the Parish of Grace-Church street London for which house a rent of five pound yearly hath been reserved time out of mind in the third year of the King that now is by Indenture doth make a Lease for five years unto one Withers of part of the House and of the Shop rendring the Rent of five pound by the year at the four usual Feasts that is to say at the Feast of the Annuciation c. by even and equal portions And in the same Indenture it is further covenanted and agreed that Withers the Leassee shall pay unto Burrel the Leassor a hundred fifty pound in name of a Fine and Income the which said hundred and fifty pound is to be paid in manner and form following that is to say thirty pound yearly and every year during the said term at the four usual Feasts by even and equal portions the term of five years expired the said Burrel in the tenth year of the said King by Indenture maketh a new Lease for the term of seven years of the said part of the house and the Ware-house unto one Goff rendring the rent of five pound by the year at the Feast of S. Michael the Archangel and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by even and equal portions And in the same Indenture it is further covenanted and agreed that Goff shall pay unto the said Burrell 175. l. in the name of a Fine and Income in manner and form following that is to say twenty five pound yearly during the said teâ—m at the said two usual Feasts by even and equal portions Dunn Parson of Grace-Church exhibiteth his Petition unto the then Lord Mayor of London against the said Burrel and Goff wherein he supposeth that Tythes are paid unto him only according to the rate of five pound by the year where in truth he ought to have an allowance according unto the rate of thirty pound by the year The Lord Mayor by the advice of his Councel doth call the said Burrell and Goff before him and upon full hearing of the said cause doth order the pâ—yment unto Dunn according unto the rates of five pound by the year and not according to the rate of thirty pound by the year whereupon the said Dunn doth exhibit his Bill of Appeal unto the Lord Chancellour of England in the Chancery wherein he doth make a recital of the Decree made and established by Act of Parliament in 37. H. cap. 12. and also of the case special as it standeth charging the said Goff and Burrell with a practice of fraud and covin in the reservation of this twenty five pound by year by way of Fine and Income and defrauding him of that which belonged unto him The said Goff and Burrell do make their answer and shew that the rent of five pound by the year is the ancient rent reserved and that they are ready and have often tendred the payment of their Tythes according to that proportion but it hath been denied to be accepted and they do take a traverse unto the fraud and covin wherewith they stand charged And upon this answer Dunn the Parson demurreth in Law And this case was first argued in the Chancery by Sir Francis Moor Serjeant and Thomas Crew on the behalf of Dunn and by Sir Anthony Benn late Recorder of London and Iohn Walter on the part of the Defendants The Lord Chancellour having called Sir Henry Mountague Cheif Justice of the Kings Bench Sir Henry Hobart Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Sir Iohn Doddridg one of the Justices of the Kings Bench and Sir Richard Hutton one of the Justices of the Common Pleas to be his Assistants and after two Arguments heard on each side in the Chancery upon Suit made to the King by Sir Francis Bacon then Lord Chancellour of England a special Commission was granted unto Thomas Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Sir Francis Bacon Lord Chancellour of England Thomas Earl of Suffolk late Lord Preasurer of England Edward Earl of Warwick Keeper of the Privy Seal William Earl of Pembrook Lord Chamberlain of the Kings houshold Iohn Bishop of London Bishop of Eli Sir Henry Mountague Sir Iulius Caesar Master of the Rolls Sir Iohn Doddridg and Sir Richard Hutton wherein there was a special recital of the question and cause depending between Dunn on the one part and Burrell and Goff on the other part and power given unto them for the hearing and determining of this cause and likewise for the mediating between the Citizens of London and the Parsons of the several Parishes and Churches in London and making an arbitrary end betwixt them whereby a competent provision may be made for the Ministers of the Churches of London and too heavy a burthen may not beimposed upon the Citizens of London with a command further that they shall certifie the King what was done in the premises And this Commission was sat upon at York-house where the case was argued at several times by Sir Randal Crew and Sir Henry Finch Serjeants of the King on the part and behalf of the Ministers of London and by Sir Henry Yelverton Attorney of the King and Sir Thomas Coventry Solicitor of the King on the behalf of the Citizens of London and because the main Question remained as yet undetermined and no resolution is given either in point of Law nor Arbitrary end by way of mediation I shall only open the parts of the case and make a summary report of them without further debate of them The Case divideth it self into six parts that is to say First whether any thing can be demanded by the person for houses in London according to the course of the Common Law Secondly whether custome can establish a right of payment of any thing unto the Parson for houses and of what nature the payment established shall be Thirdly what was anciently payable by the Citizens of London for their houses unto the Ministers of London and how grew the payment Fourthly whether this twenty five pounds reserved upon a covenant by way of fine and income be a rent within the words of the Decree made 37. H. 8. cap. 12 Fifthly whether this reservation of twenty five pounds by the year by way of fine and income shall be adjudged to be a rent within the intent and meaning of the Statute an Decree or no Sixthly who shalâ— be Judge of the Tithes for houses in London and the remedy for the Parson in case that payment be not made unto him according to the Decree As to the first part which is whether by the Common Law any thing can be demanded for the houses in London It is to be agreed and clear that nothing can be demanded For that which the Parson ought to demand of houses is Tythes and it is improper and cannot be that Tythes can be paid of houses First in regard that houses do not increase and renew but rather decrease for want of reparations and
King Edw. the 3. bereaving the King and Commonwealth of these great benefits and commodities is against the Law and so ought to be repealed And day was given accordingly to put in their Plea At which time many of the old Merchants-Adventurers being willing that trial should be made whether the benefit intended unto the Commonwealth might be compassed did shew to their obedience unto the King and desire of the good of their Country Surrender up their Patent into the hands of his Majesty since which time it being found by experience that the project had not that success which they expected and likewise Cloth and Wooll lay dead because there was no vent for them abroad The King according to his power reserved unto him in his Patent by which he erected and created the new Company of Merchants Adventurers of London did make repeal and revocation of the said New Patent and new Company and did redeliver unto the old Merchants their Patent confirming it and likewise by another Charter did enlarge the Liberties and Priviledges of the old Merchants by reason of which Grace of the King the old Company of Merchants-Adventurers of England are reestablished in that estate wherein they formerly were and they do now trade again as formerly they did to the great content of the Subject and benefit of the King and Country Certifying Indictments upon Certioraries IOhn Forner Iohn Evans and divers others being Indicted before Sir Thomas Hayes Lord Mayor of London Sir Henry Mountague Serjeant unto the King and Recorder of London Sir Thomas Lowe and divers others by vertue of a Commission granted unto them a Certiorari was directed unto them as Justices of Peace out of the Kings Bench for the certifying the said Indictment upon which Certiorari no return was made whereupon a second Certiorari was awarded unto the said Commissioners commanding them to certifie the said Indictment upon a pain upon which Certiorari a return was made in this manner That is to say that King H. 6. in the 23. year of his Reign by his Letters Patents bearing the same date did grant unto the Mayor Aldermen and Sheriffs of London that they should not be compelled upon any Writ directed unto them to certifie the Indictments themselves taken before them but only the Tenors of them the which they have done accordingly and Exception being taken unto this Return for the insufficiency of it it was resolved by Sir Edward Cook Chief Justice of the Kings Bench Sir Iohn Crook Sir Iohn Doddridg and Sir Robert Haughton that the return upon the reasons hereafter following was insufficient For first the Letters Patents being granted unto them by the name of the Mayor Aldermen and Sheriffs of the City of London warranteth only the not certifying of Indictments taken before them as Mayor Aldermen and Sheriffs of London and where the Writ is directed unto them by that name and they do not excuse them in Case where the Writ is directed unto them as Justices of Peace and where the Indictments are taken before them as Justices of Peace by virtue of the Kings Commission And howsoever the Mayor and Aldermen are Justices of Peace by Charter yet insomuch that they are distinct powers return made by them by the name of Mayor and Aldermen where the Writ is directed unto them as Justices of Peace will not be good Secondly there being a Resumption made by Act of Parliament in 28. H. 6. whereby all Lands Tenements Grants Rent and Fees granted since the first day of his Reign were resumed the Letters Patents made in 23. H. 6. unto the Mayor and Commonalty are annihilated and made void and so no hold may be taken of them and the Statute made in 1. Edw. 4. cap. 1. only confirmes those priviledges not heretofore revoked and repealed by Act of Parliament or otherwise and howsoever there be a Charter made by H. 7. in the first year of his Reign whereby restitution was granted of this priviledge yet no advantage may be taken of it because it was not spoken of upon the return and the Court may not intend it Thirdly the Letters Patents of the King being the sole ground and foundation to make the return good are not sufficiently returned unto the Court insomuch that it was said upon the return only that the King by his Letters Patents did grant unto the Mayor Commonalty and Sheriffs of London that they should not be compelled to certifie the Indictments themselves but it doth not appear that they were sealed with the Grand Seal and if they were not sealed with that Seal the Letters Patents may not be of any validity in Law howsoever they were sealed with the Exchequer Seal or Dutchy Seal in respect of which they may well be called the Letters Pattents of the King Fourthly the use hath alwayes been to remove Indictments and the Record of them upon a Certiorari awarded out of the Kings Bench and there was never any denial made of it before this time and in 5. Ed. 6. where a Certiorari was directed unto them for the removing of an Indictment of a Woman which was Indicted for being a common Whore the Indictment was certified in obedience unto the Writ although in the end of the return they shewed their Charter and prayed that it might be remanded because it was an Indictment only warrantable by the custome of the City and not by the Common Law And the Court was of opinion in the return at the Bar to have imposed a Fine and to have awarded a third Certiorari but it was stayed and the second return was amended Concerning Orphans Portions THe custome of London is that if any Freeman deviseth and or other Legacies of goods unto an Orphan that then the Mayor and Aldermen have used to take the profits of the Land and to have the disposition of the Legacies until such time as the Legatees shall attain unto the age of twenty one years or otherwise being a woman should be married and if the disposition of the profits of the Lands or of the personal Legacies were declared by the Testator in his Will that then the Mayor and Aldermen have used time out of mind of man to convent the person trusted by the Will of the Testator before them and to compel him to find Sureties for the true performance of the Legacies according to the Law of the Realm and the Will of the Testator and if they refuse to find Sureties then it is lawful to imprison them until they find Sureties The Widow of a Freeman of London dwelling in Middlesex bequeathed a Legacy of a thousand pound unto her Daughter after all Debts and Legacies paid and upon condition that she should not marry without the assent of her Executor and maketh a Freeman her Executor and dieth The Executor is convented before the Court of Mayor and Aldermen and required to put in Sureties unto the Chamberlain of London according to the
the disposition of them according to her will and pleasure and the Poet saith Da tua dum tua sunt nam post mortem tua non sunt and they not being the Wines of a Citizen to every intent but only to a special intent may not be said to be capable of the discharge of payment of prisage according to the Case that hath been adjudged that where the King by his Letters Patents doth grant the Goods and Chattels of all Felons and Fugitives unto a common person now the Patentee by vertue of this grant may not claim the Goods and Chattels of one that is a Felon of himself in so much that he is a Felon only to a special intent and this being a Flower of the Kings Crown shall not pass by general words Fourthly Prisage being a thing which is not due until such time as the bulk be broken now forasmuch as George Hanger was dead and so was disfranchised before such time as the duty accrued the Charter shall not extend to discharge the Wines in the hands of the Executrix of the payment of Prisage And so having given you a taste of the opinion of the Judges upon the main case I will descend to the other matters considerable in this case upon this Charter and for better order and methods sake I will divide it into the parts hereafter following that is to say First what Prisage is and to whom due the nature of it and the diversity between Butlerage and Prisage Secondly what is the cause and ground why the King hath Prisage Thirdly at what time prisage shall be said to be due Fourthly whether a grant or discharge may be made by the King of Prisage Fifthly whether the Charter of discharge unto the Mayor and Commonalty of the payment of Prisage be good when the grant is made to the Mayor and Commonalty and the benefit distributed unto the natural persons and the ground of the making of this Charter Sixthly what persons shall be discharged of the payment of Prisage within the words of the Charter which saith Quod de vinis Civium nulla prisa fiat Seventhly what Wines shall be said to be discharged of the payment of Prisage within the words of the Charter As to the first Prisage is a certain duty which the King and his Predecessours by themselves or their Officers by a custom time out of mind of man hath used to take for the provision of his houshold of all English Merchants of all Wines whatsoever which the said English Merchants bring from beyond the Seas into the Coasts of England In which said description it is first observed that it is a duty due from the subject unto his Majesty and not a voluntary gift of the subject unto the King Hereupon it is that in H. 4. 3. in the Patent-Roll in the Tower you shall find prisage termed by the name of Regia Recta prisa for that it apperreineth and is due unto the King of common Right and being a Flower of his Crown may not belong unto any man else but by especial Grant Secondly it appeareth that it is called a certain duty because it is manifestly certain what the King shall have out of every Ship both in respect of the time when he shall take it in respect of the place where he shall have it and in respect of the quantity which he shall have For as to the time when he shall take it it is upon the breaking of the Bulk of the Ship and not before for if a Ship come into the Port laden with Wines and the Bulk of her is not broken now may not Prisage be demanded of her And as to the place where the King shall take this prisage it is ascertained by a Book-Case where it is said That the King shall take one Tun behind the Mast and the other before And as to the certain quantity which the King is to take it is manifest by divers ancient Records for if a Ship have ten Tun in her and under the number of twenty Tuns then the King is to have one Tun only but if the Ship containeth twenty Tuns and more then the King is to have two Tuns the one to be taken behind the Mad and the other before the Mast the King paying for the portage twentyâ—sh and by reason of these certainties you shall find in the Patent-Rolls in the Tower 28. E. 1. that it is called Certa prisa Thirdly it is to be observed that is not a duty newly encroached for it hath by custom time out of mind of man been taken for the ancientest Records now remaining with us do make mention of the payment of it for in the Pat. Rol. aforementioned being in the 40th year of Henry the third it is spoken of and Fleta who wrote in the beginning of E. 1. his time hath not been silent in declaring the nature of prisage and in the 15. E. 2. Rast all Estreats Sect. 22. an ordinance is made amongst other things that the Butler of the King for the time being either by himself or his Deputy shall enroll the Wines of prisage how many times he hath taken them the testimony of persons of whom the price was had where and when and the Customers of England shall be charged according as they are assigned for the gathering of customes within I certain bounds that they twice yearly shall certifie the Treasurer and Barons how many Ships have arrived within their bounds c. And how many Ships arrived of whom the King did take prisage of Wine and how many Tunnes and in what Ships the King did take twosh for the Tun. And for the other price And in the Pat. Rol. extant in 20. R. 2. you may see the Record speak in this manner Memorandum quod Rex habet ex antiqua consuetudine de qualibet navi mercatoria applicante infra aliquem portum Regni Angliae duo dolia vini c. All which shew the antiquity of it Fourthly it is said of all English Merchants to make a difference between those that are Merchants and those that buy Wines beyond the Seas for their own private provision Secondly to make a distinction between the English Merchants and the Merchant-strangers for Merchant-strangers by a Charter made unto them called by the name of Charta Mercatoria in the one and thirtieth year of E. 1 his Reign are discharged of the payment of prisage in recompence and lien of which Immunity granted unto them the Merchant-strangers by way of thankful restitution granted unto the King and his Successours that he should have two sh of every Tun of Wine brought in by them within fourty dayes after it is brought into the Port the which two sh is called by the name of Butlerage because the Kings Chief Butler by reason of his Office is to receive it And those subject of the Kings who do buy Wines beyond the Seas for their
own spending without any intention to Merchandize ought not to pay prisage for those Wines Sixthly it is expressed of all Wines brought from beyond the Seas for that if Wines should be made in England as in times past they have been as it appeareth by an ancient Record in Windsor-Castle where it is said that the Parson had ten pound for the Tythe of Claret-Wine mad there and they should be transported from one Port to another to be sold no prisage shall be paid for them Lastly it is described which hath used to be taken and not which hath used to be paid by the owners and Merchants of the Wines and the Etymology of the word importeth as much For Prisae being the Latine word for prisage hath it's name of prendere and is no more than Prizel which is taking and is a Participle of the word Prendere which may be applied to all manner of takings howsoever here it is only limited to the taking of Wines As to the second part which is what is the cause and ground of the payment of prisage there is not any Record to be seen which manifesteth the original cause of the payment of it but it is probably conjectured that for as much as the King of England is King of the narrow Seas and hath been alwayes at a perpetual charge in the maintaining of Ships for the defence of his Merchants and protecting of them from the cruel spoile of the Pyrates and in scouring the Seas to make their passage the more secure therefore in recompence and satisfaction of this care and charge the Merchants have always used time out of mind to give an allowance unto the King and his Officers for the taking of this prisage of Wines for the better provision of his houshold the which allowance and usage being continued time out of mind hath made it to be a duty unto the King and likewise because the King hath used to take one Tun out of ten Tuns and two Tuns out of twenty Tuns for in ancient time the Ships that went for these Wines being no great Voyage were not of much greater burden some have conceived that this was in nature of a Tythe paid unto the King and as the particular Pastor which ministreth spiritual things for the Food of the Soul hath of right the tenth part of his clear gains due unto him So the King in that proportion being Parens patriae and the general Pastor of all his Subjects protecting their lives and goods from violent oppression upon the Seas hath received and taken the tenth part of the Wines brought in But this only conjectured and therefore I cannot warrant it to be a sure Foundation to build on As to the third which is at what time prisage is said to be due I do likewise find some doubt to be made of it for some Judges unto whose Learning and Judgement because of their Eminent parts and singular industry much reverence is to be ascribed have been of opinion that before such time as the bulk of the Ship be broken up or that it be arrived at the English Port prisage is due and therefore if a Ship after such time as it is come up into the Haven finding that Wines will not bear any price doth before the Bulk of the Ship be broken depart out of the Harbour and go back beyond the Seas and there vent those Wines The King this notwithstanding may require his prisage at the Merchants hands for the narrow Seas being within the Alleageance of the King of England as it appeareth by divers of our year-Books so soon as the Ships come upon them there is the duty of prisage accrued unto the King whereof it doth not lie in the power of the Merchant to defeat him and also the very nature of prisage being to have one Tun before the Mast and one other Tun behind the Mast sheweth that the King hath an Election to take his Tuns of Wine where he will the which may not be if the duty of prisage should arise out of the breaking of the Bulk for when the Bulk is broken how doth it appear which is the Tun before the Mast and which is the Tun behind the Mast So as the King may have the Election to take his prisage as the Law giveth it unto him and they are of opinion that if a Ship come into the Port laden with Wines that the King is not to expect his prisage where the Merchant will unlade his Wines for it being a certain duty accrued unto the King upon the coming into the Port he may take it at the Port and is not bound to wait upon the Merchant from one Port unto another untill he will or can unlade his Ship But the residue of the Justices which argued in this case were of opinion that prisage is not due until the Bulk of the Ship be broken so as that if the Merchant after his arrival at the Port will go unto another Port the King may not take his prisage before such time as they come unto that Port where they unlade and their opinion was grounded upon the reasons following that is to say First because the reason and ground of the payment of prisage being the security which the Merchants enjoy by and through the care and charge of the King upon the narrow Seas they ought to be secured of that benefit before such time as they shall be forced to pay the duty and before the breaking of the Bulk of the Ship they are not ascertained of their safe conduct insomuch that howsoever they be in the Port or Harbour yet they may have cause to put out into the Main again as if they were driven in there through danger of Pyrates or violence of Tempests their Cocquet shewing their course to be bent unto another place and it is no reason that the K. should take his duty before such time as the Merchant be assured of his protection Secondly incertainties are always odious in Law for they are the Mother of confusion whereas the Law expecteth and requireth order And if the time expressed be alwayes ambiguous or doubtful it is careful in the determining and setting of it down certainly and for the most part where it is left to her construction she giveth the longest time for the doing of it whereby best advantage may be given unto the party which is to do it the which may be manifest by divers instances of cases set down in our Books which I do purposely omit to avoid too much prolixity Wherefore it being the most certain and the most equal time both for the King and Merchant to have the prisage taken when the Bulk of the Ship is broken the Law to whose construction it is left shall rather ordain the taking of it to be then than at any other time for if the Law should say that it is a duty presently upon the coming upon the narrow Seas it should
say it is a duty before such time as the Merchant can assure himself they are his Wines to dispose insomuch that before the coming into Harbour they may be swallowed up by the Seas or he may be dispoiled of them by Enemies unto the King or Rebels unto the State And if the Law should determine the duty to the King when the Ships are safely in the Harbour there might a great inconvenience ensue upon this Judgement because it may very well be that their course was intended to another place and they were driven in there only by misadventure and it would be mischievous to have the Ship rifled and their Wines disordered before they had attained unto the intended Haven Thirdly this opinion is consonant unto the Judgements in former times for it was ruled in the case of one Kenniston and Boggius in the fifth year of his Majesties Reign that now is that prisage shall not be said to be due until such time as the Bulk be broken and the Ship unladen And likewise there is a Record by which it appeareth that the King is to have Prisage of every Ship bringing VVine into England and unladen thereof so as if it be not unladen then the King by that Record is not to have Prisage Besides it appeareth by the Record concerning the payment of Butlerage by the Merchant Aliens that the King is to have there two shillings of them for every Tun within fourty dayes after the unlading so as the Law pointeth at the unlading wheresore this Prisage differing only because the VVines are paid in specie it shall be an Argument thus far to perswade that the Law will not appoint the time of taking the Wines in specie before the unlading when it giveth for the payment of the two shillings until sourty dayes after the unlading Fourthly it was resolved that howsoever Prisage of Wines is a Flower of the Crown yet is it not such an inseparable Flower of the Crown but that it may well enough be granted over for it is a matter of profit and benefit which is to redound unto the King and it is not of the nature of a Purachans meerly for that it is inseperably annexed in privity unto the person of the King that it may not be granted over And accordingly it was resolved in the case of Sir Thomas Vavasor who married one of the Daughters of Alderman Houghton who had a Grant of the Prisage made unto him And in the 15. of E. 4. in the Patent-Rolls it appeareth that one Fitzherbert had a Grant made unto him and by the same reason that a Grant may be made of Prisage à fortiori may there be a Grant made unto certain persons to discharge them of the payment of it for it is easier to make one capable in point of discharge than by way of Grant and the Charter made to the Merchants Strangers for the discharge of the payment of Prisage And the Statute of 1. H 8. cap. 5. sheweth that a Charter made for the discharge of Prisage is well and allowable Fifthly this Grant made unto the Mayor and Commonalty and their Successors Quod de vinis civium nulla prisa fiat is good enough and the grant may well enough be made unto a body politique and the benefit of the Patent distributed unto a body natural for Patents of that nature are usual in the year-Book of the Common Laws of this our Realm and never any exception taken unto them when there hath been less warrant in reason to make them good then there is for this our Patent which we have here in hand For the City of London being the Metropolitan City of this Land the which may well be called the Heart and Epitome of the whole Realm and the Chamber of the King the Merchants whereof do fill the Coffers of the Prince by their customes and do supply the Subjects of his Majesty with all manner of necessaries do encrease the honour of their Nation by their Commerce and Traffique abroad and do strengthen the whole body of it by shipping which are termed the wooden Walls It is reason that all Charters made in their favour and giving them Immunities and Priviledges should receive a benigne interpretation and the more especially also because at this time all Merchants strangers had a Charter of discharge for the payment of prisage but only that they were to pay two shillings in the Tun and so if the Merchants of London should not have had a Charter of discharge they would have been discouraged from trading for Wines because the Merchants strangers would have been able to have afforded their Wines at easier rates because they were freed of some part of that charge which the English Merchants were burthened with Sixthly as to the Declaration what persons shall be discharged of the payment of prisage within the words of this Charter it will be the better manifested by shewing the destinctions and degrees of Citizens which are to be found for there is mention made of five manner of Citizens The first of which is he that is a Citizen of London for the bearing of offices in the City and such special intents because he is a Freeman of the City but he is not a Citizen in residency and continuance in the City for he inhabiteth and dwelleth out of the City and such a Citizen as this is not such a Citizen as shall enjoy the benefit and priviledge to be discharged of the payment of prisage according to the resolution given in the Exchequer in the Case of one Knolls Trin. 4. H. 6. Rot. 14. where it was ruled that one that was a Citizen and Freeman of London but dwelt in Bristol might not partake of the benefit of this Charter insomuch that he by reason of his dwelling out of the City was only a Citizen to a special intent The second sort of Citizens are those which are Citizens in respect of their Freedome and likewise in regard of residence within the City but are not such Citizens as do keep a Family and Houshold within the City but are Inmates and Sojourners and they do harbour themselves under the Roof of another and a Citizen of this nature is not a Citizen which is capable of the Immunity granted by this Charter for the discharge of payment of prisage according to the resolution given in the Exchequer in the case of one Snead and Sacheneril Hill 43. Eliz. Rot. 22. for such a Citizen is not subject to Scot and Lot as he that is a housholder Et qui non sentit onus sentire non debet commodum The third sort of Citizens are those which do inhabit reside and keep a Family in the City but they are not Freemen of the City so as they may be chosen in any office and undergo the charge of the City and as well as the Common Law doth exclude such Citizens for devising Lands in Mortmaigne
Commonalty for payment of the said sum at a certain day and thereupon is enlarged The four hundred Marks are not paid at the day whereupon the Mayor and Commonalty affirm a Plaint against him in London for the said Debt The Defendant obtaineth a Habeas Corpus to remove the body and the cause into the Kings Bench upon a supposition that he was to have the Priviledge by reason of a Priority of Suit in the Kings Bench and upon returne of the Habeas Corpus all this matter appeared unto the Court and it was moved by Sir Henry Mountague now Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench then one of the Serjeants of the King and Recorder of London that a Procedendo might be granted whereby the Major and Commonalty might proceed against him in the Court at London It being a customary Suit meerly grounded upon the custome of London But that was denied by Sir Edward Cook Chief Justice and the whole Court because by the Law Chamberlain having cause of Priviledge by reason of the Priority of Suit against him in the Kings Bench might not be re-manded but he was to answer in that Court Whereupon the Major and Commonalty did declare against him upon the said Obligation in the Kings Bench. Secondly it was moved that the action upon this obligation might be laid in some indifferent County and not in London forasmuch as the Trial there must be had by those that were Parties unto the Action it being brought by the Mayor and Commonalty But Sir Edward Cook and the Court would not upon this surmise take away the benefit which the Law giveth to every Plaintiff upon a transitory action wich is to lay it in whatsoever County he will And if there be any such cause as is surmised then after Plea pleaded he may make an allegation That the City of London is a County in it self and that all the Citizens there are Parties to the Action which is brought whereby there may not be an indifferent Trial. And upon this surmise the Court shall order the Trial to be in a Forreign County The which was done accordingly and so the matter proceeded The Case of the Merchant-Adventurers KIng Edward the third in the year of his reign by Letters Patents doth incorporate certain persons by the name of the Merchants-Adventurers of England and doth give power unto them to transport white Clothes into divers parts beyond the Seas restrayning them from carrying over Woolls The Merchants-Adventurers do trade beyond the Seas and continue the transposing of Clothes white until the 29. of August in the tenth year of his Majesties Reign that now is At which time the King by his Letters Pattents doth encorporate the Earl of Sussex late Lord Treasurer of England Sir Thomas Vavasour Sir Stephen Soam William Cockayn and others by the name of The Merchants Adventerers of the new trade of London with full power authority to transport dyed and dressed Cloths into divers parts beyond the Seas with a restraint prohibiting all the Old Merchants-Adventurers which did not joyn themselves unto this new Company to tranport any under the forfeiture of them and also inhibiting the New Merchants from transporting any Clothes but such as are died and dressed And after three years passed they having power during that time to transport 36000 white Clothes And there being a refusal of the Old Merchants Adventurers to surrender up their Patent The King bringeth a Quo Warranto against divers of the Merchants of the old Company by particular names to know by what Warrant they do without Licence of the King transport Clothes white undied and undressed beyond the Seas The Merchants upon the return of the Quo Warranto do make their appearance And an Information being exhibited gainst them by Sir Fr. Bacon Knight now Lord Chancellour of England and then Attorney General unto his Majesty cometh into the Kings Bench and moveth the Court that the old Merchants Adventurers might have a short day the next ensuing Term to answer unto the Information exhibited against them Insomuch that the new Company of Merchants Adventurers standing at a gaze as being uncertain of what validity the old Patent would be did slack to transplant the Diers and other Tradesmen out of the Low-Countries into England being necessary Instruments for the puting in Execution of this design because there were not here in England those that were able to Die and Dress in that manner that the Low-Country men did And so there was in the interim a stop of the current of Merchandizing with our Cloth the which being the principal Commodity that we had here in England the Fleece that causeth it may well and aptly have the term of The Golden Fleece and there being a stop made of the traffiquing and trading with these clothes it is as dangerous unto the Politique Body of the Commonwealth as the stop of a Vein could be to the natural Body for as by the stop of a Vein the Blood is debarred of his free passage and so of necessity there must be a Consumption by the continuance of it follow unto the body natural So traffique being the Blood which runneth in the Veins of the Commonwealth it cannot be but that the hinderance of it by any long continuance must breed a Consumption unto the State of the Commonwealth Wherefore to open this Vein which was as yet somewhat stopped and to give a more free passage unto the Blood he was a Suitor unto the Court on the behalf of the Company of the New Merchant-Adventurers that the Court would give expedition in this Case for they conceived that if this new design might take its full effect as it was intended it could not be but of necessity there must a great benefit redound to the Commonwealth For first Whereas our State groweth sick by reason of the many idle Persons which have not means to be set on work this Dying and Dressing of Cloths within our Kingdome would give sufficient imployment unto them all whereby there should be a cure to the lazy Leprosie which now overspreadeth our Commonwealth Secondly Whereas now we send out clothes White and the Low-Country-men receive them of us and Dye them and Dress them and afterwards transport them unto forreign parts making a wonderful benefit to themselves both in point of profit and likewise in respect of maintaining their Navy whereas if the Clothes were Died and Dressed by our selves we might reap that matter of gain and also be Masters of the Sea by strengthening our selves in our Shipping Thirdly Whereas there happeneth often a confiscation of all our Clothes and much disgrace and discredit lighteth upon our Nation and our Clothes by the abuse of the Low-Country-men in stretching them a greater length than they will well bear when they Dye and Dress them now it should be prevented when they should never have the fingering of them to put that abuse in practice Wherefore this Patent made by
persons for dividing Houses or Inmates to write the Names and addition to the present Landlord receiving the Rent and the Names of the Tenants in possession and of the Inmate in any house and also to write in the Margent on the side of every Presentment the Name or Names upon whose evidence you make such Presentment An Act of Parliament for the Preservation of the River of Thames Made in the 27. year of King Henry the 8. VVHere before this time the River of Thames among all Rivers within this Realm hath been accepted and taken and as it is indeed most commodious and profitable unto all the Kings Liege people and chiefly of all other frequented and used and as well by the Kings Highness his Estates and Nobles Merchants and other repairing to the City of London and other places Shires and Counties adjoyning to the same which River of Thames is and hath been most meet and convenient of all other for the safegard and ordering of the Kings Navy conveighance oâ— Merchandizes and other necessaries to and for the Kings most honourable Houshold and otherwise to the great relief and comfort of all persons within this Realm till now of late divers evil-disposed persons partly by misoâ—dering of the said River by casting in of Dung and other filth laid nigh to the Banks of the said River digging and undermining of the Banks and Walls next adjoyning to the same River carrying and converghing away of Way-shides Shore-piles Boards Timber-work Ballast for Ships and other things from the said Banks and Walls in sundry places by reason whereof great Shelfes and Risings have of late been made and grown in the farway of the said River and such Grounds as lye within the Level of the said Water-mark by occasion thereof have been surrounded and overflown by rage of the said Water and many great breaches have ensued and followed thereupon and dayly are like to do and the said River of Thames to be utterly destroyed for ever if convenient and speedy remedy be not sooner provided in that behalf For Reformation whereof be it enacted established and ordained by the King our Soveraign Lord and by the assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by the Authority of the same That if any person or persons hereafter do or procure any thing to be done in the annoying of the Stream of the said River of Thames making of Shelves by any manner of means by Mining Digging casting of Dung or Rubbish or other thing in the same River or take pluck or conveigh away any Boards Stakes Piles Timberwork or other thing from the said Banks or Walls except it be to amend and the same to repair again or dig or undermine any Banks or Walls on the Water side of Thames aforesaid to the hurt impairing or damage of any the said walls Banks then the same person or persons and every of them shall forfeit and pay for every time so offending one hundred shillings the one Moyety thereof to be to the King our Soveraign Lord and the other Moyety thereof to the Mayor and Commonalty of London for the time being the same to be recovered obtained by the Mayor Commonalty of London by Bill or Plaint Writ of debt or information severally against every offender in any of the Kings Courts in which Actions and Suits or any of them the party Defendant shall not be essoyned or wage his Law or any protection to be allowed in the same And it is further enacted by the Authority aforesaid that if complaint shall happen to be made to the Lord Chancellour of England Lord Treasurer Lord President of the Kings Councel Lord Privy Seal or to any of them by any person or persons or body politick that Sir Thomas Spert Knight now having the Office and ordering of for ballasting of Ships or any other that hereafter shall have the Office and Order of ballasting of Ships do take any ballast for Ships near the said River of Thames and do not take for parcel of the said ballasting the Gravel and Sand of the Shelfes between Greenhith and Richmond within the said River of Thames or in any place or places that is or shall be unto the damage or annoyance of the said River of Thames or in any part thereof that then upon every such complaint the said Lord Chancellour Lord Treasurer Lord President of the Kings most honourable Councel Lord Privy Seal and every of them calling both the Cheif Justices of either Bench or one of them shall have power and authority from time to time to hear and finally determine every such complaint by their discretion and to put such order therein for the taking of ballast for Ships upon every such complaint as by their discretions shall seem most convenient for the preservation of the said River of Thames and the parties offending such order shall suffer imprisonment and make no less Fine then five pound to the Kings use for every time offending or breaking the same Provided alwayes and be it enacted that it shall be lawful to every person and persons to digge carry and take away Sand Gravel or other Rubbish Earth or thing lying or being in or upon any Shelfe or Shelfes within the said River of Thames with out let or interruption of any person or persons or paying any thing for the same any thing contained in this present Act to the contrary notwithstanding An Act of Common Councel concerning the conservation and cleansing of the River of Thames made the 28. of September in the 30. year of King Henry the 8. VVHere by the Statute made in the 27. year of the Raign of our Soveraign Lord King Henry the eight among other for Reformation of the misordering of the River of Thames by casting in Dung and other filth many great Shelves and other risings have been of late grown and made within the same River By reason whereof many great breaches have ensued by occasion thereof which of like shall be the occasion of the utter destruction of the said River unless that the same Law be put in due Execution according to the true intent and meaning thereof Wherefore for a further Reformation of the same and to the intent that the said good and wholesome Statute may be put in more Execution and better knowledge of the people It is enacted by the Authority of this Common Councel that Proclamation may be made within this said City and the same to be put in writing and Tables thereof made and and set up in divers places of this City that it shall be lawfully to every person or persons to dig carry away and take away Sand Gravel or any Rubbish Earth or any thing lying or being in any Shelve or Shelves within the said River of Thames without let or interruption of any person or persons and without any thing paying for the same and after that to sell the same