Six in the hundred, or six per cent. and use upon use, or cumulative interest, sounds fairly high.
Farther on, she says: “The Lands which My Lord hath lost in present possession are 2,015£. per annum, which at 20 years’ purchase come to 40,300£. and those which he hath lost in Reversion, are 3,214£. per annum, which at 16 years’ purchase amount to the value of 51,424£.
“The Lands which my Lord since his return has sold for the payment of some of his debts, occasioned by the Wars (for I do not reckon those he sold to buy others) come to the value of 56,000£. to which out of his yearly revenue he has added 10,000£. more, which is in all 66,000£.
“Lastly, The Composition of his Brothers Estate was 5,000£. and the loss of it for eight years comes to 16,000£.
“All which, if summ’d up together, amounts to 941,303£.
“These are the accountable losses, which My Dear Lord and Husband has suffered by the late Civil Wars, and his Loyalty to his King and Country.”
Certainly her ladyship had “an eye to the main chance,” nor did she wish her husband to lose credit for one penny that he had sacrificed in the loyalist cause; but even if we allow for considerable exaggeration in her statement and object to six per cent. at “use upon use,” his sacrifices must still have been enormous.
To descend from very great matters to very small, it may be remembered that we found Newcastle having a quiet pipe immediately before the battle of Marston Moor; and, from the following extract from a letter, he evidently intended to solace his retirement at Welbeck by the use of tobacco.[147]
“FRANCIS TOPP TO THE MARQUIS OF NEWCASTLE, AT WELBECK.
“I send some wine, tobacco, and other commodities, the best that can be had. I shall soon have some excellent tobacco, as many ships are expected every hour from Spain.”
An important post was given by the King to Newcastle, namely, that of Chief Justice in Eyre north of the Trent. Originally Justices in Eyre, or _in itinere_, were delegated with power from the King’s great Court to visit the counties assigned to them and hear all pleas. Their functions were to protect the King’s interests and to try law-suits and indictments. But the trial of law-suits and criminals by Justices in Eyre had become practically obsolete before Newcastle’s time, and what his duties may have been is somewhat doubtful; very likely they may have been principally honorary or even nominal. They would appear, however, to have included the defence of his large district; for, in 1662 and 1663, there were rumours of disaffection north of the Trent, as the following extracts from letters to Newcastle, among the Welbeck MSS., will show.