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<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-09-24</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
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<STC T="C">S124133</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99898325</BIBNO>
<VID>173540</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="proclamation">
<PB REF="1">
<HEAD>&leaf; By the King. &leaf; A Proclamation inhibiting the Importation of Pepper from forraine parts, by any other per&s;ons then tho&s;e of the <HI>East Indian</HI> Company.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_FOra&s;much as it is not vnknowen,</HI> That in former times when all or the greate&s;t part of Pepper, and other Spices of the grouth of the <HI>Ea&s;t Indies,</HI> was brought into this our Realme of England and Principalitie of Wales by Strangers onely, the &s;ame was then &s;old at very high Rates, vntill &s;uch time as &s;ome of our owne Merchants did them&s;elues trade into tho&s;e parts, and bringing in good quantities of tho&s;e Commodities, did &s;ell the &s;ame at much lower prices, to the great reliefe and benefit of all our Subiects in generall: And fora&s;much as we doe finde, That the e&s;tabli&s;hment and continuance of this Trade, hath and will be more and more an occa&s;ion to imploy and encrea&s;e the great Shipping of this King|dome, which hath heretofore bene out of v&s;e, as being not &s;o nece&s;&s;ary for Trade in Countreys that are not &s;o farre remote: For the&s;e, and &s;ome other rea&s;ons which haue bene deliuered vn|to vs, being de&s;irous to encourage this Company, and to maintaine that Trade by all good and lawfull meanes; And experience teaching vs, That if there &s;hould be, till the Trade were better &s;etled, a free and generall libertie for all per&s;ons what&s;oeuer to bring in tho&s;e Commodi|ties, it would be an occa&s;ion to ouerlay the Trade, and Strangers would of purpo&s;e vent their Spices at &s;mall Rates, thereby to enforce our owne Subiects to de&s;i&s;t from trading into tho&s;e Countreis: Wee with the adui&s;e of our Priuie Councell, haue thought fit, for &s;ome time to re|&s;traine the Importation of Pepper from forraine parts, by any others then by the Merchants ioyntly of the <HI>Ea&s;t Indian</HI> Company. And therefore wee doe hereby will and commaund all per|&s;on and per&s;ons what&s;oeuer, either our naturall borne Subiects, Denizens, or Strangers (not being the Company afore&s;aid) to forbeare to bring into the&s;e our Dominions of England and Wales, any Pepper, directly or indirectly, vpon paine of forfeiture of the goods, and what other puni&s;hment they may incurre by any contempt and default herein. And to the end, this our plea&s;ure may be more duely ob&s;erued, Wee doe likewi&s;e charge and command all Cu&s;tomers, Comptrollers, Searchers, Waiters, Farmours of our Cu&s;tomes and their Deputies, and all other our Officers of the Ports, within our Territories afore&s;aid, That they doe not giue any Bills of Entrie for Pepper that is brought in from forraine Countreis, by any other then tho&s;e who &s;hall be knowen to bee of the Company afore&s;aid: Neither &s;hall they &s;uffer it to bee landed, or being &s;o, &s;hall &s;eize the &s;ame to our v&s;e as iu&s;tly forfaited. And moreouer, they and euery of them, &s;hall v&s;e their be&s;t meanes and endeuours to hinder and preuent all &s;ecret and fraudulent practizes of &s;uch as &s;hall &s;eeke to bring it that Commoditie, Notwith&s;tanding this our plea&s;ure publi&s;hed to the contrary.</P>
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="3">
<P>ANd becau&s;e we are careful to preuent al inconueniences to the generality of our Subiects, in ca&s;e they &s;hould be hardly dealt with vnder this re&s;traint, by tho&s;e that haue the whole ma&s;&s;e of Pepper in their owne hands; Although wee hold the Company to be compounded of many good and hone&s;t Merchants and others, yet becau&s;e there is no Societie wherein all are of one temper, And out of the care we haue alwayes had for the common good of all our people more then of any particuler Societie; wee thought it not &s;afe to repo&s;e &s;o much confidence in a part of our people, as to leaue the whole Body &s;ubiect to their wills, in matter of this nature.</P>
<P>And therefore hauing well examined what might be an indifferent price to yeeld to the Mer|chants competent gaine for the maintenance of &s;o great and long a Trade, and &s;o needfull for the &s;upport of Nauigation, and yet not be ouerchargeable to the re&s;t of our people, who haue on the other &s;ide dayly v&s;e of that kinde of Spice; We haue conditioned with them, and limitted, That they &s;hall vtter Pepper at the rate of Two &s;hillings &s;ixe pence the pound, and not exceed, to any that &s;hall come or &s;end for it, vpon paine of our high di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Which proui&s;ion, and limitation being made by vs in fauour of the communitie of our Sub|iects, we haue thought good to publi&s;h and make knowen to all men, To the end that if it fall out, that &s;uch as by way of Retaile doe vtter to our people dwelling in places remote from our Citie of London, and other parts where Shipping doeth ariue, that kinde of Spice, there bee exacted any prices exce&s;&s;iue, it may appeare that the &s;ame is not for want of due proui&s;ion made to preuent it, but by the ouergreedine&s;&s;e of tho&s;e which &s;hall &s;ell it. In which con&s;ideration, although wee know, that there are many rea&s;ons, why tho&s;e that &s;ell by Retaile, &s;hould de|maund a further price then they pay for it here, as well in re&s;pect of the di&s;tance of place, forbea|ring of their money, as many other things incident to that kinde of Trade: Yet the better to containe them within the bounds of rea&s;onable gaine, we haue thought good to make knowen thus much, thereby to expre&s;&s;e our owne care of our louing Subiects, and to &s;hew them the meanes whereby they may auoyd &s;uch further burden, as may bee ca&s;t vpon them by any that &s;hall goe about by any vndue practi&s;e, to rai&s;e immoderate gaine, vnder colour or pretext of that cour&s;e which we haue taken for the rea&s;ons afore&s;aid.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Giuen at Newmarket</HI> <DATE><HI>the last day of Nouember, in the &s;euenth yeere of our Reigne of Great Britaine, France and Ireland.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<CLOSER>God &s;aue the King.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>&para; Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maie&s;tie, ANNO 1609.</HI></P>
<PB REF="4">
</DIV1>
</BACK>
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