From a letter written in 1622 we find that the country gentlemen were by no means pleased at leaving the pleasures of Court; and "divers lords and personages of qualitie," we are told, "have made meanes to be dispensed w^{th}all for going into the countrie this Christmas according to the proclamation but yt will not be graunted, so that they packe away on all sides for feare of the worst, yet the L. Burghley hath found favor in regard of his father's age and weakenes[328]." The king was, however, firm in most cases, and not only issued the second proclamation in Dec. 22nd, 1622, but by a third in March 1623[329], continued the regulations, so that it is clear this measure was considered important and was found successful. [328] Letter of Chamberlain to Carleton, _Dom. S. P._, Vol. 134, No. 801. [329] _Cal. of State Papers_, Mar. 26th, 1623. But in 1622-3 the orders of the Council do not only provide for the supply of the markets with corn. The poor were as much distressed by want of work as by the high price of bread. For some years there had been depression in the cloth trade, partly owing to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, and partly to the small amount of coin which was in circulation in England. In 1622 the Spanish ports also were closed to English cloth. The merchants and manufacturers found that heavy stocks were on their hands and ceased to employ the workmen. As in 1527 and in 1586 the lords of the Council tried to remedy the evil by forcing the employers to find work for their men. In Feb. 1621/22 they sent to the justices of ten of the clothmaking counties. They say letters have been written to them setting forth the "decay of cloathing and the great distresse thereby fallen upon the weavers, spinners and ffullers in divers counties for want of worke." They recognise that so great a trade cannot always proceed with equal profit, but upon it the "livelihood of so many poore workmen and their families dependeth" that they let the justices know that they have taken a course with the merchants for the purchase of the cloths in the clothiers' hands, and "we hereby require yo^u," they write, "to call before yo^u such clothiers as yo^u shall thinke fitting and to deale effectually w^{th} them for the imployment of such weavers, spinners and other persons as are now out of worke. Where wee maye not omitt to let yo^u know that as wee have imployed o^r best endeavo^{rs} in favo^r of the clothiers both for the vent of their cloth and for moderation in the price of wooll (of w^{ch} wee hope they shall speedily find the effects). Soe may wee not indure that the cloathiers in that or any other countie should att their pleasure and w^{th}out giving knowledge hereof unto this Board, dismisse their workefoelkes, who being many in nomber and most of them of the poorer sort are in such cases likely by their clamo^{rs} to disturbe the quiet and governement of those parts wherein they live. And if there shalbe found greater numbers of poore