Manchester Memoirs^ Vol. xlv. (1901), No. 8. ^jj 



hither by the Admiralty who approved of the Place, but objected to it on 

 account of the Expense of building Barracks for their Accommodation. This 

 was what I had mentioned to Lord Spencer, who, I dare say was not 

 displeas'd at me for the trouble I had given him, for, by the last Packett but 

 one I reed orders again to procure Men. I have accordingly recommission'd 

 the Mona of Douglas, and she now makes her appearance in the dress of a 

 Dutch Scout ; commanded as before, and mann'd with her usual Crew, save 

 & excepting Martin Luther who has betaken himself to a seafaring life, 

 having entered on board an Irish Revenue Cutter where he receives the 

 enormous sum of twenty six shillings per month. We have been much 

 pester'd with a number of very suspicious looking Irish-folks, who have 

 attempted to land on this Island, many of whom have been prevented 

 coming on Shore, others have been reship'd & sent back again ; some how- 

 ever have evaded the vigilance of the Guards and got nestled into the 

 country. It is to be hoped that they will be discover'd & routed, means 

 being used to find them out by mustering the different Parishes, and taking 

 an account of all strangers 



I am, at present, in treaty for Balla Broie, but I am afraid the Landlord 

 will not put the premises into so good repair as I wish, & without which I 

 will not go to it. I have a man there to-day surveying the wants & distresses 

 of the House, which are manifold. 



I have, along with this, returned your Bewick's Book of Birds. It has 

 given me much amusement. It is the most beautiful thing of the sort I ever 

 saw. The Tail pieces, in particular, are charmingly grouped ; and there is 

 an appearance of a very sporting fancy throughout the whole. I mean to 

 send along with it a book of a different description, being entirely Manx 

 Manufacture. You will do me the favour to enrich your Library with it. It 

 will, at least, be a curiosity to have a book that grew in the Isle of Man ; 

 and if you study hard you may in time become an excellent Manx Lawyer. 

 I heartily wish that our English Statute Book could be compressed to such a 

 size, we shou'd much better understand what we were about. But this is no 

 time for experiments. We have had a dreadful example of the consequences 

 of it ; and when it will terminate fills one with awful suspense. 



I congratulate you on your Military promotion, and think that if you & 

 your Battalion escape the Press Gangs, you may do well enough 



The Manx Statutes, at the time of these Letters, were 

 easily contained in a single octavo volume of 500 pages. 

 On September i6th, Cable writes : — 



In the first place I have to inform you that I am alive, which is what I 

 cou'd not have promis'd you at this time a week ago, for at that time my life 

 was threatened by more than one. In order that you may the better under- 

 stand this business you are to know that some time since, my very good 

 masters, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, sent a Vessel here for 

 the purpose of Impressing a number of Men out of the Manx Herring Boats, 



