The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-14 00:00:00

RO AL MESSENGERS.

A very curious document (Sessional Papers, Nouse
of Commons, No. 93, ordered to be printed 4th Marche
on the motion of Mr. Warburton), has just been'
issued from the Vote Office. It is a "Return relative;
to the Expense of Royal Messengers for the years of"
Edward I. and 1433; Accounts of the Master of the'
Posts in the reign of Elizabeth ; Order in Council,'
162 G, repecting Transmission of Letters ; Extracts•
from Roils of Parliament respecting Statutes of Pro"'
visors, 1306-1350 ; and Catalogue of Writs de'
Scrutinio Faciendo."

Under Class No. I.—" Extracts from the Ward:
robe Account of 28 Edw. 1., giving the total expens`,.
for that year of the Royal Messengers"—it is stateo'
that in the year 1299-1300 (28 Eftw. I.) the sous
paid by the Crown for messenger!, exclusive of 01
paid to messengers
.conveyinr, intelligence of roya'
m
births (which may be isidered as extraordinary
payments), was 1481. Bd., which contained about'
the same Height'; standard silver as would be con'.
twined in 300/
measured by the old standard shilling'
of eeo• 711. -And in the Wardrobe Account, pub;
,
us'T;ed by the Royal Society of Antiquaries, we flat'
some curious items and still more curious Latinitieii.
Thus, we have a fee of 2s. to a person bringing to 01
King " a little dog." (" I. Dimetori portend. ad
Regem unum parvum canem.") There is something
whirmdcal in the notion of a present to, or pur,,hase
by, the iron-cased and iron-hearted subduer of Mrsletif
and Scotland of a tiny lapdog. For the expenses°
De Kyrkeby'travelling as far as Berwick-upon-Tweet
and returning with the utmost expedition, we read
the following item, the idiomatic and vernacular
felicity of which will commend itself to the awr!
fastidious of our readers :—" Expensis Radi
Kyrkeby euntis usque Berwickurn-super-Tweeds°
et redeuntis cum summafestinatione, 155." It is °13.1
servable that the largest of the disbursements in tllO
account are made to one of the Queen's mess.engerst
(" Russell, Nuncio Reginm"), 10/.; to messene
from the Duke of Brabant, Cl. 13s. 4d.; and WI:
the King of Arragon,sl. For messengers announcing
"royal births," the disbursements made, reference'
being had to the value of money at the time referred
to, seem to have been at least as costly affairs as the
are now. To ono set of messengers (Nunciis MoD m
Martini), there were issued 100/.; and to one of t.,";
Duchess of Brabant's gentlemen, 1261. 13s. 4471•
the year 1433 (12 Henry VI.) in the statementy'a,
the receipt and expenditure of the Crown subinit‘eh,
to Parliament by Richard Cromwell, Lord fi'L
Treasurer, the expense of the " Niincii missi
extra regnum qutian infra regnum" is estimated. of
2001, which •
i•um contained about the same weig,ll;joi
standard sitter as would he contain,d in 400/.,pr
standard of George 111. This is e,s
clu,ive of the expen-,e of ambassadors, which Wof
2,626/. 13,.41. Very curious are the " Accounts
Thomas Randolph, Master of the Posts from Oct• ;
8 El;zabeth, to Sept. 30, 13 Elizabeth." They occiler
amongst e Records of the Court of Excher,lllo
(Pipe) in the Public Record Office, in custody of t.
Right Hon. the Master of the Rolls (by stat. 1 er,litt,
Vic ,c. 94). Although they are signed by " Raorgif,
ley" and " ' and are audited by ,010
Dodington," they exhibit a rude and clwmay sis'fi-ce
of allowances to provincial postmaster 4 in quitta-oa
of disbursements out of her Majesty's Exchequer Ab.
account of the " Meister of the Pontes," and in
charge of the payments to " Thoznas Heneage,
Treasurer of H. Majesty's Chamber," which Oil (J,
horrify the administrative habits of Mr. 13,0°'-0(1,
Hill. The " somme total! of the saide paymente,B.6,
allowances aforesaid," is thus primatively state,uo.s/..
" m/. ml. ml. ml. Dcccxxvin/i. mxs.' (or 51'
195.) f
We conclude our notice of this curious PaPe-tio
respectfully directing Sir James Graham's atteno
to an " Ordinance of Parliament passed in 1 .0.,
(20 Ed. III)" .4 No letters of aliens to be
spected." This ordinance should have protected br
Mazzini, if it could not shield Mr. Thomas Duna° ita
from the " searching" interest, by the Home-Office'. •
the contents of sealed letters addressed to certain in
dividuals,