Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	great_a	time_n	year_n	9,128	5	4.5915	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28293	Rules for assizing of bread viz. by troy-weight, or sterling, and by avoirdupoids weights : together with the rule of coequality of both weights, and the assize by a standard-weight for white, wheaten, and household loaves, assized by a certain price, rising and lowering, as the price of wheat rises and falls in the market : all three calculated exactly according to the statute Assiza panis 51.H.3. now in force in Ireland.	Blackhall, G.	1699 (1699)	Wing B3072; ESTC R31594	37,410	77

means they got 12 s. a Quarter besides the 6 s. allowed by Custom for baking a Quarter of Corn. Therefore I still remain in my first Opinion that Meslin being the food of the Labourer ought to be assized according to the price of that sort of Corn. And that the Bread made of all Rye which is much cheaper then Meslin ought to be brought under Assize and also the Bread made of Cruchlo being a compound of Beans Pease Wheat and other Grains which is a strong wholesom food for Labourers c. And all these sorts of Bread the Magistrate may assize according to Law and the Ordinances before mentioned which authorises to Assize as well Wastel-Bread as others OF WHAT SORT SOEVER THEY BE. As to the last Act of Assembly inviting the Country or Forreign Bakers to help the City with Bread it is no new thing the same having been done before and at a time that there was not so great a necessity as lately when all Free Bakers had agreed together to leave off Baking and to starve the Inhabitants or gain their own Will It was high time then for the Government of the City to prevent so great an Evil by all means possible and just And the Bakers cannot justly blame the Magistrate after such second attempt of their Corporation for Inviting and protecting in the City such other Bakers as might supply the Inhabitants with Bread not only in that great extremity but at all other times hereafter if the Corporation should relaps All what was done at that time of need is both according to Law and the Custom of the City The Statute making no difference of Bakers Free or Unfree but establishes one Assize only for all Bakers and for all sorts of Bread in general And by Custom there is no other difference between them but that the Unfree Bakers cannot open Shop without Licence from the Government of the City This was lately the Case of some Roman Catholick Bakers who for a while paid a considerable Quartradge to the Corporation for the Liberty of Baking at the Freemens Assize But at last being advised by Councell and the Corporation having considered the Point seriously they soon agreed together and the former were admitted at Twelve Pence Quartradge as Mr. Robert Jones the Unfree Baker declared before the Comittee of the Honourable House of Commons But by a certain Custom of this City the Country or Forrain Bakers were obliged to bake at 2 s. less allowance in a Quarter of Wheat then the Free Bakers That I suppose happened in Queen Elizabeth's Reign For Edmund Wingate observes That there was a Proclamation Issued in her time that Bakers inhabiting in Corporate Towns in regard they pay Scot and Lot there are allowed J●●c Shillings in every Quarter of the MIDDLE priz'd Wheat for their charge in baking And Country or Forreign Bakers only 4 Shillings And there is an Act of Assembly of this City in the 36th Year of her Reign which obliges the Country or Forreign Bakers to give an overplus in Assize It remains now to Answer their last Objection that they are not assized by the MIDDLE price of Corn but that all the Corn is calculated together and does not fall to the MIDDLE price Their Error in that proceeds of their mistake in the Words of the Statute and want of Knowledge in Arithmetick They suppose and affirm that there is only Three prices of Corn mentioned for Assize viz. First Second and Third Price placing that Word Price for Sorts the Statute answers them fully Bread of Better Second and Third Sort shall be weighed by the MIDDLE price of Wheat The Wheat in those Days and ever since was divided in three parcels viz. All the Best sort in one the Second in another and the Worst in another But the first sort was not sold all at one rate nor either of the two other sorts but according as they were generally sold the Report was made Example If the Best was sold some at 30 s some at 29 s. 6 d some at 29 s the Report was at 29 s. 6 d and if the Second sort was sold some at 25 s some at 24 s. 6 d and some at 24 s the general Price was reported at 24 s. 6 d and if the Worst was sold at 20 s some at 19 s. 6 d and some at 19 s the Report was at 19●● So that upon Enquiry of the price of First Second and Third sort of Corn the Price being returned 29 s. 6 d 24 s. 6 d and 19 s. 6 d they joyned altogether to find out the Price of the MIDDLE sort and the three summs amounting in all to 73 s. 6 d. they divided by 3 and found in the quotient 24 s. 6 d which is the Price of the MIDDLE sort of Wheat Here in Dublin they have an Assize as just and exact and I think more to their advantage for they are allowed the full value of the price of Corn althô the Statute says that the Price shall not Rise or Lower in Assize but by 6 d and they well know that I never abated them one Half Penny of the just price of the Corn bought The Calculating of all the Corn together falls to the same MIDDLE Center when divided in 3 parcells and each parcel calculated by it self and then the 3 joined afterwards The Clerk of Assize in Dublin may humour the Bakers in that particular find no alteration For when all the Corn is entred and the Price set down and sworn before the Lord-Mayor and those who attends the Sword let him reckon how many different prices of Corn is sold that Day and divide them in three and call the first parcel Best sort the second Worse and the third Worst sort and calculate each and bring them to a certain Price and then join the 3 Prices together and divide them by 3 he will find in his Quotient the Price of the MIDDLE sort of Corn. And if he calculated all the whole together he will find the same I have tryed both ways several times and found no difference I shall Insert here the manner of that Assize which I made at Newhall on a Market-Day for Mr. Cook the present Clerk of Assize Dublin the 8th of February 1698. THree sorts of Corn sold in Dublin Market viz.   Best sort from 27 s. to 30 s and 57 Barrels cost 80 l. 7 s so each Barrel cost 28 s. 6 d. Worse sort from 24 s. 6 d to 26 s. 6 d. and 177 Barrels cost 225 l. 1 s therefore each Barrel cost 25 s. 6 d. The Worst from 21 s. to 24 s. the Barrel and 75 Barrels cost 88 l. 6 s which is for each Barrel 23 s. 6 d. Now by the Method of our Bakers their Assize should be 29 s. 6 d because the second highest Price is so much Whereof the MIDDLE Price here Or the Price of the MIDDLE Corn is but 25 s. 6 d. and so it falls for

since which was judged to be sufficient when granted And here we must observe that the measures of Wheat were calculated by such Weight as might enable the Bakers to bake with profit enough and the Bran over and above The Quarter of Wheat Winchester measure was then fixed one with the other at 544 pounds 4 ounces 16 penny weight Troy or 448 pounds Avoir-du-poids and all Assize s were calculated accordingly I heard that the Bakers desired that a Tryal should be made of a Quarter of Wheat of the Tole-Corne which is mixed of all sorts and to bake it all in good Houshold Bread But I believe it was a jest else it should be named a Fallacy for by such a Tryal the Bread made would not produce so much as the Corn cost This may be easily demonstrated by the Assize inserted in the Statute 51 H. 3. Where you will find that Houshold Bread is to weigh in its proportion as much as the Corn in toto Example 3 Quarters of Corn assized at 4 hundred weight a piece makes 12 hundred in toto and if the same did cost viz. the best 30 s. the middle 20 s. and the last 10 s. and assized by the middle price 20 s. and the Baker bound to give the like weight in Houshold as the Corn weighs viz. 4 hundred which at 5 s. comes to the middle price of 20 s. If he be such a fool as to mix the whole and make it all Houshold and sell it as the Assize bindeth at the rate of the middle Corn he cannot get a Farthing for baking c. And therefore such a Tryal is ridiculous But if the Baker keeps the 3 sorts of Corn unmixt and draws out of the 1200 viz. 400 for Houshold he has to 20 s. of Bread and 300 of Wheaten brings as much which makes 40 s. and 200 of White produces the same as the 400 Houshold which makes the first cost and these 4. 3 and 2 Hundred makes but 900 So that the Baker has 300 Weight of Flower and Bran left to himself for his Profit and 6 s. Allowance I know they will Answer that my Proposition is not certain and that there cannot be 200 weight of White in the 1200 nor 300 of Wheaten and therefore will insist for a Tryal to which I have no further to reply but that I do really believe that it will be as difficult for a private Man who knows not the Art of Baking to make the best of several sorts of Corn as to another who never understood Mettals to mix them so as to bring them to several Standards for the best Profit or to judg afterwards of their Qualities when once allayed according to Art And so it is with the Bakers for when they have sorted their 3 Quarters or 1200 weight of Meal and placed 200 for White 300 for Wheaten and 400 for Houshold If they mix half a Hundred of the Wheaten to the 200 of White and the like of the Houshold to the Wheaten and as much of the remaining part or Fine Bran to the Houshold who should be judg of this mixture but themselves who are the God-Fathers of the Bread and gives it what Name they please as some Goldsmiths who have called Sterling a second sort of Silver allayed with one fifth part of Copper althô the Sterling is not to bear above the 20th part of allay All these Mixtures add allways to the profit of the Bakers Therefore I conclude that advantageous Tryal for the publick Good cannot reasonably be expected from them who are Sworn for the Good of their Corporation and naturally inclined to procure to themselves and Families all the Advantage possible nor that they should teach in a Day and for nothing an Art they have laboured so long to learn and discover all their Misteries at once to their disadvantage But I hope that after a serious Consideration they will seek for their right by the usual Methods that have always been observed in England and Ireland and continue their supplying this Great City with good and wholsom Bread according to Assize and as they are bound by their Charter When I published these few Exceptions I thought they had been sufficient for to satisfie all Persons that there was no need at all of a Tryal for it appears plainly enough by the Statute and the Allowance granted to the Bakers that they are sufficient Gainers But none having consulted the Statute and Mr. Cocq having prevailed for a Tryal and for such a Tryal that by baking of a Quarter of Wheat the Bread made of it brought less by 4 s. 6 d then the Corn cost as they reported I think my self obliged to enlarge a little more At the time that Mr. Cocq's Tryal was made an Unfree-Baker made another of a Quarter of Wheat at the same Assize and made of the Bread seaven Shillings six Pence more then the Corn cost which will be proved upon Oath if doubted of and therefore no need to allow the Free-Bakers to make any further Tryals Mr. Cocq made a great Noyse in the Court of Kings-Bench pretending that these few Exceptions were all Erronious and that I had wrong'd the Bakers Had he mention'd in what particular I had answered him there for I expected their Thanks and not their Reproaches being that they tend generally to the Advantage of the Corporation I made them short and upon general Heads not thinking that they would oblige me to descend to Particulars and to unravel their Disingenious Contrivances for attaining their end by a Tryal being not willing to expose them But Master Cocq having made his Challenge so publickly I shall endeavour to make good my positive Assertion That the Bakers are sufficient Gainers and that a Tryal by them is neither sure nor necessary I shall prove the same first by the Statute it self and secondly by their proceeding Since I made publick the Book of Assize by Troy-weight Imo The Statute Assiza Panis fixes the Assize by a Quarter of Wheat of Wine-measure which is short of the full Weight of a Quarter of Corn the Statute leaving the overplus to the Baker as a benefit for baking This is explained very clearly in the Statute as followeth By the Consent of the whole Realm of England the Measure of our Lord the King was made That is to say that an English Penny called a Sterling round and without Clipping shall weigh 32 Wheat Corns in the Middes of the Ear and 20 Pence do make an Ounce and 12 Ounces one Pound and 8 Pound do make a Gallon of Wine and 8 Gallons of Wine do make a London Bushel which is the eighth part of a Quarter It is then plain That the Measure used for Assize was the Wine-Measure but the Measure by which the Corn is sold is another which we call Ale or Winchester Measure the difference is that the Wine-Gallon contains only 231 Cubical Inches and the Ale-Gallon or Winchester contained then 282 and therefore there