Transcript

[fol. 97r] Having wrytten unto your L. whiles the Q. majestie was att Lees: a certayn note towchyng the survey of strangers, desireng then if your L. wold so have vowchesaved, to have had it bestowed on me. Wherunto it plesed yow to answer that it was a new thyng, & not necessary to be granted, wheruppon consydring better of the matter since, I have humbly presumed to drawe owtt certayn notes towching the same in forme of a supplicatyon, to th'end that your L. might behold the zele that moved me therunto, & the resons that might perswade the same, assuring your L. that the grudge of our people doth encrese daylye against them, & the lewd demenor of the strangers, doth mani wayes deserve it, for ther be of them Papistes, Anabaptistes, Libertynes, dronckards, Comune women, & Brothell howses. allso espyalles, murtherers, theves, & Conspirators, with suche a confusyon as may reqwire a spedy order therin: which I take to be mi dutye to revele this far unto your L. as well for the preservatyon of the good, as the clensing of the rest: for their nombers do growe more & more, & our artifficers complayn that they ar [ deleted: not] utterly driven a begging by them for lack of worke, their howses made derer & taken over their hedes, the prises of all things raysed, not for [ deleted: want] ani want, but for the gredynes in them to prevent others, & lastly that on howse is pestred with iiij or v howsholdes, which bredes filthynes, infectyon, & pestilence, so as it is wondred that the plage is nott more brym than ever it was, whose nomber is thought more by viij or x m than hath bin in England att ani tyme; & yett when your honors of the Cowncell do write to be informed trulye how mani they be, the Bedelles of the wardes ar comanded to go abowtt to understand the same, who for a grote or ij certeffie only the howsholdes, omitteng mani tymes their servants & childern, & mani tymes (ether for negligence or bribery) the howsholders them selves, wherby the certaintye is never knowen, & withall when suche serche is made, the servants do offten absent them selves (whose nomber is verey grett) till the same serche be blowen over. And as this grevows taxe that the Duke of Alba hath sett uppon the subjects of the Lowe Contrey, is like to fall most uppon the handy crafftes men & uppon the porer sort, so will they be forced to flye away by [shepes] , wherof a grett parte will make their platt to repaire hither a [ deleted: policye] policye perhaps to be ryd of the [more] & in pestring us so grettly, to sturre a comocyon withall amongest us, under which the sayd Duke may the eselyer have his espialles & ille Instruments to attempt ani thing he will, which [ deleted: he] reqwires in mi simple judgement a speciall officer or Register, in suche sort as is expressed in the supplicatyon, to observe their repaire hither & departure, likewise every parte of them & of their doings: And this among other eases wold augment the Q. majesties customes, & wold hynder mani colowrable deceytts, wherby they [fol. 97v] defrawd the Prince of her dutye, & turne all good orders up so downe, yett is it charitable that those which be good neighbors & sincere marchants, shold be favorably receved & cherished, butt specially to embrace & deffend those which be the afflicted members of Christe repayreng hither for their conscyens even to the Q. majesties most gracyows bosom & protectyon; which by this survey wilbe discerned truly from the rest, to as the skabbed sort maye affterwards be disposed of, as shall seme metest to your honorable wisdom: A service certaynly so acceptable to God, & so convenient for the Prince & season, as it will [excuse] in effect, ani consyderatyon that may be made before hand, & the naturall subjects of the land, wold thinck them selves grettly satisfyed to have this in executyon, which is an argument of suche a care had of them, as may seme to redooble the Q. majesties affectyon to [her] people & will encrese their dutye the more to their Soveraigne it [ deleted: will] wold allso take awaye the ille mynds of those that still pretend matter against the strangers, which was on principall objectyon in the late Rebellyon of the Northe, & so in the pretended conspiracye of Northfolk & Suffolk, wherin yf your L. wold vowchesave to employ me for terme of life [or] for 21. yeres, yow shold enhable on that moste humblye deppends of yow alone & that will cede not further in ani parte therof, butt as yow prescribe from tyme to tyme, & so [ ... ] I in mi respect direct mi obedience to your only likeng & comandement, which for mi [povertys] sake, I beseche your L. to tender the more, & especially for the reverend memory of that worthy Prelate the Bishop of Salisbury, the grettest frynd & favorer I had in the world your L. excepted, whose ernest reqwest did intreatt that yow wold be good unto me, which he wold recken don to hym self, & so did he personally to mi L. keper before his departure from London, to whom he repayred of his own motyon & of purpose to shew his [affectyon] towards me, & now the beneffite is twise don & twise grett, where he is nott in place [to] deserve it agayn, & mi nede shalbe releved by your honorable worke in me, having cost me 50li. in these late trobles, besyde other chargs & detts, which I have satisfyed for conscyens sake, & besyde mi daylye expencs that force me to the gretter regard of mi [ ... ] for that your L. may have som secrett intent to do good [ ... ] [whom] [ ... ] deserve well, whom I know not your L. shall presently have 400. angelles in gold, owtt of this office, to dispose uppon whom yow will, that as I wold nott [ deleted: crave all] covett all, so wold I asmuche good to other as I might, craving humble pardon for this mi boldnes, having no Patron to bemone mi self to butt yow alone, & so with all humble affectyon & dutye, I finishe: yett with like duty remembring to your L. that therbe certayn suttyll & malycows rumors norished abrode, which indirectly wolld towche yow, consernyng the Dukes imprisonment & trobles, likewise therbe other talkes [fol. 98r] suffred abrode, verey dangerows to contynew, wherof the Papistes & their sort, make it a conyng to invent new matters to support their factyon & cawses to the world, praing God to preserve your L. from all your enmyes & to the good of this noble Prynce & Reallm. In Richemond the third of october. 1571. your L. most humbly. W. Herlleli.