Folios 196-197A. Letter dated from on board HMS Britannia in Barcelona Road from...

Folios 196-197A. Letter dated from on board HMS Britannia in Barcelona Road from Admiral Russell to the Duke of Shrewsbury written on receipt of the Lords Justices order of June 11 'which, by the grace of God' he will obey the best as he can. Russell continues 'I am afraid my temper has been too much represented to be forward and uneasy, which inclines me to make no representations on the orders I receive; but this last order, that comes by his Majesty's directions to the Lords Justices, will prove (as I apprehend) so very prejudicial, that I could not avoid laying my thoughts before them. I will depend so much upon your grace's good nature to forgive me that I will trouble you with this private letter, with what occurs to me upon the whole matter'. Russell expresses his views in very frank terms, particularly about the Dutch - 'it is not hard to guess that this advice comes from Secretary De Weeldy of the Admiralty of Amsterdam and I cannot bear the thought that a Dutch secretary should govern the English fleet' and their failure to comply with their quota of twenty four ships of which 'ten considerable ships have been all this summer wanting'. He begs to be informed of what ships are coming from England and who will be in command of the fleet after September 'for at present I know nothing but that, after that month, I am to be drowned in coming home'. He is apprehensive of an order coming for him to remain off Barcelona all winter and should this happen he would rather run the risk of the King's displeasure than remain, his health being ruined and himself very considerably worse off financially than when he left England. He is ordered to pay the English troops their subsistence 'without having any money; nor is there, for their better government, any power to place or displace officers'. Duplicate.