1578. days' journey, lodging and feeding both in one house, the Earl behaved himself orderly and reverently to the President, and after his coming home took order for the dispersing of most of his company. He gave out everywhere that he meant no harm to the State. I hold him the least dangerous man of four or five of those that are next him in right and succession, (if he were gone,) and easiest to be dealt withal, so that be it for the doubt of the attempt of the rebel James Fitz Morris, his kinsman, if he should come in and he join with him, or in respect of the harm otherwise which he could do, if he should grow ill disposed himself, I suppose there is least danger in him of any of the rest, and soonest may be met withal and cut off, being such an impotent and weak body, as neither can he get up on horseback, but that he is holpen and lift up, neither when he is on horseback can of himself alight down without help." The country is in good quiet, "save that which lately hath happened betwixt Tirloghe O'Neale and O'Donnell, for killing of Tirloughe's son, whereupon there had been like for this matter some brawl to have fallen out betwixt them, but that I suppressed the same in due time." O'Neale would not seek his right but by order from me, and neither the one nor the other seeks to entertain Scots. Thus Ulster is a good neighbour to the Pale ;-no complaint of boderagge or stealth made by them since my departure. Connaught and Munster are also quiet and obedient. The only gall is the rebel of Leinster. I waste him, and kill of his men daily. Hasten hither the Lord Chancellor, whose absence may be ill spared long, for the dispatch of poor men's causes. I beseech you to give order for my quarterage to be due the 1st of April next; for to repress the archtraitor James FitzMaurice and that rebel Rorie Oge I am inforced to employ no small extraordinary charge. I gave order, upon receipt of your first letters touching Hickes, the pirate, that he should be presently sent thither. My Lord President promised that he would do it, so that I hope ere this he is arrived. It seems that I am greatly blamed that I advertise no oftener such occurrents as happen here. There is good store of others, whose diligence enriches you with reports, but they are malicious. I love not to write of every accident and slight matter, but I leave no matter of weight unadvertised. Touching George Winter's untrue reports of me, I hope ere this you have discovered so much of the man, by his own contradictions and confessions, as I need not to say any more of him. I willed my Lord President to answer your last letters, and desired him for his own discharge to make a full declaration of what had passed between George Winter and him. For my own part, I neither saw him nor dealt with him, but referred the whole state of the cause to my Lord President 1578. Feb. 28. Vol. 628, p. 182a. Feb. 28. March 20. Vol. 628, p. 281. 84. 85. 86. and others. I appointed in commission the Escheator General, Castle of Dublin, 20 February 1577. Copy. Pp. 10. The QUEEN to the EARL OF DESMOND. By letters from Sir William Drury, President of Munster, we understand that upon a rumour spread in Ireland that our said President had some special commission to apprehend you, standing in great fear, you assembled certain forces in a disordered sort, but afterwards, perceiving the said rumour to be most false, submitted yourself to the Deputy, and promised to keep only such a retinue as is fit for your estate. We signify to you our great good liking of your submission, and assure that no such commission was given to the President as you doubted. Manor of Greenwich, the last of Feb. 1577, 20 Eliz. The QUEEN to the COUNTESS OF DESMOND. We are advertised of the submission and late coming in of the Earl your husband to our Deputy, and of your good travail with your husband to remove him from his vain fear of apprehension and to leave off his great number of followers; for which we thank you. Manor of Greenwich, the last of Feb. 1577, 20 Eliz. The QUEEN to the LORD DEPUTY (SYDNEY). We have given order to our Privy Council to dispatch such of the Pale as were here from our subjects of the same to desire a mitigation of the cesse. The principal matters are left to your advice. Finding our yearly charge to increase, "we have, upon conference had touching the lessening thereof, offered to us a plot whereby to maintain a sufficient force for defence of that land, to settle executioners from hence, and to diminish the greatest part of our charge." We think it necessary, before we conclude upon any resolution certain, to confer with you; and therefore our pleasure is that you put yourself in readiness to repair to our presence by the 1578. March 26. Vol. 628, p. 287a. May 29. Vol. 628, p. 288. 87. 88. 10th of May next, leaving the sword and authority to Sir The QUEEN to the LORD DEPUTY (SYDNEY). " By your letters of 25th November 1578 (sic), we understand the evil success of Thomas Chatterton's enterprise upon O'Hanlon's country, granted him by us. You were advertised by our Council to deal with him for the revocation of that grant, which to do and to compound the matter with him you thought you had not sufficient warrant. The premises considered, and that you wrote you could not then get of the tenants there above 60l. of yearly rent, we accept his resignation of that grant. If you can make 100l. ster. yearly there, we are pleased to grant him so much. He shall enjoy the same as of our gift during his life. Greenwich, 26 March 1578, 20 Eliz. The QUEEN to the LORD DEPUTY (SYDNEY). We have received letters from yourself and our Council there, excusing your abode and stay longer than was prescribed in our last letters, and imputing the same to the matters of cesse and to the conference appointed by us between you and our Chancellor (Gerrard). It has been necessary to stay the Chancellor here till now; so we will allow of your stay till his arrival. We now again signify our pleasure that you make your immediate repair hither. The bills for the Parliament sent hither by you have been considered. That for renewing the impost is very necessary; and it is also requisite that the composition for cesse be passed by Parliament. But many other inconveniences contained in those bills may be remedied by the Governor and Council. We require you to give credit to our Chancellor, who has greatly satisfied us and our Council touching the general and particular state of that country, not without great show of good affection and love to you. We have dispatched him *Thomas Jenyson. † Sir Edward Fyton. 1578. May 29. Vol. 628, p. 289. May 29. Vol. 611, p. 351. 89. 90 and given a licence for transporting yarn in the name of his Greenwich, 29 May 1578, 20 Eliz. THE PRIVY COUNCIL to the LORD DEPUTY (SYDNEY). We have long since advertised you of the receipt of your letters brought by the Lord Chancellor of that realm. As to the cesse, the chief cause of his repair hither, we have sent you our opinions with the effect of all our dealings in that behalf. The Lord Chancellor is now licensed to repair to you. Touching the Parliament, her Majesty has heard the several laws reported, and thinks the same unneedful; but she will have a Parliament for the continuance of the subsidy. Touching the Earl of Clanricard, her Majesty stays resolution until you repair hither. For the nobilitation of Tirloughe Lenoughe, his L. (Gerrard ?) has the instruments. You require some learned [men] to be sent over to serve as justices there. One at least shall be sent over shortly to serve as Justice of the Common Place. By your letters of 30th April sent by Waterhouse, we perceive that the perfecting of the cesse is the principal cause of your stay. Upon the repair thither of the Lord Chancellor you are to enter into conference about that matter, to bring the same to some final and speedy end. Her Majesty has given order to the Earls of Kildare and Ormond to repair home. Your repair hither is to be with expedition. We have considered the depositions of certain persons touching the disorders of the soldiers that followed you in your journey to Kilkenny. The faults were not so great as we were informed. -, 29 May 1578. Contemp. copy. Pp. 21. SIR WILLIAM DRURY, LORD JUSTICE. "Instructions given by the Queen's Majesty, with the advice of her Highness' Council, to Sir Wm. Drury, Knight, [whom] she hath appointed Lord Justice of Ireland, and Wm. Gerrard, Esq. Lord Chancellor of the same land." They shall assemble the rest of the Council there, and "enter into the estate of the four provinces, Ulster, Connaught, Munster, and Leinster, how and by whom every or any of these estates be perturbed, how and in what sort at this day the loyal and true subjects are defended from the enemies, and at what charge to her Majesty and at what charge to the country. After, to consider whether any part of the garrison now in pay [may] be diminished and the country sufficiently defended. Then, to consider of all our castles and forts, which 1578. at this day at our charge are guarded and kept, what maintenance daily belongeth or is otherwise challenged to belong to every or any of them the said castles or forts, either in lands or customs." 66 Also to confer and consider how the confines of our countries bordering upon the rebels, specially Leixie and Offally, be inhabited by the owners of the same lands, and whether by such persons or in such sort, with such armour and munition, as either by the laws of the land or in respect of their tenures they are bounden; wherein our will and pleasure is, that you effectually put those the laws of that land in execution, by which laws and through the deserts of owners of the lands we may lawfully demise the lands and appoint tenants." Also to consider how the Irish rebels, next borderers upon the Pale, may best be dealt with to bring them to civil order, especially the Tooles, Byrnes, and Kavernaughts, "who have over long been suffered to live in the like rude and disordered sort as do the most savage of the Irish." Also to call our Clerk of the Check, and "to peruse his check roll of the whole number of the soldiers and others in our pay, who be their captains, where they live and how employed, and whether all those to whom we give pay as soldiers be continually employed in service." You shall cause the said Clerk of the Check to reduce his manner of entering those in pay into his check roll according to the ancient order. Because we would be truly advertised of the debts we owe and of those due to us, you shall consider of the late notes laid down by our Auditor, and how all those to whom we remained in debt when Sir Henry Sydney last received the government, and who are not yet discharged, had and came by their warrants, whereby you may gather who are meetest speedily to be paid. We hope, with the revenue of the lands and the levying of the said debts, that those to whom we owe anything may be satisfied without suit to be made to us, and that "such as have patents of office there appertaining to our revenue, should have their yearly fees or the arrearages thereof paid by our Treasurer for the Wars, out of our treasure sent out of England; and therefore you shall charge our Treasurer with that default passed, and direct him not commit the like, what commandment soever any our governors there shall give to the contrary." We perceive how greatly religion and justice "be decayed in most parts, the parish churches fallen down, and there no service said or very seldom." You shall take "such order as all those the several parish churches decayed may be reedified, who in law are chargeable therewith, the parsons, vicars, or their farmers, compelled to keep curates." shall cause convenient places to be made or repaired wherein aptly to receive the justices in all times of sessions; also sufficient gaols. The said justices shall put in execution the You |