Selected quad for the lemma: land_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
land_n	pound_n	value_n	yearly_a	1,858	5	10.5680	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19078	The Lord Coke his speech and charge VVith a discouerie of the abuses and corruption of officers.	Pricket, Robert.; Coke, Edward, Sir, 1552-1634.	1607 (1607)	STC 5491; ESTC S104999	27,699	62

a generall complaint against the multiplicity of Ecclesiasticall Courts and that causes are in them continued longer then an vpright and orderly proceeding would necessarily inforce by meanes wherof his Maiesties good subiects do receiue losse and are much hindred by there so often constrayned attendance But in this Diocesse I hope the occasion of any such complaints shall no more be heard of Because I speake before those reuerned Magistrates in whose authority consisteth sufficient power to reforme those abuses already complained vpon I will therfore insist no further few words content the wise what I haue spoken I know is heard by an approued wisedome As touching the pennall Statutes for the punishing of any vnreuerent demeanure in Churches or violence offered to the ministers or quarrelling stryking or drawing of any weapon in Church or Church yard I know they be ordynary matters giuen in euery charge And therfore you are not ignorant of the Lawes in that case made and prouided I will therfore in respect of the shortnesse of the time onely point out vnto you some seuerall officers whose actions not beeing sufficiently looked into many abuses are committed which do passe vnpunished Our common wealth Receiues much iniurie by our Escheators who by abusing their cōmission doe most intollerable wrong to many of his Maiesties good Subiects for an Escheator will come into the country and beeing informed of an honest Yeoman deceased be it that his Lands be not aboue the yearly value of forty or fiftie Pounds leauing an Heire behind him an inquiry shall bee made by what euidence euery acre of ground is holden and finding but one peece for which an expresse euidence cannot bee shewed for that particular parcell Then by a Iury to that end Summoned by the Escheator that peece of groūd must be adiudged to be held in Capite And so an office beeing found all the whole inheritance must bee taynted and the yong heire a warde to the King who then beeing presently Begged by some one or other by then hee hath compounded for his wardship sued out his liuery and then perhaps marryed to one starke naught or not worth any thing the yong heire shall bee left iust worth so much and no more And this as I thinke is a most lamentable thing God forbid that euery man should be inforced by such course to proue his right in euery particular acre of ground which he hath For many particular peeces are oft included in one euidence without being distinguished by seuerall names So that it is impossible but by such course as the Escheator takes lands that neuer held in Capite must needs be brought in compasse of such Tenure And againe the intent of the Law for the benefit of the king looketh only to Manors Lands and Tenements of great value without hauing respect to such petty things Where an heire to cleare the incumbrance must ouerthrow his estate loose his inheritance and be vndone for euer But this notwithstanding so the Escheator may haue his part in the spoile he careth not to vse any indirect corruption You of the Iurie therefore for the good of your selues and yours carefully looke to the proceedings vsed in this case and such abuse as you shall find therein let it be presented And such as shall bee found offendors they shall know that we haue lawes to punish them For proofe whereof I would you could find out some of whom there might be made an example But if you will be content to let the Escheator alone and not looke vnto his actions he will bee contented by deceiuing you to change his name taking vnto himselfe the two last syllables only with the Es left out and so turne Chetor We haue then an excellent Officer surnamed the Clarke of the Market concerning whose office for mine owne part I see not the necessitie thereof considering the Iustices of peace in their seuerall limmits are at euery Sessions to enquire of and to punishall those abuses which are by the Clarke of the market continued vnder shew of reformation For he will come downe and call before him all waights and measures and where a fault is found there must a Fee be payd which is deuided betwixt him and the Informer So the offendor payes for his offence to the end it might be continued but not reformed And thus the Clarke of the market by receiuing bribes enricheth himselfe by abusing his Maiesties lawes and wronging his Subiects It was once my hap to take a Clarke of the market in these trickes But I aduanst him higher then his fathers sonne by so much as from the ground to the toppe of the Pillorie If you of the Iurie will therefore haue a care to find out these abuses by Gods grace they shall not goe vnpunished For we haue a Coyfe which signifies a Scull whereby in the execution of Iustice wee are defended against all oppositions bee they neuer so violent There is a certaine ruffling officer which will seeme to command much by the authoritie of his Cōmission And he wil be known to be a Purueyor Some of which officers if they can find nothing to be dealing with they will puruey mony out of your purses if you will suffer them But know there is no mony to be purueyed vnlesse by the high way side and any Purueyor that shall take such course is but in his passage the high way to the gallowes But to speake of that which may by them bee lawfully done admit a Puruey or commeth downe with Commission to take vp timber for the Kings vse What timber is it then that he must take He cannot come and pull downe any timber in my house what then May he go into any of my woods which I purpose to preserue and there marke out of my best timber and inforce me to suffer it to be felled and carried away at the kings price No There is not any such authoritie granted vnto him But only thus If I haue any timber felled which I purpose to sell then may the Purueyor the King hauing vse of timber come and make choise of what trees he will For there is great reason that in such case the king should first be serued But if any of you do desire to preserue your timber growing be not scared with a Purueyors warrant Nor do not preserue the standing of your trees by bribing any one of them The dignitie of his Maiesties prerogatiue Royall is not vsed to enforce his subiects to indure wrong But the rust being scoured off which abused time hath cast vpon it then will the glorie thereof shine in the perfection of an vncorrupted brightnesse You of the Iury therefore looke into the abuses done by Purueyors and present them Besides these spoken of There is also a Salt-peter man whose Commission is not to breake vp any mans house or ground without leaue And not to deale with any house but such as is vnused for any necessarie imployment by the

owner And not to digge in any place without leauing it smooth and leuell in such case as he found it This Salt-peter man vnder shew of his authoritie though being no more then is specified will make plaine and simple people beleeue that hee will without their leaue breake vp the floore of their dwelling house vnlesse they will compound with him to the contrary Any such fellow if you can meete withall let his misdemenor be presented that he may be taught better to vnderstand his office For by their abuse the countrey is oftent times troubled There is another trouble some fellowe called a Concealer who is indeed little better then a plaine Cosiner and would in many things be proued so if well looked vnto There by many Satute lawes to preuent the occurrence of his mischiefe giue him not a peny for any of his claimes or titles For they are meere illusions and like himselfe not worth any thing There be 4 sorts of people whom if you obserue you shall find not any of them to thriue I haue alwayes known them little better then beggers and may easily be knowne by these names A Concealer of whom I haue spoken vnto whom is rightly ioyned a Promo●ter a Monopolitan and an Alcumist The Promooter is both a begger and a knaue and may if well looked vnto in the part of an Informer For many abuses by your information either be well punished or reformed Their Office I confesse is necessarie And yet it seldome happeneth that an honest man is imployed therein yet there is some hope that by punishing their abuses they may at the last bee made honest against their wils In which imployment you of the Iurie shall do well to vse a respectiue diligence As touching the Monopolitane hee for the most part vseth at a deare rate to pay for his foolishnes For some of that profession haue bene so wise to sell twentie thirtie or perhaps fortie pound land a yeare and bestow most part of the money in purchasing of a Monopolie Thereby to anoy and hinder the whole Publicke VVeale for his owne priuat benefit In which course he so well thriueth as that by toyling some short time either in Starch Vineger or Aquauitae he doth in the end thereby purchase to himselfe an absolute beggerie and for my owne part their purposes and practises considered I can wish vnto them no better happinesse But then our golden Foole the Alcumist he will be striuing to make Gold and Siluer vntill he leaues himselfe not worth a pennies weight in either of both I will not deny but to vnderstand the nature quintessence spirit of the Minerals out of them to extract a Metaphisicall and Paracelsian manner of Physicke may according to art becommendable but by the studie of Alcumie to desire to turne imperfect mettals into Gold and Siluer such labour I account ridiculous And oftentimes by those of this C●micall Science is Fellony comitted For by any imperfect commixture to vse multiplication either in Gold or Siluer is directly Fellonie by Statute Law you of the Iurie are therefore to enquire of such offendors and present them Because I must hast vnto an end I wil request that you will carefully put in execution the Statute against Vagarants Since the making whereof I haue found fewer theeues and the Gaole lesse pestered then before The abuse of Stage players wherewith I find the Countrey much troubled may easily be reformed They hauing no Commission to play in any place without leaue And therefore if by your willingnesse they be not entertained you may soone be rid of them You are also concerning Innes and Alehouses diligently to obserue what the Statute Lawe determineth As also to keep the orders set down by my honorable predecessor concerning which there is now by the appointment of the Lords of the Counsel certaine Briefes to be deliuered vnto all the Iustices in their seuerall Limmits And assuredly if you of the Iurie pettie Constables Chiefe Constables and Iustices of Peace would together labour that the Lawes carefully Enacted for our good might receiue a a due and iust execution abuses would then bee reformed God and our King faithfully serued and honored And the tranquillitie of our Publicke weale preserued which so great happinesse that it may the better be accomplished I would request that all imployed in any place of authoritie would haue an speciall care to suppresse that root of euill from whence all mischiefs do proceed and that is Idlenes For idle persons are those of whome the Psalme speaketh They doe wickedly all the day long they imagine wickednesse vpon their beds the imaginations of their hearts are euill continually and such for the most part are all those giuen ouer to an idle disposition who by their wickednes do make themselues worse then beasts For Homo malus infinitis modis plura mala perpetrauerit quam bestia an euils man by an infinit manner committeth more euill then a beast For the reformation of which dangerous euill you shall do well to haue an especiall eie vnto the company that frequent Tauerns Innes Alehouses Bewling allies and such like thriftlesse places of resort where you shall find Tradesmen and Artificers which haue no other meanes whereby to liue then onely the lawfull vse of their Science or Manuall profession And yet such is their vnthriftie idlenesse as they will spend their time and labors profit at some or all the places before recited whilest their wiues and children sit at home and weepe wanting necessarie maintenance Those of such condition let them be enquired of and presented For were the Iustice of the Lawe rightly executed vppon such offendors they receiuing condigne punishment for their offence would be inforced to betake them selues vnto a better course of life and liue as becometh good Subiects in the list of a more commended obedience Of that idle company you shall also finde some of our accounted Gallants young Gentlemen vpstarts perhaps honest yeomens sonnes that by their intemperate Ryote loue to spend their inheritance before they come to inherit and being questioned for their chargeable and expensiue manner of liuing they will brauely answer that they spend nothing but their owne And will seeme as if they scorn'd to be reformed by admonition or authority The law prouideth a course whereby to teach such vain idle royoters so to spend that they may keepe their own For when by their misdemenor all their owne is spent Then their next course is to liue vpon the goods of others and then at last such Gallants turning starke theeues do make their last period at the Gallowes reaping to themselues by an vntimely death the fruit of idlenesse There is also a sort of idle seeming Gentlemen whom if you do obserue you shall find them walking with a gray-hound in a slip or a birding peece vpon their necke and they forsooth will make a path ouer the Statute Lawe and into any mans Groundes Lordshippes or Liberties passe and