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of Ireland to apply to his excellency, who thought fit to receive the motion as wholly new, and what he could not consider till he were fixed in the government, and till the same application were made to him as had been to his predecessors. Accordingly, an address was delivered to his lordship, with a petition to the queen, and a memorial annexed from both houses of convocation; but a dispute happening in the lower house, wherein his chaplain was concerned, and which was represented by the said chaplain as an affront designed to his excellency, who was pleased to understand and report it so to the court, the convocation was suddenly prorogued, and all farther thoughts about the first-fruits let fall as desperate.

The subject of the petition was to desire, that the twentieth parts might be remitted to the clergy, and the first-fruits made a fund for purchasing glebes and impropriations, and rebuilding churches.

The twentieth parts are twelve pence in the pound paid annually out of all ecclesiastical benefices, as they were valued at the reformation. They amount to about 5001, per annum; but of little or no value to the queen, after the officers and other charges are paid, though of much trouble and vexation to the clergy.

The first-fruits paid by incumbents upon their promotion amount to 4501. per annum; so that her majesty, in remitting about 10001. per annum to the clergy, will really lose not above 5001.

Upon August 31, 1710, the two houses of convocation being met to be farther prorogued, the archbishops and bishops conceiving there was now a favourable juncture to resume their applications, did, in their private capacities, sign a power to the

said Dr Swift, to solicit the remitting of the firstfruits and twentieth parts.

But there is a greater burden than this, and almost intolerable, upon several of the clergy in Ireland; the easing of which, the clergy only looked on as a thing to be wished, without making it part of their petition.

The queen is impropriator of several parishes, and the incumbent pays her half-yearly a rent generally to the third part of the real value of the living, and sometimes half. Some of these parishes [yielding no income to the vicar, *] by the increase of graziers, are seized on by the crown, and cannot pay the reserved rent. The value of all these impropriations are about 20001. per annum to her majesty.

If the queen would graciously please to bestow likewise these impropriations, to the church, part to be remitted to the incumbent, where the rent is large and the living small, and the rest to be laid out in levying glebes and impropriations, and building churches, it would be a most pious and seasonable bounty.

The utmost value of the twentieth parts, firstfruits, and crown-rents, is 30001. per annum, of which about 5001. per annum is sunk among officers; so that her majesty, by this great benefaction, would lose but 25001. per annum.

The words in hooks are crossed over in the MS.

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TO ARCHBISHOP KING.

MY LORD;

London, Oct. 10, 1710.

I HAD the honour of your grace's letter of September 16, but I was in no pain to acknowledge it, nor shall be at any other time, until I have something that I think worth troubling you, because I am very sensible how much an insignificant letter is worse than none at all. I had likewise the memorial, &c. in another packet: and I beg your grace to enclose whatever packets you send me (I mean of bulk) under a paper directed to Mr Steele, at his office in the Cock-pit, and not for me at Mr Steele's. I should have been glad the bishops had been here, although I take bishops to be the worst solicitors in the world, except in their own concerns. They cannot give themselves the little troubles of attendance that other men are content to swallow; else, I am sure, their two lordships might have succeeded easier than men of my level can reasonably hope to do.

As soon as I received the packets, I went to wait upon Mr Harley. I had prepared him before by another hand, where he was very intimate, and got myself represented (which I might justly do) as one extremely ill-used by the last ministry, after some obligations, because I refused to go certain lengths they would have me. This happened to be in some sort Mr Harley's own case.* He had heard

Harley was educated a whig; and professing the principles of that party, was Secretary of State under Godolphin's administration.

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very often of me, and received me with the greatest marks of kindness and esteem, as I was whispered that he would; and the more, upon the ill usage I had met with. I sat with him two hours among company, and two hours we were alone; where I gave him a history of the whole business, and the steps that had been made in it; which he heard as I could wish; and promised with great readiness his best credit to effect it. I mentioned the difficulties we had met with from lords-lieutenants and their secretaries, who would not suffer others to solicit, and neglected it themselves. He fell in with me entirely; and said, neither they nor himself should have the merit of it, but the queen, to whom he would show my memorial with the first opportunity; in order, if possible, to have it done in this interregnum. I said, "it was a great encouragement to the bishops that he was in the treasury, whom they knew to have been the chief adviser of the queen to grant the same favour in England; that the honour and merit of this would certainly be his, next the queen; but that it was nothing to him, who had done so much greater things; and that for my part, I thought he was obliged to the clergy of Ireland, for giving him an occasion of gratifying the pleasure he took in doing good to the church." He received my compliment extremely well, and renewed his promises with great kindness.

Your grace will please to know that, beside the first-fruits, I told him of the crown-rents, and showed the nature and value of them; but said, my opinion was, that the convocation had not men

But when he lost that place, in 1708, he closed definitively with the tories.

tioned them in their petition to the queen, delivered to Lord Wharton with the address, because they thought the times would not then bear it; but that I looked upon myself to have a discretionary power to solicit it in so favourable a juncture. I had two memorials ready of my own drawing up, as short as possible, showing the nature of the thing, and how long it had been depending, &c. One of these memorials had a paragraph at the end relating to the crown-rents; the other had none. In case he had waved the motion of the crown-rents, I would have given him the last, but I gave him the other, which he immediately read, and promised to second both with his best offices to the queen. As I have

placed that paragraph in my memorial, it can do no harm, and may possibly do good. However, I beg your grace to say nothing of it, but if it dies, let it die in silence; we must take up with what can be got.

I forgot to tell your grace, that when I said I was empowered, &c. he desired to see my powers: and then I heartily wished they had been a little more ample; and I have since wondered what scruple a number of bishops could have of empowering a clergyman to do the church and them a service, without any prospect or imagination of interest for himself, farther than about ten shillings a-year.

Mr Harley has invited me to dine with him today; but I shall not put him upon this discourse so soon. If he begins it himself, I will add at bottom whatever there is of moment.

He said, Mr Secretary St John desires to be acquainted with me, and that he will bring us together, which may be of farther help; although I told him I had no thoughts of applying to any but himself; wherein he differed from me, desiring

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