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A58831
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A desperate and dangerovs designe discovered concerning the fen-countries by a faithfull friend who as soone as it came to his knowledge hath taken some pains not only to discover but to prevent the same ; by order of the committee for the fenns published for the common-good, and in all humility presented to the high court of Parliament and in particular to some noble personages especially interressed [sic] and concerned therein.
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Scotten, Edmund.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing S2090; Wing D1206A_CANCELLED
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15,257
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34
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A DESPERATE AND DANGEROVS DESIGNE DISCOVERED CONCERNING The FEN-COUNTRIES BY A faithfull friend who as soone as it came to his knowledge hath taken some pains not only to discover but to prevent the same By order of the Committee for the FENNS Published for the Common-good and in all humility presented to the High Court of PARLIAMENT And in particular to some Noble Personages especially interressed and concerned therein LONDON Printed by G. B. and R. VV. and are to be sold by Robert Constable at his Shop in Westminster-Hall 1642. TO THE HIGH COVRT OF PARLIAMENT Most great and Honourable Senate I Shall not need to tell you what damages hath happened to the Common-wealth by some Projectors of late who have pretended as faire to his Majesty as Sir Comelius Virmuden hath done in this his Designe Your wisdomes have found them out and sent them packing And if it shall appeare by what is briefly set forth in these following lines that this Designe is as dangerous and may prove as hurtfull to the subjects as any of the former I doubt not but your Wisdomes and Justice will be so far from giving power by Law for the pursuance of such a Designe that you will prevent the hurt and danger being discovered that may come thereby Let not my meannesse or unworthinesse cause what I have here done to be slighted Once a poore Israelitish maide made knowne to a great Assyrian Lord how he might be cured of his Leprosie which was neither sleighted by him nor by that great King but set them both on worke and much good came thereby And should I now have beene silent being timely invited as one amongst others whom it may concerne both to make exceptions against it and to offer any other designe besides my own particular ingagement calling me thereto by that losse I have already and shall hereafter sustaine I should have beene conscious to my selfe not only of being no great friend to my country but also of furthering this his design than otherwise by not putting in execution what I by practise and experience knew might any way conduce to the preventing of so great so eminent danger threatning not onely one or two or a few private persons in particular but whole townes nay whole countries too in generall I shall heare say no more but daily pray that God will assist you and give you happy successe in all your great undertakings EDMUND SCOTTEN TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM EARLE OF BEDFORD and his Honourable friends Adventurers in the great levell of FENNES Right Honourable IF I should now be silent I should not know how to frame my self an excuse Having heretofore beene a servant to the Right Honourable the Earle of Bedford his Honorable friends in the drayning And well observing how one Mr Hill who had then power put into his hands did begin to go a wrong way to work upon Wisbeech River which so soone as I perceived I made it knowne and although some money was expended that way by him before I could prevent it yet I saved them a 1000. pounds And can I now be silent when by speaking I may not onely save 1000. but many thousands in preventing the pursuance of a desperate dessgne which the Honorable Committee for the Fens have ordered to be printed that whosoever it concernes might make exceptions against it silence in this case might give the Parliament and your Lordships just cause to approve thereof which promise so faire and to which none could take exceptions though invited to it I have therefore with all faithfulnesse briefly laid open the danger which in all humility I present unto your Lordships that the danger being discovered which before lay hid under faire promises and preteâ—â—â— may be avoided And now whether these my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may here prove acceptable or no I know not Yet however I have declared my opinion and left it extant that future times may witnesse that the danger was discovered For my owne part I am confident that if this designe be pursued what I have now written one day by costly experience will be found to be true Yours Honours to serve to his utmost Edmund Scotten Certaine exceptions against Sir Cornelius Virmuden his designe for the drayning of the Fens with Queries upon each passage As also divers arguments drawne from the workes by him already made and such as are propounded by him to be made which shew the deceitfulnesse of his designe that it cannot make a perfect drayning With some short rules in generall 〈◊〉 they may be drayned and preserved from inundation ACcording to an Order the 25. of February I have made some exceptions against Sir Cornelius Virmuden his designe as I finde it in divers passages of his booke with queries upon each passage and from them and some workes already done by him I have framed some Arguments whereby it may evidently appeare that although hee promiseth to draine the Fennes and seemes to take care that none be wronged thereby yet in pursuance of his designe he will not be able to performe the former nor make good the later and also have shewed how the greatest part of the Fennes may bee made winter grounds and Navigation preserved and no man wronged nor indangered and the charge not so great but that the Fennes will abunly requite the cost Pa. 2. li. 20. He sets downe 400000. Acres of Fenne Lands which being made winter grounds would be an unexpected benefit of six hundred thousand pounds per annum and upwards which is more by one halfe then ever they will as the rates of Landes now goe Quer. Whether this be not a bad beginning at first dash to misinforme his Majestie of purpose to worke his affections the more to the drayning and that so as Sir Cornelius might have the better allowances Pa. 5. li. 29. He saith it is apparant that in processe of time the Outfalls of Wisbitch and Welland will utterly decay and that for want of water Pa. 5. li. 23. pa. 14. li. 6. and yet pa. 13. li. 30. he will take away part of Glean and all Welland to Mortons Leame and so to Wisbitch and yet have water enough to keepe open the Out-fall of Welland pa. 18. li. 11. And yet one reason why he turnes the water of Welland to Wisbitch is because that thereby he will gaine and keepe open a good Outfall for Neene Quer. Whether first these severall passages doe not contradict each other secondly if it be apparant that the Outfall of Welland will decay because there is no more water put to it how can that Outfall be maintained when part of Glean and all Welland is taken from it Pa. 14. li. 21. He tels how he will maintaine it his words are And by this meanes the old Channell of Welland will become very usefull to the countrey by the Sasse or Navigable Sluce to be set at Waldron Hall for Navigation to water the countrey in Summer time and to scowre
passages rather imitate the popish Clergy who keepe men as ignorant as they can that they may the more easily deceive them and leade them whether they list Pa. 25. l. 25. It shall not be widened any more the two Rivers meeting will grinde the channell through the Marsh and make Wisbitch an Haven towne like that of Linne though not in such measure of widenesse Quer. If his two Rivers shall lie 7. or 8. foot high betweene his Bankes made of light Moore and Hassockes untill it have grinded the Channell 4. or 5. miles through the Marsh how often will those bankes be broken and torne to peeces before the Channell bee ground out and when they are torne and broken to peeces will not both the Fennes be drowned and the water lost that should doe the businesse Pa. 24. he tels his Majestie that he would make a Banke from Stand Ground to the fields of Wittleseii and from Eldernell to Guyhurne on that side But as it is verily beleeved by many that hee might be revenged on Master Burrell who would not stoope to him he hath caused a banke to bee made on the same side through his severall and others in length two miles nearer Wisbitch by which meanes he hath not onely wronged Mr. Burrell and others many hundred pounds for the present and cut up London Roade to the pittifull foiling of Travelours and deprived others of his Majesties Subjects wholly of their high way but hath indangered the utter ruining of Master Burrell and others and the drowning of whole townes and Churches not caring though hee spent his Majestie many thousand pounds in vaine to teach Master Burrell and others hereafter not to oppose him Quer. Whether this be not Haman-like because Mordecay would not stoope to him he was not contented to be revenged on Mordecai alone but upon all the Jewes though he in no wise was able to recompence the Kings dammages by his wicked act ANd now having spent some time in reading and taking some Notes out of his booke and finding how one part of it crosseth and contradicts another And if some part of it be true the other must needs be false and so needs no other proofe to confute it but his owne words I might rest here but because this way of keeping water aloft betweene bankes set at a great distance is of such dangerous consequence not onely to such as shall be the adventurers but to the inhabitants adjoyning neare to such bankes and having such plentifull matter to make it evident to all men to be a most deceitfull way and the money so expended to be utterly lost altogether failing of the end it shall be disbursed for namely the drayning of the Fens I shall adde to what I have already observed in his booke 3. or 4. Arguments more first from the costly experience of others the next from his owne workes alteady done and lastly from his proceedings and propositions set forth in this designe It is most apparant by what hath beene already said that when the land floods shall descend from Northampton Bedford or other upland countries and shall arise in height 4. or 5. foote over the Superfices of the Medowes they will arise 6. or 7. foote high betweene his Bankes though placed at a great distance betweene them and when the waters are thus aloft neare the top of the bankes the winds will have such power to raise violent waves against them that will breake and teare them to peeces they being made of light and spungie stuffe And that they will doe so all indifferent men that have experience of the Fennes will witnesse with me It is well knowne there was a banke made betweene Upwell and Welnigh about foure miles in length made to preserve Fens called the Londoners Fennes which Banke by its often tearing breaking and blowing up after great summes of money expended it wearied out the undertakers And yet the waters arose not at any time above three foote in height in the Levell against that Banke they having libertie to spread themselves over the great Levell of the Fennes from whence I draw this conclusion That if a Banke made in the same Fens which cost many thousand pounds and but foure miles in length could not bee made to hold but was torne in peeces broken and blowne up and but 3. foot of water against it whereby those undertakers though men of great estates were forced to leave them and loose all their labour and cost Then the Bankes made by Sir Cornelius being of no better stuffe when 6. or 7. foote of waters shall with violent waves beate against them cannot possibly hold but will be torne in peeces broken and blowne up But what neede I instance in Bankes of like nature for this very Banke which Sir Cornelius hath already made was so neare breaking and blowing up this yeare that it hath cost much money in bringing Earth Brush Faggots and Fodder sheaves and many hundred of Fir deales cut to preserve it And yet was dangerously torne in so much that if one living neare unto it had not espyed it one Lords day at night little before his going to bed and called up neighbours out of their beds and road to Wisbitch for more helpe in their judgements in one two houres it had been broken and had not onely drowned Walderseii but Wisbitch and Elme From whence I frame this argument that those Bankes that will not hold one yeare but require good cost to preserve them And yet that cost would not preserve them from tearing nor secure them from breaking when the waters had libertie to spread and so could not rise high whereby the windes might have power to raise violent waves against them cannot possibly hold when the waters shall be pent up betweene two bankes and so lie high against them But the new Banke Sir Cornelius hath caused to be made in Walderseii hath had great cost bestowed upon it by bringing Earth Fodder Sheaves Brush Faggots and cutting many hundred of Deales to preserve it and yet was fearefully torne and in great danger to breake untill it was cut in a convenient place or two above notwithstanding the waters had scope to spread themselves over 30. thousand Acres whereby they could rise to nothing neare that height they will when restrained of that liberty Therefore the bankes made and propounded to be made by Sir Cornelius Virmuden cannot possibly hold long nor secure the Lands adjoyning Object But that banke did not breake nor blow up and Sir Cornelius is taken for a man of judgement and experience sure he would never have been so bold as to perswade his Majesty and other great Lords and now the Parliament to disburse such great summes of money if he did not well know his workes would hold and cause a perfect draining Answer The cause that banke did not breake hath been shewed sufficiently already But for further answer hereto I shall frame two or three arguments more And first