STATUTES MADE AT YORK.

9 Edw. III. A. D. 1335.

T appears by the preamble to thefe ftatutes [0], that the English would not permit aliens to trade in this country, at least not without frequent riots and disturbances, which I am afraid they are too much inclined to raise in the present times, and from the fame prejudices-The law therefore enacts, that all merchants, aliens, and denizens, and all others, may buy and fell, “blez, vins (avoir de pois) chares, peffons, et tous autres vivies, "et vitailles, laines, draps, et autre merchandife."-The words in this clause of avoir de pois, is rendered in the common tranflation (which, when there is any real difficulty, generally leaves it as it ftands) by the fame words of avoir de pois, which is abfolutely unintelligible-I was firft inclined to rifque a bold Bentleian conjecture, that it should be read avoin et foin, or oats and bay, which would agree very well with the context, and are not words very different from avoir de pois-I have however found, upon looking into a manufcript collection of the ftatutes, from the first year of Edward the Third to the twenty-eighth of Henry the Sixth, that the words avoir de pois are entirely omitted, at the fame time that the words which precede and follow tally exactly; fo that I have little doubt, but these unintelligible words (as they stand) were first inserted by a mistake of a copier, and that this mistake hath been repeated from edition to edition.

The legislature having given these privileges to the alien merchant, afterwards puts one very fingular restraint upon him, viz. " that he shall carry no wine out of the realm;" which I dare fay will at first be thought to favour the prevailing notion, that England formerly produced great quantities of wine-One fhould think that the Northern latitude, in which this island is fituated, fufficiently contradicts what is fo generally believed at prefent; and all experience fhews, that the Northern parts of Europe grow warmer, in proportion to their cultivation: from which it is very clear, that England is more proper for vineyards in the eighteenth century, than it could have been in the thirteenth or fourteenth [p]. This

[] It is very remarkable, that by 5 Edw. III. ch. xiv. it is directed, that a parliament fhall at least be held once in a year, and yet we have no statute from the fifth, till the ninth year of his reign.

[p] France produced no wine in the time of the Romans-There were inftances likewise of the Tyber and Pontus Euxinus being frozen, which never happen at prefent.—Vid. Juvenal, and most of Ovid's Letters de Ponto.-The upper part of the Adriatic was froze in the eighth century, so that it might be croffed on foot. Mem. de l'Acad. des Sciences.

notion feems to have been chiefly taken up from fome old family deeds, which make mention of vinee; but which Sir Robert Atkyns (in his account of Gloucestershire) hath proved to fignify only orchards, and that cyder and perry were called vina, or wines [q].

As I therefore cannot agree to what would be called perhaps the most obvious interpretation of this part of the law, it may perhaps be expected that I should explain it in a manner that may be more fatisfactory.

Though we generally fuppofe at prefent, that the tafte for the French wines in this country hath been occafioned by the additional duty (as dearness often conftitutes the chief merit of what is called a delicacy); yet it appears by all the old ftatutes, that the French wines, and particularly thofe of Gafcony, were almost the only wines imported. The provinces which produced them at this time belonged to the English crown, and therefore, in point of patriotifm, there was the fame reason for promoting the confumption [r], that there would be for the confuming wines, which were of the growth of our colonies [s].

It was a matter of policy therefore to the common fovereign of the two countries, that the English should be fupplied with wine from the French provinces at a reasonable rate, and confequently that there fhould be a

[q] Miller's Dictionary, always confulted upon these occasions, hath likewife contributed to this error-I am far from detracting from the merit of that work (as to what falls within the author's knowledge as a gardiner), but shall take the liberty of difputing his authority, when he becomes the antiquary - In his article of the Spanish, or sweet chefnut, he cites fome of the old Chronicles to prove, that there were great forefts of this tree to the North of London, which make no mention of this particular tree, but only that there were large woods to the North of Lon don-This tree shoots from the ftoul, and therefore, if indigenous, must be found in copices after the timber hath been felled; and, I believe, no fuch tree was ever found in an English copice[As for firs we might have had them formerly, as they do not fhoot from the ftoul]-The old houfes in London are likewise supposed to be built of this wood; I happened once to be present, when a wager determined this supposed chefnut to be nothing but common oak.

[r] It should feem that the balance of trade was greatly in favour of England whilst we were in poffeffion of the French provinces, from the old French faying, "J'ay payé touts mes An“glois”—And the word Anglois is often used as fynonymous to creancier, or creditor; see the Preface to Cotgrave's Dictionary.

[] Befides the proof arifing from the old Statutes, Bishop Hall, in his Imitation of the Satire in Juvenal,

"Ipfe capillato diffufam Confule potat,

"Calcatamque tenet bellis focialibus uvam ;"

where he defcribes the Great Man referving the coftly wine for himself, and circulating only cheap wine amongst his dependants, fays, that he kept the wine of Bourdeaux to himself-This early use of claret in England from our own provinces likewise in some measure may account for the French not being fond of this fort of wine-We have been used to it, and they have been used to the wines of other provinces-We shall never relish frogs, nor the French perhaps puddings.

high duty on these wines if exported elsewhere, or even fent to the adjoining provinces of France-The confequence of this was the employing alien merchants, who purchased the wines in England without paying this high duty, and afterwards re-exported them It was therefore a wife and prudent regulation to prevent so illicit an evasion [1] of an indulgence granted for the benefit of English subjects; but which, by this contrivance, was the means of fupplying foreigners with the wines of the French provinces (then belonging to the crown of England), without paying the -foreign duties.

[] There is an Ordinance of King John of France, which, if adopted in England, would greatly affect the vintners of this country "Que les taverniers ne pouront donner nom à vin “d'aucun pays, que celuy dont il fera creu, feur peine de perdre le vin et de l'amende." Ord. Royales, p. 6.

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THE STATUTE OF PURVEYORS.

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10 Edw. III. A. D. 1306.

HIS act of parliament confifts of three chapters, followed by five articles; and there is an express memorandum on the Roll, “Quòd "in parliamento predicto concordatum fuerit, quòd articuli predicti non "tenerentur pro ftatuto"-After this memorandum follows a writ, "T. Rege apud Eltham [u] primo die Aprilis," in which the king directs the sheriff to proclaim certain ftatutes made by the affent of the Lords, and Commons, and likewife quendam articulum per nos et concilium noftrum fuper providentiis pro fervitio noftro, et fervitiis confortis noftræ, ac liberorum.-This feems to be the first strongly marked, and probably contested, diftinction between a proclamation by the king and his privy council, and a law which had received the affent of the lords and commons-The conftitution began now to be understood-Edward, during his minority, could not affert any fuppofed prerogatives of his crown; and he was now on the point of declaring war against France, and confequently, wanting the affiftance of parliament for fupplies, was ready to make conceffionsThese continental wars (even if they had fucceeded according to the most fanguine expectation) would possibly have made England a province of France; but we perhaps owe part of our liberties to the diftreffes in which they involved the crown [w]; nor will the conftitution of this country ever be so much endangered as by a king whofe coffers are full → Henry the Seventh and Henry the Eighth, by this means, established every thing but abfolute monarchy; and Queen Elizabeth, by the economy of her treasurer (fo much commended by Hiftorians [x]), was enabled to continue the fame defpotic government.

This proclamation (for fo it must with propriety be called) contains five different articles; and (what is very fingular) none of these articles are tranflated, except what may be ftyled the preamble or introduction tó them.

I have before obferved, that Edward was now on the point of declaring war against FranceThe 2d chapter of this ftatute fhews, that he was

[] The great hall in which this council was held is still to be feen-It is a very noble building, and is at prefent used for a barn.

[] Henry the Fifth, in the midft of his conquefts, was obliged to pawn the crown-jewels. [x] I do not by this mean to condemn œconomy in a Lord Treasurer, but only to intimate that a king may be too rich; though it does not follow from this, that he should be neceffitous. X 2

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raifing cavalry for this purpofe, and that the purveyance for the great horfe [y] (les grands chevals) was a grievance feverely felt by the fubject; and therefore particular commiffioners are appointed to hear and determine complaints of this oppreffion.

After this follows the proclamation, which is divided into five chapters, and which relates to very mifcellaneous matter-The fecond directs, that hundreds, wapentakes, and bailiwicks, which had been let to farm, and had been antiently annexed to the counties, should now, after a feparation, be re annexed, which I take notice of, as the diffevering for the convenience of the farmers of the crown lands, might have been the occafion of fome of those odd flips of counties, which are furrounded by other counties.

The 4th article directs, that no writ of Nief [z] fhall iffue out of Chancery, but at the fuit of thofe in whofe names the writs fhall be purchafed, or unless the chancellor or his clerks are apprized that the faid writs are fued with the knowledge and will of those who purchase them.This regulation feems to want explanation, and I apprehend the occafion of it to have been this-No one was entitled to a writ of Nief, but he on whofe lands fhe was born, and fo became a vaffal-Some perfon probably about this time had attempted to get poffeffion of a Nief which did not belong to him, and that by abufing the process of law: the proclamation therefore directs, that the perfon fuing the writ fhould be known at least to have a fpecious title to the Nief which he claimed, as otherwife a very fhort and tortious poffeffion might have much altered the condition of the female vaffal.

The 5th article deferves to be written in letters of gold over the door of every treasury in Europe, as it recites more money to have been raised for the war against Scotland, than had been expended; and therefore orders that the furplus fhall be equally divided amongst those who contributed to the tax.-Veftigia pauca retrorsùm.

[y] The great horfe (in Latin, called cataphracti) were those which carried men, who were covered with a complete fuit of armour, and who were abfolutely invulnerable (before the use of fire-arms) if they did not fall from their horses, which were likewife covered with armourThis prodigious weight required the strongest and largeft horfes-The light cavalry, afterwards mentioned in this proclamation, were called bobelarii, from their being mounted on bobbies, or fmall horfes - Purveyance for the king's dogs is complained of in 14 Edw. III. ch. i.-Thefe were probably the dogs neceffary to fpring the game for hawking, as well as his hounds. [x] A Nief was a woman born in vaffalage; in Latin, she is called Nativa.

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