Folios 191-192. Letter from [Lord Godolphin] to the King in answer to the latter's...

Folios 191-192. Letter from [Lord Godolphin] to the King in answer to the latter's letter from Breda. 'I must humbly acquaint you that we are so far from being able to take precautions beforehand to provide money in case of a great exigency, that it is with all difficulty imaginable we have found it, these last three weeks, to pay the subsistence of the army. This disappointment is occasioned by the failing of the Poll Act not only as to the sum itself which we expected from it but even as to the time of receiving it. By the Act of Parliament it ought to be in the Exchequer by the third of May and now upon the 13th, there is not yet come in £20,000 of that money, so that to supply that failure we have with much ado borrowed £20,000 upon the hereditary excise and applied it to the subsistence and must be forced to do so more than once before this summer be at an end; for by the best computation we are able to make, the Poll Act will not produce £200,000 a quarter. The consequence of this in short is that almost all the payments of the civil government must stop short, and yet the whole credit of the revenue with the funds given by the parliament will make but a very low provision for the necessary weekly payments to the army and navy. The latter, indeed, now the fleet is entirely at sea, will not require much more ready money immediately, but, on the other side, we are at the last plunge for money for the army, the ordnance and the transport service, there being no credit to be had almost at any rate, while the threatening of the invasion hangs over us. I hope in a few days that will grow less, since the winds have been so favourable to us, that our fleet is almost entirely joined together without having received any prejudice from the storms, which we may reasonably hope have done the enemy much damage. I have presumed to make this letter the longer, in regard I have not troubled you often of late, having, among many other mortifications, had a very severe fit of the stone, which for some days made me unable to write or do anything. I acknowledge that my ill health, as well as other reasons, make me desire to be at liberty, but I must own too that no reason can be strong enough to mention it at this time, and you may be very sure that while I have the honour to be in your service I will endeavour to discharge my part in it with the utmost duty'.