The Diary Of John Evelyn Vol-2

DIARY OF LONDON

The first thing we did was, to settle the form of a
circular'letter to the Governors of all his Majesty's Plan-
tations and Territories in the West Indies and Islands
thereof, to give them notice to whom they should apply
themselves on all occasions, and to render us an account
of their present state and government; but, what we
most insisted on was, to know the condition of New
England, which appearing to be very independent as to
their regard to Old England, or his Majesty, rich and
strong as they now were, there were great debates in
what style to write to them; for the condition of that
Colony was such, that they were able to contest with all
other Plantations about them, and there was fear of
their breaking from all dependence on this nation; his
Majesty, therefore, commended this affair more expressly.
We, therefore, thought fit, in the first place, to acquaint
ourselves as well as we could of the state of that place,
by some whom we heard of that were newly come from,
thence, and to be informed of their present posture and
condition; some of our Council were for sending them a
menacing letter, which those who better understood the
peevish and touchy humor of that Colony, were utterly
against.

A letter was then read from Sir Thomas Modiford,
Governor of Jamaica; and then the Council broke up.

Having brought an action against one Cocke, for money
which he had received for me, it had been referred to an
arbitration by the recommendation of that excellent good
man, the Chief-Justice Hale, * but, this not succeeding, I
went to advise with that famous lawyer, Mr. Jones, of
Gray's Inn, and, 27th of May, had a trial before Lord Chief
Justice Hale; and, after the lawyers had wrangled suffi-
ciently, it was referred to a new arbitration. This was
the very first suit at law that ever I had with any crea-
ture, and oh, that it might be the last!

i st June, 1671. An installation at Windsor.

6th June, 1671. I went to Council, where was pro-
duced a most exact and ample information of the state

* Sir Matthew Hale, so famous as one of the justices of the bench
in Cromwell's time. After the Restoration, he became Chief Baron
of the Exchequer; then Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and
died in 1676. The author of numerous works, not only on profes-
sional subjects, but on mathematics and philosophy.se, only two voted for the bill, of which