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1630 'By the king his warrand' letter from London to Edinburgh carried by the King's Mail messengers







 This  letter sent by the Treasurer Depute of Scotland in  London  to The  Lord  High Treasurer of Scotland in  Edinburgh  originally would  have
 contained a warrant from King Charles I and, almost certainly, would have been carried by the Royal Post from London to Edinburgh.







 1
 This  letter,  dated  17 h  November 1630,  was sent from  Lord  Naper [Napier]  in  London to the  Earl of Morton  in  Edinburgh.  It would,  originally, have
 contained  a warrant from  King  Charles  I but the  enclosure  would  have  been  retained  by the Treasury  after  payment was  made.  Fortunately  the
 Register of Royal Letters records the exact wording of the King's warrant which he had authorised at the Palace of Whitehall on  16 h  November, the
 1
                   1
 day before Lord Napier forwarded it with his letter to Edinburgh. King Chartes's warrant read:
 TO THE ERLE OF MORTON, THESAURER.
 Our p/easur is,  and we doe heirby will and requyre yow,  for special/ and good consideratiouns moveing us, that yow caus pay with all diligence unto our right the Lo.
 Naper,  our deputle thesaurer,  or to such as have his power, his whole feyis, pensions, or other things due from us unto him, by whatsoever maner of way resting
 unpayed unto him at any tyme preceiding this terme of Mertimes,  and that out of the first and readiest of our rents,  dewteis, and casualiteis whatsoever in  that our
 kingdome; and for your soe doeing these presents, togidder with his or his forsaids acquittances therupoun, shal be a sufficient warrand and discharge unto yow. -
                Whytha//, 16No'1630



 The  writer  of the  letter  was  Archibald  Naper  [Napier],  1st  Lord  Napier of  Merchlston,  Treasurer  Depute  of
 Scotland and Member of the Scottish Privy Council.
 Archibald  Naper or Napier (c.1575 - 1645) was the eldest son  of John  Napier, the eminent mathematician,  inventor
 and astronomer who developed the concept of logarithms and Invented the decimal point.
 Archibald  Napier was a noted politician and  courtier who  was well-regarded  by  King  Charles I.  Although most of his
 business was in Scotland, Napier spent long stays at court in London in order to protect his Interests.
 It was during one of his stays in London, whilst resident in King Street, St James's which was conveniently close to the
 Palace of Whitehall, that Napier wrote this letter.

 The  letter opens  'By the  king  his warrand concerning  me .... ' referring  to  the  enclosed  warrant.  It then  continues with  a
 request for payment and gives instructions as to how the money was to be collected:

 'I will therefore intreat yo' L[ordship] to gif order to pay such moneys as ar due to me, to my brother Mr Robert Naper,  to whom I
 have given power to gif discharges, which I hope yo' L[ordship} will do.'   To the r/ honob'
                                                                            My VBfY good Lorci
                                                                           The earle of Mortoun
 The  recipient  of the  letter was  William  Douglas,  7th  Earl  of Morton,  Lord  High  Treasurer of Scotland  and   Lorci high thesaurer of
 Member of the Scottish Privy Council.                                          Scotland
                                                                                        these
 William  Douglas,  Earl of Morton (1582 - 1648) had been  appointed Lord  High Treasurer of Scotland earlier in the
 year 1630.
                                                               17 111   November  1630.  Letter  sent  by  Lord
 When  he  assumed the role  he discovered that he had inherited  'an  empty cupboard'. King  Charles spent lavishly   Naper  [Napier]  in  King  Street,  St  James's,
 and was very heavily in debt. It appears from the wording of the King's warrant that Morton was to pay Napier 'out of   London   to  the   Earl  of  Morton   in
 the first and readiest of our rents, dewteis .. " i.e. as a priority, but in view of the poor financial state of the Treasury it is   Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh.
 open to doubt when or whether Lord Napier saw his money.
                                                               The Earl of Morton was in  Edinburgh at this
                                                               time  while  the  Scottish  Privy  Council  was
 Rl!lfarences:                                                 meeting  in  Holyroodhouse.  He  is  recorded
 1. 'Register of Royal Letters', the Earl of Stirling, vol. 2 1615- 1635   as  being  present  in  Council  and  attending
 The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
                                                               meetings on 1 a•h and 23rd November 1630.
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