Rumney was forced to be gone the next Morning these Deponents preparing for Lyd news was brought there that the said John Slaughter was come Armed with Ten other persons near at hand and Ten more expected to Assault these Deponents Mr. Carter and his Company upon which news the said Mr Carter sent to the Mayor to disire him to keep the Peace and shortly after went to Lyd and being informed there also sum intentions to Export Wooll that Night whereupon these Deponents and Company prepared to go out to the Sea-â—â—â— about Eight of the Clock that Night and going in the Street were assaulted bâ— several persons unknown and one of our Company Wounded but afterwards discovered one to be the Bayliffs Son of Lyd who came to our Lodging and threatned that if any stirred out of the House we should be fired at out of the Town or words to that effect he being sent by the Bayliff his Father as he said But the reason as these Deponents beleiveth was that they might not be interupted in the exportation of Wooll as before intended that about one of the Clock at Night agreat â—ody of Horse and some Foot supposing after they had Shipt the Wooll came about the House where we Lodged Fireing several times Shouting and Railing upon us but upon the Importunity of Mr. Carter these Deponents nor any of the Company did Fire any Gun when we had the oppertunity of Killing of them and were provoked in our own desence so to do These Deponents further maketh Oath that when it was light they went to the said Baylfls House about the Ryot and defireing his Assistance in the search after the persons Guilty of the said Ryot and asked whether there was any Watch in the Towne the Night before as his Son pretended that there was but inquiring into it by several Jurats and others and constable found there was no Watch that Night nor any ordered nor had been along time before That about Ten of the Clock the same day these Deponents was followed by about Fifty Horsemen near the Camber point over against Rye James Webb John Edwards Henry Spillet This Deponant John Edwards further maketh Oeth that all the men except two with the horses got into their Sloops Boats lying ready for them an perceiveing that some of he horsemen riding near the two men with our horses the said men left their horses on the Camber-point and got into a Boat and put off but the horsemen fired both at the men in the Boat and also at the horses and here since that one of the horses is killed JAmes Atkins Master of a Vessel called the Dilligence did see a Party of Horse armed following Mr. Carter and several of his assistance the 13th Instant December intending as this Deponent beleiveth to do some mischeif to them for that some of the horsemen fired at his men in a Boat as they was coming off the Cumber the Shot Grazing near the Boat James Atkins JOhn Syer Marriner maketh Oath that being imploved in a Vessel called the Merchants Desecâ—e to prevent the Exportation of Wooll he the said Deponent was required with several others to assist in the Execution of the Lord Cheif Justice Warant against several Exporters of Wooll and having performed that service the 12th of this instant December came that day to Lyd in order to go to Rye on Board their Vessel then lying at Anchor there And about Eight or Nine of the Clock in the night time he with the rest of his company at the request of Mr Carter was going towards the Sea-side to Seize or Preven the Exportation of Wooll which was supposed to be intended to be transported that night and as this Deponent and Company were going through the Street was set on by several persons unknowne who received several Wounds and afterwards found one of the persons to be the Baylisss Son of Lyd after which time several persons came to this Deponents Lodgings Firing several times and railed upon this Deponent and Company And this Deponent further maketh Oath that the next day being the 13th instant he with the rest of the Company coming toward Rye aforesaid was pursued by about fifty horsmen or thereabouts armed and had not the Boats belonging to several Vessels gave their attendance and took us in we might have been distroyed John Syer RAndal Gosley maketh Oath that on the 13th instant December there being a great Body of Hoâ—se come on the Camber near Rye being supposed Irish or French which put the Town of Rye into a great fear and being on the other side of the Harbor the Majestrates sent some Persons in a Boat to discover who they were and the Reasons being enquired into was to do some mischeif to Mr. William Carter and his Assistance who had taken up sum Persons for Transportation of Wooll These Horsemen following them so fast that Mr. Carters Men could not get their Horses over the Ferry but left them on the Camber Point This Deponent being afterwards sent by the said Mr. Carter to look after the Horses went as farr as Lyd where one John Slaughter owned the Horses to be in his Custody and would keep them so for damages pretended to be done him by the said Mr. Carter and further said that his name was Slaughter and a Slaughter he should find of him And this Deponent further saith that some others then in the Company of the said Slaughter said that they would secure his Body and some others his Soul for that neither was his own Randal Gosley The Volluntary Deposition of William Ellis of Dover Marriner taken as followeth THis Deponent maketh Oath that coming from 〈…〉 to Rye in the County of Sussex passed by the way of Lyd 〈…〉 and at a place called Broomhil House on this side Lyd aforesaid the Deponent met with two Men on Horseback who askt this Deponent whether he was going he answered for Gilford-Ferry in order to Rye one of them Swore God-â—â—am-you you are one of the Rogues that was at Lyd last night and if they thought this Deponent was one they would share him meaning as this Deponent beleives in Sea terms dividing of him but he this Deponent using good Language and telling them he was not the Person they took him for they let him pass But when this Deponent came to Gilford-Ferry there was one John Smith of Gilford came in with a Bottle of Wine in his hand and coming where this Deponent sat by the Fire side he Swore by God this is one of the Rogues bâ—longing to the Sloops and said let us â—ind hin neck and heels and share him the said Smith further said there lyes Warners Horse and he knew who shot him with a Slug by which the horse fell downe but rose againe and some Person knockt him downe with a Clubb and upon the same Shot This Deponent herd John Smith of Gilford say that the Blood gushed from the Horse and he further saith that could
their willingness therein and did then proceed and solicite the business so â—ar as to pass the Commission at my own charge under the great Seal and carried it to the â—resident and Governors in expectation they would have taken it upon them as they had agreed but in some short time after they declined the imployment and returned the Commission back to the King and Council and plainly refused to act therein upon some frivolous objections without allowing me one penny for the money expended which was not less thâ—n 40 l. besides my own Labour and Attendance The next Session of Parliament being in the year 1669 Sr. Orlando Bridgman the then Lord Keeper brought into the House of Lords an explainitory Bill for hindring the said Exportation under some new penalties Before which time William Facon of Canterbury Wooll-Comber and one Marsh of Hoakam near Dover a Farmer were brought up before the House of Commons for Exporting 44 Packs of Combed Wooll from Canterbury where being examined they were ordred to be tryed at the the next Assizes at Maidstone in Kent whereupon I was comanded by his Majestie and Council to prosecute them according to Law for the said Felony but when I came to Maidstone I could not hear of any such person there being no Recognisance taken for their appearing there nor any Witnesses attending to prove the Fact so I lost my Jorney but afterwards I understood that he had compounded with his Accusers and taken off the Witnesses so that the Order of the House of Commons and his Majesties care therein proved altogether ineffectual About August following in the same year 1669 understanding that the Late Earl of Radnor was designed to go Lord Leivtenant for Ireland I petioned his Majestie in Council for some care to be taken in preventing the Exportation of Wooll from Ireland who was pleased to Order a Letter in Council recomending the care thereof to the said Lord Lievtenant on whome I waited at his departure as far as St. Aâ—bans and at my parting with his Excellency there he promised to Act effectually therein which his Lordship did accordingly In so much that within six weeks time after he came to Ireland there were landed at Minehead above one thousand Packs of Wooll more in that time than had been there landed within the like space of time in any year before and the like proportionable at Liverpool Chester Bristol and Barnstable which quantitie of Wooll in other years used to be Exported out of Ireland beyond the Seas upon pretence of being shipt for England In a short time after I made a discovery of five Vessels loaden with Wooll arived at Callice in France one of which belonging to Dover two to Folkstone and two to Hythe in the County of Kent upon which the Lord Keeper was ordred by the King in Council to write a letter to the Mayors of Dover Folkstone and Hythe which was to this effect Gentlemen THis bearer William Carter brings along with him a Coppy of an Information concerning the Transportation of Wooll but it being a matter of so high Concernment to his Majestie and this Kingdom as scarce any thing more to prevent the Transportation of Wooll and the punishment of the Offenders I do earnestly recommend it to you to examin the Persons named in the Information and to make all the enquiry you can concerning these and such others as you shall have cause to suspect to be guilty in this kind and to certifie what you find herein that his Majestie in Council may give further Orders thereupon not doubting of your care herein Your Loving Friend Orlando Bridgman Ess House Aug. 30. 1669. With this Letter I rod Post to Dover and having there secured one Thomas Peirce a Master of one of the said Vessels whilst he was examining before the Mayor his wife being present and hearing the names read of the other Masters at Folkstone and Hythe in the Information mentioned and her Husbands Vessel then lying at Folkstone she presently gets a Horse and â—rides thither and discovers the business there by which means when I came to Folkstone tho' it was the same day I was frustrated of my design there the Mayor and Masters being all got out of the way before I came but hasting to Hythe by chance met with one Mark Spicer Master of another of the said Vessels But before I could find the Mayor of Hythe to examine the said Spicer he made his escape towards Folkstone whether I followed him and just as he came to the Sea side where a Boat lay to receive him I seized him but the Women of the Town being before alaramed by Perce's Wife it being all in one day came out of their Houses and gathered up stones upon the Beach which they flung about my ears so violently that having no help I was forced to quit my Prisoner hardly escaping my selfe Returning back to London and there being a Council designed to meet at Hampton Court I went thither and waited on the Lord Keeper Bridgman to whome I gave an account of my whole Journey his Lordship ordred me to attend while the Council sate which I did and was then called in and related all the said particular passages to his Majestie who was pleased to command me to go down into Kent again and ordered a party of Horse to assist me But before the party of Horse were ready I received an Information of Ten Thousand Stones of Wooll Shipt in five Vessels from Gallaway in Ireland and coulorably entred for Plymouth and London c. I better knowing than being able to prevent the usual Frauds practised in Ireland where under pretence of getting a Licence from the Lord Livetenant to Ship Wooll for England sometimes double the quantity Licenced was Shipt and the Law requiring Bonds with sureties to be given for landing the Wooll Licenced at some Port in England some times insufficient Security was taken and so the Bonds were of no effect sometimes false and counterfeit Certificates were procured out of England in discharge of those Bonds that the Wooll was landed in England when in truth it was not sometimes those Bonds tho' actualy forfited and detected yet were easily compounded for at low and cheap Rates and at other times by the corruption of Officers several Bonds were compounded for assoon as they were entred into even before the departure of the Vessel out of the Port whereby Offenders were incouraged to break the Laws by knowing and paying the price of their Punishment before they committed the Offence which mischeifs being willing to obviate so far as I was able upon diligent enquiring I had good reason to suspect the said Ten Thousand Stone of Wooll was really designed to be Exported beyond the Sea and not intended either for Plymouth or London as was pretended by the Entries And thereupon I applyed my self to the then Farmers of his Majesties Customs for an order to ride down into the Southern Ports to examine
him uncapable of being Witness any more and to deter others At Midâ—â—mmer Assizes 1670 Gabree pretends to come to Tryal but when he saw Petley appear and had his Witnesses for his defence he let it fall that Assize Since Michaelmas Seventy one Petley is again arrested as aforesaid But I have now presented hiâ— Case to his Majesty else he would have been utterly ruin'd and now the said Gabree is in Custody being owner of the Wooll taken at Gravesend as aforesaid I shall conclude with a few particular Instances that I observed in attending the Parliament of which I only hinted some thing in page 5 tb To begin with a Motion made in the House of Commons 1670 when that House were under consideration of raising Money for His Late Majesty's supply it being then taken for granted that there were great quantitys of Wooll clandestinely exported from Ireland to Forreign Parts it was then propounded that a Tax of 2 d. or 3 d. per l. might be laid upon such Wooll for three Reasons then given viz. First it would make it so Dear to Foraigners that the English could under sell them in our Manufactury Secondly It would raise a great Revenue to his Majestie Thirdly It would be an inducement to the Officers to be more careful to look after the Custome and so less would go This seemed to many Wise Grave Senators at first to be very Fesible until I gave Answer to it And that was thus Answ 1. As to 2. d. or 3. d. per pound dearer signifies nothing For if they Enter 10 Packs there shall go off a 100 Packs Unentred But grant it did all pay that Custome there in Ireland it pays no Custome when it 's Imported in Holland Flanders or France and then to consider the Custome it paid here to his Majestie upon our Woollen Manufactury when Exported which is above five pound for a Pack of Worsted-stuffs c. and it 's such Wooll that is coveted and that as before the French King laying such an Impost upon our English Woollen Manufacturies of 20 or 30 per cent this overballanceth by ten parts the first Reason and besides about the Manufactors working so much cheaper which I humbly suppose is a sufficient Answer to the first Reason of the Motion Answ 2. As to his Majesties Revenue by 2 d. or 3 d. per pound is answered in short The Custome paid as above upon the Export of our Woollen Manufacturies is double that Custome but the Custome upon the Importation of the Product thereof may amount to three times the worth of the Pack of Wooll from hence may be concluded That his Majesties damage by the quantity that is asserted to be Transported cannot be less than one Million of pounds Starling so that this also is Answered Answ 3. As to the Officers inducement I shall answer in short by asking this single Question viz. Which in reason can be the greatest Inducement 3 d. per pound for Custome or 3 s. per pound Forfiture of which three parts is given to the Prosecutor who must be supposed to be more watchful to gain the Forfieture than the Custom for the King if Shipt to be Transported which is now in Force and Recoverable But there was more in the bottom For within a day or two of the said Motion there was a Noble Lord did affirm in the Committee for Wooll that his Lordship was offered a hundred thousand pound Sterling to pass an Act for Transportation of Wooll and besides there is a Petition of many years standing that within this few months I had a view of for Combed Wooll to go off upon the same pretence as before alledging it is course Wooll and not for the Clothier It 's true that it is not fit for Cloth but it is for Worsted-stuffs and Stockings which is as prejudicial if not more than Clothing Wooll By which that motion fell to the ground but some time after the petition before mentioned did appear bare Faced of which I wrote in a Letter to the Merchants and Cloathiers viz. in 1686 Comprehending what past in Parliament from 75 till that time viz. I began this Perceiving at length what I had for some time a suspition of that some Persons at the then next Sessions of Parliament did not only appear to justify the Fact of Transportation of Wooll privatly but did appear publickly and in Print to assert and avow the conveniency that it would be to this Nation and therefore did desire that an Act of Parliament might be made for a limited Exportation giving also some pretended Reasons for the same In March 1676 a Bill was put into the Hand of an Eminent Member of the then House of Commons to be brought into that House with whome I had some Discourse and did so far diswade him to delay till the following Letter prevail'd on the Factors and some Clothiers then in Town to assist me March the 22 d. 1676 Sirs Having been at Westminster this day and spake with divers Members I find the Arguments for the Exportation of Wooll have so far prevailed with the Parliament-men that a Bill is already put in Sr. T. M's Hand to bring it into the House which may be done this very day altho' I had some Discourse with him about it and did endeavour to diswade him from it The Consequence of which seeing it must tend to the utter Ruine of the Cloathing Trade and seeing I have done the utmost that can be expected on my part to prevent it which is to draw up Reasons effecttually to make out the Inconvenience of it which I have also put into the Printer's hand I thought it my Duty therefore further to acquaint you that unless some further speedy Course be taken for a general meeting to consider how and in what manner this Mischief should be obviated I conceived the Intrest of the Clothier would suddenly have grown desperate seeing no private or single Mans appearing in this Case who ever he be can signify any thing to oppose it I am much convinced that not only the Cloathing Trade but the very Intrest of the Nation in general is at sâ—ake and in hazzard to be utterly lost if this Point should now be wholy neglected This I have for some years foreseen and have talked of but it hath not been regarded but you will find that I spake not slightly but on good grounds and what there is just Cause to suspect will come to pass if this Matter be not with Industry and Diligence prevented After I had prevailed with the Clothiers to give me some encouragement I did then endeavour to use proper Arguments and took a fit Season to present them when the House of Commons was so earnest for the prohebiting French Commodities laying before them that the Wooll endeavoured to be limited for Transportation was principally intended for France which proved so effectual for the Ends designed which Arguments I refer you to for your further satisfaction