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God keep us from these long journeys and absence,
which make misunderstandings and give advantage
to untruth, and God ever prosper and preserve your
lordship.

Your lordship's true and devoted friend and servant,
FR. BACON, C. S.

Gorhambury, Aug. 23, 1617.

Stephens's CLXXXVI. A memorial for

second col

p. 58.

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lection, ALTHOUGH I doubt not but your majesty's own memory and care of your affairs will put you in mind of all things convenient against you shall meet with your council, yet some particulars I thought it not unfit to represent to your majesty; because they passed the labour of your council.

I. Some time before your departure, here was delivered unto you by the officers of your exchequer a computation of your revenue and expense, wherein was expressed that your revenue ordinary was not only equal to your expense, but did somewhat exceed it, though not much.

In this point, because the half year will now be expired at Michaelmas, it shall be fit, that your majesty call to account, whether that equality hath held for this half year; and if not, what the causes have been, and whether the course prescribed hath been kept, that the ordinary expense hath been borne out of the ordinary revenue, and the extraordinary only out of such money as hath come in by extraordinary means, or else your estate cannot clearly appear.

II. To maintain this equality, and to cause your majesty's state to subsist in some reasonable manner till farther supply might be had, it was found to be necessary that 200,000l. of your majesty's most pregnant and pressing debts should be discharged; and after consideration of the means how to do that, two ways were resolved on. One that 100,000/. should be discharged to the farmers of your customs by 25,000!. yearly, they having for their security power to defalke so much of their rent in their own hands: but because if that

should be defalked, then your ordinary should want so much, it was agreed that the farmers should be paid the 25,000l. yearly in the sale of woods.

In this point it is fit for your majesty to be informed what hath been done, and whether order hath been taken with the farmers for it, and what debts were assigned to them so to discharge; for of the particulars of that course I never heard yet.

And because it is apparent that the woodfalls this year do not amount to half that sum of 25,000l. your majesty is to give charge that consideration be had how the same shall be supplied by some other extraordinary for the present year, or else here will follow a fracture of the whole assignments.

Item, Your majesty may please to call for information how that money raised upon the woods is employed, so much is already received, and to be wary that no part hereof be suffered to go for extraordinaries, but to be employed only for the use for which it is assigned, or else a greater rupture will follow in your assignments. Item, A special consideration is to be had what course shall be taken for the rest of the years with the wood sales for supply of this 25,000l. yearly. III. The other hundred thousand pounds was agreed to be borrowed, and an allotment made by my lords of the council at the table, how the same should be employed, and for what special services, whereof I deliver to you majesty herewith a copy.

In which point it may please your majesty to cause yourself to be informed how that allotment hath been observed, and because it is likely that a good part of it hath gone towards the charges of this your journey to Scotland, at least so it is paid, your majesty is to call for the particulars of that charge, that you may see how much of that hundred thousand it taketh up.

And then consideration is to be had how it may be supplied with some extraordinary comings in, as namely the moneys to come from the merchant-adventurers, that the same be allotted to none other use, but to per

Stephens's

first collection, p. 217.

form this allotment, that so the foundation laid may be maintained, or else all will be to seek; and if there be any other extraordinary means to come to your majesty, that they may be reserved to that use.

And because care must be had to keep your credit in London, for this money borrowed, your majesty may please to call for information what is done in the matter of the forests, and what sum, and in what reasonable time, is like to be made thereof.

The extraordinaries which it is like will be alleged for this year:

Your majesty's journey into Scotland.

The lord Hay's employment into France.

The lord Roos into Spain.

The baron de Tour extraordinary from France.
Sir John Bennet to the Archduke.

The enlarging your park at Theobald's.

Sir John Digby's sending into Spain.

Of all which when your majesty hath seen an estimate what they amount unto, and what money hath been already delivered towards them, which I fear will fall to be out of the monies borrowed at London; then it is to be considered what extraordinaries are any ways to come in, which may supply these extraordinaries laid out, and be employed for the uses for which the monies borrowed were intended.

CLXXXVII. To the Earl of BUCKINGHAM.

My ever best Lord, now better than yourself, YOUR lordship's pen or rather pencil hath portrayed towards me such magnanimity and nobleness and true kindness, as methinketh I see the image of some ancient virtue, and not any thing of these times. It is the line of my life, and not the lines of my letter, that must express my thankfulness: wherein if I fail, then God fail me, and make me as miserable as I think myself at this time happy by this reviver, through his majesty's singular clemency, and your incomparable love

and favour. God preserve you, prosper you, and reward you for your kindness to

Your raised and infinitely obliged friend and servant,

Sept. 22, 1617.

FR. BACON, C. S.

CLXXXVIII. To the Earl of BUCKINGHAM.
My very good Lord,

I SEND your lordship the certificate touching the
inrolment of apprentices. We can find no ground for it
by law. Myself shall ever be ready to further things
that your lordship commendeth; but where the mat-
ter will not bear it, your lordship, I know, will think
not the worse, but the better of me, if I signify the
true state of things to your lordship; resting ever
Your lordship's true friend and devoted servant,
FR. BACON, C. S.

York-house, October 29, 1617.

The Certificate.

ACCORDING to his majesty's command signified by your lordship's letters, we have advisedly considered of the petition touching the inrolment of apprentices' indentures, and heard the petitioners' counsel, and do find as followeth:

1. That the act of parliament 5 Eliz. doth not warrant the erecting of an office to inrol such indentures, in cities, towns corporate, or market towns; but if any such inrolment should be, it must be by the officers there, who are assigned to perform sundry other things touching apprentices and servants.

2. That in country villages, for which the suit carries most colour, we cannot give the suitors hope, that any profit will be there made, warrantable by law.

Thus we have according to our duties, certified our opinions of this petition, submitting the same nevertheless to his majesty's great wisdom; and rest

At your lordship's command,

FR. BACON, C. S. H. MONTAGUE, THO. COVENTRY. Oct. 25, 1617.

Stephens's first collection, p. 217.

Stephens's first collec

tion, p. 219.

CLXXXIX. To the Earl of BUCKINGHAM.
My very good Lord,

THE liking which his majesty hath of our proceed-
ing concerning his household, telleth me that his ma-
jesty cannot but dislike the declining and tergiversa-
tion of the inferior officers; which by this time he
understandeth.

There be but four kinds of retrenchments.

1. The union of tables. 2. The putting down of tables. 3. The abatement of dishes to tables. 4. The cutting off new diets and allowance lately raised; and yet perhaps such as are more necessary than some of the old.

In my opinion, the first is the best and most feasible. The lord chamberlain's table is the principal table of state. The lord steward's table, I think, is much frequented by Scottish gentlemen. Your lordship's table hath a great attendance; and the groom of the stole's table is much resorted to by the bedchamber. These would not be touched. But for the rest, his majesty's case considered, I think they may well be united into

one.

These things are out of my element, but my care runneth where the king's state most laboureth: (a) Sir Lionel Cranfield is yet sick, for which I am very sorry; for methinks his majesty, upon these tossings over of his business from one to others, hath an apt occasion to go on with sub-committees. God ever preserve and prosper you.

Your lordship's true friend and devoted servant,
FR. BACON, C. S.

York-house, Nov. 19, 1617.

(a) Sir Lionel Cranfield was a man of so much note in these times, and so often named in these papers that I cannot omit taking some notice of his good and bad fortunes. He was bred a merchant, yet by his great abilities in, and application to business, and the relation he had to my lord of Buckingham by marriage, he was raised to be master of the court of requests, then of the wardrobe, and after of the court of wards, created Lord Cranfield, and earl of Middlesex; missing the lord keeper's place, he was constituted lord high treasurer, which being an office he understood as well as any, we may conclude his integrity fell short of his ability, from the severe judgment given against him by the house of lords in 1624. Stephens.

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