Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 8.djvu/167

 ii s. VIL MAK. i, 1913.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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of Foreiners, at much cheaper Rates than here- tofore have been. Fourteen years. Protection accorded by Act of Parliament directly. No Letters Patent.

1651. Jeremy Buck, of Minchinhampton in the county of Gloucester, Esq. Melting down Iron, Lead, Tin, Copper, Brass, and other metals, with Stone-Coal, Pit-Coal, or Sea-Coal, without Charking thereof. Fourteen years. Protection as to Manby above.

1654. John Copley. Making iron with charked pit coal. Letters Patent of Oliver, Lord Pro- tector, &c.

1654. John Rushworth. Engine for raising water. Letters Patent of Oliver, Lord Pro- tector, &c.

1654. William Potter. Engine for raising water. Letters Patent of Oliver, Lord Pro- tector, &c.

1655. Edward Ford of Harting in our county of Sussex, Esquire, otherwise called Sir Edward Ford. Engine for raising water. Letters Patent of Oliver, Lord Protector, &c. This is the only

frant which has been found on the Patent Rolls, t contains references to the Letters Patent lately granted to John Rushworth, Esq., and to William Potter, gent., for Engines for like uses and pur- poses.

1655. Joseph Wallington, Edmond Warcup, and John Grosvenor. Charking or calcining coal. The petitioners had newly found out a way to chark Newcastle coal, or any sort of stone coal that cakes, in pots, so that it " will become very useful to burn, without yielding that noisome smoke, which so much offends the air of this city." The Council approved of the grant with the inser- tion of a clause safeguarding the rights of John Copley (see above).

1655. Thomas Duckett. (1) Improvement of land. (2) Converting raw hides into leather. " The Council having viewed some experiments upon leather, and perused his papers on the way of improving ground, and seeing no prejudice that can accrue by granting the desired patents," report in favour of the grants.

1656. William Potter. Engine for raising water. In his petition to the Protector, Potter states : "On 18th March, 1653/4, you granted me a patent for my invention of an engine to raise water " (see above). He has now found better ways, and he asks for the renewal of the grant with the inclusion of his new inventions. The report is in favour of the grant.

1656. Col. Thos. Ogle. Making saltpetre out of saltwater. The Council report in favour of the grant.

1656. John Taylor, scrivener, of London. .Making white salt out of bay ; making saltpetre. The Council advise the grant.

1656. Abraham Forrester, gentleman, Wm. Muschamp, Esq., and John Baker, M.D. Amend- ing the highways. There is a report to the effect 1 hat the value of the new plan can only be demon- strated by practice, and that some highway near London should be chosen for a trial. It is doubtful whether a patent was granted in this case.

1658. Capt. Rich. Mill, Jas. Street, Israel Reynolds, and Hen. Geange. Engine by which the waste of silk throwsters is converted into merchantable silk, also an engine to spin the said silk. The report is in favour of the grant.

1658. James Wemyss, late General of the- Artillery of Scotland. Light ordnance and engines of war. The inventor asks for an Act of Parlia- ment extending to England and Ireland the benefit of the Act of Parliament granted him for Scotland, His petition was read in Council, but no further- action appears to have been taken.

RHYS JENKINS.

HUGH PETERS.

(See 11 S. vi. 221, 263, 301, 463; vii. 4 f 45, 84, 123.)

X. PETERS'S DRUNKEN AND SCANDALOUS DEATH.

OF the regicides, Harrison was the first to be executed, on Monday, 15 Oct., 1660. Cook and Peters were executed the next day. There are several accounts of Peters 's behaviour at the gallows. I propose to set them all out in turn, with the exception of one anonymous tract a forgery (to be dealt with separately) which the following ex- tracts of themselves refute. If there are any other first-hand accounts of Peters's execution, readers of * N. & Q.' will no doubt point them out, but I believe the list to be complete. Their unanimity is remarkable.

1. The first, and most important, is the account given by Henry Muddiman in Mercurius Publicus for 18-25 Oct., 1660 :

"This day, Tuesday, Oct. 16, John Cook was executed. .. .and taking notice of Hugh Peters,, that was next executed after him, wished he might be reprieved, because at present, as he . conceived, Peters was not prepared to dye.

" Mr. Peters said little, and being desired by some of the stand ers by that he should confess what he knew concerning the late King's execu- tioner, he answered that he could give no other account of it than what he had done before the Lord Mayor and the Court (and what that was is well known). He praid that he might be prepared to drink of that bitter cup, and that God would blesse his Majesty and the Royal posterity. He had a paper in his hand, which was a letter written to him from a person of honour, advising him to disburthen his conscience by an ingenuous confession of him who was the executioner of the King. That paper which was found about Harrison was only such as he usually wore to keep his stomach warm and had nothing at all writ in it. But for Mr. Peters, we must say there was never a person suffered death so unpitied, and, which is more, whose execution was the delight of the people, which they expressed by several shouts and acclamations, not only when they saw him go up the ladder and when the halter was partly about his neck, but also when his head was cut off and held up aloft upon the end of a spear, there was such a shout as if the people of England had acquired a victory.

" And here we cannot forget how, some years since, he preached so often, so vehemently and, indeed, so boldly for the necessary pulling down