Mar. 25. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



263 



LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 1854. 



ORIGINAL ENGLISH ROYAL LETTERS TO THE GRAND 

 MASTERS OF MALTA. 



{Continued from Vol. ix., p. 101.) 



It will be remembered that the last English 

 royal letters which we sent were translations of 

 those from Henry VIII. to L'Isle Adam ; and 

 finding none recorded of Edward VI., Mary I., 

 Elizabeth, James I., Charles I. (or from Crom- 

 well), we come to the reign of Charles II. We 

 have now before us ten letters bearing the auto- 

 graph of this monarch, all of which we hope to 

 forward in due course according to their dates. 

 The two of the earliest date are as follow. The 

 first was written to introduce the English Admiral, 

 Sir Thomas Allen, who had been sent with a 

 squadron into the Mediterranean to protect 

 English commerce ; and the second, to claim from 

 the Order a large amount of property which be- 

 longed to Roger Fowke, the English consul at 

 Cyprus, and had been seized by a Maltese com- 

 mander in one of his cruises against the Turks in 

 the neighbourhood of that island. Their perusal 

 will serve to show the deep interest taken by 

 Charles II. in all which related to the commercial 

 affairs or legal rights of his subjects. 



William Winthrop. 



Malta. 



No. VII. 

 Charles the Second by the grace of God, of Great 



Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender 



of the Faith, &c. 



To the most illustrious and most high Prince, 

 the Lord Nicholas Cottoner, Grand Master of the 

 Order of Malta, our well-beloved cousin and 

 friend — Greeting : 



Most illustrious and most high Prince, our 

 well-beloved cousin and friend. 



Having deemed it fitting to despatch a squadron 

 of ships under the command of our well-beloved 

 and valiant Sir Thomas Allen, Knight, for the 

 protection of the freedom of navigation and com- 

 merce of our subjects in the Mediterranean Sea, 

 which is never too sure, and sometimes becomes 

 endangered, we have determined to request your 

 highness, by right of amity, to permit him and 

 our ships under his command, as friends, to touch, 

 in case of need, at any of the coasts of your 

 highness' dominions ; and also to allow our ships 

 to make use of your highness' harbours, whenever 

 it may become necessary to refit or re-victual 

 them; and that they may purchase at a proper 

 price those things which they may require, and 

 experience such other offices of friendship and 

 humanity as may be needful : and as we no way 

 doubt of your highness' amicable feelings towards 



us and ours, we are desirous that your highness 

 should be assured that on any opportunity offer- 

 ing, we will reciprocate with equal readiness and 

 benevolence. 



It only remains for us to express our wishes 

 for your highness' perfect health and prosperous 

 success everywhere. 



Given in our Palace of Westminster, on the 

 17th day of the month of January, in the year of 

 our Lord 1667-68. 



Your Highness' good Cousin and Friend, 



Charles Rex. 

 No. VIII. 



Charles the Second by the grace of God, of Great 

 Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender 

 of the Faith, &c. 



To the most illustrious and most high Prince, 

 the Lord Nicholas Cottoner, Grand Master of the 

 Order of Malta, our well-beloved cousin and 

 friend — Greeting : 



Most illustrious and most high Prince, our 

 well-beloved cousin and friend. 



Some years have elapsed since we first addressed 

 letters to your highness concerning certain goods 

 and merchandise, to the value of 4500 pieces of 

 eight, which had been unjustly seized by some 

 of the ships which it is customary to despatch 

 annually from your highness' island to cruise 

 against the Turks in the neighbourhood of Cy- 

 prus, from our subject Roger Fowke, a person for 

 many reasons by us well beloved, and our consul 

 in the island of Cyprus ; and also concerning the 

 sentence which, after many delays and much 

 trouble, had been at last unjustly given in favour 

 of your people. 



Farther complaints have, however, been re- 

 ceived from our subject, stating that our letters 

 have had little effect with your highness, and that 

 he, already wearied with long expectation, has not 

 had anything restored, that his expenses are in- 

 creasing to a great amount, and that little or no 

 hope remains of reparation for his loss. 



Painful, indeed, was it to us to hear our subject 

 relate such injustice on the part of the Knights of 

 Malta ; we, however, thought it right to make it 

 clearly appear that nothing has remained untried 

 to bring back to more sane counsels the generous 

 minds of the Maltese ; and therefore, under the 

 advice of our Privy Council, we deemed proper to 

 refer, without loss of time, the complaint of our 

 subject, together with the letters which we for- 

 merly addressed to your highness, and those 

 which your highness latterly Avrote to us, to our 

 advocate in our High Court of Admiralty, Sir 

 Robert Wyseman, Knight ; who, having well 

 considered the whole, has expressed his opinion in 

 the following terms : 



" I have read and seriously pondered the pe- 

 tition of Roger Fowke, transmitted to me by your 



