Page:Petty 1851 The Down Survey.djvu/246

 the best lotts of Ireland, or else that, being consciouse of some great miscarriage, hee would not venture his estate nor person long in Ireland, where he had committed them. Now to disabuse the creditors of these false opinions, and to bee really a benefactor to the same land whereon God had allready blessed his endeavours, he began to thinke of bying some lands; but, goeing about it, he found debentures to be both scarce and deere, and withall that his owne asking for debentures did raise the price of them, the world collecting from thence that the gold mines were yet to bee disposed of. This disposition and perswasion of the world being unto the Dr as necessity the mother of arts and inventions, hee conceived that, since there was soe many acres of land, rough and smooth, yett undisposed of, for the admeasurement whereoff, at 1d per acre, there would be due neer three thousand pounds, the right whereoff, the debt lyeing in a very hazardouse condition, he had lately bought off the State for betweene six and seaven hundred pounds; and fforasmuch as he was not bound to stay for this money untill those who served before the yeare 1649, those who were disbanded anno 1653, and those who had not yett brought in debentures, and allsoe those who had this present yeare received but part satisfaction, should agree of the time and manner of receiving these lands, but that the money above mentioned was rather due to him from the land then from such individui vagi, who should he knew not when come to have them; and, lastly, considering that those who, even at last, should appeare to have those lands, were to bee looked uppon as souldiers, such who, as well by the common rules of court marshalls as by the power given the generall of the army by the Parliaments Act of September, 1653, were under the said gentlemens jurisdiction; the Dr thought fitt to petition the generall for releife uppon the above mentioned ground, setting forth that, if hee were allowed as much lands as his debt in debentures amounted unto att the usuall rates, yet that he should gaine litle thereby; forasmuch as the money he paid for that debt would fully or very neer purchase one as many debentures as would doe the same. The Generall, out of meer tenderness, only referred him to the Councill for their concurrence with himselfe in this case, which he said was rather rare and singular then unreasonable or injuriouse. Hereuppon he makes the following petition to the Lord Generall and Councill both, about the premisses, inserting some other desires to make the purchase more considerable, vizt: