of no consequence' we would not agree today and must be grateful that having
expressed his opinion of their value, he nevertheless kept them.
I do not propose to deal in detail with all these papers but will try to outline them
briefly and, I hope accurately. The majority date from around 1730 and William's
assumption of control of the affairs of Sluys. It is, of course, not always possible
to disentangle those papers which arose from the exercise of William's functions
as Governor and those arising solely from his military duties. Indeed the two
must have been part of the same whole. However, I will try to maintain some
distinction as far as is possible.
A series of 10 volumes for the years 1740-1750 contain the accounts of Jacob
Bogaard as rent meester of the government of Sluys during William's governorship.
These accounts appear to give details of income from- leasehold properties and
fisheries and expenditure on both public matters and on the upkeep of the gover
nor's household. The seventh volume of the series has an interesting break in its
continuity between 17 April and 29 October, 1747, the period when Sluys was
occupied by invading French troops. This same invasion marks the end of a
volume of accounts, 1736-1747, of Bogaard as Secretary of the 'Forest Tribunal'
(Jagt Gericht if I have read the title correctly) of the district of Sluys, which
appear to deal with the administration of forest and woodland in the area.
Bogaards' accounts as rentmeester are preceded by a similar volume, 1732-3, of
Henrik van Affelen as rentmeester. There do not survive in these archives any
such accounts before 1732, between 1733 and 1740 and after 1750.
A number of bundles of miscellaneous bundles of papers contain documents
received by William Maurice as governor or relating specifically to the affairs of
Sluys. One bundle contains standing orders for the garrisons at Maastricht and
Ypres in 1713 and papers relating to the garrison at Sluys, 1734-7, and include
muster rolls of the garrison. At least one bundle contains copies and originals of
orders of the Council of State and of the States-General addressed to William as
Governor. One volume contains detailed standing orders of the Sluys garrison and
other military papers, some being drafts in William Maurice's own hand, none
bearing any date. One other bundle, 1723-45, contains various draft accounts,
memoranda, bills and vouchers for the government of Sluys.
Amongst the more general papers of military significance are about one dozen
bundles of very miscellaneous papers, which require more detailed inspection
and description than I am able to give them. These range in covering dates from
about 1700 to 1753. They include for example such things as a contract for rations
at Breda in 1748; a printed list of all officers in the Dutch army below field rank
(i.e. captains and below) in 1752; details of the disposition of troops before
Maastricht in 1729 and general disposition of troops in 1747/8 and 1752 together
with plans for military exercises, drill manuals, and (topically enough today)
proposals for the reduction of troops in time of peace. A further ten bundles
covering virtually the same period of a more miscellaneous nature contain a wide
variety of papers of a personal and military nature and these too deserve some
more detailed inspection many, I may add bear, William Maurice's annotations
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as 'Useless', 'Of no consequence', opinions with which we today might beg to
differ.
In view of his station in life and his military rank and responsibilities - and
thereby his capability to advance the fortunes of relatively junior officers or
aspiring young field marshals it is not surprising to find that from 1730 to the
time of his death, William Maurice was constantly receiving letters from junior
officers, their parents and friends with influence petitioning for promotion,
protection and favours and subsequently thanking William Maurice for having
advanced their cause. Ten bundles of such letters survive which include many
letters from Scottish officers serving in the Netherlands forces.
William Maurice was also Colonel of a regiment of cavalry, his own regiment and
papers relating to the regiment's affairs also survive in his archives. There are
muster rolls for the various companies in the regiment, not a complete or unbroken
series, from 1727-1752. One bundle of correspondence from Major-General W. Van
der Beke, commanding officer of the regiment, to William Maurice for the period,
1738-53, which deals with the internal affairs of the regiment survives. The pay
accounts of the regiment, 1749-53, are contained in the Compagnies Boeck, which
includes full details of the pay and allowances and stoppages of all the officers
and men in the regiment at that period.
Other miscellaneous military items include a book of daily orders issued by
Generals van Hompesch and the Prince von Holstein in camp at Oosterhout in
1732; correspondence and reports about troops in South Beverland, Thole, Wal
cheren, Middleburg and Flushing in 1747-8.
Other miscellaneous papers of an official nature include one bundle of correspon
dence, 1747-8, addressed to William Maurice as Governor of the Province of
Zeeland; papers relating to Ysendijk and proposals for a new canal at Passegeule
with a plan, 1735; papers relating to a state lottery, c. 1749-50; two sale catalogues
of pictures at The Hague, 1725 and 1735, in which pictures by the great masters
abound (they prove the old adage that in any family archive there is something
for everyone); resolutions of the States-General as to the promotion of officers
to the various ranks of general.
Whilst no doubt amongst the largely uninvestigated bundles at present vaguely
designated as 'Military - promotions etc.' and Military Miscellaneous', there are
letters and documents relating to William Maurice's private life and affairs,
nonetheless there is a quantity of material which quite clearly relates to his private
life and affairs.
Some idea of how William Maurice amassed the fortune of 300,000 which he
left to his brother, the Earl of Grantham, can be gained from the 23 bundles of
letters and accounts, 1729-53, from Mme. Harence and M. Debrus, his stock
brokers in Paris. For a quarter of century, William Maurice invested heavliy in
French East India Co. shares, French lotteries and annuities and these papers
contain the detailed story of these, presumably highly successful, investments.
William Maurice did not confine himself to speculation in French stocks and
shares, as a bundle of accounts, 1745-53, from Gerard Joshua Van Neck in London
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