Cecil Papers 25/106, Oxford to Burghley; 23 March 1595. [Click here for modernized spelling.]
My very good Lord. I knowe yow
are not to be trobled at thys present wythe any longe letter, wherfore I will
only answer to the matter proposed.
fyrst to that poynt, wher yt ys
sayd that the Tynners shall have ther mony lent them at 8l in the 100, wheras
they have yt at 10l in the 100. This is but a maske, for they have yt all redie
at 5 and 6l the 100. And also the matter is of small importance sythence the
whole sume so commonly lent vnto them frome dyvers ingrossers of ther Tyne, is
not amonge them all, aboue 3000l.
for yat the Contrie hathe left
at randole vnto an vncerteyne prize as hertofore. This is lekly to returne the
contrie to the former discontentment before yt was yelded vnto to ther owne
askinge, that they showld have 24l certeynty (communibus annis) for
every 1000l weyght of Tyne.
Wheras yt ys sayd yat that
which is sowld in the Realme shalbe at the accustomed prize, this dothe but
make a noyce and is to no purpos. for in myne accountes yowre lordship shall
perceyve in comparinge them that ther is no other profitt raysd but one that
which is transported.
Last of all for the 30000l
which her Maiestie is to lay owt and the 10000l my Lord is to disburse.
This so great a sume
proportioned to the quantetie of Tyne dothe direct to that wheroff I have all
thys whyle motioned, & that is that the rates of the Tyne are vndervallued
to her Magestie, and to be thowght the quantite which is taken frome the Mynes
is far more then is thowght wherof even thys day sume discouerie is made vnto
me.
for yf the Tyne were no more
then yt ys rated, sythe as yowre lordships shall finde by myne accounte, then
17000 and sume od poundes, byethe The whole yeres Tyne, of whiche mony the one
halfe ys to be imployed for the fyrst Coynage, wher ys Tyne for so muche monye
as he settes downe.
Thus yt appeares that 8000l
or theraboutes, byes vp the fyrst coynage, which beinge turnd over, yeldes yt
self bake agayne with the increas, and so dothe satisfise the whole yeare. Then
all the rest of the monye the merchantes and my lord have thys whole yeare in
ther owne handes, except 3000l therof more which they lend the contrie
as yt ys sedd for 8l in the 100.
Now lett thes offers be
considered. my Lord askethe 30000l to be lent him, and I only wishe her
Magestie by her owne officers to ley owt 8000l. My Lord yf she wyll lay
out nothinge desyres that her Magestie showld receyve no further profitte then
her ordinarie revenue for the fyrst yeare wherby she leasethe 7000l.
I offer her the fyrst yeares
gayne as well as ever after and her Magestie to lay owt never a pennye.
My lord leues the Tynners to
ther former vncerteynte.
I satisfise them with 24l for
every 1000l weyght, whiche is there owne demand and agrement.
[sideways in left margin]
Yowre Lordships to Command
(signed) Edward Oxenford
Addressed (O): To the ryght
honorable and his very good Lord, the Lord Thresorer of Englande. [seal]
Endorsed: 23 Martij 1594; Earl
Oxford
Also at Virtual Grub Street:
- A 1572 Oxford Letter and the Player’s Speech in Hamlet. August 11, 2020. “The player’s speech has been a source of consternation among Shakespeare scholars for above 200 years. Why was Aeneas’ tale chosen as the subject?”
- Gutenberg, proto-Hack Writers and Shakespeare. May 26, 2020. “A less well known effect of the Reformation was that many young Catholic men who had taken religious orders in order to receive an education began to lead lives at large from monastic discipline. Like Erasmus and Rabelais they took up the pen.”
- Shakespeare’s Funeral Meats. May 13, 2020. “Famous as this has been since its discovery, it has been willfully misread more often than not. No mainstream scholar had any use for a reference to Hamlet years before it was supposed to have been written.”
- Shakespeare Scholarship in the Internet Age. August 12, 2018. “I love to be presented with a legitimate challenge to any of my work. This does not change the fact that such challenges are followed by an unpleasant sinking feeling. Had I missed something?”
- Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
- Check out the Letters Index: Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for many letters from this fascinating time, some related to the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
1 comment:
The Tin Mines Letters, of which this is an example, seem to be preoccupied (as we'd expect) with sums and estimates, but read carefully, they have as many Shakespearean gems as his (extra-)ordinary correspondence. In another Tin Mines letter, Oxford likens the different revenue streams, the cream of which the tin merchants are diverting from Her Majesty, to "masked and visored" children of the principal suit, in a way that instantly recalls the masked and visored "fairy" children who pinch and pester Sir John Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor; I was astonished on first reading.
Most interesting to see the antique spelling of "noise" as "noyce," which suggests not only decibel level but annoyance.
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