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<DATE>2009-01-05</DATE>
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<NAME>tcpstaff</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B090026.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<VID>178981</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="proclamation">
<PB REF="1" MS="y"><!-- PDF PAGE 13 -->
<HEAD><HI>A PROCLAMATION</HI> Again&s;t Regrating of Victual, and Fore-&s;tallers, and allowing the Importation of Victual free of Publick Burden.</HEAD>
<P><HI>WILLIAM</HI> by the Grace of GOD, King of <HI>Great-Britain, France</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> Defender of the Faith, to  <GAP DESC="blank">  Macers of Our Privy Council, Me&s;&s;engers at Arms, Our Sheriffs in that part, conjunctly and &s;everally, &s;pecially con&s;titute, greeting: Fora&s;much as by &s;e|veral Acts of Parliament, the keeping of Victual to a dearth, is &s;trictly prohibited; and particularly, it is Statute by the Acts <HI>James</HI> the Second, Parliament Sixth, <HI>Caput</HI> Twenty two and Twenty three, that for the e&s;chewing of Dearth, Sheriffs, Baillies, and other Officers, both to Burgh and to Land, inquire what per&s;ons buys Victual, and holds it to a Dearth, and that the &s;aids Sheriffs and Officers make &s;uch known, that in ca&s;e they hold more than will &s;u&s;tain them and their Mein&yogh;ie to new Corn, they may be puni&s;hed and demeaned as Ockerers and U&s;urers, and the Victual e&s;cheated to Us, and that the &s;ame be pre&s;ented to Mercats, and &s;old as the price goes: And by the Act <HI>James</HI> the Second, Parliament Ninth, <HI>Caput</HI> Thirty eighth and Thirty ninth, It is ordained that no manner of Victual be holden in Girnels by any man to a dearth, but allennarly what is needful for their own Per&s;ons, and &s;u&s;tentation of their Hou&s;holds; and that the &s;aids Per&s;ons pre&s;ent all that they have more to the Mercar, under the pain of E&s;cheat thereof: And Searchers are appointed in <HI>Edinburgh</HI> and <HI>Leith</HI> to make the &s;aids Acts effectual. As likewi&s;e, the Crime of Fore-&s;talling is forbidden by &s;everal Acts and Statutes, and particularly by the Act <HI>James</HI> the Sixth, Parliament Twelfth, <HI>Ca|put</HI> One hundred and fourty eight, It is declared, that who buys any Merchandi&s;e or Victual coming to Fair or Mercat, or makes any Contract or Promi&s;e for the buying of the &s;ame before the &s;aid Merchandice or Victual &s;hall be in the Fair or Mercat-place ready to be Sold, or &s;hall make any motion by Word, Writ, or Me&s;&s;age, for rai&s;ing of the Prices, or dearer &s;elling of the &s;aid Merchan|dice and Victual, or who &s;hall di&s;&s;wade any from coming and bringing the fore&s;aid Merchandice and Victual to Fair or Mercat, &s;hall be e&s;teemed and judged a Fore-&s;taller: And it is ordained that all &s;uch Fore-&s;tallers may be pur&s;ued before the Ju&s;tices or Magi&s;trats of Burghs, and that without a &s;pecial Libel, but only upon Fore &s;talling in general, and the per&s;ons convict to be Fined for the fir&s;t fault in Fourty Pounds, for the &s;econd in One hundred Merks, and for the third to incur the tin&s;ell of Moveables. And &s;eing that through the not due ob&s;ervance, and the execution of the fore&s;aids Acts, the calamity of the Countrey by the pre&s;ent &s;carcity and dearth is greatly increa&s;ed: Therefore We advice of the Lords of Our Privy Council, have thought fit to revive the &s;ame, and ordain them to be put to &s;trict execution; and for that effect to impower and require all Sheriffs of Shires, Stewarts of Stewartries, Lords and Baillies of Regalities and their Deputs, and Magi&s;trats of Burghs, as likewi&s;e all Commi&s;&s;ioners of Supply, and Ju&s;tices of Peace, to cau&s;e in|quiry and &s;earch to be made who holds up, or Girnels Victual, or keeps Stacks contrary to the fore&s;aids Laws, and to command and charge the keepers up of the &s;aid Victual in Girnels, Stacks, or otherways, contrary to the &s;aids Statutes, either to Thre&s;h out, bring and expo&s;e the &s;ame for Sale in open and ordinary Mercats, or otherwi&s;e to open their Girnels, and other Hou&s;es where the Victual is kept, and there &s;ell the &s;ame, as the &s;aids Sheriffs, Stewarts of Stewartries, Lords and Baillies of Regalities and their Deputs, and Ma|gi&s;trats of Burghs, or any two of the &s;aids Commi&s;&s;ioners &s;hal find the ordinary price to rule for the time in the Countrey, not below the la&s;t <HI>Candle&s;ma&s;s</HI> Fiers; with certification if they fail&yogh;ie therein, they &s;hall be proceeded again&s;t, and the pains of the fore&s;aid Acts of Parliament execute upon them with all rigor: And in the mean time the Victual Girnelled, and unlawfully kept up as &s;aid is, Arre&s;t|ed and Seque&s;trat by the fore&s;aids Sheriffs and others, as E&s;cheat. And further, We with Advice fore&s;aid, Command and Charge all Magi&s;trats of Burghs, and other Officers of the Law, to take care that all Mercats and Fairs be duly regulat conform to the Laws, with|out extortion, and to cau&s;e put the fore&s;aids Acts of Parliament again&s;t Fore-&s;tallers to due and vigorous execution, certifying the &s;aids Sheriffs, Magi&s;trats and others, who &s;hall fail in their duty in the premi&s;&s;es, that upon information given to the Lords of Our Privy Council, they &s;hall be therefore &s;everely puni&s;hed as the Lords of Our Privy Council &s;hall &s;ee cau&s;e. And further, for the bet|ter relief of the Country under the pre&s;ent great &s;carcity, whereby the prices of Victual are ari&s;en above the rates mentioned in the Act of Parliament for prohibiting the Import of Forraign Victual: We with Advice fore&s;aid, do hereby grant licen&s;e and full liberty to all per&s;ons to Import Victual, and Corns of all &s;orts, from any Forraign Kingdom or Countrey, and that free of Cu&s;tom, Exci&s;e, or o|ther Impo&s;ition; And for that effect recommends it to the Commi&s;&s;ioners of Our The&s;aury, to di&s;charge the exacting thereof for the &s;aid Victual to be Imported as &s;aid is, after the day and date hereof: And that notwith&s;tanding of any Act of Parliament, or Book of Rates impo&s;ing the &s;ame, declaring that this licen&s;e and liberty is to endure till the fir&s;t day of <HI>October</HI> next to come. OUR WILL IS HEREFORE, and We Charge you &s;trictly, and Command, that incontinent the&s;e Our Letters &s;een, ye pa&s;s to the Mercat-Cro&s;s of <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> and remanent Mercat-Cro&s;&s;es of the Head-Burghs of the &s;everal Shires and Stewartries within this Kingdom, and thereat in Our Name and Authority, make Publication of the Premi&s;&s;es, that none pretend ignorance: And ordains the&s;e pre&s;ents to be Printed.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Geven under Our Signet at</HI> Edinburgh, <DATE><HI>the Fourteenth Day of</HI> July, <HI>and of Our Reign the Tenth Year,</HI> 1698.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>Per Actum Dominorum Secreti Concilii.</HI> GILB. ELIOT <HI>Cls. Sti. Concili.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>GOD &s;ave the King.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>EDINB&V;RGH,</HI> Printed by the Heirs and Succe&s;&s;ors of <HI>Andrew Ander&s;on,</HI> Printer to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maje&s;ty, 1698.</P>
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