[1]The tract with this title was published with no place of imprint, 1699, pp. 84, and in another edition with the imprint, Glascow, 1700, pp. 112.A Defence of the Scots abdicating Darien, pp. 50, has 1700 as the date of imprint. A copy of the first tract is in the Library of Congress, and copies of the last two tracts are in the American Antiquarian Society and John Carter Brown Library.
[1]The tract with this title was published with no place of imprint, 1699, pp. 84, and in another edition with the imprint, Glascow, 1700, pp. 112.A Defence of the Scots abdicating Darien, pp. 50, has 1700 as the date of imprint. A copy of the first tract is in the Library of Congress, and copies of the last two tracts are in the American Antiquarian Society and John Carter Brown Library.
[2]The House of Commons, on January 15, 1700, resolved that the book was "a false, scandalous, and traitorous libel," that it should be burned by the common hangman, and that an address should be presented to the King seeking a proclamation to apprehend the author of the book (Commons Journals, xiii, 123).
[2]The House of Commons, on January 15, 1700, resolved that the book was "a false, scandalous, and traitorous libel," that it should be burned by the common hangman, and that an address should be presented to the King seeking a proclamation to apprehend the author of the book (Commons Journals, xiii, 123).
[For the Apprehension of Pirates.]
BY THE KING.
A PROCLAMATION.
William R.
Whereas We have received Information, That notwithstanding the great Care that hitherto hath been taken to Prevent Piracies, divers Pirates do continue to Infest the Seas wherein Our Subjects Trade, to the great Damage of the Merchants, and Discouragement of Navigation;[1]We therefore (with the Advice of Our Privy Council) have thought fit to Issue this Our Royal Proclamation;[2]And We do hereby Promise and Declare, That if any Person or Persons belonging to the Company or Ships Crew of any Pirate Ship or Vessel, shall at any time, after the Date hereof, Seize, or cause to be Seized, the Person Commanding such Ship or Vessel, and any one or more Persons belonging to such Ship or Vessel, together with the said Ship or Vessel, and Goods, and Deliver them into the Custody of the Chief Magistrate of any of our Ports in Our Kingdoms of England or Ireland; Or in America, into the Custody of Our Governors, or Commanders in Chief of Our Islands, Colonies, or Plantations of Barbados, the Leeward Islands, Jamaica, Bermudos, Virginia, Maryland, New yorkeor the Massachusetts Bay in New England, or of the Commander in Chief of Our Ships of War at Newfound Land, for the time being; Or in Africa, into the Custody of the Chief or Chiefs of the Royal African Company at Cape Corfe Castle, on the Gold Coast, at James Fort in the River of Gambia, or at Whiddah in the South-part of Guinea, for the time being; And shall give Evidence against the Persons so Seized and Secured, so as they may be Convicted of Piracy, the Person or Persons so Seizing, or causing to be Seized, such Pirate or Pirates, and Securing such Ship or Vessel, and Goods, as aforesaid, shall not only have Our most Gracious Pardon for the Piracies before that time Committed by him or them, but also, upon the Conviction of such Pirate or Pirates, receive as a Reward for his or their good Service, one moiety of Our Thirds of such Ship or Vessel, and Goods, where no more than those Thirds shall be by Us claimed; But if the whole Ship and Goods shall belong to Us, for want of a timely and legal Demand thereof by the first Proprietor, then such Person or Persons shall Receive, as a Reward, the Sum of Twenty five Pound for every Hundred Pounds Value of such Ship or Vessel, and Goods; to be paid unto them by such Chief Magistrate, Governor, Commander, or other Persons aforesaid, in the Places where such Seizure and Conviction shall be made; who are hereby Required to Pay the same, upon the Parties producing a Certificate of such Seizure and Conviction made, and Ship or Vessel, and Goods Secured, under the Hands and Seals of the Persons, or the Major Part of them, before whom such Pirates have been Convicted (which Persons are hereby Required to give such Certificate, gratis, on Demand) and upon Producing of which Certificate, We do hereby Require our Judge or Judges of Admiralty in England, or elsewhere, and all other Persons impowered by Commission to Hear and Determine Piracies in Europe, Africa and America, to Stay any further Proceedings against such Person or Persons, who shall produce such Certificate, until he or they can obtain Our most Gracious Pardon. And We do hereby further Declare, That if any Person or Persons, belonging to any Pirate Ship or Vessel, shall Seize and Apprehend the Commanding Officer of any Pirate Ship or Vessel, or any of the Crew belonging to such Ship or Vessel, and shall give Evidence against him or them, as before Directed, so that the said Pirate or Pirates be Convicted, and shall have a Certificate thereof, as aforesaid, though such Person or Persons do not Take or Seizethe Ship and Goods, yet such Person or Persons shall have Our most Gracious Pardon for any Piracies before that time by him or them Committed, and shall also have and receive, upon the Conviction of such Commanding Officer, or any of the said Crew of such Pirate Ship, the respective Rewards hereafter mentioned; viz. One Hundred Pounds for the Commanding Officer of such Pirate Ship or Vessel, and Twenty Pounds for every Inferiour Person thereunto belonging, that shall be so Seized and Apprehended, as aforesaid; which Sum or Sums shall be paid to him or them by the Governors or other Persons before mentioned. And for the greater Encouragement of those Persons belonging to any Pirate Ship or Vessel, who shall Seize and Apprehend any Commanding Officer, or any of the Crew belonging to such Ship or Vessel, and shall give Evidence against them, in order to their Conviction, and cause the said Ship or Vessel, and Goods to be Secured, as aforesaid, We do hereby Direct and Require the Commanders of all and every Our Ships of War, That upon any Person or Persons producing to them an Authentick Certificate of his or their having made such Seizure, and of the Conviction of such Commander or others of the said Ships Crew, so Seized by him or them, as aforesaid, or of his or their having Secured the Ship or Vessel, and Goods, as aforesaid, under the Hands and Seals of the Persons, or the Major part of them, before whom such Conviction shall have been made (which Certificate the said Persons are in like manner hereby Required to give, gratis, on Demand) and Desiring to be Entertained in Our Service, to Enter them on Board their Ships, for Victuals and Wages, and to Discharge them again when they shall Desire it. And whereas We are inclined to Believe, That many ignorant Persons have been drawn into this wicked Course of Life, and that they would willingly imbrace all Opportunities of freeing themselves therefrom provided they could be Secure of Pardon, We do hereby Promise and Declare, That if any Person or Persons, Serving on Board any Pirate Ship or Vessel, shall at any time, within Twelve Months after the Date hereof, leave the same, and repair to any of Our Chief Magistrates, Governors, Commanders, or other Persons aforesaid, and before them make Affidavit of the Piracies Committed by the Ship or Vessel whereto they did belong, the Person or Persons, so Leaving such Ship, and making Affidavit, shall have Our Gracious Pardon for the Piracies Committed by him or them before theTwenty fourth Day of June, Seventeen hundred and one, and upon a Certificate of his or their Surrender, and being so Intituled to this Our Gracious Pardon, under the Hands and Seals of any of Our Chief Magistrates, Governors, Commanders, or other Persons aforementioned (which Certificate the said Chief Magistrates, Governors, Commanders, and other Persons are hereby Required to give, gratis, on Demand) the Person or Persons, so leaving such Ship, and making Affidavit, shall in like manner be Intituled to the Advantage of being Entertained on Board any of Our Ships, for Victuals and Wages, as aforesaid. And We do hereby further Publish and Declare, That all such Persons who shall neglect to lay hold of these Our Gracious Offers of Mercy, or who by Complying herewith shall be Pardoned for the Piracies by them Committed to the time of such Pardon, and after such Pardon relapse into the like Evil Practices, shall immediately upon their being Seized (for which all possible Care and Diligence shall be taken) be brought to Tryal, and be Proceeded against with the utmost Severity of Law; We having in pursuance of a late Act of Parliament for that purpose, sent Commissions under Our Great Seal into the East and West Indies, for the speedy Tryal, Condemnation and Execution of all Pirates and Robbers upon the High Seas. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to the Pardoning of any Person or Persons that shall go out of Europe, or that shall Commit Piracy upon the Seas in Europe, from and after the Date of these Presents, nor to the Pardoning of such as shall Commit Piracy in any Place whatsoever, after notice of this Our Gracious Offer of Pardon, or of Henry Every,[3]alias, Bridgeman.
Given at Our Court at Kensington, the Sixth Day of March,1700/1. In the Thirteenth Year of Our Reign.
God Save the King.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd, Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty.1700/1.
1 p. folio. Copies in Antiq., B. M., P. C., and P. R. O. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, III William, vol. 6, p. 162. Printed in "London Gazette," March 17, 1701.
[1]The prevalence of piracy in American waters can best be traced in the documents listed in theCalendars of State Papers, Colonial, for the last decade of the 17thcentury.
[1]The prevalence of piracy in American waters can best be traced in the documents listed in theCalendars of State Papers, Colonial, for the last decade of the 17thcentury.
[2]The draft of this proclamation was referred to the Admiralty, January 23, 1701, to propose the amount of the rewards to be offered, and was sent to the Board of Trade, February 20, 1701, to fix the time when pirates should be allowed to make confessions (Acts of Privy Council, ii, 342).
[2]The draft of this proclamation was referred to the Admiralty, January 23, 1701, to propose the amount of the rewards to be offered, and was sent to the Board of Trade, February 20, 1701, to fix the time when pirates should be allowed to make confessions (Acts of Privy Council, ii, 342).
[3]Two proclamations, dated July 17 and August 10, 1696, had been issued offering a reward for the capture of Every for having committed piracies in the seas of India and Persia (Acts of Privy Council, ii, 300).
[3]Two proclamations, dated July 17 and August 10, 1696, had been issued offering a reward for the capture of Every for having committed piracies in the seas of India and Persia (Acts of Privy Council, ii, 300).
[Continuing Officers in the Colonies.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION.
Anne R.
Forasmuch as it has Pleased Almighty God, lately to Call unto His Infinite Mercy, the most High and Mighty Prince William the Third, of most Blessed Memory; And whereas by an Act of Parliament made in the Seventh Year of the Reign of the said late King, It is Enacted, That no Commission, either Civil or Military, should Cease, Determine or be Void by reason of the Death or Demise of His said late Majesty, or of any of His Heirs or Successors, Kings or Queens of this Realm, but that every such Commission should Be, Continue and Remain in full Force and Virtue, for the Space of Six Months next after any such Death or Demise, unless in the mean time Superseeded, Determined or made Void by the next and immediate Successor, to whom the Imperial Crown of this Realm, according to the Act of Settlement therein mentioned is Limited and Appointed to Go, Remain and Descend; The Queens most Excellent Majesty,[1]in Her Princely Wisdom and Care of the State, (Reserving to Her Own Judgment hereafter, the Reformation and Redress of any Abuses in Misgovernment, upon due Knowledge and Examination thereof) is Pleased, and doth hereby Signifie and Declare, That all Commissions, both Civil and Military, Granted by His said late Majesty, and in Force at the time of His Death, shall Be, Continue and Remain in full Force and Virtue: And that all Persons, that at the time of the Decease of the late King, were Duly and Lawfully Possessed of, or Invested in any Office or Place of Authority or Government, either Civil or Military, within His Majesties Realms of England, Ireland, the Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, Sark or Alderney, or within His Majesties Colonies and Plantationsin America; and Namely all Governors, Lieutenants or Deputy Governors, Counsellors, Judges, Justices, Provost-Marshals, Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, and all others in Place of Government either Meaner or Superior, as aforesaid, and all other Officers and Ministers shall Be, and hold themselves Continued in the said Places and Offices, under the same Condition as formerly they Held and Enjoyed the same, until Her Majesties Pleasure be further Known, or that other Provision be made, pursuant to His late Majesties Commissions and Instructions to His Governors and Officers of the Islands, Colonies, and Plantations aforesaid; And that in the meanwhile, for the Preservation of the State, and Necessary Proceedings in Matters of Justice, and for the Safety and Service of the State, all the said Persons, of whatsoever Degree or Condition, may not fail every one severally according to his Place, Office or Charge, to Proceed in the Performance of all Duties thereunto belonging, as formerly Appertained unto them while the late King was Living; And further Her Majesty doth hereby Will and Command all and singular Her Highness Subjects, of what Estate, Dignity or Degree they or any of them be, to be Aiding, Helping and Assisting, and at the Commandment of the said Officers and Ministers, in the Performance and Execution of the said Offices and Places, as they and every of them tender Her Majesties Pleasure, and will answer the contrary at their utmost Perils. And further Her Majesties Will and Pleasure, and Express Command is, That all Orders or Directions Made or Given by the late King of most Blessed Memory the Lords of His Privy Council, or His late Majesties Principal Secretaries of State, or other Legal Authority Derived from His said Majesty in His Life time, shall be Obeyed and Performed by all and every Person and Persons, and all and every Thing and Things to be done thereupon, shall Proceed as Fully and Amply as the same should have been Obeyed or Done in the Life of the said late King, until Her Majesties Pleasure be further Known thereupon.
Given at the Court at St. James's, the Ninth Day of March, In the First Year of Her Majesties Reign, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, and other Her Majesties Territories and Dominions.
God save the Queen.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. MDCCI.
1 p. folio. Copies in Antiq., B. M., Crawf., Dalk., P. C., and P. R. O. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, Anne, vol. 1, p. 15.
[1]A form of proclamation of the accession of Queen Anne was provided for the American colonies. It was sent over as a printed sheet, with blanks for the name of the colony and the body issuing the proclamation. Copies of this printed form are in the British Museum and the Public Record Office. A similar form was provided for previous accessions, but does not seem to have been printed, being found in the manuscript Registers of the Privy Council.
[1]A form of proclamation of the accession of Queen Anne was provided for the American colonies. It was sent over as a printed sheet, with blanks for the name of the colony and the body issuing the proclamation. Copies of this printed form are in the British Museum and the Public Record Office. A similar form was provided for previous accessions, but does not seem to have been printed, being found in the manuscript Registers of the Privy Council.
[Rates of Foreign Coins in Plantations.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION
For Settling and Ascertaining the Current Rates of Foreign Coins in Her Majesties Colonies and Plantations in America.
Anne R.
We having had under Our Consideration the different Rates at which the same Species of Foreign Coins do Pass in Our several Colonies and Plantations in America,[1]and the Inconveniencies thereof, by the indirect Practice of Drawing the Money from one Plantation to another, to the great Prejudice of the Trade of Our Subjects; And being Sensible, That the same cannot be otherwise Remedied, than by Reducing of all Foreign Coins to the same Current Rate within all our Dominions in America; And the Principal Officers of Our Mint having laid before Us a Table of the Value of the several Foreign Coins which usually Pass in Payments in Our saidPlantations, according to their Weight, and the Assays made of them in Our Mint, thereby shewing the just Proportion which each Coin ought to have to the other, which is as followeth, viz. Sevill Pieces of Eight, Old Plate, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence; Sevill Pieces of Eight, New Plate, Fourteen Peny-weight, Three Shillings Seven Pence One Farthing; Mexico Pieces of Eight, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence; Pillar Pieces of Eight, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence Three Farthings; Peru Pieces of Eight, Old Plate, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Five Pence, or thereabouts; Cross Dollars, Eighteen Peny-weight, Four Shillings and Four Pence Three Farthings; Duccatoons of Flanders, Twenty Peny-weight and Twenty one Grains, Five Shillings and Six Pence; Ecu's of France, or Silver Lewis, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence, Crusadoes of Portugal, Eleven Peny-weight Four Grains, Two Shillings and Ten Pence One Farthing; Three Gilder Pieces of Holland, Twenty Peny-weight and Seven Grains, Five Shillings and Two Pence One Farthing; Old Rix Dollars of the Empire, Eighteen Peny-weight and Ten Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence; The Half, Quarters and other parts in Proportion to their Denominations, and Light Pieces in Proportion to their Weight: We have therefore thought fit for Remedying the said Inconveniencies, by the Advice of Our Council, to Publish and Declare, That from and after the First Day of January next ensuing the Date hereof, no Sevill, Pillar, or Mexico Pieces of Eight, though of the full Weight of Seventeen Peny-weight and an half, shall be Accounted, Received, Taken, or Paid within any of Our said Colonies or Plantations, as well those under Proprietors and Charters, as under Our immediate Commission and Government, at above the Rate of Six Shillings per Piece Current Money, for the Discharge of any Contracts or Bargains to be made after the said First Day of January next, the Halfs, Quarters, and other lesser Pieces of the same Coins to be Accounted, Received, Taken, or Paid in the same Proportion: And the Currency of all Pieces of Eight of Peru, Dollars, and other Foreign Species of Silver Coins, whether of the same or Baser Alloy, shall, after the said First Day of January next, stand Regulated, according to their Weight and Fineness, according and in Proportion to the Rate before Limited and Set for thePieces of Eight of Sevill, Pillar, and Mexico; So that no Foreign Silver Coin of any sort be permitted to Exceed the same Proportion upon any Account whatsoever. And We do hereby Require and Command all Our Governours, Lieutenant-Governours, Magistrates, Officers, and all other Our good Subjects, within Our said Colonies and Plantations, to Observe and Obey our Directions herein, as they Tender our Displeasure.
Given at Our Castle at Windsor, the Eighteenth Day of June, 1704. In the Third Year of Our Reign.
God save the Queen.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. 1704.
1 p. folio. Copies in Antiq., B. M., Crawf., Dalk., P. C., P. R. O., and in N. Y. Historical Society. Entered in Privy Council Register, Anne, vol. 2, p. 132. Printed in "London Gazette," June 22, 1704; also in Boston News-Letter, Dec. 11, 1704.
[1]The attention of the Council of Trade had been frequently called to the disorder in the currency in the Plantations (seeCal. State Papers, Colonial, 1700, pp. 108, 393; and Chalmers'History of Currency in the British Colonies, pp. 11-15). On November 18, 1703, the Privy Council referred to the Lord Treasurer a representation from the Board of Trade for settling the rates of foreign coins in America, upon which the Lord Treasurer, May 18, 1704, submitted a report from the Officers of the Mint with a table of the weights and values of foreign coins then current in the Plantations (Acts of Privy Council, ii, 452). The proclamation which followed was little observed, however, and after several reports on the subject had been rendered, an Act of Parliament was passed April 1, 1708, entitled "An Act for ascertaining the Rates of Foreign Coins in Her Majesty's Plantations in America." (Statutes of the Realm, viii, 792. See alsoLords Journals, xviii, 486, 566;Commons Journals, xv, 635;Acts of Privy Council, ii, 452). For the action of Massachusetts upon this proclamation, seeActs and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, viii, 471.
[1]The attention of the Council of Trade had been frequently called to the disorder in the currency in the Plantations (seeCal. State Papers, Colonial, 1700, pp. 108, 393; and Chalmers'History of Currency in the British Colonies, pp. 11-15). On November 18, 1703, the Privy Council referred to the Lord Treasurer a representation from the Board of Trade for settling the rates of foreign coins in America, upon which the Lord Treasurer, May 18, 1704, submitted a report from the Officers of the Mint with a table of the weights and values of foreign coins then current in the Plantations (Acts of Privy Council, ii, 452). The proclamation which followed was little observed, however, and after several reports on the subject had been rendered, an Act of Parliament was passed April 1, 1708, entitled "An Act for ascertaining the Rates of Foreign Coins in Her Majesty's Plantations in America." (Statutes of the Realm, viii, 792. See alsoLords Journals, xviii, 486, 566;Commons Journals, xv, 635;Acts of Privy Council, ii, 452). For the action of Massachusetts upon this proclamation, seeActs and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, viii, 471.
[Encouraging Trade to Newfoundland.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION.
Anne R.
Whereas by Act of Parliament made in the Tenth and Eleventh Years of the Reign of the late King William the Third, Intituled, An Act to Encourage the Trade to Newfoundland;[1]It was, amongst other Things, Enacted, That from thenceforth all His Majesties Subjects of this Realm, or the Dominions thereto belonging, Trading to Newfoundland, should have Free Trade and Liberty to Take, Bait, and Fish in any the Rivers, Lakes, Creeks, Harbours, orRoads, in or about Newfoundland, the Seas, and Islands thereto adjacent, and to go on Shore on any Part of Newfoundland, or the said Islands, for the Curing, Salting, Drying, and Husbanding of their Fish, and Making Oyl, and to Cut down Wood for Building or Repairing of Stages, Ship-Rooms, Train-Fats, Hurdles, Ships, Boats, and other Necessaries; but that no Alien, or Stranger should Take any Bait, or Use any sort of Trade or Fishing whatsoever, in Newfoundland, or in any of the Places above-mentioned; and that after the Five and twentieth of March, One thousand seven hundred, no Balast, Prest, Stones, or other Things hurtful to the Harbours, should be Thrown out of any Ship or otherwise, but shall be Carried on Shore. And it is thereby further Enacted, That no Person should Destroy or Damage any such Stage or Cook-Room, or any Thing thereto belonging, but should be content with such Stage or Stages only as are needful for them, and leave the same Undamaged; and the same shall be Repaired with Timber fetcht out of the Woods there, and not by the Ruining of other Stages. And it is thereby further Enacted, That whoever should, after the said Five and twentieth Day of March, first Enter with his Fishing-Ship any Harbour or Creek in Newfoundland, should be for that Season Admiral of the said Harbour or Creek, and should Reserve so much Beech or Flakes as should be necessary for his Boats, and One over, as a Privilege for his first Coming thither; and the Master of the Second Fishing-Ship Entring such Harbour or Creek, shall be Vice-Admiral; and the Master of the Third Ship so Entring, Rear-Admiral for that Season; and that the Master of every Fishing-Ship there, shall take no more Beech or Flakes than for necessary Use; and Persons Possessed of several Places in several Harbours there, shall make Election in which he or they will Abide, within Eight and forty Hours after Demand by any After-comer; And the Admiral of the respective Harbours shall determine all Differences touching that Matter. And it is thereby further Enacted, That all Inhabitants and others, who have Possessed themselves of any Stage, Cook-Room, Beech, or other Place in the said Harbours, which before that time belonged to Fishing-Ships, for the Taking Bait, Fishing, Drying, Curing and Husbanding of Fish, since the Year One thousand six hundred eighty five, should before the said Five and twentieth Day of March, leave the same for the Publick Use of the Fishing-Ships arriving there; andthat no Fisherman or Inhabitant in Newfoundland, or other Person, should after the said Five and twentieth Day of March, Possess himself of any the Stages, Cook-Rooms, Beeches, or other Places which, since the Year One thousand six hundred eighty five, did, or thereafter should belong to any Fishing-Ship, before the Arrival of the Fishing-Ships from England, Wales or Berwick, and until such Ships be Provided with Stages, Cook-Rooms, Beeches, and other Places, for taking Bait and Fishing, and for Drying, Curing and Husbanding of Fish: Provided that such Persons, as since the Five and twentieth of March, One thousand six hundred eighty five, have or thereafter should Build any Houses, Stages, Cook-Rooms, Train-Fats, or other Conveniencies for Fishing there, that did not, since the Year One thousand six hundred eighty five, belong to Fishing-Ships, should peaceably enjoy the same. And it is thereby further Enacted, That no By-Boat-Keepers should meddle with any House, Stage, Cook-Room, Train-Fat or other Conveniency, that did, since the Year One thousand six hundred eighty five, belong to Fishing-Ships, or should be made by Ships after the Five and twentieth Day of March, One thousand seven hundred; and that every Master of a By-Boat should carry at least Two Fresh Men in Six, (viz.) One that has made but One Voyage, and One that never was at Sea before; and that every Inhabitant should be obliged to Imploy Two such Fresh Men, as the By-Boat-Keepers are obliged for every By-Boat kept by them; and the Master of every Fishing-Ship should Carry One such Fresh Man that never was at Sea before, in every Five Men they carry; and the Master of every By-Boat, or Fishing-Ship, should make Oath before the Collector, or Principal Officer of the Customs of the Port (which Officers are thereby Impowered to give the said Oath) whence such Ship intends to Sail, That they have such Fresh Men as the said Act directs, and should have a Certificate thereof gratis; And that the Master of any Fishing-Ship, going to Newfoundland, after the said Five and twentieth Day of March, should have One in every Five that is not a Seaman. And it is thereby further Enacted, That no Person should after the said Five and twentieth Day of March, Cut out, or Alter the Mark of any Boat or Train-Fat, to defraud the Owner, or remove the same whence they were left by the Owner, unless in case of necessity, and that upon Notice to the Admiralof the Place; and that no Person should Rind Trees in the Woods growing there, nor set on fire, or Damage the same, except for Fuel for the Ships and Inhabitants, or for Building or Repairs of Houses, Ships, Boats, and Train-Fats, and of the Stages, Cook-Rooms, Beeches, and other Places for taking Bait, Fishing, and Husbanding of Fish there, nor cast Anchor, or do any other Thing so as to Annoy the Haling of Sayns in the usual Baiting Places, or shoot their Sayns upon the Sayns of others, nor steal the Sayns of others, nor any Bait out of anothers Fishing-Boat or Net: And the Admirals of every Port or Harbour in Newfoundland, are required to see the Rules and Orders in the said Act for Regulating the Fishery duly put in Execution, and Yearly to keep a Journal of all Ships, Boats, Stages, Train-Fats, and Seamen in their respective Harbours, and Deliver a Copy thereof to the Privy-Council at their Return to England. And it is thereby further Enacted, That all Differences arising in Newfoundland, or any the Islands there, about the Right and Property of Fishing-Rooms, Stages, Flakes or other Conveniency for Fishing or Curing of Fish, shall be determined by the Fishing Admirals in the several Harbours; and an Appeal is given from such Judgment to the Commanders of the Men of War appointed Convoys for Newfoundland: And that the Inhabitants of Newfoundland, and the Islands adjacent, should strictly observe the Lords Day: And that no Publick-House should on that Day sell any Wine, Beer, Ale, Cyder, or other Strong-Waters, or Tobacco, or other Liquors. And whereas We have been informed of several Abuses by the Masters of Ships, and the Inhabitants, and others contrary to the said Act, (viz.) That the Inhabitants do Rind the Trees, and Ingross and Incroach upon Fishing Ship-Rooms, and destroy several of the Stages, Flakes and Cook-Rooms, and that the Fishing Admirals are negligent in their Duty of putting the said Act in Execution, and of keeping Journals of the Fishery, and that the said Fishing Admirals, being Traders themselves, are partial in their Determination of Differences, and that the Masters of Fishing-Ships, and of By-Boats, do neglect to produce Certificates of their Compliments of Green Men or Fresh Men, contrary to the said Act; Which Matters being lately taken Notice of in the Humble Address of the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the last Parliament, We have thought fit, by and with the Advice of Our Privy-Council, to Issue forth this Our RoyalProclamation; And We do hereby strictly Charge and Command all Our Loving Subjects, who may be any ways concerned in Putting the said Laws in Execution, that they take effectual Care to bring to Condign Punishment all manner of Persons who shall be found offending against such Act of Parliament.
Given at Our Court at Kensington, the Twenty sixth Day of June, in the Seventh Year of Our Reign.
God save the Queen.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. 1708.
(Price Two Pence.)
1 p. folio. Copies in B. M., P. C., and P. R. O. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, Anne, vol. 4, p. 120. Printed in "London Gazette," July 12, 1708.
[1]Statutes of the Realm, 10 William III, ch. 14, vol. 7, p. 515. The House of Commons on March 31, 1708, petitioned the Queen that the laws regulating trade with Newfoundland should be enforced (Commons Journals, xv, 644, 648). A long address on the subject from the Privy Council to the Queen, May 20, 1708, is printed in theActs of the Privy Council, ii, 553.
[1]Statutes of the Realm, 10 William III, ch. 14, vol. 7, p. 515. The House of Commons on March 31, 1708, petitioned the Queen that the laws regulating trade with Newfoundland should be enforced (Commons Journals, xv, 644, 648). A long address on the subject from the Privy Council to the Queen, May 20, 1708, is printed in theActs of the Privy Council, ii, 553.
[Establishing Post Office in America.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION
For Enforcing the due Execution of the Act, Intituled, An Act for Establishing a General Post-Office for all Her Majesties Dominions, and for Settling a Weekly Sum out of the Revenues thereof, for the Service of the War, and other Her Majesties Occasions.
Anne R.
Whereas by an Act of Parliament made in the Last Session of Parliament, Intituled, An Act for Establishing a General Post-Office for all Her Majesties Dominions, and for Settling a Weekly Sum out of the Revenues thereof, for the Service of the War, and other Her Majesties Occasions,[1]It is Enacted,That from and after the First Day of this Instant June, there be One General Letter-Office and Post-Office Established in the City of London, from whence all Letters and Packets may be with speed and expedition sent into any Part of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or to North-America, the West-Indies, or to any other of Our Dominions or Territories, or to any other Kingdom or Country beyond the Seas; at which said Office all Returns and Answers may be Received. And that One Master of the said General Letter-Office and Post-Office shall be appointed by Us, under Our Great Seal of Great Britain, by the Name and Stile of our Postmaster General: And that no Person or Persons whatsoever, in any Part of Our Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, or other Our Plantations or Colonies in the West-Indies and America, other than Our Postmaster General for the time being, and his Deputies, Servants, and Assigns, shall presume to Receive, Take up, Order, Dispatch, Convey, Carry, Recarry, or Deliver any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets of Letters, other than to and from any Town or Place to or from the next Post-Road or Stage appointed for that Purpose, above Six Miles from a General Office; and other than and except such Letters as shall respectively concern Goods sent by Common known Carriers of Goods, by Carts, Waggons, or Pack-Horses, and which shall be respectively Delivered with the Goods such Letters do concern, without Hire or Reward, or other Profit or Advantage for Receiving or Delivering such Letters; and except Letters of Merchants and Masters, Owners of any Ships, Barques, or Vessels of Merchandize, or any the Cargo or Lading therein, sent on Board such Ships, Barques, or Vessels of Merchandize, whereof such Merchants or Masters are Owners, and Delivered by any Masters of any such Ships, Barques, or Vessels of Merchandize, or by any other Person Employed by them for the Carriage of such Letters, according to their respective Directions, so as such Letters be Delivered to the respective Persons to whom they shall be Directed, without Paying or Receiving any Hire or Reward, Advantage or Profit for the same in anywise; and except Commissions or the Returns thereof, Affidavits, Writs, Process or Proceeding, or Returns thereof, Issuing out of any Court; and also any Letter or Letters to be sent by any Private Friend or Friends in their way of Journey or Travel, or by any Messenger or Messengers sent on purpose, for or concerning the private Affair of anyPerson or Persons; or make any Collection of Letters, or Set up or Employ any Foot-Post, Horse-Post, or Packet-Boat, or other Vessel or Boat, or other Person or Persons, Conveyance or Conveyances whatsoever, for the Receiving, Taking up, Ordering, Dispatching, Conveying, Carrying, Recarrying, or Delivering any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets of Letters, by Sea or by Land, or on any River within Our Dominions, or by means whereof any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets of Letters, shall be Collected, Received, Taken up, Ordered, Dispatched, Conveyed, Carried, Recarried, or Delivered, by Sea or Land, or on any River within Our Dominions (other than as before Excepted;) or shall presume to Keep, Provide or Maintain Horses or Furniture, for the Horsing of any Person or Persons Riding Post, (that is to say) Riding several Stages upon a Post-Road, and Changing Horses, or shall Lett to Hire, or Furnish any Person or Persons whatsoever with Horses or Furniture for Riding Post, as aforesaid, on any of the Post-Roads or Stages now or hereafter to be Appointed, with or without a Guide or Horn, for Hire or Reward, or on any Agreement or Promise of Reward, or whereby he or they may have any Profit or Advantage, on pain of Forfeiting the Sum of Five Pounds of British Money for every several Offence against the Tenor of the said Act, and also of the Sum of One hundred Pounds of like British Money for every Week that every Offender against the same Act shall Collect, Receive, Take up, Order, Dispatch, Convey, Carry, Recarry, or Deliver any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets of Letters, by Sea or Land, or on any River within Our Dominions (other than as before excepted;) or that shall presume to Set up, Continue, or Employ any Foot-Post, Horse-Post, or Packet-Boat, or other Vessel or Boat, or any other Person or Persons, Conveyance or Conveyances whatsoever, for the Receiving, Taking up, Ordering, Dispatching, Conveying, Carrying, Recarrying, or Delivering of any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets of Letters, by Sea or Land, or on any River within Our Dominions, as aforesaid; which said Penalties and Forfeitures are to be Sued for, and Recovered in such Courts, and to be Received and Divided in such manner, and for such Uses, as in the said Act is for that purpose mentioned, together with full Costs of Suit. But it is by the said Act Provided, That if the Postmaster doth not or cannot Furnish any Person Riding in Post, with sufficient Horses, within oneHalf Hour after Demand, then such Person is at Liberty to Provide himself as he can to the next Stage, and so at every Stage where he shall not be Furnished, as aforesaid; and the Person who shall Furnish such Horses shall therefore by [be] liable to any Penalty by reason thereof. And by a Proviso contained in the said Act, it is Declared, That nothing in the Exception above mentioned contained, shall be construed to extend to give any Licence or Authority to any Common known Carriers of Goods, by Carts, Waggons, or Pack-Horses, their Servants or Agents, to Receive, Collect or Deliver, with or without Hire, any Letter or Letters, Packet or Packets of Letters whatsoever, that do not concern Goods in their Carts, Waggons, or on their Pack-Horses; nor to any Owners or Drivers of Stage-Coaches; nor to any Masters, Owners or Commanders of Boats called Passage-Boats, sailing between any Part of Great Britain or Ireland, and any Parts or Places beyond the Seas, or their Servants or Agents; nor to any Passenger or Passengers on Board such Boats or Vessels; nor to the Owners or Watermen on Board of any Boat, Barge, or Vessel, Passing or Repassing on any River or Rivers, to and from any Parts of Great Britain and Ireland, North-America, or the West-Indies, or other Our Dominions or Territories, although such Drivers of Stage-Coaches, Owners, Masters or Commanders of Boats called Passage-Boats, or Passengers therein, Owners or Watermen on Board of any such Boat, Barge, or Vessel, Passing or Repassing on any such River or Rivers, as aforesaid, do not receive any Hire or Reward, or other Advantage for the same; but that all such Carriers, Owners, and Drivers of Stage-Coaches, Owners, Masters or Commanders of Passage-Boats, and the Passengers therein, and all Owners and Watermen on Board of any Boat, Barge, or Vessel, Passing or Repassing on any River or Rivers, to or from any the Parts and Places aforesaid, Collecting and Delivering Letters, as aforesaid, though without Hire or Reward, shall be Deemed and Taken, and are thereby Declared to be Persons Offending against the said Act, and to Forfeit and Pay such Sum and Sums of Money, as Persons Collecting, Receiving, Taking up, Conveying, and Delivering of Letters for Hire, or Setting up, Employing and Maintaining any Posts contrary to the said Act, or that are or shall be concerned therein, are therein, as is herein before mentioned, Enacted to Forfeit and Pay. And by another Proviso in the said Act it is Declared, Thatnothing in the said Act contained should extend to give Licence to any Person or Persons whatsoever, to make Collection of Letters in or near the City of London, or Suburbs thereof, under Pretence of Conveying the same to any Part or Place in the said City or Suburbs, or to the General Post-Office of the said City, without the Licence and Leave of the Postmaster General for the time being; and that any Person or Persons Acting contrary thereunto, should Forfeit and Pay as Persons Collecting, Receiving, Carrying, Recarrying, and Delivering Letters contrary to the said Act, are thereby Enacted to Forfeit and Pay, and to be Recovered, as aforesaid, with full Costs of Suit. And by the said Act it is further Enacted, That all Letters and Packets, that by any Master of any Ship or Vessel, or any of his Company, or any Passengers therein, shall or may be brought to any Post-Town, or which shall arrive or touch at any Post belonging to any Post-Town within any of Our Dominions, or any the Members thereof, or which shall be on Board any Ship or Vessel that shall or doth touch or stay at any such Post-Town, (other than such Letters as are before excepted) shall by such Master, Passengers, or other Person or Persons, be forthwith delivered to the Deputy or Deputies only of such Postmaster General for the time being, by him appointed for such Place or Post-Town, and to be by such Deputy or Deputies sent Post unto the said General Post-Office, to be delivered according to the several and respective Directions of the same, upon pain of Forfeiting the Sum of Five Pounds of British Money for every several Offence against the Tenor of the said Act, to be Recovered in manner aforesaid, with full Costs of Suit. And for the Encouragement of all such Masters of Ships or Vessels, or such other Persons, on their Arrival at such Ports, as aforesaid, from any Parts beyond the Seas, to deliver unto the Deputy or Deputies of such Postmaster General for such Place or Post-Town at which they shall so touch or arrive, all such Letters and Packets as they shall respectively have on Board such Vessel or Vessels, every such Master or other Person, for every Letter or Packet of Letters he or they shall so deliver unto such Deputy or Deputies, shall receive the Sum of One Peny of such Deputy or Deputies, he or they Signing such Certificate as in the said Act is mentioned. And We being Willing and Desirous that Our Good Subjects should have Early and Sufficient Notice of the Penalties and Forfeitures before mentioned, to the end theymay avoid Incurring the same, and that the Revenue granted by the said Act may be duly answered to Us, and all Frauds in Prejudice of the same prevented, have thought fit, and do by this Our Royal Proclamation (by and with the Advice of Our Privy Council) Notifie and Declare to all Our Loving Subjects the Purport and Tenor of the said several Parts of the said Act, hereby Requiring and Commanding all Persons concerned to conform themselves to the said Act.
Given at Our Court at Kensington, the Twenty third Day of June, 1711. In the Tenth Year of Our Reign.
God save the Queen.
London, Printed by the Assigns of Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, deceas'd; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. 1711.
(Price Two Pence.)
1 p. folio. There are two issues varying in the cut of the royal arms. Copies in B. M. and P. R. O. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, Anne, vol. 5, p. 260. Printed in "London Gazette," June 28, 1711.
[1]Statutes of the Realm, ix, 393 (9 Anne, ch. 11; ch. 10 in some editions of the Statutes).
[1]Statutes of the Realm, ix, 393 (9 Anne, ch. 11; ch. 10 in some editions of the Statutes).
[Concerning Passes for Ships.]
BY THE KING.
A PROCLAMATION
Requiring all Ships and Vessels, Trading from the Plantations in the way of the Algerines, to Furnish themselves with Passes.
George R.
Whereas pursuant to Treaties Concluded between Our Predecessors, and the Government ofAlgier,[1]several Passeshave been Granted under the Hand and Seal of the High Admirals of Great Britain, or the Commissioners for Executing that Office of Our respective Dominions: And whereas Our Commissioners for Executing the Office of High Admiral, have humbly Represented unto Us, That they have reason to apprehend, that several of the said Passes of the Old Form have been Clandestinely altered, as well in their Dates as otherwise, which may be very Prejudicial to the Trading Ships of Our Subjects: For Preventing whereof We have thought fit, by the Advice of Our Privy Council, to Publish this Our Royal Proclamation, hereby Declaring, That all such Passes of the Old Form, which have been so Issued, shall not Continue in Force longer than the Thirtieth Day of July next. And We do hereby strictly Charge and Command all Our Loving Subjects, who are or shall be possessed of any such Passes, That they do, as soon as may be, return the same into the Office of Admiralty of Great Britain, in order to their being Cancelled. And whereas, pursuant to the late Treaty withAlgier, it is absolutely necessary, That all Ships and Vessels belonging to Our Loving Subjects of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as Our Foreign Governments and Plantations, which shall have occasion to Trade to Portugal, the Canaries, Guinea, the Indies, into the Mediterranean, or elsewhere, in the way of the Cruizers of the aforesaid Government ofAlgier, should be furnished with Passes of the New Form, by or before the said Thirtieth Day of July next, lest by their being met with by the Ships ofAlgier, unfurnished with such Passes, they be Brought up, and the Ships and Goods Confiscated; We do hereby strictly Charge and Require the Owners and Masters of all Ships and Vessels of Our Loving Subjects Trading, asaforesaid, to take particular Care that they do timely furnish themselves with such Passes of the New Form accordingly.
Given at Our Court at St. James's, the Fourth Day of October, 1714. In the First Year of Our Reign.
God save the King.
London, Printed by John Baskett, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty, And by the Assigns of Thomas Newcomb, and Henry Hills, deceas'd. 1714.
1 p. folio. Copies in B. M., and Signet. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, I Geo., vol. 1, p. 91. Printed in "London Gazette," October 4, 1714.