eo 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE AND THE PLYMOUTH CORPORATION. 467 
Now Yonge in his Memoirs says:—“In mr Blythman’s 
Mayoralty I finde the towne agreed with s* F. Drake to bring in 
y® watur and gave him £200 in hand.”* This may be an adapta- 
tion of the entry in the Black Book already quoted, or it may 
come from an independent and now forgotten source. This, how- 
ever, at least is clear: we find Drake receiving money which 
Richard Hawkins, son of Sir John, Drake’s relative and early 
patron gave, in whole or in part; while in order to make up the 
agreed £300 the town had to rate, beg, borrow, and go into debt. 
This fact is most important when it is argued—as it has been— 
that Drake merely received certain out-of-pocket expenses. So, if 
Drake had been making a gift he would not have required the Cor- 
poration as recipient to tie itself down by legal forms, nor would 
he have marred the graciousness of his act by insisting on condi- 
tions which put a struggling municipality to such straits. 
So far the total cost to the Mayor and Commonalty of “ bringing 
in the water,” independent of any work in the town, has been 
shown to be £488 lls. 6d., or about £2,750. Other items of ex- 
penditure will appear as we go on. 
Up to this point it is I think clear that the water scheme origi- 
nated with the Corporation ; that they obtained and paid for the 
Act; that the leat was planned by their engineer, and that it was 
formed at their cost, partly by their own men, and partly by Drake, 
under contract. Is it possible to ascertain what share Drake had 
in the actual work? He is paid, it will be recollected, for ‘‘ bringinge 
in of the Riu and p’chas of the land out wch the same is brought ” 
— £200 for the former and £100 for the latter. About the expen- 
diture of this £100 we shall have something more to say hereafter. 
The only contemporary entry which records his operations is to be 
found in the “ Black Book” under the mayoralty of Pepperell. 
This yere on thet daye of December S* Fraunces Drake 
Kneight beganne [the River{] to bringe the Ryu™ Mewe to the 
towne of Plymouthe w°h being in lenght about 25 myles he wth 
greate Care and diligence [pfrmed{] effected and brought the Riut 
into the towne the xxiiij*® daye of Aprill the next after psentlie 
after he sett in hand to Builde sixe greast mills two at wythy in 
eck buckland p%h thother 4 by the towne the two at wythy and 
the two next to the towne he fullie fynished before Michaelmas 
next after and grounde Corne wth theym. 
* Plym. Inst. Trans., vol. v. p. 526. ¢ Blank in original. 
+ Erased in original, 
VOL, VII. 24H 
