Whilst these things were thus ordering, my malicious adversaries were not idle, but plotting as fast against me, and had so far prevailed with the Lord Northampton that there should be a private warrant directed to the chief of them, vide; to Mr. Baker, Bright and Stevens, and to some other whom they should associate with them, which warrant should have been signed with the King's own hand, to authorise them to repair to Woolwich, and there strictly to make a survey of the work; which being done, upon the return of the insufficiency of the same under their hands and confirmation by oath, it was resolved amongst them I should be turned out and for ever disgraced, the work utterly defaced, and I never to come to any personal answer; and one of them that could make his party strongest should undertake the business, about which they were in great contention amongst themselves who should be preferred to it.
But it pleased my good God, that never leaves his servants destitute of his help when all other means fail them, so mightily to work for me by means of my letter sent to my honourable Lord Admiral, and, as is shewed afore, delivered to his Majesty, so far to prevent their purposes, that upon that very day wherein they had determined to have displaced and disgraced me, that they were, unawares to them, warned by one of his Majesty's messengers to appear before the three Lords before named, to answer them at that very place and time wherein they made their account to have triumphed over me. This was the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes, and this day was appointed to be on Tuesday the 25th day of April, which time was accordingly kept, and the Lords were come to Woolwich by nine of the clock the same morning. The first thing they did was to take a diligent survey of the work, first touching the form and manner of the same, and then concerning the goodness of the materials; which having very carefully perused, they repaired into the house and sat at a little table in the middle of my dining room. Their Lordships being set, first Mr. Baker was called and demanded, for the good of his Majesty's service, to deliver plainly what he could justly except against the ship, either in point of art or in sufficiency of the materials, and leading him from point to point concerning her proportion of length, breadth, depth, draught of water, height of tuck,[275] rake afore and abaft, breadth of the floor, scantling of timber, and other circumstances, after a deal of frivolous arguings to no purpose, their Lordships found by his examination nothing worthy of observing; and directly finding him to be led more out of an envious malicious humour against me than upon any certain ground of error in the mould, or probability of insufficiency of any of the materials used in the frame; whereupon he was dismissed.