1 The Minion Admirall of the fleet.
2 The Christopher Viceadmirall.
3 The Tyger.
4 A pinnesse called the Vnicorne: being all bound for the Canaries, and from thence, by the grace of God, to the coast of Guinie.
The next day, being the last of this moneth, [Marginal note: It is to be vnderstood, that at this time there was warre betwixt England and France.] we met with two hulks of Dantzick, the one called the Rose, a ship of foure hundred tunnes, and the other called the Vnicorne, of an hundred and fifty tunnes, the Master of the Rose was called Nicholas Masse, and the Master of the Vnicorne Melchior White, both laden at Bourdeaux, and for the most part with wines. When we came to them, we caused them to hoise foorth their boats, and to come and speake with vs, and we examined euery one of them apart, what French mens goods they had in their shippes, and they said they had none: but by the contrarieties of their tales, and by the suspicion which we gathered of their false chartar-parties, we perceiued that they had French mens goods in them: we therefore caused one of them to fetch vp his bils of lading, and because he denied that he had any, we sent certaine with him, who caused him to goe to the place where he had hid them, and by the differences of his billes of lading, and his talke, we gathered, as before, that they had Frenchmens goods. Whereupon we examined them straightly, and first the Purser of the Vnicorne, which was the smaller shippe, confessed that they had two and thirty tunnes and a hogs-head of a French mans. Then we examined the Master in like case, and he acknowledged the same to be true. Then we examined also the Master of the great ship, and he confessed that he had an hundred and eight and twenty tunnes of the same French mans, and more they would not confesse, but sayd that all the rest was laden by Peter Lewgues of Hamburg, to be deliuered to one Henry Summer of Camphire, notwithstanding all their letters were directed to Hamburg, and written in Dutch without, and within in French.
When they had confessed that they had thus much French mens goods within their shippes, we conferred together what was best to be done with them. William Cretton and Edward Selman were of the opinion, that it should be good either to carry them into Spaine, and there to make sale of the goods, or els into Ireland, or to returne backe againe into England with them, if the winde would permit it. But I, waying what charge we had of our Masters, first by mouth, and afterwards by writing, that for no such matter we should in any case prolong the time, for feare of losing the voyage, and considering that the time of the yeere was very farre spent, and the money that we should make of the wines not very much, in respect of the commodity which we hoped for by the voyage, perswaded them that to goe into Ireland, the winde being Easterly as it was, might be an occasion that we should be


