the
" merchants unexcusable if they should give greater. "
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 367
Notwithstanding all their allegations, the lords re-
membered what they had declared to them the last
year, which was as fair a warning as any thing they
could now say would be. And accordingly they set
lower prices upon all wines for the year to come
than had been allowed the last, as the most effec-
tual warning for the future : which was thought a
very rigorous proceeding ; but being reported to the
king and council, what they had done was allowed
and confirmed, and his majesty was well contented
that such a clause -as they had proposed should be
inserted in the proclamation ; which was accordingly
done.
The year following, when the lords met again
according to custom, which is, as hath been said,
about Christmas, they found not the least reforma-
tion ; on the contrary, that the Canary merchants
had paid dearer than ever, which made them all
more solicitous to have the price raised, and the
vintners as importunate for their retail. And in-
deed the vintners seemed to be in a much worse
condition than the merchants. And they made it
appear, " that they were often compelled to pay
" higher prices to the merchant than were l imposed
" by their lordships ; without which they could get
" no good wine, and so must give over their keep-
" ing house : that the penalty upon the merchant
" was very small, being not above forty shillings a
" pipe, and the crime not easy to be discovered, as
" was evident by there not having been one mer-
" chant questioned in many years for that common
" transgression ; whereas on the vintner's part the
1 were] was
368 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " penalty was very severe, and easily discovered by
~ " any man who went to a tavern and would be an
" informer, and that most of the vintners in Lon-
" don were at that very time sued in the exchequer
" upon those very penalties, which, if exacted, must
" produce their ruin. "
The merchants excused themselves for their pre-
sent pretence, and for their having given more for
their wines than was lawful for them to have done
by their own desire : " that they had done their
" best, and that the greatest traders amongst them
" had consented between themselves not to suffer
" the prices to be raised upon them ; but that they
" found it ineffectual, and that though they should
" give over their trades, it would produce no refor-
" mation. That the trade was open to all adven-
" turers, and that there had been many ships sent
" from England in that very year by Jews, and
" people of several trades, who had never been be-
" fore known to trade to the Canaries : insomuch
" as when they who had been long bred up to the
" trade, and had been long factors in those islands,
" sent their ships thither, they found other English
" ships there, and the wines bought at a greater
" price than they had allowed their factors to give ;
" so that they must either have their ships return
" empty and unladen, or take the wines at the prices
" other men gave. That they had chosen the latter, as
" well to continue their trade, as to draw home some
" part of the stock they had in that country. That
" they could imagine but two ways to reform that
" excess : the one, by putting the trade into such a
" method and m under such rules, as might restrain
ra and"! as in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 369
" that license, and not leave it in the power of per- 1(565.
" sons who never had been in the trade to give the ~~
" law to it ; and by this means the islanders would
" find it necessary to set reasonable prices . upon
" their commodities, and to yield such other advan-
" tages and privileges to the merchants as they had
" heretofore enjoyed. The other, that the king
" would by his proclamation prohibit the importa-
" tion of any Canary wines into his dominions : and
" hereby he would quickly receive such propositions
" from Spain, as would put it into his own power to
" make the reformation ; otherwise the islanders had
" been persuaded that England could not live with-
" out their wines. "
The lords were resolved, notwithstanding all that
had been said, that they would execute the former
proclamation, and reduce the prices of wines to
what had been then determined : and after they
had given a full account of the whole business to
the king in council, the resolution was approved,
and a proclamation was issued out to that purpose.
The merchants and vintners applied themselves to
his majesty, and to many of the lords of the council,
and thought they had encouragement enough to
hope for a relief in an appeal to the king and coun-
cil by petition ; and they had thereupon a day as-
signed to be heard. Many of the lords thought it
very hard, if not unjust, to compel men to sell
cheaper than they bought, which was the truth of
the case, and which must oblige both merchants and
vintners to sophisticate and corrupt their wines to
preserve their estates ; which might probably turn
to the great damage of the whole kingdom, in pro-
ducing sickness and diseases : and this charitable
VOL. II. B b
370 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. and generous consideration prevailed with the major
~ part of the lords to be well contented, and to wish
that some indulgence might be exercised towards
them. On the contrary, when the king had well
weighed the whole proceedings, and with trouble
and indignation considered the obstinate vice of the
nation, which made it ridiculous to all the world, he
expressed a positive resolution to vindicate himself
and his government from this reproach. He thought
the adhering firmly to the prices which had been re-
solved upon by the lords would be the best preface
to this reformation, though it might be attended
with particular damage to particular persons, who
had yet less cause to complain, because their own
advice had been followed. And thereupon his ma-
jesty declared, " that he would make no alteration ;"
but withal told them, " that if they could make any
" proposition to him for the better regulation of the
" trade," (for they had themselves mentioned a char-
ter,) " he would graciously receive any propositions
" they would make, and gratify them in what was
" just :" and so, notwithstanding all attempts which
were often repeated, the price set by the lords was
ratified for the year following.
The pnnci- Shortly after, many of the merchants who had al-
pal Canary . . . . . . . . . i
merchants ways traded to the Cananes did petition the king,
^ " that they might be incorporated ; and that none
" might be permitted to trade thither but such who
" would be of that corporation, and observe the con-
" stitutions which should be made by them :" which
petition was presented to the king at the council-
board ; and being read, his majesty (according to
his custom in matters of difficulty and public con-
cernment) directed it to be read again on that
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 371
day month, at which time his majesty presumed 1665.
that all who would oppose it would present their"
reasons and objections against it, which he desired
to hear. At the day appointed, though there was
no petition against it, yet it was observed that there
were many of the most eminent merchants of that
trade, whose names were not to the petition, nor who"
otherwise appeared desirous to have a charter grant-
ed : which his majesty considering, he put off the de-
bate for another week, and directed " that the other
" merchants by name should be desired to be present,
" and to give their advice freely upon the point. "
And there was at that day a very full appearance ;
when his majesty directed, " that a relation should
" be made to them of the whole progress that had
" been in the business, and the damage and disho-
" nour the nation underwent in the carrying on
" that trade : that many merchants had presented a
" petition to him, containing an expedient to bring
" it into better order ; but finding them not to ap-
" pear in it, and being informed that they were best
" acquainted with and most engaged in that trade,
" he had sent for them to know their opinion, whe-
" ther they thought what was proposed to be rea-
" sonable and fit to be granted, and if so, why they
" did not concern themselves in it. " They an-
swered, "that the reason why they had not ap-
" peared in it was, because they thought they
" should be losers by it, and therefore were not soli-
" citous to procure a grant from his majesty to their
" own damage ;" and so enlarged " upon the nature
" of the trade, their long experience in it, and the
" greatness of their stock, which they should not be
" who] Not in MS.
B b2
372 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665 - " allowed to continue under any regulation. But
" as they did not think themselves in a situation
" to be solicitous for a change, so they could not
" deny, being required by his majesty to speak the
" truth, but that the proposition that was made was
" for the public good and benefit of the kingdom,
" and that they conceived no other way to redeem
" that trade, and the nation from the insolence
" which the Spaniard exercised upon them;" imply-
ing, " that if his majesty would command them,
" they would likewise, concur and join in the carry-
ing " ing on the service. " To which his majesty giving
thepetu them gracious encouragement, they all seemed to
depart of one mind ; and his majesty remained con-
firmed in the former opinion he had of it.
But there remained yet an objection, which was
principally insisted on by the ministers of the re-
venue, who alleged very reasonably, "that this new-
" modelling the trade must produce some alteration,
" and would meet some opposition from the Spa-
" niard, which for the time would lessen the customs
" and entitle the farmers to a defalcation. " The
petition was therefore referred to the farmers of the
customs, who were to attend the next council-day :
and being then called, they did acknowledge, " that
" the design proposed would prove very profitable
" to the kingdom in many respects," upon which
they enlarged, " and that in the end it would not be
" attended with any diminutions of the customs ;
" but for the present," they said, " they could not
" but expect, that the obstinacy and contradiction of
" the Spaniard would give such a stop to trade, at
in a situation] Not in MS.
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 373
" least for one year, that if his majesty did not reim- 1665.
" burse them for what should fall short in the re-~
" ceipt of custom, they must look to be very great
" losers. " The merchants on the other hand offered
" to be bound, that if they did not the first year
" bring in as much as had been usually entered,
" they would make good what should be wanting to
" the farmers upon a medium. " Whereupon his
majesty himself declared, " that he would not, for a
" small damage to himself, hinder the kingdom
" from enjoying so great a benefit:" and he com-
manded his solicitor general, who then attended the
board, " to prepare such a charter as might provide
" for all those good ends which were desired in the
" petition," and which had been so largely debated ;
and it was notorious, that there had never been
a greater concurrence of the board in any direc-
tion.
Many months passed before the charter was pre-
pared ; in which time there was never the least new
objection made against it, nor was it known that
any man was unsatisfied with it. After it was en-
grossed and had passed the king's hand, it was
brought to the great seal ; and there the lord mayor The city of
of London and the court of aldermen had entered
caveat to stop the passing of it. The chancellor, ac-
cording to course, appointed a time when he would
hear all parties. The city alleged an order made a
year or two before by the king in council, upon a
complaint then exhibited by the court of aldermen
against the Turkey company and other corporations,
" in which," they said, " there were very many mer-
" chants of the best trade and of the greatest estates
" in the city, who would never take out their free-
BbS
374 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1665. " dom, and so refused to bear any charge or office
"" " in it, to the very great prejudice and dishonour of
" the city and of the government thereof; since
" they were thereby compelled to call inferior ci-
" tizens to be aldermen, before they had estates to
. " bear the charge of it, whilst the gravest and
" the richest men, who were most fit, could not be
" obliged to accept of it, because they were not free-
" men. " The persons concerned, which were indeed
a great number of very valuable and substantial
men and of great estates, answered, " that they had
" traded very many years without finding any rea-
" son to take out their freedom, which they might
" do or not do as they thought best for themselves ;
" that they had always paid scot and lot in the se-
" veral parishes where they lived with the highest of
" the inhabitants, and were taxed the more because
" they had not taken out their freedom, they who
" taxed them being always freemen ; that they
" were grown old now, and had no mind to become
" young freemen, but would rather give over their
" trade, and retire into the country where they had
" estates. "
Besides the rules which the king gave upon the
difference then in question, he was pleased to de-
clare, and appointed it to be entered as an order in
the council-book, "that care should be taken, that
" in all charters which he should hereafter renew or
" grant to any companies or corporations in the city
" of London, they should first make themselves free-
" men of the city ; by which they might be liable
" to the charges of it, as other citizens are. " They
said, " that there were many of this company that
" was now to be incorporated who were not free-
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 375
" men :" and therefore the lord mayor and court of J66. 0.
aldermen desired the benefit of the king's order,"
which was read.
The merchants confessed, "that many of them
" were not freemen, and resolved not to be :" they
said, " they had never heard of this order, and were
" sorry that they had spent so much money to no
" purpose. " The chancellor declared to them, " that The
" he could not seal their charter till they had com- fuses to
" plied with the king's determination, and given 86
" court of aldermen satisfaction :" and they .
had satisfied
seemed as positive that they would rather be with- thecit y-
out their charter, than they would submit to the
other inconveniences : and so they departed. But
after some days' deliberation and consultation be-
tween themselves, and when they found that there
was no possibility to procure a dispensation from
that order, they treated with the city, and agreed
with them in the preparing a clause to be inserted
in their charter, by which they were obliged in so
many years to become freemen ; which clause,
being approved by all parties, was in the king's pre-
sence entered in the bill that his majesty had
signed, and being afterwards added to the engross-
ment, it was again thus reformed and sent to the
great seal, and presented to the chancellor to be
sealed.
There were by this time several new caveats en-
tered against it at the seal ; all which the chancellor
heard, and settled every one of them to the joint sa-
tisfaction of all parties, and all caveats were with-
drawn. There was then a rumour, that there
would be some motions made against it in the house
of commons : and some parliament-men, who serv-
B b 4
376 CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF
1 665. ed for the western boroughs, came to the chancellor,
~ and desired him " that he would defer the sealing it
" for some days till they might be heard, since it
" would undo their western trade ; and," they said,
" they resolved to move the house of commons to
" put a stop to it. " The chancellor informed them
of the whole progress it had passed, and told them,
" he believed that they would hardly be able to
"offer any good reasons against it:" however,
since it was then well known that the parliament
would be prorogued within ten or twelve days, he
said " he would suspend the sealing it till then, to
" the elid that they might offer any objections
" against it there or any where else. " But though
the parliament sat longer than it was then con-
ceived it would have done, there was no mention or
notice taken of it : and after the prorogation no ap-
plication was further made for the stopping it, and
the merchants pressed very importunately that it
might be sealed, alleging with reason " that the de-
" ferring it so long had been very much to their
" prejudice. " Whereupon the chancellor conceived
that it would not consist with his duty to delay it
longer, and so affixed the great seal to it.
The company then chose a governor and other
officers according to their charter, and made such
orders and by-laws as they thought fit for the carry-
ing on and advancement of their trade, which they
might alter when they thought convenient ; and for
the present they resolved upon a joint stock, and
assigned so many shares to each particular man.
Somediffe- _ 5 . . / ,. . , .
In this composition and distribution there fell out
some difference between themselves, which could
e taken n otice of abroad : and even some of
EDWARD EARL OF CLARENDON. 377
them, who first petitioned and were most solicitous 1655.
to procure the charter, did what they could to hin-
der the effect of it ; sent privately to their factors
at the Canaries, " to oppose any orders that should
" be sent from the governor and the company, and
" that they should do all they could to incense the
" Spaniards against the charter," and bade them
promise " that all their wine should be taken off in
"spite of the corporation.
