taxation, whenever it was wanted, the necessity or even the propriety or prudence of reserving some property producing income to answer the general purposes of the plantation, may not have been suggested, or, if suggested, may have yielded to the greater prudence of holding out prospects of income or profit to those, upon whom the burthen was imposed, by a power, which, even if thought lawful, must have been considered as arbitrary, and was, according to the evidence, in many instances not obeyed without reluctance on one side, and the application of force on the other. A division of the lands by lot was effected, under the direction and superintendence of the court of common council on the 17th of December, 1613, and each of the twelve chief companies had allotted to it so much land, as, in quantity and value, equalled one-twelfth part of the whole of the lands to be divided, under an arrangement by which every company of the city was to have an interest or share in the divided lands, proportioned to the amount of money levied upon it for the purposes of the plantation. And this being done, an order was immediately made for a further levy as follows:- After all which done (meaning the allotment), information was given by the Governor and assistants of the Irish Society, "that all the monies formerly levied towards that charge is altogether issued, and that, notwithstanding the companies had their particular shares of land which was to be managed by themselves severally, the general work for the building of the rest of the towns and fortifications was to be done at the general charge, and therefore that a further supply must, of necessity, be made and provided to proceed on the business;" and therefore it was enacted, that a present taxation should be made of the further sum of 5000l., which was accordingly ordered to be levied and raised of the several com panies of the city; and it was also ordered, that conveyances should be made of the lands allotted to the several companies, by the advice of the Recorder, in such manner as the committees of the plantation (i. e. the Irish Society) should think fit. It appears, that the companies, without waiting for their conveyances, planted and placed divers numbers of British on their proportions of lands, and expended very large sums of money thereon; but independently of these undertakings, the works which were to be done at the general charge of the city continued to be expensive, and additional sums were levied on the companies. Complaints were, about the same time, made, on the part of the Crown, that the plantation had not proceeded according to the conditions, and an intimation was given that the grant might be resumed; further time, however, was given, until the last day of August, 1616. The city, in the mean time, continued its active interference, by orders of the court of common council, and employed its own agents; the Irish Society seeming to act, rather in its original character of a committee of the city, than as an independent corporation. In the year 1615, licence to hold lands in mortmain was granted to the companies, and in the course of the next or two or three following years, manors were created, and conveyances thereof and of the allotted lands were made to the companies by the Irish Society. The conveyances were absolute, in some without, and in others with, the reservation of rent to the Irish Society. The licence for the companies to hold in mortmain was also a licence to the Society to convey to them, and it contained a recital, that the companies, in testimony of their true obedience to the Crown, &c., had disbursed, expended, and bestowed divers great sums 1838. The SKINNERS' Company v. The IRISH Society. 1838. The SKINNERS' Company v. The IRISH sums of money for and towards the building, fortifying, planting, strengthening, and improving the city of Derry and the town of Coleraine, and some parts of other lands, and were willing and intended, so far as to them should seem convenient, to be at further charge for the planting, and improving of other lands; and for speedier proceeding therein, were desirous to have conveyances of the land they intended to build on; therefore, and to the end that the several companies might be the better encouraged and enabled to perfect and finish the intended plantation, "and in future times reap some gain and benefit of their great travails and expense taken and bestowed therein," the licence was granted. The companies of London were thus recognized by the Crown as parties interested in the plantation, as undertakers, and after the conveyances were made, the companies may be considered as entitled to the lands allotted and conveyed to them, (subject to the conditions of plantation as to particular lands), and as respectively entitled to all the profits to arise from those allotments, which, (subject to the performance of those conditions,) could lawfully be made. The lands not allotted, together with the ferries and fishings, remained vested in the Irish Society; and the city of London, or the Irish Society on its behalf, were bound to the performance of those general and public works, which were among the conditions of plantation; and for the purposes of those general and public works were, or were supposed to be, entitled to levy money on the companies, for whose satisfaction they, at least, professed themselves to be bound to provide. About five or six years after the conveyances were made, further complaints were made by the Crown, that the conditions of plantation had not been performed. The complaints were laid before the court of common council council on the 2d of June, 1624; they principally regarded the general works of the plantation, but in part, the conduct of the plantation of the lands conveyed to the companies. As to the former, answer was made by the court of common council; as to the latter, the subject was made known to the several companies, and, on their part, the common council complained, that the undertakers had been impeded by monopolies and patents of privilege contrary to the King's grant. The answer, though approved in the court of common council, was, for alteration in matter of form and words of the like sense, referred to the Irish Society and others who had joined with them in drawing the answer. Not long afterwards, and in the beginning of the reign of Charles I., the King having referred certain matters relating to the plantation to Lords Grandison, Carew, and Chichester, the Chancellor of the Exchequer did, upon their advice, require the city of London to do many things then specified, most of which were general works, but some of them affected the conduct of the companies; the court of common council made answer to these requisitions, not only with respect to the general works, but also with respect to the plantation undertaken by the companies; and as to the first demand, which was that a fair new church should be built, they say, that although the work be very chargeable, and that the stocks of all the chief companies of London are already exhausted by means of the plantation, yet, in obedience to His Majesty's pleasure, (the work also in itself being pious,) they will forthwith give order to make preparation for erecting a fair new church, and will, so soon as conveniently they may, finish and beautify and adorn the same with seats fit and convenient. 1838. The SKINNERS' Company บ. The IRISH In the course of a few years afterwards, informations were filed in the Star Chamber against the city of London, the Irish Society, and certain individuals. The Defendants were charged with the deceitful and undue procuring of the charter of James, and with wilful breach of the articles agreed upon between the lords of the council and the committees appointed by the city on the 28th of January, 1609-10, and with the wilful breach of trust which the King had reposed in them. It appears, that during the proceedings, it was insisted on by the city that they had nothing to do with the plantation, and that their name was used merely for the transaction of affairs, and for the levying of monies upon the companies for the plantation. This point was overruled, and the Court having adjudged that many offences, both of omission and commission, had been committed, inflicted upon the city of London and upon the Irish Society a fine of 70,000l., and decreed, that the patent and their estates and interests should be surrendered and be brought into Court to be cancelled; and, after reciting that the greatest part of the lands were, by the Society, passed over to divers companies of the city, and by them demised to their farmers, who were not defendants to the suit, and, therefore, not liable to the censure of the Court, (although in the opinion of the Court they might justly have been censured if parties,) it was directed, that if the companies and their farmers should not, in pursuance of the intention of the sentence, surrender their estates, the Attorney-General should exhibit an information and bring them also to the judg ment of the Court. This decree, if lawful, entitled the Crown to recover, not only a fine of 70,000l., but the possession of all the lands and hereditaments which remained vested in the Irish Society, and it was accompanied by an intima |