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White; its to the life. I can with some confidence speak it, being no stranger to him. He is of a right stamp in this, that he would have the honestest men disbanded first, the other being more suitable to his and the common design. The General will instantly order the Nottingham horse to Worcester, wherein I shall be your Lordship's remembrancer to him, and in that and in all things, my Lord, your most humble servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.

Endorsed "Lieutenant General Cromwell's from Oxford, 16 June 1646. White's regiment for Worcester."

17

(AFTER LETTER XLI)

To my very Loving Friend, Mr. Joinner [Jenner] at Goldsmiths' Hall: These

[London], October 29, 1646. Requesting permission for Lord Cromwell to correct certain unintentional errors in his particular of estate. Concludes "What favour you shall show my Lord Cromwell herein, you shall oblige your very loving friend,

OLIVER CROMWELL." +

Thomas Cromwell, 4th Baron, and Earl of Ardglass in Ireland, was great-great grandson of Henry the VIII.'s Cromwell, and therefore only a distant relation of Oliver's-who was descended, as will be remembered, from the first Lord Cromwell's nephew. In November 1645, the House of Lords ordered him to be committed to the Usher for " deserting the House." He compounded at Goldsmiths' Hall shortly afterwards, stating that his delinquency was only that he had accepted a command under the King, in hopes "to have served his country, and righted himself against the Irish rebels," who had seized his estate and burnt his house, but that he would never accept of any command against Parliament; that he had come in upon the " propositions" of November 1645, and had taken the National Covenant. His fine was set at 800l., part of which was afterwards abated, but

1 Major Charles White, of Nottingham. There are many notices of him, mostly rather unfavourable, in Mrs. Hutchinson's Memoirs.

*The holograph original is amongst the Portland Papers, and is calendared in the Thirteenth Report of the Hist. MSS. Commissioners, Appendix, part ii. p. 137. + Original in S. P. Dom., Interregnum G., lxxviii. 479. Signed only by Cromwell.

his estate was not finally discharged until June 1652. See Calendar of Committee for Compounding, p. 950.

Robert Jenner, M.P. for Cricklade, was put on to the Committee for Compounding shortly after its formation and was one of its most zealous members. See vol. i., p. 386 above.

18

(AFTER LETTER XLIV)

THE following letters are written (1) to the chairman and (2) to two of the members of the Committee for Advance of Money, during their investigation of the cases of certain delinquent clerks of the Prerogative office. It was ordered that Cromwell's letters were to be considered when the places were filled up, but whether Edwards obtained a clerkship does not appear. See Calendar of Committee for Advance of Money, pp. 685, 686.

1. For the Right Honourable Edward, Lord Howard: these March 23, 1646[-7].

MY LORD, Your favours give me the boldness to present the humble suit of this poor man to your Lordship, whose power (as he tells me) may confer upon him that which he seeks, which is a dividend clerk's place in the Prerogative office. I have had many promises from Mr. Hill of doing the man a favour, but I hear he is now out of town. Sir Nathaniel Brent knows him. And truly that which commends him to the place is partly his merit, he having served there as an under clerk about sixteen or seventeen years, and in all that time his behaviour has been such as I believe the strictest man could not detect him. My Lord, believe me I would not put you to this trouble did I not know the man to be a most religious honest man. I have known him so near this twenty years, we having had much of our education together. I dare profess to your Lordship that I believe his modesty and integrity have kept him from being preferred hitherunto. He having so good a pretence, I hope your Lordship will befriend his just desire, and pardon this trouble and boldness to, my Lord,

1

Your most humble and most faithful servant,

OLIVER CROMWELL.*

This is apparently an error for thirty (see the next letter) Cromwell being now nearly forty-eight years of age.

# Holograph. Seal with an anchor. S. P. Dom., Interregnum A., cvi. 19. Printed in the English Historical Review, 1899, p. 737.

2. For my Noble Friends, Henry Darlye and John Gurdon Esquires:

GENTLEMEN,

These

Martii ult. 1647.

I wrote a letter to my Lord Howard on the behalf of this bearer, Mr. Edwards, to desire he may be placed in that office to which he has been related near seventeen years. He is (I am persuaded) a godly man. I have known him above thirty years. I believe the reason he has not been preferred is more because of his modesty and honesty than for any other cause. Now you will have opportunity to right him. He is a very able clerk. The place he desires is a dividend clerk's place in the Prerogative, for which he hath so long served, and from which he hath been so long and unduly kept. He hath a family in town to maintain. I would not write thus confidently for him but upon known grounds.

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THIS and the following numbers have relation to the negotiations between the Parliament and the army, and between the General (and his chief officers) and the deputies from the discontented regiments. For further documents on this subject, the reader is referred to the Clarke Papers, from which these are taken. See also Appendix 10, above.

The order to Skippon, Cromwell, Ireton and Fleetwood to go down to the army was issued on April 30, and they reached Saffron Walden on May 2.

The Officers sent to the Army, to the Colonels or Chief Officers of the Respective Regiments

Walden, May 3rd, 1647.

Desiring them to repair to Saffron Walden, to give the best account they can of the temper of their regiments, and to receive an account of such things as are appointed by the House of Commons to be imparted to the army. Signed by Skippon, Cromwell and Ireton. +

Seal with chequers.

* Holograph. S. P. Dom., Interregnum A., cvi. 20. Printed in the English Historical Review, 1899, p. 738. + Printed in the Clarke Pavers, i. 20.

20

Skippon and Cromwell to the Commanders of the Eight Horse Regiments"

Walden, May 9, [1647].

Desiring them to use their best endeavours to enquire where the three letters sent in the name of their regiments (one to the General, the others to themselves) had their rise, and to bring with them, next Saturday, the best account they can of the matter.*

21

Speech in Saffron Walden Church

ON May 16, a meeting, attended by about two hundred officers and a certain number of private soldiers (probably as delegates from their regiments) was held in Saffron Walden Church, at which, after various officers had declared the temper of their regiments, Cromwell made the following speech.

"Gentlemen, by the command of the Major-General, I will offer a word or two to you. I shall not need to remind you what the occasion of this meeting was, and what the business we are sent down about: you see by what has passed that it was for us to learn what temper the army was in, and truly to that end were the votes of the Parliament communicated by us to you, that you should communicate them to the army, that so we might have an accompt from you. That accompt is received, but it being in writing and consisting in many particulars, we do not yet know what the contents of those papers are. But this I am to let you know that we shall deal very faithfully through the grace of God with those that have employed us hither and with you also. The further consideration of these businesses will be a work of time. The Major-General and the rest of the gentlemen think it not fit to necessitate your stay here from your several charges; but because there may be many particulars that may require further consideration in these papers that are here represented, it is desired that you would

1 The eight regiments were those of Fairfax, Cromwell, Ireton, Fleetwood, Okey, Butler, Sheffield and Rich.

Skippon evidently presided at the meeting. called the speakers to order when they would not In fact he was first commissioner, always signing

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He opened the proceedings and hear one another with sobriety." above the others.

* Printed in the Clarke Papers, i. 32.

stay here a field officer at the least of every regiment, and two captains. For the rest, it is desired of you that you would repair to your several charges, and that when you are there, you would renew your care and diligence in pressing [on] the several soldiers under your commands the effect of those votes that you have already read. That likewise you would acquaint them as particularly with those two things that the Major-General did impart to you, which he had in a letter from the Speaker of the House of Peers, to wit the addition of a fortnight's pay, a fortnight to those that are to go for Ireland, and a fortnight to those that do not go, and likewise there is an Act of Indemnity very full already passed the House of Commons. Truly, gentlemen, it will be very fit for you to have a very great care in the making the best use and improvement that you can both of the votes and of this that hath been last told you, and of the interest which all of you or any of you may have in your several respective regiments, namely to work in them a good opinion of that authority that is over both us and them. If that authority falls to nothing, nothing can follow but confusion. You have hitherto fought to maintain that duty, and truly as you have vouchsafed your hands in defending that, so [vouchsafe] now to express your industry and interest to preserve it, and therefore I have nothing more to say to you. I shall desire that you will be pleased to lay this

to heart that I have said." *

22

The Four Officers to Mr. Speaker

Walden, May 20, 1647.

Stating that upon the order of the 18th inst. they are sending up two of themselves (Lieut.-Gen. Cromwell and Col. Fleetwood) to give an account of their business to the house. Signed by all four officers.+

23

The Houses of Parliament having determined to reopen negotiations with the King, voted on June 15 that he should be removed to Richmond, where he was to be guarded, not by men of Fairfax's army, but by a regiment raised in Lincolnshire. The King agreed, and the Lord General gave his consent, appointing Whalley to escort his Majesty,

*Clarke Papers, i. 72. On this meeting, see the letter of the Commissioners, printed by Cary, i. 214; also Rushworth, pt. iv. vol. i. pp. 485, 487.

+ Clarke Papers, i. 94.

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