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<DATE>2009-07-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="proclamation">
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<HEAD><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>royal blazon or coat of arms</FIGDESC>
<P>HONI SOI QVI MAL Y PENSE</P>
</FIGURE>
&leaf; By the King.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">&leaf; A Proclamation for the better making of Saltpeter within this Kingdome.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_FOra&s;much as the making of Saltpeter and Gunpowder, within</HI> Our owne Realmes and Dominions, is a great &s;afety and benefite to Vs and Our Subiects, a&s;&s;uring Vs of a certaine and &s;ufficient pro|ui&s;ion thereof for Our and their defence, whereas the prouiding thereof from forraine parts, cannot but bee full of difficulty and danger, depen|ding vpon the plea&s;ure of other Princes and States, and when Our nece&s;&s;itie &s;hall mo&s;t require the &s;ame, Wee &s;hall be &s;ure to purcha&s;e &s;o pretious a Commoditie, at vnrea&s;onable Rates, and bee inforced to pay ready Moneys, to be tran&s;ported from hence, for the &s;ame, to the diminution of the Trea|&s;ure of Our Realmes: And if none of the&s;e inconueniences &s;hould happen, yet the bringing thereof by Sea, from forraine parts, is full of perill and hazzard, being &s;ubiect to the many ca|&s;ualties of Winde and Weather, the dangers of Shipwracke, and the interception of Pirates and enemies, and the&s;e may happen in times of our greate&s;t nece&s;&s;itie and want thereof.</P>
<P>And whereas the practi&s;e and making of Saltpeter heretofore within this Kingdome, was, and is &s;uch, as tendeth much to the trouble, and grieuance of Our louing Subiects, by digging vp of their dwelling Hou&s;es, Douehou&s;es, and other out-hou&s;es, and al&s;o to their great charge, by remouing of their Liquors, Tubbes, and other In&s;truments, by cariages from place to place; Of which, although many complaints haue beene made, and often renewed, and all fit cour&s;es haue been taken by Vs and Our Priuie Coun&s;ell, to ea&s;e Our Subiects of this trouble and charge, yet in a ca&s;e of &s;uch ineuitable nece&s;&s;itie, the &s;ame cannot yet be totally taken away.</P>
<P>And whereas &s;ithence the fir&s;t making of Saltpeter within this Realme, vntill this pre&s;ent, notwith&s;tanding all the trouble and charge afore&s;ayd, yet the Vndertakers of the &s;ayd Workes, could neuer heretofore furni&s;h this Realme, with a third part of the Saltpeter requi&s;ite for the &s;eruice of Our owne Dominions, e&s;pecially in times of Warre, and greate&s;t nece&s;&s;ity thereof, But Wee, and Our Predece&s;&s;ors and Subiects, haue beene forced for their nece&s;&s;ary v&s;e, to &s;eeke &s;upplies thereof from forraine parts, which hath the rather happened, for that many to a|uoyd the trouble of digging vp their floores, haue purpo&s;ely preuented the growth thereof, and diuers of the Saltpeter men, haue corruptly made a practi&s;e, to take Compo&s;ition money of di|uers, to forbeare digging, or to execute their Commi&s;&s;ions, which their partiall cour&s;e of procee|ding,
<PB REF="2">hath been very offen&s;iue to many of Our good Subiects, and if now the Saltpeter-men &s;hould continue in their accu&s;tomed cour&s;e of working, &amp; &s;hould &s;triue to prouide &s;o great quantitie of Saltpeter within the&s;e our Realmes, for a few yeeres together, as the nece&s;&s;itie of the pre&s;ent times require, they would &s;o impoueri&s;h the earth, fit for that purpo&s;e, that within a &s;hort time, We &s;hould bee vtterly de&s;titute of that ine&s;timable Trea&s;ure, there being no artificiall meanes v&s;ed for the inriching of the Earth to this v&s;e, the Earth of it&s;elfe, by that which ca&s;ually happeneth, not being able to engender that matter whereof Saltpeter can be extracted in many yeeres.</P>
<P>And whereas for the redre&s;&s;e of the&s;e many inconueniences and grieuances, Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke</HI> knight, and <HI>Thomas Ru&s;&s;ell</HI> E&s;quire, haue humbly offered their &s;eruice vnto vs, and did vndertake, both to vs, and to the Lords Spirituall and Temporall, a&s;&s;embled in the late meeting in Parlia|ment, by their indu&s;try and charge, to make yeerely &s;uch quantities of Saltpeter, and of &s;uch good condition, as &s;hould be &s;ufficient both for Our owne and Our Subiects v&s;es, with &s;upply al&s;o of Our forreine neighbours in amity with Vs, if occa&s;ion &s;hould &s;o require, and that without digging any of Our Subiects hou&s;es, or out-hou&s;es of any kinde, or charging them at all with cariages, as heretofore they haue beene, and yet are charged, to be effected and brought to pa&s;&s;e by a new inuention of them, the &s;aid Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke</HI> and <HI>Thomas Ru&s;&s;ell,</HI> And of their abilities to performe the &s;ame, they then gaue both to Our &s;elfe and to the &s;aid Lords Spirituall and Tem|rall good probability, and haue &s;ithence made &s;ufficient and demon&s;tratiue proofe thereof.</P>
<P>And Wee haue beene graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed by Our Letters Patents vnder the great Seale of <HI>England,</HI> bearing date the &s;ixe and twentieth day of Aprill la&s;t pa&s;t, (in compen&s;ation of their great paines and expence therein, and for encouragement of them, and all others to bend their &s;tudies to &s;o profitable and publique workes, to the defence and benefit of Vs and Our Subiects) to grant to them, the &s;aid Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke</HI> and <HI>Thomas Ru&s;&s;ell,</HI> the &s;ole Priuiledge of making Salt|peter, according to their &s;aid new Inuention, for diuers yeeres yet to come, with addition of &s;uch Priuiledges and ayde on Our behalfe, as the merit of &s;o worthy an vndertaking iu&s;tly challengeth at Our hands, e&s;pecially for their &s;upply of &s;uch Requi&s;ites, as &s;hall bee therein nece&s;&s;ary without charge to Our Subiects.</P>
<P>And now by their humble Petition they haue required none other a&s;&s;i&s;tance from Vs, but that they might by Our Royall authority be prouided of &s;ufficient quantities of Vrine, which will bee v&s;efull for them to the extracting &amp; making of Saltpeter, They the &s;aid Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke</HI> and <HI>Tho|mas Ru&s;&s;ell,</HI> &amp; their a&s;&s;ignes, at their charges carrying away the &s;aid Vrine, at due and conuenient times, from the &s;euerall places where the &s;ame &s;hall be &s;aued for their v&s;e, vnto the place, or places where they &s;hall haue occa&s;ion to v&s;e the &s;ame; Which their humble Suite, Wee hauing taken into Our &s;erious and Princely con&s;ideration, haue thought fit, in a ca&s;e of &s;o great con&s;equence, and for the redeeming of &s;o great and continuall a charge and trouble, to Our louing Subiects to grant the &s;ame.</P>
<P>And therefore Wee doe hereby publi&s;h and declare Our Royall plea&s;ure to bee, and Wee doe &s;trictly charge and command all and euery of Our Subiects, inhabiting within Our Cities of <HI>London</HI> and <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> and the Suburbes of either of them, with the Borough of <HI>South|warke</HI> and all other places of the &s;aid Cities, and &s;uburbes, a&s;well within liberties as without (neare vnto which, the &s;aid Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke</HI> and <HI>Thomas Ru&s;&s;ell,</HI> haue already erected a worke for the making of Salt-peter,) and al&s;o all other Our louing Subiects inhabiting within all and eue|ry other Cities, Townes, and Villages, within this Our Realme of <HI>England,</HI> That they and e|uery
<PB REF="3">of them, from and after notice giuen vnto them &s;euerally and re&s;pectiuely, or left for them at their dwelling hou&s;es, &s;hall carefully and con&s;tantly keepe and pre&s;erue, in &s;ome conuenient ve&s;&s;ells, or receptacles fit for that purpo&s;e, All the Vrine of man during the whole yeere, and all the State of Bea&s;tes, which they can &s;aue, and gather together, while&s;t their Bea&s;tes are in their &s;tables or &s;talles; And that they be carefull to v&s;e the be&s;t meanes they may, for the &s;auing, gathering together, and pre&s;eruing of the &s;aid Vrine and Stale, without any mixture of water, or other things to bee put therein; Which Our Commandement and Royall plea&s;ure, being &s;o ea&s;ie to be ob&s;erued, and &s;o nece&s;&s;ary for the publique &s;eruice of Vs, and Our people, We expect and &s;traitly charge, &s;hall be duely and carefully ob&s;erued and performed; And if any per&s;on &s;hall be remi&s;&s;e or negligent in the due ob&s;eruance hereof, We &s;hall e&s;teeme of all &s;uch as per&s;ons contemptuous and ill affected both to Our Per&s;on and State, and are re&s;olued to proceede to the puni&s;hment of euery &s;uch offender, with that &s;euerity which by the Lawes of this Realme, or by Our Prerogatiue Royall Wee may.</P>
<P>Neuerthele&s;&s;e, Our will and plea&s;ure is, That no per&s;on &s;hall incurre any contempt concer|ning the premi&s;&s;es, vnle&s;&s;e notice be fir&s;t giuen, or left vnto or for him or her, as afore&s;aid, by the Con&s;table or Headborough of that pari&s;h or place where &s;uch per&s;on dwelleth or inhabiteth, and vnle&s;&s;e the &s;aid Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke,</HI> &amp; <HI>Thomas Ru&s;&s;ell,</HI> or their a&s;&s;ignes, do once in euery foure &amp; twenty houres in the Summer time, (that is to &s;ay) from the fir&s;t of April, vntill the fir&s;t day of October, and once in euery eight and fourtie houres in the Winter time, (that is to &s;ay) from the fir&s;t of October, vntill the fir&s;t of Aprill in euery yeere, carie away the &s;ame from tho&s;e places where the &s;ame &s;hall bee &s;o pre&s;erued for them: And therefore Wee doe hereby require and command all Con&s;tables and Headboroughs, That they and euery of them, vpon reque&s;t made to them or any of them by the &s;ayd, Sir <HI>Iohn Brooke</HI> and <HI>Thomas Ru&s;&s;ell,</HI> or their a&s;&s;ignes, be aiding, a&s;&s;i&s;ting, and diligent in the execution of Our plea&s;ure herein before declared, as they and euery of them will an&s;were the contrary at their perils.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Giuen at Our Court at Whitehall,</HI> <DATE><HI>the &s;econd day of Ianuarie, in the &s;econd yeere of Our Reigne of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>God &s;aue the King.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<P>&para; Imprinted at London by Bonham Norton and Iohn Bill, Printers to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maie&s;tie. M.DC.XXVI.</P>
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