THE ROYAL FISHERY 103 



collected are disposed of in, would make a man never part 

 with a penny so disposed of, and above all, the incon- 

 venience of having a great man, though never so seeming 

 pious as my Lord Pembroke is. He is too great to be 

 called to an account, and is abused by his servants, and 

 yet obliged to defend them for his owne sake." 



The report of Pepys and Duke upon the collection was 

 made on October 25th, 1664. Of the 52 counties of 

 England and Wales, they observed, only 32 had taken notice 

 of the royal proclamation. 1 From these counties the sum 

 already received was 1,076 ; the Earl of Pembroke, how- 

 ever, had still a considerable sum in his possession, while 

 Mr. King, who had been engaged in the collection for the 

 Earl, still retained 429. Statements had also been made 

 as to 412 already gathered but not yet placed to the 

 credit of the society. Pepys was indignant at the conduct 

 of Mr. King, who, instead of handing over the 429 en- 

 trusted to him, " insinuated in his accounts " that he had 

 assigned to the Fishing Company the lease of a house situated 

 in Harwich, which belonged to himself, and was said by him 

 to be of the value of 700. " It may be fitt," writes Pepys, 

 sarcastically, " to inquire whether this house was not long 

 agoe otherwise disposed of by him, and is since fallen to 

 his Ma tie and now actually imployed by the officers 

 of the Navy in his Ma ties service." Pepys also drew 



1 These were : 



London & Middlesex Northampton Leicester 



Essex Southampton Nottingham 



Norfolk Oxon Somerset 



Surrey York Lincoln 



Barkshire Hereford Durham 



Suffolk Wiltshire Salop 



Buckinghamshire Exon Northumberland 



Kent Cambridge Cumberland 



Harford Darby Carlisle 



Devonshire Lanes Berwick 



Brecknock Westmoreland 



Cal S.P. Dom. Car. II., vol. 103, No. 130. 



