House of Lords Journal Volume 6: 21 September 1643

Die Jovis, 21 die Septembris.

PRAYERS.

The Lord Grey of Warke was appointed to be Speaker this Day.

Keeper of the King's Wardrobe's Petition for removing Furniture for the Use of the French Ambassador.

It was (fn. 1) moved, "That the Keeper of the King's Wardrobe desires to have a Warrant, to fetch Wardrobe Stuffs from Her Majesty's several Wardrobes, to furnish Som'sett House, for the French Ambassador; and to have another Order, to send by Water to Oxford Six Load of Wardrobe Stuffs, for the furnishing of Oriall Colledge, for the said Ambassador; and to have Fifty Pounds imprested upon Accompt, to enable him to do the said Service, and to provide other Necessaries for the Ambassador."

Ordered, To send this Paper to the House of Commons.

Report of the Conference about Instructions to Persons to be sent to the King of Denmark.

Next, the Speaker reported the Effect of the Conference Yesterday with the House of Commons, which was, "To offer to their Lordships Considerations some Instructions to be given to Two Persons, which the Parliament intends to send to the King of Denmarke; also they presented to their Lordships Consideration a Draught of Letters to be sent to some Princes of Germany with Letters of Credence."

The Instructions were read, and Agreed to.

(Here enter them.)

Letters to him and German Princes.

Next, the Letters were read, and Agreed to:

"1. To the King of Denmarke.

"2. To the Prince of Holt.

"3. To the State of Hamburgh.

"4. To the State of Lubecke.

"5. To the Bishop of Bremen."

Message to the H. C. about them.

A Message was sent to the House of Commons, by Sir Rob't Rich and Mr. Page:

To let them know, that this House agrees to the Instructions to Haako and Lowder, who are to be sent to the King of Denmarke; and also to the Letters to be sent to the King of Denmarke, and some Princes of Germany; and, because their Lordships would not give any Delay to the sending of them away, they have sent the Originals; but desire that true Copies may be delivered to the Clerk of this House, to be entered upon Record: Also to let the House of Commons know, that they have received a Paper from the Officer of the Wardrobe, which they think fit to communicate to them.

Message from thence, with an Ordinance.

A Message was brought from the House of Commons, by Mr. Bond and others:

To desire their Lordships Concurrence in an Ordinance for sequestering all the Revenues of the King's, Queen's, and Prince's. (Here enter it.)

Read, and Agreed to.

The Answer returned was:

Answer.

That this House agrees with the House of Commons in this Ordinance now brought up.

Mr. Sedgwick to be One of the Assembly.

Upon Information to this House, "That Dr. Ward, One of the Members of the Assembly, is dead;" this House thought fit to nominate and appoint Mr. John Sedgwicke to be in his Place.

Ordered, To send to the House of Commons, to desire their Consent herein.

Ordinance for sequestering the King's, Queen's, and Prince's Revenues, to the Use of the Parliament.

(fn. 2) "An Ordinance of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament; shewing, that all His Majesty's, the Queen's, and Prince's Honours, Manors, Lands, Tenements, Rents, Revenues, and Profits whatsoever, within the said Realm of England and Dominion of Wales, Port and Town of Barwicke, shall be seized upon and received by such Persons hereafter nominated and appointed, to be employed for the Good of His Majesty and the Commonwealth; and likewise that all such Officers which shall not yield Obedience to this Ordinance of Parliament shall stand sequestered from their several Offices respectively, and from receiving or enjoying any Profits or Benefit of or by the same.

"An Ordinance for the due and orderly Receiving and Collecting of the King's, Queen's, and Prince's Revenue, and the Arrearages thereof.

"21 Septemb. 1643.

"The Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, taking into their serious Considerations the many heavy Pressures and most grievous Calamities which now lie upon this Kingdom, by this bloody and unnatural War raised against the Parliament; and that, notwithstanding all their faithful and constant Endeavours for the preserving of His Majesty and the whole Kingdom from the most cruel and endless Designs of Papists, Delinquents, and ill-affected Persons, yet their Counsels and Practices are still so prevalent with His Majesty, and the Hearts of many People so misled and beguiled by their false Pretences and specious Insinuations, that nothing can be expected but the Extirpation and final Subversion of our Religion, Laws, and Liberties, unless God of His infinite Mercy prevent it, and incline His Majesty's Heart to the faithful Advice of His Great Council of Parliament, which have ever been and is (under God) the chief Support of His Royal Crown and Dignity, and the Security of all that we have or can enjoy; and for that it is found, by woeful Experience, that divers ill-affected Persons, by Pretence of His Majesty's Authority, have and do still daily seize upon divers and sundry great Sums of Money, raised and collected in divers Parts of this Kingdom, by Acts and Ordinances of Parliament, for the Relief of the poor distressed Protestants in Ireland, the suppressing and subduing of those most barbarous and bloody Rebels, and for Defence of this Kingdom and Parliament, and do divert and employ the same, and likewise His Majesty's Revenue, and all other Monies of the well affected Persons whatsoever by Rapine or Violence they can lay Hands on, to the fomenting, nourishing, and maintaining, of these miserable Distractions, and unnatural War: And the Lords and Commons omitting no Opportunity, nor neglecting any fitting Means, which they conceived might divert the said War here, so violently pressed forwards by Papists, Delinquents, ill-affected Persons, and the Rebels of Ireland, did formerly Ordain, That the Officers of the Receipt, Court of Wards and Liveries, Receivers, and others, should not repair unto Oxford, but attend their Service here in the usual Places; yet, in Contempt of the same and other Ordinances, some Officers are gone to Oxford, divers convey sundry Sums of Money thither, and others neglect their Service, to the great Prejudice and Disservice of the Commonwealth: And, to the Intent that His Majesty's Revenue might no more be misapplied, and that the same may be employed for the Good of His Majesty and the Commonwealth, the Lords and Commons therefore do Ordain, and be it Ordained by the said Lords and Commons, That all His Majesty's, the Queen's, and Prince's Revenue, of what Nature or Kind soever, certain or casual, within the View or Survey of the Court of Exchequer, Court of Wards and Liveries, Dutchy of Lancaster, Dutchy of Cornwall, or in any other Court or Jurisdiction whatsoever, within this Realm of England, Dominion of Wales, and Port and Town of Berwicke, together with all the Arrears thereof, and all other Debts and Sums of Money whatsoever, any Way due to His Majesty, the Queen, or Prince, shall be seized upon, and received by the Persons hereafter named, or such others as at any Time hereafter shall be appointed and nominated by the Committee for the Revenue; which said Persons or Receivers, in each several County or Counties, Cities, or Places, for which they are or shall be appointed respectively, are hereby authorized and required, by themselves, their Agents, and Deputies, to take and seize into their Hands and Custodies all and every His Majesty's, the Queen's, and Prince's Honours, Manors, Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, Rents, Arrearages of Rents, Revenues, and Profits whatsoever, within the said Realm of England, Dominion of Wales, and Port and Town of Barwicke; and to let, set, and demise the same, or any Part thereof, from Year to Year; and shall have Power to call before them all Stewards, Auditors, Receivers, Bailiffs, Collectors, or any other Officer or Officers whatsoever; and to send for or take any Books of Accompts, Rentals, Copies of Court Roll, or any other Writings touching the Premises, and thereby, and by all other Ways and Means which to them shall seem meet and necessary, to inform themselves of the said Revenues, Debts, and Arrears thereof, and of all Things concerning the same; and to appoint any subordinate Officer or Officers and Ministers under them, for the better expediting of this Service; which said subordinate Officers and Ministers are hereby authorized and enjoined to perform and execute all and every their Commands respectively, in and concerning the Premises; and shall have such Allowances, for their Pains and Charges in that Behalf, as the respective Persons or Receivers, appointed for the several Counties, Cities, or Places, shall think fit, the same being approved of by the Committee for the Revenue; and that all such Stewards, Auditors, Receivers, Bailiffs, Collectors, or any other Officer or Officers whatsoever, which have not submitted themselves to the Commands and Directions of any former Ordinance of Parliament, or to the Committee for the Revenue, and likewise all other such Officers which shall not yield Obedience to this Ordinance of Parliament, or to the Committee for the Revenue, shall stand sequestered from their several Offices respectively, and from the receiving and enjoying any Profit or Benefit of or for the same; and the Committee for the Revenue, or any Five, shall have Power, and are hereby authorized, to nominate and appoint other meet, fit, and trusty Persons, to supply and execute those Offices and Places which are or shall be sequestered as aforesaid; and the said Persons or Receivers, nominated or to be nominated as aforesaid, their Agents and Deputies, within their several Limits respectively, shall have Power, and are hereby authorized and required, to enter into all and every His Majesty's, the Queen's, and Prince's Honours, Manors, Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, Courts, and Offices, and to receive such Rents, Arrearages of Rents, Heriots, Issues, Profits, Sums of Money, Debts, and other Duties, as are or shall be due and payable for or out of the same; and the Fee Farmers, Farmers, and the Tenants thereof, Officers, and all others, are required to pay the same accordingly to the said Persons or Receivers, or to such other Officers or Receivers as shall be thereunto appointed, by virtue and according to the Direction of this Ordinance, and to no other Person whatsoever; and the said Fee Farmers, Farmers, Tenants, and all others which shall pay any Rent, Sum of Money, or other Thing, according to this Ordinance, shall be protected and saved harmless, from any Forfeiture, Penalty, or Damage, which he or they may incur, by Not-payment of His or their said Rent, Sum of Money, or other Thing, according to his or their Grant, Lease, Copy, or other Agreement, by the Power and Authority of both Houses of Parliament; and if any Sheriff, Receiver, Collector, or any other Officer of any Court whatsoever, shall refuse to pay the Monies from Time to Time remaining in their Hands, any Fee Farmer, Farmer, or Tenant, shall refuse to pay his or their Rents, or any other shall refuse to pay their particular Debts, to the Hands of the said Persons or Receivers, in the several and respective Counties, Cities, and Places, at such Times as the same shall become due and payable, or to the Receiver General hereby appointed; then the said Persons or Receivers, for the several Counties, Cities, and Places, shall have Power to distrain for the same, and to take all other Advantages for Non-payment thereof, as His Majesty, the Queen, and Prince, their Officers or Ministers, might have done; and they shall have Power to sue for and recover any Debt, Sum of Money, or other Duty, owing to His Majesty, the Queen, or Prince, by any Person whatsoever; and also to give Discharges and Acquittances for any Rent, Sum of Money, Debts, Duty, or other Thing, which they shall receive by virtue of this Ordinance; and shall be accountable from Time to Time for the same, and for all such other Things as shall be had, received, or taken, by them, their Agents, or Deputies, and for all their Receipts and Payments, and other Acts for or in respect of the Premises, to the Committee for the Revenue, or to such as they shall appoint; and shall pay in, from Time to Time, all such Sums of Money as they, or any of them, shall receive by virtue of this Ordinance, unto Thomas Faulconbridge Esquire, at Westminster (who is hereby constituted and appointed Receiver General of all such Sums of Money as shall be received or raised by virtue of this Ordinance); and shall be, from Time to Time, subject to the further Orders and Directions of the Committee for the Revenue; and the Acquittances of the said Receiver General, and of the said Persons or Receivers in the several Counties, Cities, and Places, Courts, and Offices, respectively, shall be as good and sufficient Discharge for the Sums of Money therein contained, as if the same were paid into the Receipt of the Exchequer, or into any other usual Court or Place; and the Barons of the Exchequer, and all other Officers and Ministers of the same, and other Courts and Places respectively, are hereby required and authorized to give full Allowances thereof, and thereupon to make forth Quietus ests, and other Discharges, according to the Course and Custom of the several Courts and Places; and the said Persons or Receivers, their Agents and Deputies, shall have Power to call to their Aid and Assistance the Trained Bands, Voluntiers, or other Forces, and any other Officer or Minister of Justice, of or within their several Counties, Cities, or Places respectively, or any other Person or Persons dwelling in or near the Place, to compel Obedience to this Ordinance, where any Resistance shall be made, or as oft as Need shall require; and shall have Power to punish such Person or Persons, as they shall find refractory, negligent, or faulty, in the said Service, by Fine and Imprisonment, such Fine not exceeding the Sum of Twenty Pounds, or to certify their Names to the Committee for the Revenue, who shall have Power to send for them, or any of them, and commit them to such Prisons and Places as they shall think fit, until they shall conform themselves to this present Ordinance of Parliament; and the said Trained Bands, Voluntiers, and other Forces, their Commanders and Officers, and also the several Constables, Headboroughs, and other Officers and Persons, within their several and respective Limits, are hereby required and enjoined to be aiding and assisting to the said Persons or Receivers, their Agents and Deputies, as oft as they shall be thereunto required.

"And it is further Ordained and Declared, by the said Lords and Commons, That all and every the said Revenues, Rents, Profits, Debts, and Sums of Money whatsoever, shall be employed to and for such Uses and Services as are or shall be directed by the Committee for the Revenue.

"And it is likewise further Ordained, That all and every the said Persons or Receivers, Receiver General, Auditors, and other Officers and Ministers employed in this Service by the Committee for the Revenue, or any Five of them, shall have such Allowances, for their necessary Charges and Pains in and about the Premises, as the said Committee shall think fit; and that as well they, as all others who shall be employed in the said Service, or shall do any Thing in Execution or Performance of this Ordinance, shall be therein protected and saved harmless, by the Power and Authority of both the said Houses.

"And lastly it is Ordained, That the said Committee for the Revenue, or any Five of them, shall have Power, and be hereby enabled, to do and execute any other Act or Acts, Thing or Things, they shall think fit, for the better and more speedy collecting, levying, advancing, and receiving, of all and every the said Revenues, Debts, and Sums of Money beforementioned.

"Provided, and be it further Ordained, That all and singular such Revenues, Rents, Issues, Fees, Profits, and Sums of Money, and Allowances whatsoever, as have heretofore been, and now ought to be, paid and disposed unto or for the Maintenance of any College or Hospital (whose Revenues, or any Part thereof, have not been employed for Maintenance of the War against the Parliament), Grammar School, or Scholars, or for or towards the Reparation of any Church, Chapel, Highway, Cawsey, Bridge, School-house, or other Charitable Use, which are chargeable upon, or ought to issue out of, or be paid for or in respect of, any the Honours, Manors, Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, Revenues, or Profits aforesaid, shall be and continue to be paid, disposed, and allowed of, as they were and have been heretofore."

"Die Jovis, 21 Septemb. 1643.

"Ordered, by the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, That this Ordinance shall be forthwith printed and published.

"J. Brown, Cler. Parliamentorum."

House adjourned till 10^a cras.