Letter 14
To our trusted administrator,
The audit of the royal estates in your district has been completed and the results have been reviewed. Overall the accounts are in order, and the revenues due to the crown have been collected and rendered correctly.
We raise one question: the expenses listed for the maintenance of the estate buildings appear higher than the condition of those buildings, as described in the auditor's report, would seem to justify. The gap between expenditure and visible improvement is substantial enough that we want an explanation.
We do not assume dishonesty; there may be circumstances we are unaware of that explain the discrepancy. But we want the explanation before we close the accounts.
On the broader question of estate management: we are considering a general review of how the royal estates are organized and whether the current arrangements produce the best possible yield. We will be consulting with administrators in several districts as part of this review, and we ask you to prepare a written assessment of your district — its current condition, its potential, and your recommendations for improvement — to submit to us within sixty days.
By order of the royal court
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.