Part 12
Whereas the Discovery of the Island called Chery-Island, and the Continent of Green-land, with the fishing for Whales upon the Seas and Coasts thereof, and of the Islands and places thereto adjacent, (having been made by the Fellowship of English Merchants, for Discovery of New Trades commonly called the Muscovia Company, and at their own great charges and hazards) hath by experience been found to be, and is a very great honour and advantage to this Nation and Commonwealth, aswel in the inlargement of the Dominions and Territories thereof, as also in the advancement and increase of Navigation, and the entring upon and gaining of the Trade of Whale-fishing, whereby great quantities of Whale-Oyl, Whale-Fins and other Commodities are yearly hither imported, to the enriching of this Nation, without the Exportation of any Commodities from hence: And whereas upon consideration of the Premises, and for recompence of the said charge and hazards in the said Discovery, and for the encouragement of the said Company and others in time to come, several Grants and Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England, have been heretofore made and granted to the said Fellowship, and particularly in the Raign of the late King Philip and Queen Mary, by which all main Lands, Isles, Havens, Ports, Creeks and Rivers, by the said Company then discovered or to be after discovered, were forbidden to be traffiqued unto, or visited by any the People of this Nation, without the License of the said Company; which Letters Patents were afterwards confirmed by Act of Parliament in the Eighth year of the Raign of the late Queen Elizabeth, under the penalty of forfeiting the Ships and Goods of any Trading thither without License, and with addition of divers others Priviledges and Liberties unto the said Fellowship and Company. And the late King James, for the further encouragement of the said Company, and preventing others to interrupt, distract or disturb their said Trade-fishing and Discoveries, did, in pursuance of the said Act of Parliament, and the true intent and meaning of the same, by his Letters Patents grant unto the said Fellowship, the sole Trading and Fishing in those Seas and places so discovered by them, And all others were forbidden to fish in those Seas and Coasts, or to sail thither for Trade without License of the said Company. Notwithstanding which, the said Company as We are given to understand, have of late received some disturbance by the interloping and intruding of some persons into the said Whale-fishing, upon those Seas and Coasts of Green-land and Chery-Island, whereupon the said Company having addressed their humble Petition unto Us, And the matter having been by Us referred to the consideration of our Privy Council, and fully heard and debated before a Committee of Our said Council, as well on behalf of the said particular Traders, as also on behalf of the said Fellowship and Company. And the Act of Parliament and the Grants and Charters made to the said Fellowship and Company shewed forth and read, and the whole matter having been fully considered, and thereupon made evident, that such particular fishing for Whales upon those Seas, Harbours and Coasts, by persons separate from the said Company, and trading therein by themselves apart, with like power and strength, did not onely disturb the main Trade of Fishing and taking of Whales by the Company, but did tend to the ruine and destruction of that Fishing, and unless prevented, might occasion Forraigners to come in and gain away that fishing and Trading from this Nation, which might tend to the great damage and dishonour of Us and this Nation, besides the particular damage of the said Company. And whereas the whole state of the matter having been again represented to Our said Privy Council and by them also fully considered, it was by them conceived to be for the good of this Nation, to encourage the carrying on of the said Whale-fishing and Trade, by the said Fellowship and Company onely, and to forbid all others, except such as the said Company should License, to intrude or meddle therein. And the said Company having further declared, that they appropriating those parts of the said Seas called Bell Sound, and Horn Sound, with such other places as they shall fish in, to themselves onely, were well contented, and do promise to grant Licenses gratis to all and every person of this Nation and Commonwealth, that shall or will but ask or desire to fish for Whales, or Trade in any other of the said Seas, or Coasts of Green-land, or Chery-Island, where they themselves fish not. We therefore taking the Premises into Our consideration (with the advice of Our said Privie Council) Do hereby publish and Declare, That the whole and sole Trade and fishing for Whales, and absolute fishing in and upon the said Seas, Coasts and parts of Green-land,[1] and Chery-Island, and in and upon the said Bell Sound, and Horn Sound, being part of the said Seas and Coasts, doth and ought to belong unto the said Fellowship of English Merchants for discovery of New Trades, commonly called the Muscovia Company, and that no other Person or Persons of this Commonwealth (other then the said Fellowship of English Merchants for discovery of New Trades, called the Muscovia Company) shall fish for Whales in and upon the said Seas, Coasts of Green-land and Chery-Island, or in and upon the said Bell Sound and Horn Sound, being part of the said Seas and Coasts. Yet so, as nevertheless the said Company, upon their own offer and agreement aforesaid, be and shall be, and are hereby obliged to grant License and Licenses, to all and singular the People and Subjects of this Commonwealth, upon request in that behalf to be made (without delay or paying anything for the same) to fish for Whales, or trade or fish in all or any other parts or places, of the said Seas or Coasts of Greenland and Chery-Island, Except the Harbours and places of Bell Sound and Horn Sound aforesaid, or where the said Company shall set out Ships to fish, And We do hereby command, That all persons whatsoever (other then the said Fellowship and Company) do forbear to enter into the said Bell Sound or Horn Sound, or to fish or trade within Three Leagues of either of them, but clearly and absolutely leave the said Bell Sound and Horn Sound, and all the sole and whole fishing and trading thereof, unto the said Fellowship and Company, and their Ships and Agents, and such as shall be set forth, hired or imployed by them, without making any disturbance or interruption, or giving the said Company or their Ships or Vessels, any impediment or hinderance therein, under pain of Our high displeasure, and such other pains and penalties as by the Laws of this Land may be inflicted upon them for their disobedience and contempt therein, Leaving all other the People and Subjects of this Commonwealth free notwithstanding, to take Licenses from the said Company to trade or fish for Whales or otherwise, in and upon all other of the said Seas, Coasts and places, Except the said Bell Sound and Horn Sound, and such other places of Green-land, as the said Fellowship or their Agents shall fish in, as aforesaid. And We do hereby further will and command, aswel Our Generals at Sea, Admirals of Our Fleet, Vice-Admirals, Commanders of Squadrons, and other Commanders, Captains and Officers whatsoever, of any Our Ships, as also Our Judges of the High Court of Admiralty of England, and all other Our Officers and Ministers, in their several places to be aiding and assisting, unto the said Fellowship and Company, and all such as they shall set out and imploy in their said sole Trade and fishing, and in hindring all others hereby forbidden to use the said Trade and fishing, otherwise then as is before mentioned. And likewise to be aiding and assisting unto the said Fellowship and Company and their said Agents, in doing and executing of all and singular the premises. And lastly, We do hereby charge and Command the said Fellowship and Company, That in all Ships and Vessels which shall from time to time be sent out by them, or imployed under them, into or in the Seas and parts aforesaid, they do imploy for Harpineers, Steersmen and Mariners, the People and Subjects of this Commonwealth, and no other.
Given at Our Palace of Westminster the 9th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, 1657.
London, Printed by Henry Hills and John Field, Printers to His Highness, 1657.
_3 pp. folio, pasted together to form one long sheet. Copy in B. M._
FOOTNOTE:
[1] This name refers to Spitzbergen, which was then called Greenland, and which was thought by the voyagers of the day to be connected with Greenland proper. The early maps show Spitzbergen, which they term "Greenland or Spitzbergen," with Bell and Horn Sounds on the west coast and Cherie Island, named after Sir Francis Cherie, a few miles to the south. The country was also sometimes called East Greenland, while the modern Greenland was termed "Groenland." See especially the map of 1613 in _Amer. Antiquarian Society Transactions_, iv, 314; the map in Edward Pelham's _God's Power and Providence_, 1631, reproduced in _A Collection of Documents on Spitzbergen and Greenland_ (Hakluyt Society), 1855; and map no. xiv in H. Moll's _World Described, 1708-20_.
1660, September 22.
[For Apprehension of Whalley and Goffe.]
BY THE KING.
A PROCLAMATION
FOR APPREHENSION OF EDWARD WHALLEY AND WILLIAM GOFFE.
CHARLES R.
Forasmuch as Edward Whalley, commonly known by the name of Colonel Whalley, and William Goffe, commonly called Colonel Goffe, are, amongst others, by an Act of this present Parliament, Entituled, An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indempnity and Oblivion,[1] wholly excepted from Pardon, and left to be proceeded against as Traytors, for their execrable Treasons in sentencing to death, signing the Instrument for the horrid Murder, or being instrumental in taking away the precious Life of Our late dear Father of Blessed Memory.
And forasmuch as they the said Edward Whalley and William Goffe,[2] having absented and withdrawn themselves, as We have been informed, to the parts beyond the Seas, are now, as We certainly understand, lately returned into Our Kingdom of England, and do privately lurk and obscure themselves in places unknown; We therefore have thought fit, by, and with the Advice of Our Privy Council, to publish the same to all Our loving Subjects, not doubting of their Care and forwardness in their apprehension; And We do hereby Require and Command, as well all and singular Our Judges, Justices of the Peace, Mayors, Sheriffs, Bayliffs, Constables and Headboroughs, as also the Officers and Ministers of our Ports, and other Our Subjects whatsoever, within Our Realms of England, Scotland, Ireland, or Dominion of Wales, and all Our Dominions and Territories, to be diligent in Inquiring, Searching for, Seizing and Apprehending them, the said Edward Whalley, and William Goffe, in all places whatsoever, as wel within Liberties as without, whom if they shall happen to Take and Apprehend Our further Will and pleasure is, That they cause them and either of them so Apprehended, to be safely carried to the next Justice of the Peace, to the place where they or either of them shall be Arrested, whom We straitly Command to Commit them and either of them to Prison, and presently Inform Us or Our Privy Council of their or either of their Apprehensions.
And We do hereby further Declare and Publish, That if any Person or Persons after this Our Proclamation published, shall Directly or Indirectly Conceal, Harbor, Keep, Retain, or Maintain the said Edward Whalley and William Goffe, or either of them, or shall Contrive or Connive at any means whereby they or either of them shall or may Escape from being Taken or Arrested, or shall not use their best Endeavor for their and either of their Apprehensions, as well by giving the Advertisement thereof to Our Officers, as by all other good means; We will (as there is Just Cause) proceed against them that shall so neglect this Our Commandment with all severity.
And lastly We do hereby Declare, That whosoever shall discover the said Edward Whalley or William Goffe, either within Our Kingdoms of England, Scotland, Ireland, or Dominions of Wales, or in any other our Dominions and Territories, or elsewhere, and shall cause them, or either of them, to be Apprehended, and brought in alive or dead, if they or either of them, attempting Resistance, happen to be slain, shall have a Reward of One hundred pounds in money for each of them so brought in, dead or alive, as aforesaid, to be forthwith paid unto him in recompence of such his Service.
Given at Our Court at Whitehall the Two and twentieth day of September, in the Twelfth year of Our Reign.
London, Printed by Christopher Barker and John Bill, Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. 1660.
_1 p. folio. Copies in Adv., Antiq., Bodl., B. M., Camb., Ch., Crawf., Dalk., Dubl., Guild., Hodg., P. R. O., Q. C., and T. C. D.; also in N. Y. Public Library. Entered on Patent Rolls. Abstract printed in "Parliamentary Intelligencer," Sept. 24, 1660, and in "Mercurius Publicus," Sept. 27. 1660._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Statutes of the Realm_, vol. 5, p. 226, 12 Chas. II, ch. 11.
[2] Several documents concerning the attempt to apprehend Whalley and Goffe are calendared in the _Cal. State Papers, Colonial, 1661-1668_. See also _Dictionary of National Biography_ under Edward Whalley and William Goffe, and "Memoranda respecting Edward Whalley and William Goffe," by F. B. Dexter, in _New Haven Colony Historical Society Papers_, ii, 117.
1661, March 29.
[Prohibiting Planting of Tobacco in England.]
BY THE KING.
A PROCLAMATION
PROHIBITING THE PLANTING, SETTING AND SOWING OF TOBACCO IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND, ACCORDING TO AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT HEREIN SPECIFIED.
CHARLES R.
Whereas by an Act of Parliament made in Our late Parliament begun and held at Westminster in the County of Middlesex, the Five and Twentieth day of April in the Twelfth year of Our Reign, for and upon the reasons and grounds therein expressed, it was Enacted by the Authority of the same Parliament, That no person or persons whatsoever should, or do from and after the First day of January, in the Year of our Lord One thousand six hundred and sixty, Set, plant, improve to grow, make or cure any Tobacco either in Seed, plant or otherwise, in or upon any ground, earth, field, or place within Our Kingdom of England, Dominion of Wales, Islands of Guernsey or Jersey or Town of Berwick upon Tweed, or in Our Kingdome of Ireland, under the penalty of the forfeiture of all such Tobacco, or the value thereof, or of the Sum of Forty shillings for every Rod or Pole of Ground so planted, set or sowen as aforesaid, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser quantity of ground, One moyety thereof to Us Our Heirs and Successors, and the other moyety to him or them that shall sue for the same to be recovered by Bill, Plaint or Information in any Court of Record, wherein no Essoign, protection or wager in Law shall be allowed: And it was thereby further enacted, That all Sheriffs, Justices of the peace, Mayors, Bailiffs, Constables, and every of them, upon information or complaint made unto them or any of them, by any the Officers of the Customes, or by any other person or persons whatsoever, that there was any Tobacco set, sown, planted, or growing within their jurisdictions or precincts contrary to the same Act should within ten dayes after such information or complaint cause to be burnt, plucked up, consumed, or utterly destroyed all such Tobacco so set, sowen, planted, or growing. And it was thereby further enacted, That in case any person or persons should resist or make forcible opposition against any person or persons in the due and through execution of the same Act, That every such person or persons for every such offence should forfeit the sum of Five pounds to be divided and recovered in manner aforesaid; And in case any person or persons should not pay the summs of money by them to be paid, by vertue of the same Act, that in every such case distress should be made and sale thereof, returning the overplus to the owners; And in case no distress shall be found, that then every such party should be committed to the common Gaol in the County where such offence should be committed, there to remain for the space of two moneths without Bail or Mainprise. Provided always, and it was thereby enacted, That the same Act nor any thing contained therein should extend to the hindering of the planting of Tobacco in any Physick-garden of either University, or in any other private garden for Physick or Chirurgery, only so as the quantity so planted exceed not one half of one pole in any one place or garden, as in et by the same Act it doth and may more fully appear.[1] Now to the end that all Our loving Subjects in all parts of Our said Kingdoms of England and Ireland, and Dominion of Wales, and in the said Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, and in our said Town of Berwick upon Twede, may the better take notice of and more duely observe the said Act, and not ignorantly offend against the same for the future, We have thought good to publish et declare the same to all Our loving Subjects by this Our Royal Proclamation, And do withall likewise signifie and declare, that for the future We shall expect, and do hereby require all dutiful observance thereof, and ready conformity thereunto, and that not onely upon the pains, penalties, and forfeitures therein expressed, but also of Our high indignation and displeasure, justly and deservedly to be inflicted upon all those that shall knowingly and presumptuously offend against so just and reasonable a Law. And we do hereby streightly charge and command all Our Judges of Assise and Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer in their several Circuits, and all Our Justices of Peace in their several and respective Quarter-Sessions, that they give the same Law in charge to the several et respective Juries in their several and respective Inquests before them, to the end that the offences and offenders against the same, both in the setting, planting, or sowing of Tobacco, contrary to the true intent and meaning of the same Act, and also all forcible opposition et resistance made or to be made against any person or persons in the due execution of the same Act, may be punished according to Law and the demerit of their offences in this behalf. And We do further command and require all Sheriffs, Justices of the peace, Mayors, Bayliffs, Constables, and all other Our Officers and ministers whatsoever whom the premisses shall or may concern, that they from time to time as occasion shall require, be diligent, circumspect, and careful in the due execution of the same Act in all things according to the true intent and meaning, thereof, as they will answer the contrary at their perils.
Given at Our Court at Whitehall, the Twenty ninth day of March, in the Thirteenth Year of Our Reign, One thousand six hundred sixty one.
GOD SAVE THE KING.
London, Printed by John Bill, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majesty, 1661. At the King's Printing-House in Black-Friers.
_2 pp. folio. Copies in Adv., Antiq., Bodl., B. M., Camb., Crawf., Dalk., Dubl., Guild., P. R. O., Q. C., and T. C. D. Abstract printed in "Kingdomes Intelligencer," April 8, 1661, and in "Mercurius Publicus," April 11, 1661._
FOOTNOTE:
[1] This act, entitled "An Act for Prohibiting the Planting Setting or Sowing of Tobaccho in England and Ireland," passed the House of Commons on December 17, 1660 (_Commons Journals_, viii, 212), the House of Lords on December 20 (_Lords Journals_, xi, 218), was read in Council on December 21 (_Acts of Privy Council_, i, 303), and is printed in _Statutes of the Realm_, 12 Chas. II, ch. 34, vol. 5, p. 297.
1661, May 9.
[Suppressing Vagrancy.]
BY THE KING.
A PROCLAMATION
FOR THE DUE OBSERVATION OF CERTAIN STATUTES MADE FOR THE SUPPRESSING OF ROGUES, VAGABONDS, BEGGERS, AND OTHER IDLE DISORDERLY PERSONS, AND FOR RELIEF OF THE POORE.
CHARLES R.