62 AMIAS ANDROS AND 



He does not seem to have visited Guernsey for any 

 length of time, but continued to carry on his Bailiffship by 

 deputy. On May 4th, 1700, the Lt. Bailiff and Jurats sent 

 him a letter, addressed to his house in Denmark Lane, near 

 St. Giles's, gratefully acknowledging their past obligations 

 to him and asking him if possible to mitigate the burden on the 

 Islanders of having an English garrison permanently billetted 

 upon them. In January, 1701, they again wrote to the same 

 address informing him that the Court House, which was then 

 situated at the Plaiderie, was falling into ruin, and that 

 experts, who had been called in to pronounce upon its state 

 of repair, agreed that it was positively dangerous to assemble 

 there. Upon this the Court had been obliged to hire the 

 parlour of the widow of Sieur Nicolas de Quetteville at 

 the rate of 169 livres tournois (about £12 sterling) for a 

 year, by which time they hoped that a new Court House 

 would be built. They went on to say that as of course the 

 King should supply his own Court House, they had applied 

 to the Governor — as his representative — to direct a new house 

 to be built with all possible speed, and meanwhile, to defray 

 the rent of Widow de Quetteville's parlour out of the Royal 

 Exchequer. 



On April 7th, 1701, Sir Edmund presided in person in 

 the Royal Court, and entered into the question of the Island's 

 defences. Castle Cornet, after the explosion of 1672, in which 

 the tower had been destroyed, was still virtually in ruins, the 

 guns everywhere were rusted and decayed and the whole 

 Island lay open to attack. For by this time the War of 

 the Spanish succession had broken out, and Europe was 

 aflame from end to end, while the islanders were fitting out 

 privateers as fast as they could and thus laying the founda- 

 tions of our prosperity. After undertaking various measures 

 to renew our defences and replenish our armaments, Sir 

 Edmund returned to England and still continued to delegate 

 his duties as Bailiff; and on Charles Andros's death in July, 

 1701, appointed Eleazor Le Marchant deputy Bailiff in his 

 stead, yet, notwithstanding his evident disinclination to live 

 in the Island, on Feb. 5th. 1704, Queen Anne appointed him 

 to be Lieut.-Governor of Guernsey, as is seen by the following 

 commission : 



"Anne &c. To our trusty and wellbeloved S r Edmond Andros 

 Knt. Greeting. Wee reposing particular trust and confidence in your 

 Loyalty, Courage, Experience and prudent conduct, do by these presents 

 constitute and appoint you to be our Lieut Governor of our Island 

 of Guernsey, in the absence of our right trusty and wellbeloved Cousin 

 Christopher Yiscount Hatton, our Governor of our said Island .... 

 Given at our Court at St. James's the 9th day of February 1703-4." tt) 

 (1) Guille MSS. 



