English Economic History: Select Documents

by Unknown

Forasmuch as divers Laws and Statutes have been heretofore ordained for the true making of woollen cloths, and divers penalties, in some cases of money, and in some other cases of the cloths themselves, are by the same Laws and Statutes imposed upon clothiers, by whom many thousands of her Majesty's subjects are set to work, and maintained; and that it falleth out many times, that divers faults punishable even with the loss of their cloths without the clothiers' fault are voluntarily committed by their spinners and weavers, by the one's deceitful spinning their yarn, and by the other's false weaving the same into cloth; and forasmuch as necessity doth partly enforce them thereunto, for lack of sufficient wages and allowance for their workmanship at the hands of the clothier, whereby to sustain the poor estate of themselves, their wives and children; at the humble petition as well of the said clothiers, as also of their said spinners and weavers, and first for the avoiding of all deceitful dealing between the clothiers and their weavers, Be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same:—That all wool which, after the feast of Easter next, shall be delivered for or by any clothier to any person or persons to be spun, shall be delivered by true and lawful weight, and that all and every spinner and spinners shall deliver again to or for such clothier yarn of the same wool by the same true and lawful weight (all necessary waste thereof excepted) without concealing any part thereof, or deceitfully putting thereunto any oil, water, or other thing, upon pain that every spinner doing the contrary shall forfeit four times the value that such deceit by any such spinner committed or done shall amount unto. And for the better relief of all and every the said spinner and spinners, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that after the said feast all and every clothier and clothiers and spinsters to the market shall pay for the spinning of every pound weight of the best sorting warp three pence, of every pound weight of the second warp two pence halfpenny, of every pound weight of the worst warp to be used in sorting cloths two pence farthing, of every pound weight of the best abbs[283] two pence halfpenny, of every pound weight of the best sorting abbs two pence, and of every pound weight of the worst sorting abbs to be used in sorting cloths three halfpence farthing, of every pound weight of single list three halfpence, upon pain to forfeit for every penny that any such clothier shall withhold or detain from any spinner contrary to the charitable intent of this statute twelve pence.

To avoid all evil and corrupt dealing between clothiers and their weavers, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid:—That all and every weaver and weavers which after the said feast, shall have the weaving of any woollen yarn to be webbed into cloth, shall weave, work, and put into the web, for cloth to be made thereof, as much and all the same yarn, as any clothier, or any other person for or in the behalf of any clothier, shall deliver to the same weaver with his used mark put to the same, without changing, or any parcel thereof leaving out of the same web, or else shall restore to the same clothier the surplusage of the same yarn, if any shall be left not put into the same web, without deceitfully putting of any deceivable brine, moisture, sand, dust, or other thing thereunto, upon pain to forfeit four times the value that such deceit by any such weaver committed or done shall amount unto. And for the better relief of all and every the said weaver and weavers be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that after the said feast all and every clothier and clothiers shall pay for the weaving of every ell[284] containing three pounds weight in yarn, of every broad listed cloth, as it shall be laid upon the bar and which shall be woven in a fourteen hundred sley, sixteen pence, for the weaving of every ell, containing three pounds weight and three-quarters in yarn of every broad listed cloth, as it shall be laid upon the bar and which shall be woven in a thirteen hundred sley, fourteen pence, and for every beer[285] between thirteen hundred and fourteen hundred twelve pence, for the weaving of every ell containing three pounds weight and three-quarters at the least in yarn of every broad listed cloth as it shall be laid upon the bar and which shall be woven in a twelve hundred sley, ten pence, and for every beer between twelve hundred and thirteen hundred two shillings, for weaving of every ell containing three pounds weight and an half at the least in yarn of every broad listed cloth as it shall be laid upon the bar and which shall be woven in a eleven hundred sley, eight pence, and for every beer between eleven hundred and twelve hundred, twelve pence, for weaving of every ell containing three pounds weight and an half at the least in yarn of every broad listed cloth as it shall be laid upon the bar and which shall be woven in a ten hundred sley, six pence, and for every beer between ten hundred and eleven hundred twelve pence, for weaving of every broad listed cloth, that shall be woven in a sley under a ten hundred, and that shall contain thirty ells as it shall be laid upon the bar, twelve shillings, for the weaving of every broad listed cloth that shall be woven in a sley under a ten hundred, and that shall contain eight and twenty ells as it shall be laid upon the bar, ten shillings, for weaving of every narrow listed sorting cloth that shall be woven in a ten hundred sley, ten shillings, for the weaving of every narrow listed sorting cloth that shall be woven in a nine hundred sley, nine shillings, for the weaving of every narrow listed sorting cloth that shall be woven in an eight hundred sley, eight shillings, and for the weaving of every beer over and above in any of the said sleys of the said narrow listed cloths three pence, upon pain to forfeit for every penny that any clothier shall withhold or detain from any weaver contrary to the true intent of this act twelve pence.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid that wheresoever any greater wages hath been heretofore usually given for spinning any of the sorts of yarn aforesaid or for weaving any of the sorts of cloths aforesaid, that there and in all such place the same wages or greater shall after the said feast be given without any diminution thereof, upon pain that every clothier shall forfeit for every penny that he or she shall so detain from any spinner or weaver contrary to the true intent of this act twelve pence, any the rate or wages before in this act particularly limited and appointed to weavers notwithstanding. And be it further enacted by the said authority, that after the said feast no clothier, for the weaving of any his or her white cloths, shall use or cause to be used any sley of less breadth than eleven quarters and three nails of the yard in white work beside the list, upon pain to forfeit for every such default ten shillings. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid that after the said feast no clothier shall use any warping bar that shall contain any greater length than three yards from one pin to another upon pain to forfeit for every such default ten shillings. And further be it enacted by the authority aforesaid that justices of assize in their circuits, justices of peace in their sessions, sheriffs in their turns, stewards in their leets and lawdays, mayors, sheriffs, and bailiffs of cities, boroughs and towns corporate in their courts, shall and may inquire, hear, and determine from time to time all and every the said offences committed and done within the limits of their several jurisdictions and authorities.

[Here follow provisions as to the division of fines.]

And forasmuch as divers evil-disposed persons commonly called yarn choppers or jobbers of woollen yarn, wanting the fear of God, and caring only for their own private gain without having any regard to the maintenance of the commonwealth, using no trade either of making woollen cloths, or of any other thing made of woollen yarn, inverting the true intent of the statute made in the eighth year of our late Sovereign Lord King Henry the sixth among other things especially to destroy the falsity of regrators of yarn called yarn choppers, to their own malicious purpose, do in every fair and market buy up and get into their hands so great quantities of woollen yarn, that the clothiers and others using lawful trade wherein woollen yarn must need be occupied, and by which trade many thousands of her Majesty's poor subjects are relieved, are driven for their necessity sake to buy the same at their hands deceitfully handled and at such unreasonable price as they list to set upon the same, whereby the clothiers and others using divers lawful ways and means for the employment of woollen yarn, are very greatly hindered, and such drones, idle members and evil weeds in a commonwealth by such oppressions maintained and greatly enriched, for remedy whereof be it enacted established and ordained by the authority aforesaid:—That no manner of person or persons shall after the said feast of Easter next buy, bargain, take, or make any promise for bargain or sale of or for any woollen yarn but only such person or persons as are known to be makers of woollen cloth or other thing made of woollen yarn or mixed with woollen yarn, his or their wife or wives or his or their children, apprentices or servants, inhabiting in his or their mansion house or houses, and who shall or may lawfully make of the said woollen yarn any kind of bayes, knit hose, arras, tapestry, coverlets, or any other thing or things used to be made of woollen yarn or mixed with woollen yarn, upon pain of forfeiture of all woollen yarn to be bought, or whereof any promise for bargain or sale thereof shall be taken or made contrary to the true meaning of this act, in whose hands soever any such woollen yarn shall be found, and further to incur all the pains and penalties limited to yarn choppers by the said act made in the eighth year of King Henry the sixth.

[Here follows provisions as to the division of fines.]

[283] i.e., wefts.

[284] The words from "ell" to "fourteen hundred" have been crossed out in the original, and the rest of the passage as far as the end of the paragraph (p. 339) is bracketed as if for cancellation. Interlined is the following substituted clause, to be read after the words "for the weaving of every":—"of their best fine cloths vjs. viijd., and for their second sort of fine cloths iiijs., and for their least sort of fine cloths iijs., and for the best sort of sorting cloths ijs., and for the middle and least sort of sorting cloths or pack cloths with narrow lists, xviijd., more than was given by any clothier in any of the said counties or elsewhere of like making for the weaving of every or any of the said sorts of cloths at or before the feast of Xmas last past."

[285] i.e., the (variable) number of ends into which a warp is divided in the process of warping.

9. Draft Piece-list Submitted for Ratification to the Wiltshire Justices by Clothiers and Weavers [Hist. MSS. Com., Vol. I, p. 162, The Records of Quarter Sessions in the County of Wiltshire], 1602.