Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
kingdom_n	commit_v	great_a	king_n	1,900	5	3.5783	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78279	The case of Thomas Violet citizen and goldsmith of London, before the honourable committee of Parliament, for regulating the abuses in making gold and silver wyre, and lace.	Violet, Thomas, fl. 1634-1662.; England and Wales. Parliament.	1662 (1662)	Wing C1190dA; ESTC R173503	6,054	9

him altogether ignorant in every branch of this profession After-ages will not believe so much ignorance and confidence to be in a person of quality to pretend to that he doth not understand nor I believe his Executors nor Administrators to take away my right I beseech your Honours observe 8. If the Goldsmiths that go to the mint with their gold or silver to coyne should be their own assay-masters the Kings money would hardly be standard if the silver-workers made assay of their own plate no wise man will think it would be sterling These Wyer-drawers are now at their own wills to make their silver at what finenesse they please put in as much silk to silver as they please they have melted down all the heavy money in the Kingdom to the great ruine of the Kingdom they hinder the Kings Mint by out-buying the same and should they now get this Corporation and have an ignorant governour that is no Artist as Henry Nevel Esq labours to obtain whereas formerly they committed one fraud they will by authority of Parliament be out of the gun-shot of the law 9. The Wiredrawers are angry with me because I have formerly strictly tied them to make good gold and silver wire and thread if they work according to the Law I cannot hurt them but if they abuse the Kingdom in slight and base Manufactures my security and my self must make it good we are bound in the Exchequer to do it and therefore I have and shall prevent them to my power They would have Mr. Nevil in my place that hath no skill and then they would cozen the Kingdome as some of them have done formerly by this act of Parliament the Wardens and Assistants have the power to do what they list Mr. Nevil is but named as a cypher to get their Charter by his Friends Your Petitioners humble prayer is that by your Honours Justice for his Majesties service this Manufacture be put under some strict Rule and Order and that nothing may passe under your Honours hands that may preiudice your Petitioners Grant which he hath under the great Seal of England for the regulating the said Manufacture I have humbly to recommend to your Honours great wisdom the due consideration of these several following heads and humbly leav them at your Honours feet and though they may not please the Wire-drawers yet I am sure they be for his Maiesties service It is true there is twenty thousand souls in London live and have dependance on this Manufacture and that made King Iames and King Charles suffer this Manufacture to be made here It is worthy of consideration the great damage his Maiesty sustains in the losse of his Customs the losse and preiudice of his Maiesties Mint by suffering the silver after it is imported into this Kingdom to be made into Silver Lace c. to be diverted from Coine which would pay a duty of coynage and augment the stock of the Kingdome which is now converted into this Manufacture the valew imployed in Gold and Silver yearly is about one hundred thousand pounds a year in Gold and silver Lace Wire c. which was it converted into coine every year and so passed between men would drive a million for commodities a year in Trade to the great improvement of the Kingdome by Commerce and Trade That upon calculation it will be found the King in point of Customs his losses about ten thousand pounds a year by suffering this Manufacture to be made in England as will appear upon calculation of his Maiesties Book of Rates of his Customes I humblie pray the book of Rates at the Custom-house may be viewed by your Honours to see when the gold and silver thread payes That as this day by this Corporation there is no Excise laid on this commoditie which under favour humbly submitting to your great wisdomes is a commoditie may bear an Excise as well and better than almost any thing in the Kingdome gold and silver Lace is a superfluitie and it is the wearers payes the Excise not the Silkmen Wiredrawers or other Tradesmen this Trade his Maiesty doth allow in favour of the poor women Spinners and other poor people that are above twenty thousand souls who onely have their livelyhood from this Manufacture or else for the reasons aforesaid it would not be allowed to be wrought in England for as it is now made for this last twenty years all the heavie currant silver is melted down to make this Manufacturie I humbly pray this offence may by Act of Parliament be made Felonie and the same punishment for transporting gold and silver without the Kings licence if this be not done in a short time there will neither gold nor silver be left in the Kingdom all the gold in a manner is already gone and the silver follows apace Therefore my humble Petition to your Honours is that your Honour settle such an excise on this Manufacture at the least two pence in the Ounce Troy being so much as his Maiesty loseth in the coynage of the same to be approved and confirmed by the Parliament for and towards his Maiesties losse in his Customes and in his coynage by suffering this Manufacture to be wrought in England the Customes is above three times as much That your Honours would Order for the future that no inferiour persons as servant-Maids and other mechanick people shall wear gold or silver Lace it being an abuse to persons of honour men and women to have mechanick people and servants to wear gold and silver Lace many servant Maids of four pound a year do lay out half of it in gold and silver Lace which causes many great inconveniences by vanity to come to them by lewd courses to steal and pilfer their Masters moneys 10. If Mr. Nevel be confirmed by Parliament to be the head Officer to assay and seal all gold and silver if his ignorance in this office should ever be complained of to his Majesty or the Privy Councel he must be expelled by the same power that put him in by order of Parliament to be put down 11. The assay-master of the Tower is upon his oath the assay-master of Goldsmiths Hall is upon his oath this act of Parliament appoints Henry Nevel to be assay-master and to seize all adulterate gold and silver wyer and Henry Nevel knowes not how to make an assay of gold or silver nor knowes not when he sees course silver from fine this manufacture will be well assayed by a Gentleman that is not an Artist in silver thred wyer or lace how can he swear by another mans skill 12. Ignorant officers in places of great skill and trust which must be executed on oath is that that abuses the King and Kingdome this Gentleman is ignorant in every branch of the trade yet by this Act of Parliament is to have an ob the ounce Troy for silver wyer 2 d. the ounce Troy for silver foliat 1 d. the pound Haverdupois for all

copper wyer disgross'd and one moiety of all seizures and forfeitures a place I payed 3400 l. for and Mr. Nevil would have it for nothing 13. And now after all my losses and sufferings this Gentleman pretends to my place and if your Honours read my Patent and his you will find I am the elder brother in my grant by above twenty yeares And I humbly hope my experience to execute this place shall be a barr to his ignorance It is the fleece Mr. Nevel looks after not the flock the fees not the regulating the abuse he can tell how to take and receive his fees but knows not how to regulate the abuses in this trade nor to any part of the mystery which not well regulated is a mystery of iniquity And if you please to observe the Act of Parliament under examination the whole power of regulating this manufacture is lodged in the Master Wardens and Assistants of the Corporation of Wyer-drawers and Henry Nevel Esq is but held forth as a property by his friends and power to get the Wyer-drawers by Act of Parliament a Corporation the power is in the Wardens and Assistants And then they will serve the Kingdome as the Silk-men did when they got their Corporation about 1634. the Wardens and Assistants of Silk-men were found to be the only men that cozen'd the King Kingdome in heavy dyed silk as was proved 1634. which caused the King to damn their Patent and fine the offenders in Star-Chamber many thousand pounds And so it was proved in Parliament 1619. Sir Giles Monparsons and the Wardens and Assistants of the Gold wyer-drawers cozened the Kingdome in selling adulterate silver thread and wyer for good The sentence of Sir Giles Monparsons and the cheats of the Wyer-drawers proved in Parliament was so famous that they made Ballads songs and pictures of the discovery of these abuses and Monparsons running away about this businesse This was the end of the Gold wyer-drawers Corporation in Parliament about 1619. as many hundreds of people in London can witnesse the like Project Mr. Nevel now desires May it please your Honours to make an Act to settle the power on his Majesty and any six of the Privy Councel from time to time to make such Commissions and Orders as they in their great Wisdoms shall think fit to regulate the Traders and reforme the abuses with a power to commit and punish the Offendors and to impose such sums of mony upon the Manufacture for and towards the losse his Majestie sustains in his Customes as his Majesty and his Privy Councel shall think fit not exceeding 2d the ounce Troy for all silver wyre disgrossed and the fees already allowed by Patent to your Petitioner for warranting the same to be made all of good silver wyre not under Sterling nor to draw no silver for any of these Manufactures before it be duly Assayed and Registred and a due accompt given to his Majesty This is a sure way to regulate all these abuses without which the Wiredrawer● cannot possibly among themselvs be kept in any order being a great many necessitated people which without power will not be kept in compass being in number above 15. thousand that have a livelyhood by this Manufacture the Corporation the Wyredrawers now desire will be as the former was 1619. if the King and his Privy Councel have not the power and ordering thereof by Act of Parliament to reforme all the aforesaid abuses and punish the Offendors What the KING commands I will see duly observed FINIS