A LETTER, Sent to the Right Honourable EDWARD Earl of MANCHESTER, Speaker pro tempore in the House of PEERS.  
Wherein are truly Stated, and reported some Differences of a High Nature, between the High and Mighty Prince CHARLES, Duke of Lorraine, &c. And the two Honourable Houses of Parliament.   compass rose 
Printed in the year, 1648.   

A LETTER, Sent to the Right Honourable EDWARD Earl of Manchester, Speaker pro tempore in the house of peers.  
My Lord,  
Understanding his highness' Letters, have now at last been read in both the Honourable Houses, & that an Order hath issued, to have them sent to the Committee of the Admiralty; there to have the business stated, and reported to the Honourable Houses, touching his highness' Ships, and the taking of them; together with the proceedings as towards me his highness' Resident: I thought it my part, standing in the place I do, to set up these Lights before the Honourable Houses, lest parte inanditâ alterâ their judgements might be still misled in a matter of so great concernment.  
For how can his highness my Master expect an even and fair report to be made from that Committee, which already prejudicating his highness' cause, hath imposed silence, not only upon▪ themselves in answering to his gracious Letters, but upon me also his public Minister, or any sent by me to agitate his highness' affairs at that Table, insisting still upon that cramb of my being only a pretended Agent? which imputation cannot appear to the Honourable Houses, in any other shape then of Calumny,; his highness having so often iterated by his Letters to both the Honourable Houses, as also to divers particular Members of either House (your Lordship having been one of them) my being his Resident, still honouring me in all those Letters with the stile of his Resident; which quality for these dozen years he hath fixed upon me; which also hath been made evident by his several renewed Commissions, and I will crown this verity with a testimony unquestionable, His majesty's royal Letters sent me from Oxford, confirming under his Hand and seal, the privileges of my place, equal to those he gave to the greatest ambassadors: So that in all sense this ridiculous badge of Pretended, might have been cried down long ere this, having no ground at all to subsist upon, but the opinion of such who file their own dreams upon Record.  
Now my Lord, for his highness setting out men of war in a maritime way, against his Enemy the French, who in prudence can fault it? he being a sovereign Prince, and in confederacy with the Catholic King, who gives him the freedom of all his Ports, as by our last Prize taken and brought into Ostena is made manifest; So as that fond cavil must be laid down, in questioning his Highness right to arm at Sea.  
The particulars of what some of his men under his highness' Commission have done in this kind, I will here set down, and how they have been treated; though with a more impartial pen than I presume the Honourable Houses will receive from the Report of the Committee of the Admiralty, which already hath so much slighted his highness, and passed sohard a censure upon those his affairs.  
His highness sending for Ireland a Ship called the St. Carlo, of 300. Tun, to transport those men for Flanders, which he had levied there, it was taken by a Parliament man of war in the River of Limrick, and though by Order from his highness, I made my complaints, yet could I not obtain of the Committee of the Admiralty any redress; so that his highness lost that Ship, and by that occasion his men also, which being transported afterwards in a weaker vessel, were taken at Sea by the Hollanders, presuming they were to serve the King of Spain, for the States of Holland are not in Hostility with my Master.  
Captain Antony a Fleming, being sent by his highness the Duke of Lorraine into Ireland, to conduct some soldiers of colonel Plunkets Regigiment, which he had levied in Ireland for the Duke's Service, (his highness seeing the Spaniard and the French levy forces in Ireland, thought it as lawful for him so to do as for them) captain Antony upon his highness' charge bought a vessel in Waterford, in which he embarked some 30 or 40 men for Flanders, but at Sea was taken by a Parliament Ship and brought Prisoner into Portsmouth, no regard being had to his highness' Commission which he showed; There, were his men kept Prisoners for many weeks on shipboard, not being permitted to Land; the captain in the mean time got leave to come up to me to make his complaints, in which I negotiated as much as possible I could, but was still put off, in the mean time his highness' men, still on shipboard, endured extremity of misery, being forced sometimes for eight days together to drink nothing but Sea water; In fine, I pressing that they might be used like Christians, one in office in the Committee of the Admiralty answered me, that he esteemed them no better than dogs: At the last the captain was forced to go into Flanders, there to buy another Ship to fetch his men away, his highness' vessel being here seized upon.  
These were all young Gentlemen of Ireland, none of them above 20 years of age, who had never borne Arms in that kingdom, which I often intimated, but nothing would be heard. The poor Youths being most of them Nobly borne, and tenderly bred, being arrived in Flanders, immediately died upon these cruelties used against them.  
His highness having intention to fight his Enemy the French, in all the Elements he could, resolves to set up forces also by Sea, and having the freedom of all the King of Spain's ports, was willing to entertain in that service men of our Nation, as well as Dutch, Scots and Danes; whereupon captain George Grace, under Commission from his highness, setting to Sea, took upon the Coast of France, a Hanburger richly laden with French goods, as we made to appear in the Admiralty Court, both by the Cocket, and Bills of Lading, as by the confession of the Hanburger and his fellow Mariners under their hands; nevertheless the Prize being taken from his highness' captain, by a Ship of the Parliament, commanded by captain Filpot, with much violence used to our captain and his Company) was brought into Portsmouth, and here in the Admiralty Court, adjudged no Price by Doctor Samms, then judge of the Admiralty; and with such passion was the business carried, and in such contempt of his highness' Commission, that captain Grace was arrested in the very Court whilst the cause was hearing, and all the Cockets, bills of Lading, and the testimonies of the Hanburgers taken from him. Thus was his highness defeated of his Prize, and of his own Ship.  
Another vessel was bought by his highness, in which captain Grace was again set out, and pursuing a Frenchman in open Sea, the Frenchman fled to a Parliament Ship which protected him, whereupon captain Grace was forced to desist, and sailed towards Poole, (where lying at Anchor to take in ballast,) by Order from the governor of Poole, he was seized upon by a Ship of the Parliament, commanded by captain Cartridge who brought him into pool, where the governor kept the Ship for divers months, and imprisoned the captain and his men without any ground at all, but upon cavil against his Commission; and upon sinister informations caused the captain to be sent up to London Prisoner, by Order from the Committee of the Admiralty. By his means that service was wholly lost, to his highness' great damage and dishonour, though afterwards with much and much solicitation the Ship was restored, but with excessive charge to his highness, both in the clearing of her, and making her fit again for Service.  
His highness still not doubting but to receive full satisfaction for these injuries offered him, sets out another vessel, under Command of captain Faulkner, who upon the French Coast took a Frenchman and brought him into Dartmouth, where the Governor seized upon him, and his Prize; but at last was content to let captain Paulkner depart with his own vessel, but detained for his own use and benefit the French vessel (which was an excellent Swimmer) and kept all the goods in her; and although by Order from his highness, I made my addresses to the Committee of the Admiralty for satisfaction, yet none could I ever obtain. Neither wanted (upon all these several exigents) his highness' Letters to both the Honourable Houses, demanding restitution in a fair way, but so far was that off, as to this hour his highness never received any. Nevertheless his highness not intending in these his intentions for Sea, to exclude our Nation, sets out captain Faulkner again, who taking a Frenchman, not within command of any Fort or Castle of this kingdom, as is pretended (which appeared by a shot made from Mount-Batten which reached not captain Faulkner by a mile and upward) brought confidently his Prize into the Isle of Wight, where he was presently seized upon by colonel Hammond; the captain and all his men cast into Prison; his Prize taken from him, and sold before his face (which showed no intention of restoring it to the French, had they had any right to it) and an inventory sent up to the Committee of the Admiralty of the goods, to a very small valuation, though the Prize was worth 600li. the ship being laden with Wines, resin, Pitch, Pruens, and the like French Commodities of value; All the solicitation possible I could make in his highness' behalf, and withal delivering his highness' Letters to both the Honourable Houses, (filled with much sweetness and affection towards this Nation) to obtain satisfaction, none ever yet was thought upon, nor that there was any such Princeas the Duke of Lorraine, whose Letters were worthy of answer. In witness still of this high misprission, four of his seamen are yet in extreme misery, detained in the common-goal of Winchester, where they are ready to perish; and both the French Ship, and the Dukes also, are imbarged, and seized upon before the Isle of Wight.  
At the same time captain Anderson having received his highness' Commission, went down to Portsmouth, where having gotten to him some few seamen, and bought a small vessel to transport themselves to Ostend, there to be put upon a greater Ship; no sooner was it known, that they were to serve under the Duke my Master's Commission (having yet never attempted any thing) were seized upon and detained in prison for many weeks, to the overthrow of that his highness' service, and the undoing of the poor men: after my many solicitations, and many repulses, they were at last freed from their most unjust imprisonment, but with no consideration had of their losses.  
These several passages of disgrace, having been put upon the Duke, my Master, with so stiff a silence in both the Honourable Houses to his highness so many courteous Letters, have caused (I presume) this last Letter of his to both the Houses, to make some expression of his resentment, in demanding of the Parliament of England, whether they desire to have him their Friend or their Enemy.  
And although I, my Lord, am servant to this great Prince, who at this hour commands an Army of his own of 12000. as gallant men as the sun shines upon, most of them old soldiers, of understanding, as well able to command, as of wills ready to obey, having borne for many years the weight and scoarching of the day, who with often graplings have made soft unto their hands the hardness of war, glorying more in their honourable scars then in their Scarlets, and are at their height of joy, when they hear the Trumpets call to a battle; yet am I still an English man, and so zealous a Patriot, as most willingly would I Sacrifice my life in the continuation of that ancient League and Amity, which hath ever been between this kingdom and the House of Lorraine, that Mother of Princes, that nursery of Kings, whose royal steam hath extended its flourishing Branches over most of the Thrones of Europe, whose now Regnant heir, the Duke my Master, looking upon the rich Ornaments of his sovereignty, values the greatest Juell in it, his so near alliance to our sovereign Lord, Charles, King of England, France, Scotland, and Ireland, whose present condition he behols with eyes full of affections, and cleared from all Mists of mistake.  
I conclude my Lord, with my own disinterest; it is not (I am confident) the pleasure of my Master to call me off from this Station, by way of compliance with the Honourable Houses, till that abusive attribute of pretended, be taken off from me his real Minister: for what judgement can think such an imputation should be laid upon me, from any doubt in matter of fact, as whether his highness owns me for his Resident, or not? but rather the doubt seems to be raised in matter of his highness' Power, whether he can constitute any public Minister.  
And to question this, will but express more & more the weakness of those who doubt it, and make his highness more & more reflect upon his own Powers.  
But did the stream run clear (as formerly) which now begins to be troubled between his highness my Master, and the Honourable Houses, I should receive those endeavours most joyfully, which should effectually obtain my recalling, for the cause of my stay here being now rightly stated, the difference appears between his highness the Duke of Lorraine, and the Parliament of England, and not between the Parliament of England, and  
Your lordship's most humble Servant, ANTHONY FORTESCUE, Resident for his highness of Lorraine. April 20. 1648.