THE COAST GARRISONS STRENGTHENED. 1652.] 381 for the granting of commissions to General Deane and General Monk, as to the exercising that command at sea, to which they have already been appointed by order of Parliament; and the Lord President [of the Council of State] is desired humbly to move the Parliament herein." "The Lord-General Cromwell acquainting the Council that he had drawn out 500 men out of the guards here, and given them orders to march to Dover and the seacoast thereabouts, and likewise had commanded Colonel Rich's regiment of horse to draw together upon that coast, the Council doth approve thereof; and desire his Lordship to give further orders for speeding away the said 500 men, and also to give orders to another regiment of horse to strengthen the seacoast with." The indefatigable exertions of the Council of State, to put their fleet into that thoroughly efficient condition which it displayed in the next great fight with the Dutch, in the following February, can only be known completely by a careful perusal of their minutes. But to give these minutes in full would, I fear, appear tedious to the reader. On this, however, the last and greatest occasion they were to have for the exercise of their great administrative genius, some indulgence may, perhaps, be accorded to an attempt to give as many of them as may convey some idea at least of the labours of the most remarkable body of statesmen that ever sat together in Council. On Sunday the 5th of December, 1652, the Council recommend Harwich to Blake, as a port to refit, instead of Lee 1 Order Book of the Council of State, Saturday afternoon, December 4, 1652, MS. State Paper Office.-At the same time, "The Lord-General is desired to think of some fit person, to be immediately despatched into Scotland, to be Commander-in-Chief there, the Parlia- Blake chose to come Road, but leave the decision to him. into the river, to Lee Road. On Monday morning the Council order, "That a letter be written to General Blake, to take notice to him of his coming into Lee Road; to desire him that he will forthwith give a particular account to the Council of the state of the fleet, and be very careful in the keeping of his men aboard." On the afternoon of the same day, the Council ordered, "That letters be sent to desire those of the western ports to set out some small boats to give notice to merchant-ships homewards bound of what hath happened, that they may take care of their own safety." 2 "That the Council do approve of the Lord President's opening of letters directed to the Council, and authorise him to open such as shall come, and thereupon to summon the Council if he shall see cause.' 993 On the 17th of December the Council of State wrote to Blake, "to let him know they have received an account from the Commissioners sent down to him of the state of the fleet, and of his readiness to give them assistance in the business for which they were sent; to return him thanks for his faithful service, and to acquaint him that all possible endeavours are using for the speedy setting forth of the fleet to sea." 4 "Upon consideration had of the qualities and rates of the several ships which are to be set forth in the fleet for the next summer, it is ordered that it be declared that all such merchant-ships as shall be taken on and hired for that service, shall be vessels carrying twenty-six guns at the least, and not under." 5 1 Order Book of the Council of State, Monday morning, December 6, 1652, MS. State Paper Office. 2 Ibid. Monday afternoon, December 6, 1652. Ibid. Wednesday morning, December 8, Ibid. Friday, December 17, 1652. 5 Ibid. same day. 1652.] RIGOUR OF THE PRESS-WARRANTS. 383 "That the captains of such ships as shall be hired for the service of the Commonwealth shall be chosen and placed by the State; and the other officers are likewise to be approved of.” 1 The following minute affords a graphic picture, in a small compass, of the rigour with which the press-warrants were executed, in order to man the State's ships in that great naval war :— "That a warrant of protection be granted to Thomas Girling, waterman, son of Christopher Girling of Richmond, in the county of Surrey, waterman, to protect him from being imprested into the State's service, in regard that by his labour only his aged father is supported, who is unable now to support himself; and that he, the said Christopher, hath lost two sons already in the service of the Commonwealth." 2 "That order be given to the Commissioners for Prizegoods, to bring up the prize-silver and cochineal from Plymouth, and to coin the silver in the Tower of London; and to let them know that Major-General Desborowe is written unto, to afford convoy to the bringing of it up." 3 1 Order Book of the Council of State, Friday, December 17, 1652, MS. State Paper Office.-Sir Wm. Penn, in a letter to the Lord-General Cromwell, dated June 2, 1652, says: "My Lord, it is humbly conceived that the State would be far better served if, as formerly, they placed commanders in all the merchant-ships taken up; for the commanders now employed, being all part-owners of their ships, I do believe will not be so industrious in engaging an enemy as other men; especially considering that by engagement they not only waste their powder and shot, but are liable to receive damage in their masts, rigging, and hull, and endanger the loss of all, when they may be quiet and receive the same pay."-Granville Penn's Memorials of Sir Wm. Penn, vol. i. p. 427, from Milton's Collection. 2 Order Book of the Council of State, Wednesday, January 5, 165, MS. State Paper Office. Ibid. Friday, January 7, 165.— On the same day an order was made, "That Mr. Isaac Dorislaus be appointed Solicitor in the Court of Admiralty on the behalf of the Commonwealth, and that he have the allowance of £250 per annum for himself, and a clerk in consideration of this employment." At the same time instructions for the directing of him in The wording of the following minute is curious, and would seem to show that the Council of State had some doubts as to the precise meaning of the word Commonwealth. They would have been more accurate, however, if they had left out the word "Republique," to which title the Government of Venice had very small claim, less than their own Government had :— "That Sir Oliver Fleming do carry the letters from the Parliament directed to the Republique of the Commonwealth of Venice to the Secretary now here from that Commonwealth." 1 The business of the Council of State extended to transactions with all the Powers of the world. At this time they had, besides their conferences with the ambassadors of some Powers, correspondence by letters to carry on with many others with the Great Duke of Tuscany, with "Jacobus Duke of Courland," with the Archduke Leopold.2 Their mode of dealing with those personages may be seen from the minute respecting a letter from the Duke of Vendôme, complaining of the destruction of his fleet by Blake in September of this year. This minute is as follows: "The Council of State having, in pursuance of the Order of Parliament in that behalf, taken into consideration the Duke of Vendôme's letter, and the matter of fact of taking the ships mentioned therein, do find the state of it to be,That General Blake, being with the fleet, in the Narrows, about the 5th of September last, part of the fleet, after some hours' chase, did take. [blank in orig.] French men-of-war, being the King's own ships, who, as the commander said, were with several other ships going to the relief of Dunkirk." ... that employment were signed and de- State, Tuesday, January 11, 165, livered to him. MS. State Paper Office. Order Book of the Council of 2 id. Thursday, January 6, 1657. 16531 ENGLISH CAPTIVES AT ALGIERS. 385 Whether any further explanation or satisfaction the Council may have given in their letter I do not know, as, though the draught of a letter" to the Duke of Vendôme is said in the minute to be "annexed hereunto," I have not been able to find any such draught. But there is little doubt that the substance of the minute given above formed the substance of the letter. On the 11th of January 1653 letters were ordered to be sent to the Vice-Admirals and Mayors of port towns, for the impresting of seamen in their respective jurisdictions, for the effectual manning of the fleet now to go forth; and the ships at Portsmouth and Plymouth and in the western ports were ordered to cruise up and down in the Channel for the discovery of the enemy.2 On the following day a letter, which shows in a striking manner the extent to which the Barbary pirates carried on their depredations, particularly in carrying Englishmen into captivity, was written to "Mr. Longland, to acquaint him that it is the opinion of this Council that, for the furnishing of the English shipping in the Straits with Englishmen, he do, by such vessels as he shall have occasion from time to time to send to the African shore, bring from Algiers some of the English captives; which the Council conceive may now be effected upon the paying for every man who shall be brought away the price of his redemption; which the Council is informed is now set and agreed upon."3 Order Book of the Council of State, Tuesday, November 23, 1652, MS. State Paper Office. in pursuance of an Order of Parliament, whereby it may be signified to the ambassadors and public ministers now here, sent from foreign states and princes to this Commonwealth, that they are not to permit any of the people of this Commonwealth to resort to the hearing of Masse in their CC 2 Ibid. Tuesday, January 11, 165. 3 Ibid. Wednesday, January 12, 165. On the same day the Council made an order, "That Mr. Thurloe do prepare a paper to be brought into the Council, VOL. II. |