William Petty

“ This will be of great intelligence and safety to his Majesty; for on the one side he will clearly see into the true inward value all things, which formerly, albeit of very great worth, have from so great a distance slipt away here, as little understood by the Crown; as is acknowledged by those that obtain them; who generally, in these causes, sacrifice rather to their own Wit, than the Goodness and Bounty of Kings. And on the other side, nothing can pass to the disadvantage of the Crown ”

“ This will advantage the service; it being altogether impossible for the Lieutenant, be he never so industrious and able, to administer the publick Justice of so great a Kingdom, without the round assistance of other able and well-affected Ministers. This will encourage the best men to spend |149| their stronger years there, when they shall see their elder age recompensed with ease and profit in their own native Soyl; and content and settle the Natives, when they find themselves cared for, and put in the hands of discreet and good men to govern them. ”

“ That disposing of Places thus aforehand, much abates mens endeavours, who are many times stirred up to deserve eminently in the Commonwealth, in hope of those preferments; and being thus granted away, there is nothing left in their Eye, for them to expect and aim at, which might nourish and quicken those good desires in them, besides Places there closely and covertly passed, the persons are not for the most part so able and fitted to the Duties thereof, as when there is choice made out of many publick pretenders, which commonly oc-|151|cur, when they actually fall void by Death. ”