1917.] A FORGOTTEN EPISODE. 45 



islanders entirely depended, on account of the Civil Wars and 

 the Wars with France, was entirely at a standstill. A letter* 

 to the Governor, Lord Hatton, from the Bailiff and Jurats of 

 Guernsey, dated January 16th, 1688, proves that this state of 

 poverty among the islanders still endured. 



...Nous vous desirons aussi, Monseigneur, de nous pouvoir 

 en votre absence d'un bon commandement, vous cognoissez la 

 pauvrete a laquelle les habitants sont red nits par la ruine du 

 trafic, et quy augmente journellement par l'etat ou nos affaires 

 sont reduites avec la France, quy nous empesche d'y avoir 

 aucun commerce. Vous aurez, s'il vous plait la bonte de la 

 fasse scavoir a son Altesse le Prince d'Grange afin que nous 

 soyons soulagcs de logement de soldats, si son Altesse trouve 

 apropos d'en envoy er en ce lieu outre la quantite quy y est; et 

 que s'il y'en vient, qu'il leur soit pourveu de licts et autres 

 choses necessaires pour leur logement. Nous sommes (graces 

 a Dieu) tons resolus a la deffense de cette Isle, et faisons une 

 garde extraordinaire dans cette ville, outre celle quy se faict 

 dans les paroisses des champs — chacun s'acquittant de son 



devoir avec beaucoup de zele et d'exactitude " 



E. Andros 



(and the Jurats). 



This letter, written about the date of William's accession, 

 seems to prove the impossibility of anv Guernseyman's pos- 

 sessing, much less being able to afford to lend, such a large 

 sum of money to anyone, and one wonders how such an idea 

 could have been started. Did it arise in the imagination of 

 half crazy females, or was it originated by unscrupulous 

 lawyers ? And yet, w r ould it be possible for simple Guernsey- 

 women, shut away in an almost inaccessible island (as 

 Guernsey was in those days), with no knowledge of English, 

 and hardly any intercourse with the outside world, to imagine 

 and carry out a deliberate fraud, which must have also involved 

 a considerable outlay of capital, if there was no foundation 

 in fact ? 



In 1904 I tried my best to verify some of the statements 

 contained in the above Petitions, for I was then writing my 

 book on the Channel Islands, and, had it been possible to 

 prove that Peter Bailleul had really assisted William of 

 Orange in his descent on England, I wish to place the fact on 

 record. I began by searching Hansard for the reports of the 

 Debates in the House of Commons to which references are 

 made. But, although the debates are reported no mentions 

 of the Baliol family are to be found. 



* Hatton's MSS., British Museum. 



