1588.

alias McDavy of Connaught, Shane McCostiloe, Hugh
O'Connour of Ballintobber in Roscoman, Brien Duffe O’Brien
McDonogh of co. Limerick, Ever McRory of Kilwarlyn in
Ulster, Hubbert Boy of Castleton in Galway, Walter Wale of
the Droughtyn in Galway, Richard McMorice of the Baroes in
Mayo, and Donnell O'Madden of Longford.
Many of the rents have never been paid, or are in arrear.
The latest date mentioned is 30 Eliz.
Examined by N. Kenney, deputy auditor.

Copy. Pp. 7.

677. The LORD DEPUTY.

Vol. 635, p. 78. “A Note of the Lord Deputy's Entertainment;” sc, 100l ster, a month; 1,000l. a year in lieu of cesse; &c.

1575. June 2. Vol. 628, p. 267a.

Nov. 12. Vol. 619, p. 60.

The Queen has made perfect the bargain with Henry Sacke

ford, Esquire, for the victualling of Ireland. A copy of the in-
denture is sent herewith. Impart the same to the Earl of Essex.
He and you are to see the agreements performed. The victualler
is to have of certainty the cesse of 1,513 (?) beeves or kine out
of the Irish Pale for the victualling of the Earl of Essex, at 9s.
the piece. For those numbers that shall be victualled of your
L. charge, there must likewise be a cesse made of them from
time to time, at reasonable rates, as heretofore. Cause
yearly a cesse of the country within the English Pale for
1,000 quarters of wheat and 1,000 quarters of malt, to be de-
livered yearly betwixt Michaelmas and Easter to the vic-
tualler, he paying ready money for the same at the second
price of the market.

All the houses of store for provisions to be made perfect
and put in good order, and delivered to the victualler, who is
to continue them in good order and reparation. Call upon the
Auditor to finish the account with Thomas Sackeford, and
send it over to me the Lord Treasurer (Burleigh). No corn
to be transported out of that realm so long as the same
exceedeth the price limited by statute. Certain orders have
been delivered to the victualler to be observed.

2 June 1575.

Contemp. copy. Pp. 2.

2. SIR NICHOLAS MALBIE to the EARL OF LEICESTER.

“After my Lord of Essex and my Lord Deputy had knit in assured friendship, and both they had agreed upon the demands which were sent over by Captain Barkley, my L. of Essex offered to attend upon my L. Deputy in his journey to Knockfergus; but my L. Deputy, finding it more necessary (for some reasons which he alleged) to forbear the Earl's company, was rather content to leave him for that time. Whereupon the Earl, seeking to repose himself until my L. Deputy's return in some assured place of th' English Pale where he might pass his time, could find none void of the great infection that is generally run over all the country, and so was driven to seek the west parts, taking Waterford for a refuge, where when he considered that he had nothing to do, and that his house

of Lanfey, in Pembrokeshire, was at hand; besides, weighing
that the vacant time gave him that good opportunity, and
that the desire he had to come to her Majesty's presence could
not be answered in better time of the year than at this
present, did send unto my L. Deputy to have his allowance
to the same (without which he minded not to have done it);
who, considering very honourably all his just causes that led
him unto it, did give his Lordship his consent; and thereupon
[he] took shipping, and arrived here very much weather-beaten,
where he is driven to stay to recover himself, and to attend
his servants' arrival, who were by the same tempest dispersed
from his company, of whom yet his Lordship hath heard
nothing. I think he hath written unto her Majesty hereof,
which I thought good to signify unto your Honour; and for
that I was myself a cashed soldier among others, I found I
could have no better time than now to make my repair unto
my Sovereign, at whose hands, by your L. good help, I must
be forced to seek relief.”
Lanfey, 12 November 1575. Sigmed and sealed.
Holograph. P. 1. Addressed. Endorsed.

3. WILLIAM GERARD, CHANCELLOR of IRELAND.

“Th’ Estate of your Majesty's country within the Pale,” by William Gerard. Upon my first arrival, the travel which the Deputy took the year before, circuiting in manner the whole realm, had wrought universal quiet. But the rebellion of the Earl of Clanricarde's sons has greatly altered the disposition of many, and sundry spoils have been certified to me in the absence of your Deputy. The countries within the Pale maintain three sorts of people. The barons, knights, chief of names, and gentlemen are few in number. The second sort, idle followers, are thieves, robbers, and murderers. These swarm in number, and depend upon some chief person as their master, but he giveth them neither food nor clothe. “They lie upon the simple ones in the country, and devour them; and where they cannot have entertainment or bonaghe and coyne (a forbidden exaction), there they spoil and waste. These are the instruments ever ready to revenge any quarrel offered to those whom they follow. Their common manner to revenge is to prey upon the poor tenants of the adversary, who truly live and give not the offence, burn their houses, strip them out of all their clothing, how mean soever it be, leaving those poor ones to famine or starving. These idle followers have in this sort wasted a great part of divers the counties within your Majesty's Pale. These be the persons who so terrify common passengers in many parts within the Pale, as without danger of life (except by good guard and conduct) they may not pass. These force the poor People to keep their cattle nightly in fastness.

:

1576.

“The third sort, and the best, are the manurers of the soil (churls, as they be termed), poor wretched creatures in person, and as miserable by want of substance to yield them meat and clothe. These poor creatures cry out upon their misery and beggary, and say that these idle thieves, unmerciful landlords, and hard impositions work the same. “If it might be brought to pass that the soil now lying waste within the Pale were well manured and peopled, as may be gathered it was in the time of your noble progenitor, King Edward III, and until the Butlers and Garrantines, partaking with the contentions between the Houses of Lancaster and York, first wasted the same, they would be able to defend themselves without great number of soldiers in garrison, and so save your Majesty's treasure, which have been and is at this day spent in the maintenance of the garrison.” The way to root up this evil of idle followers is duly to put in execution those good laws which were enacted by Parliament in the time of King Henry VI. Besides sitting terms at Dublin, there must be itinerant circuiting sessions throughout the Pale twice every year, to administer justice with severity. By that means your people in Wales were brought to civility. That course maketh present show in Munster of good reform, which is to be wished in Ulster and Connaught. The justices to be of the English nation, for the learned of this land are not reverenced as magistrates. I desire presently one person to be a justice, another your attorney; how to have two such entertained without further charge I have in my notes to Mr. Secretary [Walsingham] declared. The Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas “do not greatly benefit the subjects in th’ administration of justice, for in those courts the trial is by jury, who more regard whether any of the parties are of kin or allied to the justice or of the sept of the justice, or counsellor, than to the matter, and that way commonly passeth the verdict; of such force is flesh and blood amongst them. Your Majesty's Court of Chancery, therefore, must take the hearing of the most of causes.” “Your Majesty's Exchequer hath many officers and good allowances, but the evil answering of your Majesty's revenue in time hath turned your Highness to great loss, because great sums are grown desperate, which argueth defect in every or most of them. I have conceived a way, by alteration of three courts into one, how your Majesty may better be answered of your revenue, lessen the charge of divers great fees upon unnecessary officers bestowed, and have justice in far better sort delivered to the poor.”

II. “The subsequent Notes are not contained in the Articles to her Majesty, yet I thought good to impart them to your Honour.”

“The cause that moved me to speak of the cesse is the great exclaim of the country, and whereat some of the best

1576.

calling take hold rather to impeach the Deputy than for any
burthen they bear; for I know her Majesty hath discharged
them and all their tenants with a freedom.”
My Lord Deputy and Council called before them the best
of the country, and showed them the necessity of this cesse,
and the number of the soldiers. It was agreed by all that
2d. more must be allowed to every soldier, else could he not
be victualled than by cesse. Not many years past, the price
of victuals was so good cheap, that the churl coveted the
soldier to be with him; but at this day victual is at that
dearth, and the soldier hath so evil handled them, as they
utterly refuse to diet them.
“This cesse is the more grievous in respect of certain free-
doms granted by divers the L. Deputies, whereby the one-half
of the ploughs upon whom entirely the cesse hath usually
been laid are discharged. I have searched into the warrant
authorizing those grants, and have made the judges to confess
that the grants of those freedoms were void; whereupon
proclamation is made to discharge all those, which will be
some beneficial ease; but yet, if other help be not provided,
the cesse, as it is, will be exclaimed upon.
“The chief poison of this estate is suffering of idle followers,
—they do all the mischief. It is come at this day to this
point that the best of calling keep the most, yea, the very
English seneschals who execute martial law, I find have num-
bers of them following them. They say for excuse, they are
forced thereunto to defend the adversary; but, truly, some of
them have used their followers to prey, and that I have found
in hearing of some causes wherewith they have been charged.
Some of these heads let not to say, ‘I will not put away my
thieves, for then such a one's thieves would rob me; let him
put away his, and I will put away mine.’
“I trust, ere summer end, to stint amongst them this
strife, minding to begin to hang the master first, and the
thieves for company after.”
“At home I lived a mean and poor contented life. There
is not towards the law of my continuance of less revenue and
more sickly in body; and having 22 years served, [I] might
better have made suit to have stayed, but I knew me a subject,
and therefore dutifully came hither. If suits to excuse may be
heard and preferred, I look for no help, and then shall I never
do her Majesty the service I covet. This I beseech you say
to her Highness, which I forgot in my notes, such obedience
I have found, as having in this time sent out two or three
hundred process and private letters for appearance against
such as have been complained upon, and amongst them some
in the very Irish, yet had I not five contempts, but either
by appearance answered or sufficiently excused; which obedi-
ence argueth great towardness to embrace justice.”
PP. 4. Endorsed : November 1576. Discourse of the

Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Mr. Gerrard, touching the state of that country.