Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	penny_n	pound_n	shilling_n	5,001	5	11.2551	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26549	The present state of the United Provinces of the Low-Countries as to the government, laws, forces, riches, manners, customes, revenue, and territory of the Dutch in three books / collected by W.A., Fellow of the Royal Society.	Aglionby, William, d. 1705.	1669 (1669)	Wing A766; ESTC R21416	140,978	444

to be understood of Privateers CHAP. XIX Of the particular Government of the Towns in Holland VVE have seen hitherto what is the Government of the whole Body of the United Provinces now we may descend to the particular Towns The Towns are govern'd by a Bailif a Senate or Councill by Bourgmasters or Consuls and by Aldermen There is but one Bailif in each Town who to say true has no power of himself to pronounce judgement but in criminal Causes he is as it were an Attourney-Generall and manages accusations against offenders in the name of the States This is done before the Aldermen who have power to examine the heads of the accusation and to pronounce sentence The Bailifs have no Sallary and all the profit of their places rises from the Fines that are lay'd upon the guilty The Senate and the greatest is that which is call'd Den breeden ra●d● or De Vroedschap in most Towns as at Leyden it is compos'd of about fourty persons according to the number of the richest Citizens more or less The ancient Laws admit none to be of this Senate but such as are of the richer sort This Assembly seldome meets but upon the occasion of choosing new Magistrates as also when the States of the Province are to meet then the heads of the Deliberations are examin'd in this Senate before-hand They do also controle and correct their Bourgmasters and Aldermen if in the Assembly of the States they chance to go beyond their Commission And to the end they may do it without fear it has been ordain'd by our wise Ancestours that the charge of Senatour should be perpetuall that so they may not fear to be persecuted for what they shall do in the defence of the publick liberty The Bourgmasters and Aldermen are chosen from amongst these Senatours by the plurality of voices In some places there are four Bourgmasters and in some there are but two Their Office is to determine all that concerns the good order of the Town as also to inform themselves of all the fallings out of the Citizens and bring them either by themselves or others to an agreement which if they cannot compass then their duty is to cite them before the Aldermen They meet in a common Chamber and give audience to all Inhabitants without distinction In some places there are seven Aldermen in others nine They are the Judges of the Town who meet three or four set times a week and determine all civill Causes between the Inhabitants and judge all crimes propos'd by the Bailif For the first cognizance of the Cause belongs to the Judge of the place where he that is cited dwells Except they be priviledged Causes the Towns judge of no greater summe than five pounds and the Bourghs of thirty shillings though in very great Cities they may judge as far as thirty pound The appeal is first to the Court of the Province and then to the great Councill where there is a double number of Judges they that are cast are fin'd for having appeal'd without reason In the Court of the Province the Fine is three pound ten shillings in the great Councill of six pound and when the Process is re-viewed if the sentence be confirm'd the Fine is of twenty pound As for criminall Causes the Judges are absolute and there is no appeal from them neither in the Villages nor in the Towns except the Bailif require that the criminall should undergo a severer punishment and then the accused has liberty to defend himself There are two sort of Laws in Holland the first sort is the Customes Priviledges and Constitutions of the Countrey and former Princes and of the States The second is the Roman Law call'd the Civill Law Moreover that the course of justice be not retarded nor the Judges time taken up in petty businesses there are chosen by the Aldermen a certain number of the richer sort of Citizens who are call'd Commissaries of small Causes These take cognizance of all Causes that are not above five pound as also of all Actions for reparation of Honour and of the Differences between Masters and Servants and such like An Alderman presides ordinarily in this Assembly and is ordinarily a good Civilian There is also in the Senate or Town-House and in the Colledge of the Bourgmasters one who is call'd a Syndi● or Pensioner who ought to be eloquent and learn'd as being the Speaker of the whole Town or Corporation in their most important affairs CHAP. XX. Of the Tributes and Imposts of how many sorts they are and of the manner of levying them in Holland SInce as Tacitus sayes there is no War without pay nor no pay without tributes and that that is the particular case of the United Provinces who have been long in War to which they have all contributed their share it is fit to consider of the wayes they use to levy them There are two sorts of Tributes the ordinary and the extraordinary The ordinary which being once granted are alwayes continued the extraordinary which are levied but for some certain time and are then left off There are three sorts of extraordinary Tributes viz. the Tribute by Head or Pole-money the Chimney-money and the Land Taxes The Pole-money is so levied that the State has twenty pence for every Head they that are extream poor are freed from this Tribute To my remembrance this was never practis'd but once and then too there was great murmuring and many refus'd to pay The Chimney-money is that Tribute which is paid for every Chimney or Hearth which is twenty pence and in this the Hollanders have imitated the Spaniards in the Kingdome of Naples The third Tribute call'd a Land Taxe may be properly call'd the two hundredth penny for out of two hundred pound a year for example is paid one pound to the States So out of four hundred two pounds or fourty shillings To this may be objected that it is a very hard thing if not impossible for the perfect knowledge of the true value of mens Estates to be had It is answer'd that the Magistrate does take his measure from the publick voice and the generall report that any man has to have such and such revenues And because in this there is room for a mistake the Law gives any man leave to complain of the greatness of his Taxe and if he will take his Oath he is not worth so much as the world values his Estate at his Taxe shall be moderated As for the ordinary Tributes the chief are these following 1. The Tribute from Salt call'd in Dutch Sonte geldt it is levied after this manner The Magistrate of the Town visits each Family and reckons every head of it then they guess at the quantity of Salt that they may reasonably be thought to spend in one year and thereupon they exact from them a summe of money proportionable to the quantity of Salt they are to have And in some Towns they set a price upon the

measure of Salt high or low as they please 2. The Excise upon Beer which all the Citizens pay without distinction comes to twenty pence a Barrell except the small Beer which is not worth above half a Crown a Barrell paies nothing 3. Another Excise upon Beer paid only by Brewers which comes to twelve pence a Barrell Besides all Seamen Marriners and Merchants pay Excise for all English and German Beer they bring in 4. The Victuallers and those that sell Beer pay other twenty pence for every Barrell 5. Every Hogshead of Vinegar paies nine shillings 6. The Impost upon French Wines mounts to six pence upon every Stoop Rhenish and Spanish Wines pay twelve pence a Stoop Brandyes of Wine pay ten pence Of Beer five pence 7. Butter payes six shillings a Barrell which contains three hundred and twenty pound And for the little Barrells call'd Kops tuchen there is paid a Farthing a piece 8. A piece of Oyl paies six shillings if Fish Oyl then four shillings and six pence 9. Candles of Wax and Tallow pay ten pence a hundred weight 10. The Impost of round measures is that money which is paid for all those commodities that are measur'd in round measures as Corn Seeds Salt Lime c. And the Merchants that buy great quantities do nevertheless pay this Impost 11. Turfs for fewell pay a penny half-penny a Tun and Coals from England and Scotland pay thirty shillings for every hundred Tun. The Coals burnt in the light Houses pay nothing 12. The Impost upon hard merchandizes as five pence for every hundred of Lead three half-pence for every thousand of Lime-Stones 13. For Wood to burn is paid the eight part of what it costs 14. Silk and gold Stuffs pay of twelve pence one in every Yard or Ell. 15. Woollen Cloths pay thus every piece of English Cloth not being yet dyed payes three pound if the said piece be worth sixteen Florins of Flanders that is nine pound or thereabouts Every piece worth twelve pound payes four pound c. Hangings and other Houshold-stuff pay one penny in nine of what they are worth The way of prising Merchandize is to ask the Merchant himself what he values it at if he undervalue it to save Custom then the Master of the Custom-house may take it and pay to the Merchant the price he values it at 16. The Impost upon all Corn that is ground in the Mills in Holland which every body payes without exception comes to five pound one crown and twelve pence for every quarter of Wheat to half as much for the quarter of Rye to five and thirty shillings for Barley and Oates 17. The Impost upon all Cattle Sheep or Hogs that are kill'd comes to one penny in seven of the money they are sold for 18. There is also three pence a moneth paid for every Horn'd Beast above three years old as also two pence a moneth for every Horse above three years old 19. The Imposts upon Herrings and Salt-Fish brought to the Citizens houses to sell comes to twenty pence a Pannier 20. The retail Fishmonger payes for S●urgeons and Salmons the 9th penny of what they cost 21. Tobacco payes 10 pence a pound the Barrel of Soap 11 shillings every Barrel of Pitch 16 pence 22. Every Chariot and little Bark payes 20 pence a year every Coach payes 10 shillings a year 23. All Farms and Rack Rents pay the 16th penny of the value they yield yearly and those Lands that the Proprietary keeps in his own hand are valued and estimated by the Magistrate 24. All Lands that are sowed with any sort of Grain whatsoever or whatsoever Trees they are planted with pay 4 pence half-penny an acre reckoning from the moneth they were sowed or planted to the moneth that the recolt is made in 25. Every house payes about the 8th part of the Rent it is let for as if for 48 pound a year it payes 6 pound to the States but because the Rent of houses is subject to rise or fall the Magistrate sets a constant price upon them according to their bigness and conveniency 26. The Tribute for Servants and Maids comes to 20 pence a head which every Master or Mistress is bound to pay for them 27. The Impost upon all Immovables that are sold under which title great Ships are comprehended comes to the 40th penny that is out of the price of the thing sold the State has the 40th part which is a very considerable tax for there is no place in the World where Immovables alter their property so often as in Holland it being a Proverb of Leyden that every three year half of the Town is sold or alienated 28. The Tribute due for the Great and Little Seals is a groat for every sheet of paper where the Great Seal is applyed to two pence where the Little To understand the greatness of this Tribute the Reader must know that the States of Holland have ordain'd for no other end than for this that no Wills Contracts or any sort of Writings that shall be produc'd before the Judges shall be written in any other paper than that which is sealed by the States else they shall be void and hereupon they thought fit to have two Seals one for businesses of small importance and a great one for important affairs There are many other sorts of Tributes which it would be too long to relate besides they have all been publish'd together by the States order Now let us consider the wayes of levying these Tributes which that we may the better do let us consider those deliberations and opinions touching this matter which were had when it was first debated The Proposition of finding a way of raising these Revenues being made some were of opinion to give Authority to the Magistrates of Towns or to some persons whom the State should pay to gather these Taxes and be accomptable for them thinking it neither safe nor profitable for the States to farm them out And here are the Reasons they relyed upon 1. Because publick persons and particularly Magistrates have a greater Authority with them and so are fitter to keep the people more in awe 2. Because many of these Revenues as the Excise upon Beer for example could not be fixed and certain for sometimes one Town consumes more one year than another so that there could be no measures taken with Farmers 3. They represented that it was dangerous to trust in Subjects hands the publick Revenue for what if the Farmers should play the Knaves and break and hereupon they concluded that Farmers were not fit men Some of a quite contrary opinion did maintain that there were certain Imposts which ought to be Farm'd out for so much a year adding that the Impositions were laid upon two sorts of things upon stable and constant ones as Houses and Lands which remain and whose number and value were easily known and upon uncertain ones as the consumption of Wine and Beer c. The