, ( H7 )

King James I. her Succeflor, revolv’d fomething to-wards a new Regulation 5 and in order to put it inExecution, the 14th of May , in the 9th Year of hisReign, decreed, That Commiffionary Letters lhouldbe granted to the Earls of Nottingham , ’ Worcejler, Pem-broke and Northampton, to empower them to examinethe Regiflers and other Monuments which pertainedto that Order 5 and where any Paflage Ihould be foundobfolete or obfcure, to make it confpicuous and clear jwhere Contrariety appear’d, fitly to reconcile it 5 yetwith no Defign of innovating any Thing, but an Inten-tion of renewing all, as near as might be, to the firftStandard and moft ancient Inftitution of the Order;faving always Power to himfelf, as Sovereign of theOrder, to add or diminilh any Matter ( according tothe Occafion) as it Ihould feem agreeable to his Pru-dence for the Honour of this Moft Noble Order.What Progrefs they made in this Commiflion, theMemoirs of that Time are filent in 5 but Ibme fewYears after, this Affair was reviv’d, and another wasiffu’d forth, to the Earls of Nottingham, Worcejler, South-ampton, Arundel and Montgomery, and the Vifcount Ltjh,all Knights-Companions, dated April 21 S’, in the 16 thYear of his Reign 5 which Six, or any Four of them,were thereby conftituted to take an exact Survey of allthe ancient Statutes and Articles of the faid Order 5 andauthoriz’d to call before them all fuch Perfons, whe-ther Officers of the faid Order, or others, as couldgive any Light or Information concerning that Affair jand after a ferious Deliberation, to pen down what inthem they conceiv’d meet to be explain’d, and what tobe added, whereby to render the Order more illuftri-ous, that the lame being prefented to the Sovereignand the Society, at a Chapter holden, might be refolv’don in part, or in all, to be put in Execution, if itfeem’d fo good to that King.

This Affair mov’d very flowly 5 but towards thelatter End of his Reign, the Earls of Worcejler, Mont-gomery, Arundel, Surry and Leicejler, Five of the SixCommiffioners above-nam’d, having held divers Con-ferences, and debated feveral Matters reprefented tothem, and at a Chapter convened at IVhitehall the 19th

La of