Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	citizen_n	commonalty_n	mayor_n	5,655	4	11.2176	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48987	An Act of Common Councell, concerning orphans	City of London (England). Common Council.	1663 (1663)	Wing L2852X; ESTC R216715	4,866	31

AN ACT OF Common Councell Concerning ORPHANS Printed by James Flesher Printer to the Honourable City of LONDON 1663. Commune Concilium tentum in Guildhald ' civitatis London decimo tertio die Octobris anno regni Edwardi sexti Dei gratia Angliae Franciae Hiberniae Regis fidei defensor ' in terra Ecclesiae Anglicanae Hiberniae supremi capit ' quinto coram Andrea Judde mil ' Major ' civit ' praedict ' Recordator ' Laxton Bowes Hill Jervis White Turk Hinde Lyon Kirton Offley Aylyffe Wyther Huett Robins Lambard Vic' ac majore parte Commoniar ' c. sic ordinat ' fuit c. FOr as much as the City of London is of late years sore decayed and daily is like to decay more and more a great cause and occasion whereof among other hath been for that free-mens children Orphans of the said City sometimes in the lives of their parents and sometimes after their deceases being left wealthy and rich do bestow themselves in ungodly marriages for the most part in their young age at their own wills and pleasures without the consent and against the minds of their friends saying affirming that the Law and custome of the said City giveth unto them their portions whether they marry by the assent of their friends or not and so doe daily cast away and undoe themselves in trust to have their said portions whether their parents or friends will or not and thereby do bestow themselves upon simple and light persons having neither cunning knowledge substance ne good or honest conditions by reason whereof such Orphans inordinately and insolently doe spend and consume their patrimony and portions in short time not onely to the undoing of themselves and to the great ignominy and shame of their friends but also to the great slander of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City who being reputed and taken as fathers and protectors of the same Orphans and to the great loss and hinderance of the said City And for as much as the said Lord Maior Citizens have by their laws and customes power and authority to make laws and ordinances by their Common Councell for redress of the same It is therefore now to the intent to reduce the same to a more godly more profitable decent order and conformity by the said Lord Maior Commonalty Citizens in this present Common Councel assembled by the authority of the same Common Councel ordained enacted authorised and established for a Law perpetually to be observed and kept within the said City That if any Orphan or child of any free-man or free-woman of the said City do offend in any the things hereafter expressed and be thereof lawfully convicted afore the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen or elsewhere that then they and every of them shall to all intents purposes constructions and meanings be unabled and barred to demand and claim their portion or portions and also shall lose and forgoe and be barred for ever of all and every his her or their part or parts and portions to him or them belonging by and after the death of his said father or mother of the goods and chattels of every such father and mother by reason of any law custome ordinance usage franchise priviledge act of Common Councel or other things heretofore had or used within the said City the same Law custome ordinance or other thing whatsoever heretofore had made ordained allowed and put in ure to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding That is to wit First If any man child or woman child shall maliciously go about or attempt to doe or cause to be done any bodily harm death or destruction to his or their father or mother or if any man child do hereafter marry or contract marriage in the life of his father or mother by whom he will claim any portion under the age of one twenty years without the consent of his said father or mother by whom he will claim any portion or if any woman child doe hereafter marry or contract marriage in the life of her father or other parents by whom shee shall claim any portion before the age of eighteen years without the consent of her father or such other parent by whom shee shall or may claim any portion or if any man child be a thief or a felon or common whorehaunter or common dicer or common player at unlawfull games notoriously known or if any woman child shall hereafter commit any whoredome or be a common picker that then every of the persons so offending shall be barred excluded to have or demand any portion Provided alwaies that it shall be lawfull for the father or mother of any such child or children to give and bequeath in legacy to such child or children as much as the portion of such child so offending shall amount unto by the custom of the said City and then such child thereby to be enabled to have and demand the same as portion this act notwithstanding so that the same legacy be contained in his or their testament in writing and not otherwise and that then and from thenceforth his said child or children to be admitted and restored to claim such legacy or legacies in such sort manner form as if there had been never such offence done or committed by any such child Item it is further ordained enacted authorised and established by authority aforesaid that if any woman child being an Orphan under the age of xxi years at any time hereafter after the death of her father doe censure or contract her selfe in marriage or else according to the Ecclesiasticall laws of this Realm do perfectly solemnize or consummate marriage with any free-man of this City the consent agreement of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the said City of London for the time being not obtained had that then for every such default offence committed or done by any Orphan or Orphans of the said city the same being confessed or sufficiently proved by two witnesses or otherwise before the Lord Maior Aldermen of this said City of London for the time being at in a Court of Aldermen she or they that so happen to behave her or themselves as is aforesaid shall forfeit and forgoe and lose xii d. of and for every pound so due or to be due unto her or them by reason of any such Orphanage The summe of xii d. of every pound to goe or be to the use of the Chamber of the said City according to the ancient custome before this time in such case used And if the said contract or marriage of the said Orphan or orphans be made with any foreine not being free of this City at the time of any such contract or marriage made that then the said Orphan or Orphans every of them shall forfeit lose three shillings of every pound due or to be due unto her or them by vertue of any Orphanage

or custome had or used within the said City the one shilling of the said three shillings of every pound to goe or be to the use of the Chamber of the said City in such manner and form as is aforesaid and the other two shillings so forfeited of every pound to go to the use of such other Orphan or Orphans as then shall remain unmarried or else for default of such Orphans or Orphans to remain to the next of the kindred of the Orphan so offending Also be it further enacted ordained and established by authority aforesaid for and in eschewing of divers variances contentions suites that daily heretofore have and hereafter may ensue That if any free-mans child man or woman fortune to be married hereafter in the life time of his or their father by his consent and not fully advanced of to his or her full part or portion of his or her said fathers goods as he shall be worth at the time his decease according to the ancient laws customes of this said City that then every such free-mans child so being married in the life time of his or her father shal be to all intents purposes disabled to demand any further part or portion of his or her fathers goods after the decease of his or their father but shall be adjudged reputed and taken to be fully advanced according as the law custome of this City hath been long time out of mind except his or her said father doe mention certainly in his last wil or testament or by other writing signed with his own proper name or mark the certainty of the sum or sums of mony goods and chattels and the value of them that the father gave or departed withall or otherwise assured or hereafter shall give pay or depart withall or otherwise make assurance of unto him or her before at or after the marriage of him or her or otherwise in his life time for towards their advancements in the name of his or her part or portion And then every such Orphan or child which after the decease of his or her said father can bring forth the said testament or other writing signed or marked with their fathers hand or mark wherein the certainty of such mony goods or chattals as they have or shall have received of their said father or by the same father assured by especialty or otherwise shall have as much of the ready mony goods chattals and debts of the said father as with that which he or they shall have received towards their advancements in the life of their said father shall make up a full childs part of his goods and chattels as he shall be worth at the time of his decease the same to be demanded asked and claimed or sued for against the Executor or Executors Administrator or Administrators of the goods and chattels of the said father by Bill original to be commenced in our Sovereign Lord the Kings Court holden in the utter Chamber of the Guildhall of the said City before the the said Lord Maior and Aldermen of the same City for the time being any law or custome heretofore made or used to the contrary notwithstanding in which action no wager of law shall be admitted or allowed Provided alway and it is further enacted that if any free-mans son being of full age which shall hereafter be married with the consent of his father or any other person being of full age which shall hereafter marry any free-mans daughter do at the time of the espousals or any time after confesse themselves by writing fully satisfied of his or their portion or do otherwise acquit and discharge the father of such free-mans sonns or daughters of all their part and portion due or to be due by the law and custome of this City that then every such person so confessing acquitting or otherwise discharging shall be reputed taken as fully advanced of his or thier full part and portion and shall not be enabled to demand any further or greater part of the substance goods and chattels of his or her father this law or any other law or custome heretofore had made or used to the contrary notwithstanding And further for as much as it is thought very prejudicial and hurtfull to the fatherlesse children and Orphans when the mother or mother in law being Executrix of the last will and testament of her late husband by whom after whose death the Orphans are entituled to an Orphanage according to the laudable customes of this City do divers times marry or contract matrimony some with forreiners and persons unknown and some with free-men or ever a just inventory of the goods chattels plate jewels ready mony of the testators be by them brought in by reason whereof many times they either for fear or affection of their husbands or for some other sinister cause do bring in very suspitious inventories omitting therein either ready mony plate jewels or debts or some other thing or things whereby some benefit should redound to the fatherlesse children to the great loss hinderance of the Orphans sometimes slander to the Lord Maior Aldermen of this City notwithstanding their great care and travail that they take for the good ordering and true answering of the said Orphans It is therefore by like authority ordained established and enacted that if after the first day of November next ensuing any widow which is or shall be made Executrix of the testament and last will of her late husband being free-man or shall take upon her the Administration of the goods and chattels of her late husbeing a free-man doe not upon her oath bring and exhibit or cause to be brought in exhibited before the said Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this said City for the time being at and in a Court of Aldermen a just and perfect inventory to their knowledge of all the goods chattels plate and jewels ready money and debts as were her said husbands at the time of his death appraised according to the Law of the said City before shee doe ensure her selfe in marriage or contract marriage or else according to the Lawes of the Realme doe perfectly solemnize or consummate marriage with any person before such time as aforesaid That then every person so offending shall forfeit and lose eight shillings of every pound of her portion of the goods of her late husband due to her by the laudable Custome of this said City the same to goe to the use of such Orphan or Orphans as then shall be entituled to have or demande any Orphanage or Portion after the death of his or her late Father the same to be demanded asked claymed or sued for against such Executrix or Administratrix by Bill originall or Debt to be commenced in our Sovereign Lord the Kings Court holden in the utter Chamber of the Guildhall of the said City before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the same City for the time being any Law c. In which Action no Wager c. FINIS