Welsh Journals

24 BYE-GONE S. Feb., 1884. FEBRUARY 6, 1884. NOTES. SIR JOHN PRYCE OF NEWTOWN HALL.— Elected member for the county of Montgomery in 1654, but not approved of by the ruling powers of the period, as would appear from the following, extracted from " Domestic Series of State Papers," 1654, p. 346. Aug. 31.—Exceptions laid before the Protector againBt Sir John Price, elected member for Co. Montgomery. " 1. He was an M.P. in 1642, but deserted, and sat in the Junts at Oxford. " 2. He came not in till after the memorable battle at York, and when Montgomery Castle wss taken, and he would e!se been sequestered, as his whole estate lay there. "3. By his plausible pretences, Sir Thomas Middleton, then Major-General of North Wales, made him Governor of the Castle, which he endeavoured to betray to the enemy. Being excluded Parliament and his estate ordered to be sold, he then took himself to the Army. Query whether he should be considered a man of integrity, and fit to be a MP." These " Exceptions" seem to have kept Sir John from sitting, for on the 23rd of Nov. following (same vol. p. 399), the subjoined petition from him appears to have been presented. " Petition of Sir John Price to the Protector and Council:—I was elected by Co. Montgomery to serve in this Parliament, and returned by the Sheriff; but coming to London I find my name omitted in a list returned to the Crown Office of members approved by you, and am told that objections are made against me as unfit to serve as a member. Now these allegations I have already cleared myself of, and proved my affection by service in Scotland, and at Worcester fight, &c, which the late Parliament noticing, took off the sequestration of my estate. Though I am within the meaning of the instrument of Govern¬ ment, I have forborne for modesty to go to the House, lest I should offend you, but having signed the recogni¬ tion, I beg admission, that my county may not be de¬ prived of a member." Peabmain. MARTIAL SHROPSHIRE. (Jan. 23, 1884.) Before the end of June, 1798, Mr. John Hill, jud., obtained his Commission, of which the following is a copy :— " George the Third, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To our trusty and well beloved John Hill, jun., Esq., greeting. We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage, and good conduct, do by these presents constitute and appoint you to be Major Com¬ mandant of a Corps of Shropshire Gentlemen and Yeomanry, but not to take rank in our army except during the time of the said Corps being called out into actual service, and likewise to be Captain of a Troop in our said Corps. You are therefore to take our said regi¬ ment as Major Commandant, and the said Troop as Captain, into your care and charge, and duly to exercise as well the officers as soldiers thereof in Arms, and to use your best endeavours to keep them in good order and discipline. And we do hereby command them to obey you as their Major Commandant and Captain respec¬ tively. And you are to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as you shall receive from us, or any other your Superior Officer, accord¬ ing to the rules and discipline of war, in pursuance of the trust we hereby repose in you. Given at our Court at St. James's, the seventh day of June, 1798, in the thirty-eighth year of our Reign.—By His Majesty's command, John Hill, jun., Esq., PORTLAND." About the same period the Shrewsbury papers contained the following items of military news:— April 12, Yesterday fortnight the Corps of Oswestry Rangers was reviewed on Moreton Common by Colonel Dawkins, who expressed to Captain Mytton, their com¬ mander, his full approbation as to its appearance and manoeuvres. May 25. We have much pleasure in announcing to our readers and the public that a Troop of Cavalry have en¬ rolled themselves to act in a military capacity within the Shifnal division of Brirnstree, for the internal defence of the country, under the appellation of the Brirnstree Loyal Legion. Their tenders of service were transmitted to the Lord Lieutenant, who in a very handsome letter communicated the approbation of His Majesty. The Officers are Robert Slaney, Esq., Major-Commandant, J. Williams, Esq., Captain, R. Roden, Lieutenant, and J. Wood, Cornet. June 8. On the King's birthday the Troops of the Yeomanry Cavalry under the command of the Hon. Wm. Hill and Thos. Jelf Powys, Esq., had a grand field day, and after going through their exercise with great credit, the Troops dined together at the Lion Inn, where many loyal and constitutional toasts were drunk, and the evening spent in the greatest conviviality. June 11. The Yeomanry Cavalry serving under Rowland Hunt of Boreatton, Esq., fifty-three in number, paraded for the first time, A detachment of Oswestry Rangers, in which corps Mr. Hunt is a private, kept the ground. July 27. Our three Troops of Yeomanry Cavalry had a field day, when they appeared for the first time in their uniforms, and went through a, variety of evolutions, in¬ cluding the Sword Exercise, in a masterly manner, very much to the satisfaction of the respectable and numerous spectators assembled on the occasion. The three Troops were afterwards very elegantly entertained at Attingham, the seat of Lord Berwick. QUERIES. CHURCHSTOKE.—The Welsh name for this place is, I am informed,—Yr Ystoc. What is the English equivalent of these two curious looking words ? Rea Valley. REV. TIMOTHY EDWARDS.-A gentleman of this najae, who was at one time Vicar of Okehampton, Devon, wrote "A Paraphrase with Critical Annotations on the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians," and in the year 1752 Mr. Barrard, Rector of Whitestone, in the same county, published the work in a quaito Volume. Can any of your readers give me some account of Mr. Edwards ? Antiquary. SAINT OSWALD'S SEAL.—In the interesting and valuable paper on the Armorial Bearings of Shrop¬ shire, now publishing in the "Transactions of the Shrop¬ shire Archaeological Society," under the careful editorship of the Rev. W. A. Leighton; there is the following, without any note or comment:—" Oswestry, or St. Oswald's Seal, gu. a cross between 4 lions rampant or." Can any one give us further information about this seal, where it has been used, and for what purpose ? M.S.A.S.