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<DATE>2010-01-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<HEAD>&para; By the King.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">A Commi&s;&s;ion with In&s;tructions, and Directions granted by His Maie&s;tie to the Ma&s;ter and Coun&s;aile of the Court of Wards and Liueries, for compounding for Wards, Ideots and Lunaticks; And giuen vnder His Highnes great Seale of England, <HI>The 23. of February</HI> 1617.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SIGNED>_IAMES <HI>by the grace of</HI> GOD <HI>King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &amp;c.</HI></SIGNED>
<SALUTE>To Our right tru&s;tie, and right welbeloued Councellour, <HI>William</HI> Lord Knollys, Vi&s;count Wallingford, Ma&s;ter of Our Court of Wards and Liueries, And to Our tru&s;ty and welbeloued the Coun&s;ell of the &s;ame Court, And to the Ma&s;ter and Councel of the &s;aid Court for the time being, Greeting.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WHEREAS it doth appeare by co~mon experience, in the cour&s;e which hath bin held, &s;ithence the fir&s;t erection of Our Court of Wards and Liueries, That partly by the &s;lackenes of the friends of the Wards vpon the decea&s;e of the parents or Ance&s;tors, who haue forborne to offer timely Compo&s;ition, &s;ometimes with opinion that no Title could be found for Vs, and &s;ometimes with purpo&s;e to &s;uppre&s;&s;e the &s;ame, and partly by the &s;uite of other men, the Cu&s;tody of the bodies and lands of Our Wards haue bene committed to &s;uch per&s;ons, &s;ome for one re&s;pect, &s;ome for another, as (notwith&s;tanding the care and prouidence of you the Ma&s;ter and Councell of Our Court, to binde them in great Bonds and Couenants for the well educating of the Children, and pre|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters"> of their inheritance) haue bene carele&s;&s;e of their education, married &s;ome in meane places, committed wa&s;ts and &s;poiles vpon <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> lands, and in the end haue exacted greater &s;ummes of money, for the marriages of &s;uch Wards, then they ought to haue done, in <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> and equitie; notwith&s;tanding any their disbur&s;ements what&s;oeuer for pa&s;&s;ing or procuring the &s;ame.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> whereas al&s;o We haue bene informed by you the Ma&s;ter of the &s;aid Court, that by rea&s;on of the great difficulties that haue bene <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> by the Court, vpon &s;ight of Offices, and Surucyes onely, to &s;et downe Compo&s;itions for Ward&s;hips and Lea&s;es of Wards lands, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;uch equalitie and moderation betweene Vs, and Our Subiects, as were iu&s;t and rea&s;onable; and that through want of due informa|tion that behalfe, much of the profit that might haue bene rai&s;ed for Vs, hath bene diuerted to diuers Sutors and Committees, who by <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">i<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">g the trueth of the Wards e&s;tate, and by mi&s;informing of the Court therein, haue reaped greater profit, then was intended, if you <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">y ordinary meanes haue come by the knowledge of their values; &s;o as, both Wee haue receiued le&s;&s;e then otherwi&s;e We &s;hould <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span">, and the Wardes found little ea&s;e in many ca&s;es.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters">refore, for the preuenting of the&s;e and the like inconueniences, and to the end that Our louing Subiects may &s;tand a&s;&s;ured, That <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> nothing more, then that their children and their lands that &s;hall fall vnto Vs by rea&s;on of Ward&s;hips, might after their decea&s;e, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">ted to their neere&s;t and tru&s;tie&s;t friends, or to &s;uch as they be VVil, or otherwi&s;e, &s;hall commit the charge vnto, vpon &s;uch valu|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4 letters">iderations, as are iu&s;t and rea&s;onable: And to the intent that the Parents and Ance&s;tours may depart in greater peace, in hope of <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> gracious fauour; and their friends may &s;ee their children brought vp in pietie and learning; and may take &s;uch care as is fit for <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">uation of their inheritance, if they will &s;eeke the &s;ame in time, and by &s;uch meanes as are fit and conuenient; VVe haue thought <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">by to require you, the Ma&s;ter and Councell of Our &s;aid Cour, and the Ma&s;ter and Councel of the &s;aid Court for the time being, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">po&s;ing and committing of the Cu&s;tody of the bodies and Lands of &s;uch our Wards, who&s;e Ance&s;tours haue decea&s;ed &s;ince Ia|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="5 letters"> pa&s;t, or &s;hall die from and after the date of the&s;e pre&s;ents, and of &s;uch Ideots and Lunatickes, and their e&s;tates, as &s;hall fall vnto vs h<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters">e forth, you &s;trictly and carefully ob&s;erue the&s;e Our Directions following.</P>
<P>_FIRST, That no Graunt or promi&s;e be made of the cu&s;tody of the body or lands of any VVard, nor any compo&s;ition for the &s;ame, vntill the end of one moneth next after the death of the Ance&s;tour of the VVard, to the end that the neere&s;t and tru&s;tie&s;t friends of the Ance&s;tour, or other per&s;ons nominated by the Ance&s;tour in that behalfe, may in the meane time be|come Sutors for the &s;ame, among whom choice may be made of the be&s;t and firte&s;t.</P>
<P>ALSO you &s;hall doe by your be&s;t endeuours to informe your &s;elfe as particularly as you may, by Commi&s;&s;ion, &s;uruey, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">&s;e of the trueth of the Wards e&s;tate, a&s;well of his inheritance, as of his goods and chartels, and of the e&s;tate of the decea&s;ed An|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="6 letters"> and of all other due circum&s;tances con&s;iderable, to the end the compo&s;itions may be &s;uch, as may &s;tand both with Our rea&s;onable <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">ed with the abilitie of the heires e&s;tate.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT all &s;ales and compo&s;itions for Ward&s;hips of the bodies, and Lea&s;es of Lands, be made by the Ma&s;ter of the &s;aid Court, and <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 words"> per&s;ons as are authorized by Statute in that behalfe. Neuerthele&s;le, the Surueyour of the Liueries, the Atturney of the VVards, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> and Auditours, or any foure of them without the Ma&s;ter, may treat with any to bring the &s;aid VVard&s;hip and Lea&s;es to a price the &s;ame according to the &s;aid Statute.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT no VVard&s;hips of the body or land &s;halbe giuen or granted to any per&s;on, or at his &s;uite, in way of reward or benefit, but the <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> and value that &s;hall be offered, &s;halbe taken to Our v&s;e; &s;o, alwayes as the neere&s;t and tru&s;tie&s;t friends, or the per&s;ons nominated <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">our, (they &s;eeking the &s;ame in time conuenient, as a fore&s;aid, and making fit offer for it) be preferred, and con&s;ideration had VVards E&s;tate, and of all due circum&s;tances con&s;iderable in &s;uch ca&s;es.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT Lea&s;es of Wards Lands be made withour Fine, for the be&s;t improoued yeerely Rent that &s;hall be offered, con&s;ideration be|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters"> all due Cautions, as afore&s;aid.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT &s;ellable Woods, and Fines of Copy-holds of Inheritance, be al&s;o rea&s;onably valued and demi&s;ed with the Lands, for the <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4 letters">ly Rent as afore&s;aid; with proui&s;ion for fellable Woods. That the Le&s;&s;ees &s;ell them by fit portions</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT Fines of Copy-holds for Liues, bee made and rai&s;ed to Our v&s;e, when and as often as the Court &s;hall thinke good, by cer|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters">ular Commi&s;sioners to be appointed by the Ma&s;ter and Councell of Our &s;aid Court, which Commi&s;sioners &s;hall be charged <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> be&s;t of &s;uch Copy-holds to be granted, and truely to an&s;were vnto Vs into Our receipt of Our &s;ayd Court, all &s;uch &s;ummes, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">nd or couine, as by them &s;hall haue beene receiued, due con&s;ideration being had of their paines and expences.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT all Petitions for Compo&s;itions of Ward&s;hips <HI>(and Lea&s;es)</HI> bee pre&s;ented and ordered at the Councell Chamber of the <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> Wards, at the &s;euerall &s;ittings for the Wards.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">AT euery &s;uch Petition doe expre&s;&s;e the &s;euerall Counties wherein the Ance&s;tor died &s;eized of Lands.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">AT the rate and &s;umme agreed vpon by the Commi&s;sioners for the Compo&s;ition of any Ward <HI>(or Lea&s;e)</HI> doe &s;tand and bee <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">d in the Compo&s;ition, neither in the Fine nor Rent.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">HAT no Office be found within the yere after the death of the Ance&s;tor again&s;t Vs, or a meane tenure of Vs, <HI>(not being Knights</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> any Ward within age, vntill the Feodary or E&s;cheator doe fir&s;t acquaint the Court for further directions therein <HI>(which the <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">ned to doe with all conuenient expedition.)</HI></P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">AT not onely euery Committee <HI>(and Le&s;&s;ee)</HI> but euery A&s;signess of euery Committee <HI>(or Le&s;&s;e)</HI> &s;hall take the Oath, viz. &amp;c. <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> purpo&s;e euery Committee <HI>(and Le&s;&s;ee)</HI> and A&s;signee &s;hall be &s;worne, whether he taketh it to his owne v&s;e, or to the v&s;e of a|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters">, <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 words"> end they may both take the Oath.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">AT e&s;peciall choi&s;e bee taken of the Comi&s;sioners, that take the oath in the Countrey, &s;o that the Oath bee truely and why the Committees <HI>(Le&s;&s;es)</HI> and A&s;signees and the parties committing tru&s;t to any other.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3 letters">T euery Feodary and E&s;cheator before the third returne fo euery Tearme, &s;hall certifie into the Court a note of all Offices <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 span"> Vacation next before, and whether a Tenure bee found for Vs in <HI>Capite,</HI> or by Knights &s;eruice, and the names of the Ance|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="4+ letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="3+ letters">re, and his age.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word"> the Oath be taken by tho&s;e that are Committees or Le&s;&s;ees vpon neglect, in <HI>haec verba.</HI></P>
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