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be otherwise disposed of, or out of any other lands disposeable to the army which shall be undisposed of att the time when the said lands shall bee soe taken away. In wittness, &c.
Whereby it appeares that the land which he received for 3181li is but a pawne, whereof when any part is paid the Doctor is bound to give in soe many debentures in lieu thereof as whereby hee might have purchased the same quantity of lands in the ordinary way. And moreover, in case the State should dispence with the souldiers paying the said penny per acre for the coursest of the said undisposed lands, then they allow the same out of land in their owne dispose, and which was, as itt were, wonne att play with the army. Neither was this intended as an absolute grant from the Commissioners, for there is a condition which supposes the Councill may not confirme it, making certaine provisions in that case. Now how the army is wronged in giving but one penny as a pawne for threepence, which they justly owe, for soe it is, a penny in ready money being as good as three pence in debentures, and that with a condition of a redemption? And how is the State wronged, if they grant away towards the satisfying of their owne debt what they had won from the army, and that too in favour of the army, and for doeing the armyes bussinesse, and to exempt the army from paying three pence with what costs them but a penny, nay, with what they had not? And where is any fraud in a matter of this nature, after many debates, grounded uppon the supreame and their subordinate ministers authority, a priori, and lyeable to bee null uppon the said supreame authorities dislike of the whole transactions, when they should from exsperience be sensible of itts inconveniency, are the questions; or rather, it is a question whether the State and their ministers granting such orders, and suffering them to bee afterwards questioned, bee not fraud and trepanning.
This order was first granted by some of the Commissioners the 24th of Aprill, vizt, by as many as were then in being, and afterwards confirmed, with some small additions, about November; nor was any subduction even in due cases made, because the time for making them was not by the said articles come, and that other further additions, to reballance the said subductions, might happen, as some actually did, before the said time of a finall accompt was come.
Whereas the above order of the Councill, dated the 6th of March, gave lycence to satisfye the said arreares of pay as debentures, and one thousand pounds in debentures, as all to redeeme mortgages. Now the first said order of the
