History of the Down Survey (Petty 1851)/6

by William Petty

 

CHAPTER VI.

 

FFORASMUCH, therefore, as the subdivision could not be put in hand without their previouse computation of debt and creditt mentioned in the above report, and that, partly through the insufficiency of the meanes, greatness of the worke, with the slackeness and diversion of the agents, there appeared noe hopes to effect the same speedily, as indeed nothing considerable was done therein untill May following.

The Doctor, to loose noe time, did send forth many workemen into the nearest countreys, as that of Dublyn and Meath. In the first whereof occurred innumerable parcells of land to be measured, under fourty acres each, and many more of the same size were exspected in other places.

Whereuppon the D^r, conceiving the same necessary to be done, and yet himselfe not at all obliged thereunto by his contract, acquaints the Councill therewith, who, for removall hereoff, and of other obstructions which they foresaw might happen, did appoint a Comittee by the following order:

 

By the Lord Deputy and Councill.

To the end that the surveyes undertaken by D^r Petty, of all the lands in Ireland forfeited to and disposeable by the Commonwealth of England to officers, souldiers, and others, uppon accompt of arreares, publique faith, debts, &c., may receive all due encouragement, and what may interrupt the progress thereoff bee seasonably redressed. Itt is ordered that Robert Goodman [Goodwin], Esq., and Colonel Mathew Thomlinson, both of the Councill, together with Sir Hardress Waller, Commissary-Generall Reynolds, Collonell Hewson, and Collonell Lawrence, or any three or more of them, whereof the said M^r Goodwin or Collonell Thomlinson to be one, &c., be, and they are hereby constituted and appointed a committee to consider off and take care that the said surveys be not interrupted or obstructed. And in case any question, difficulty, difference, or controversy shall arise, which casually may obstruct or retard the progress of the said survey or admeasurement, the said Committee as afforesaid are hereby impowered and authorized to hear, examine, and determine all such differences and controversies thence arising; and such their determination to be definitive, conclusive, and binding, to all intents and purposes. The said Committee are alsoe desired to set apart Tuesdayes and Saturdayes, in the afternoone, to proceed therein, or at other times, as occasion may be administred.

Dublyn, 9th January, 1654.

Tho. Herbert, Clerk of the Councill.

The above mentioned controversie was brought to the said Committee, who, having by this time been possessed by the enviouse, casheired surveyors, that the D^rs gaines would be great, grew severe. And Mr. Worseley, finding himselfe overseen in making the contract as to this point, tooke great paines to find out salvos for such his inadvertency; for, after he had written many polemicall sheets uppon the subject, pleasing himselfe, as he usually does, with distilling pretty inferences out of some one mistaken ground, and a laboriouse shuffling the words relatively, exclusively, and subordinately, hee was feigne to conclude as followeth, viz^t.:

(Fforasmuch as all contracts and articles, when many and large, cannot easily bee soe framed and claused but that an advantage may be taken, to the prejudice of the contract it self, if no equity in such cases, in order to preserve the body of the contract, should bee allowed, against the seeming sence of the words; and if the grammar of the words should, against such an equity of the words, bee enforced, the Commonwealth could bee at noe certainty in their agreements.)

Whereas the D^r said, that if the grammar in three severall places, together with a general rule, strengthned with exceptions, should not take place of a wire-drawne equity, brought mearly to excuse tithing of mint and cummin, and neglecting the weightier things of the law, that the poor subject could never bee at any certainty in his agreements.

Lastly, Mr. Worsely perswades the Committee to determine in these words:

That, according to the contract, all forfeited proprietors lands were to be admeasured; but that, if the same should hereafter bee found in soe many very small parcells as that the contractor should suffer, itt was thought fitt that a further allowance should be made, according to good conscience.

In brief, this controversy grew soe high, some argueing for their honour, and others for their preservation, that the whole was at a stand for some dayes, untill, seeing where the shooe pinched, the Doctor framed a new body of articles, admitting him into the worke and wages, which, when he had a little disguized, to make it seeme his owne, he liked soe admirably well, that he signed and presented it to the Committee, the principall points whereoff were these, viz^t.:

1st. That the lands be surveyed according to the proprieties and denominations, noe surround exceeding 350 acres, which in the other contract was but fourty.

2dly. That all gleab and mensall land be surrounded, whether they lye in parcells small or great.

3dly. That the artists to be imployed be paid by the chaine and angle.

4thly. That an Examinator-General reside at Dublyn.

5thly. That seaven souldiers and a corporall be allowed to waite uppon each instrument.

6thly. That four pounds a thousand acres bee allowed as advance for what shall be downe admeasured, and five pounds for what shall be both measured and subdivided.

7thly. That the D^r be allowed 2000^li, and the pay of fifty foot souldiers, for thirteene moneths, viz^t., neer 700^li more; in all 2700^li, for his paines.

8thly. Memorand, here is noe mention of reimbursing the charge of the grosse surround, viz^t., about 2000^li.

9thly. Nor of what Mr. Worseley himselfe is to have, which cannot be less then the Doctors.

Soe that, allthough the worke propounded in this latter forme be not soe great as the other, yet the charge uppon the whole will be far greater. Tis true, indeed, that here appeares a demand but of five pounds per thousand, whereas 7^li 3^s 4^d was given in the other, which uppon about two millions of acres saves 4000^li. Now against that gaine sett the 2700^li for D^r Petty, and as much more for M^r Worseley, and 2000^li reimbursements, making in all 7400^li; and one hundred mens eight ... per diem, viz^t, fourty ... per diem for the souldiers waiting uppon one hundred instruments, for about three hundred and sixty, or three hundred and ninety dayes, making 14,400^li; in all, 21,800^li. The ballance will be about 18,000^li viz^t. so much less to the State; that is as much againe as the whole cost them uppon D^r Pettye's contract. And this M^r Worsley signes freely, and calls it an exspedient for removing the above mentioned instruction.

The which exspedient, and the giving forty shillings per thousand, anno Do. 1653, for what was not worth forty pence, deserves him the pay he demanded, as for two Surveyor-Generalls; ffor tis but reason the Surveyor-Generall should be paid double, when his underlins are more then quadruple.

This expedient had certainly taken, but that one unluckily objected that the steele and iron in those eight souldiers swords would distract the needles play; nevertheless, Mr. Worsely seeing that the exclusion of him from the worke was not my fault, he assented to some explanations of my first articles, viz^t.:

1st. That if the small parcells uppon which the controversy arose were measured, that then the distinction into forty acres (though both needless and impracticable in his animadversions) should be dispensed withall.

2dly. That the thirteene moneths terme should not begin from the 11^th of December, but from the first of February, for redeeming the time lost by this obstruction; and lastly, that the reimbursements, which were to be gradually disburst, should be forborne till the last: all which was honestly performed, for in that criticall enumeration of all faults, non-performances, &c., exhibited by him the 18° August, he never mentioned any of the said matters, allthough the said explanations were never formally sealed and perfected, having been but only written and wittnessed.

 

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