Part 18
Whereas We have received Information, That notwithstanding the great Care that hitherto hath been taken to Prevent Piracies, divers Pirates do continue to Infest the Seas wherein Our Subjects Trade, to the great Damage of the Merchants, and Discouragement of Navigation;[1] We therefore (with the Advice of Our Privy Council) have thought fit to Issue this Our Royal Proclamation;[2] And We do hereby Promise and Declare, That if any Person or Persons belonging to the Company or Ships Crew of any Pirate Ship or Vessel, shall at any time, after the Date hereof, Seize, or cause to be Seized, the Person Commanding such Ship or Vessel, and any one or more Persons belonging to such Ship or Vessel, together with the said Ship or Vessel, and Goods, and Deliver them into the Custody of the Chief Magistrate of any of our Ports in Our Kingdoms of England or Ireland; Or in America, into the Custody of Our Governors, or Commanders in Chief of Our Islands, Colonies, or Plantations of Barbados, the Leeward Islands, Jamaica, Bermudos, Virginia, Maryland, New yorke or the Massachusetts Bay in New England, or of the Commander in Chief of Our Ships of War at Newfound Land, for the time being; Or in Africa, into the Custody of the Chief or Chiefs of the Royal African Company at Cape Corfe Castle, on the Gold Coast, at James Fort in the River of Gambia, or at Whiddah in the South-part of Guinea, for the time being; And shall give Evidence against the Persons so Seized and Secured, so as they may be Convicted of Piracy, the Person or Persons so Seizing, or causing to be Seized, such Pirate or Pirates, and Securing such Ship or Vessel, and Goods, as aforesaid, shall not only have Our most Gracious Pardon for the Piracies before that time Committed by him or them, but also, upon the Conviction of such Pirate or Pirates, receive as a Reward for his or their good Service, one moiety of Our Thirds of such Ship or Vessel, and Goods, where no more than those Thirds shall be by Us claimed; But if the whole Ship and Goods shall belong to Us, for want of a timely and legal Demand thereof by the first Proprietor, then such Person or Persons shall Receive, as a Reward, the Sum of Twenty five Pound for every Hundred Pounds Value of such Ship or Vessel, and Goods; to be paid unto them by such Chief Magistrate, Governor, Commander, or other Persons aforesaid, in the Places where such Seizure and Conviction shall be made; who are hereby Required to Pay the same, upon the Parties producing a Certificate of such Seizure and Conviction made, and Ship or Vessel, and Goods Secured, under the Hands and Seals of the Persons, or the Major Part of them, before whom such Pirates have been Convicted (which Persons are hereby Required to give such Certificate, gratis, on Demand) and upon Producing of which Certificate, We do hereby Require our Judge or Judges of Admiralty in England, or elsewhere, and all other Persons impowered by Commission to Hear and Determine Piracies in Europe, Africa and America, to Stay any further Proceedings against such Person or Persons, who shall produce such Certificate, until he or they can obtain Our most Gracious Pardon. And We do hereby further Declare, That if any Person or Persons, belonging to any Pirate Ship or Vessel, shall Seize and Apprehend the Commanding Officer of any Pirate Ship or Vessel, or any of the Crew belonging to such Ship or Vessel, and shall give Evidence against him or them, as before Directed, so that the said Pirate or Pirates be Convicted, and shall have a Certificate thereof, as aforesaid, though such Person or Persons do not Take or Seize the Ship and Goods, yet such Person or Persons shall have Our most Gracious Pardon for any Piracies before that time by him or them Committed, and shall also have and receive, upon the Conviction of such Commanding Officer, or any of the said Crew of such Pirate Ship, the respective Rewards hereafter mentioned; viz. One Hundred Pounds for the Commanding Officer of such Pirate Ship or Vessel, and Twenty Pounds for every Inferiour Person thereunto belonging, that shall be so Seized and Apprehended, as aforesaid; which Sum or Sums shall be paid to him or them by the Governors or other Persons before mentioned. And for the greater Encouragement of those Persons belonging to any Pirate Ship or Vessel, who shall Seize and Apprehend any Commanding Officer, or any of the Crew belonging to such Ship or Vessel, and shall give Evidence against them, in order to their Conviction, and cause the said Ship or Vessel, and Goods to be Secured, as aforesaid, We do hereby Direct and Require the Commanders of all and every Our Ships of War, That upon any Person or Persons producing to them an Authentick Certificate of his or their having made such Seizure, and of the Conviction of such Commander or others of the said Ships Crew, so Seized by him or them, as aforesaid, or of his or their having Secured the Ship or Vessel, and Goods, as aforesaid, under the Hands and Seals of the Persons, or the Major part of them, before whom such Conviction shall have been made (which Certificate the said Persons are in like manner hereby Required to give, gratis, on Demand) and Desiring to be Entertained in Our Service, to Enter them on Board their Ships, for Victuals and Wages, and to Discharge them again when they shall Desire it. And whereas We are inclined to Believe, That many ignorant Persons have been drawn into this wicked Course of Life, and that they would willingly imbrace all Opportunities of freeing themselves therefrom provided they could be Secure of Pardon, We do hereby Promise and Declare, That if any Person or Persons, Serving on Board any Pirate Ship or Vessel, shall at any time, within Twelve Months after the Date hereof, leave the same, and repair to any of Our Chief Magistrates, Governors, Commanders, or other Persons aforesaid, and before them make Affidavit of the Piracies Committed by the Ship or Vessel whereto they did belong, the Person or Persons, so Leaving such Ship, and making Affidavit, shall have Our Gracious Pardon for the Piracies Committed by him or them before the Twenty fourth Day of June, Seventeen hundred and one, and upon a Certificate of his or their Surrender, and being so Intituled to this Our Gracious Pardon, under the Hands and Seals of any of Our Chief Magistrates, Governors, Commanders, or other Persons aforementioned (which Certificate the said Chief Magistrates, Governors, Commanders, and other Persons are hereby Required to give, gratis, on Demand) the Person or Persons, so leaving such Ship, and making Affidavit, shall in like manner be Intituled to the Advantage of being Entertained on Board any of Our Ships, for Victuals and Wages, as aforesaid. And We do hereby further Publish and Declare, That all such Persons who shall neglect to lay hold of these Our Gracious Offers of Mercy, or who by Complying herewith shall be Pardoned for the Piracies by them Committed to the time of such Pardon, and after such Pardon relapse into the like Evil Practices, shall immediately upon their being Seized (for which all possible Care and Diligence shall be taken) be brought to Tryal, and be Proceeded against with the utmost Severity of Law; We having in pursuance of a late Act of Parliament for that purpose, sent Commissions under Our Great Seal into the East and West Indies, for the speedy Tryal, Condemnation and Execution of all Pirates and Robbers upon the High Seas. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to the Pardoning of any Person or Persons that shall go out of Europe, or that shall Commit Piracy upon the Seas in Europe, from and after the Date of these Presents, nor to the Pardoning of such as shall Commit Piracy in any Place whatsoever, after notice of this Our Gracious Offer of Pardon, or of Henry Every,[3] alias, Bridgeman.
Given at Our Court at Kensington, the Sixth Day of March, 1700/1. In the Thirteenth Year of Our Reign.
GOD SAVE THE KING.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd, Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. 1700/1.
_1 p. folio. Copies in Antiq., B. M., P. C., and P. R. O. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, III William, vol. 6, p. 162. Printed in "London Gazette," March 17, 1701._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The prevalence of piracy in American waters can best be traced in the documents listed in the _Calendars of State Papers, Colonial_, for the last decade of the 17^{th} century.
[2] The draft of this proclamation was referred to the Admiralty, January 23, 1701, to propose the amount of the rewards to be offered, and was sent to the Board of Trade, February 20, 1701, to fix the time when pirates should be allowed to make confessions (_Acts of Privy Council_, ii, 342).
[3] Two proclamations, dated July 17 and August 10, 1696, had been issued offering a reward for the capture of Every for having committed piracies in the seas of India and Persia (_Acts of Privy Council_, ii, 300).
1702, March 9.
[Continuing Officers in the Colonies.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION.
ANNE R.
Forasmuch as it has Pleased Almighty God, lately to Call unto His Infinite Mercy, the most High and Mighty Prince William the Third, of most Blessed Memory; And whereas by an Act of Parliament made in the Seventh Year of the Reign of the said late King, It is Enacted, That no Commission, either Civil or Military, should Cease, Determine or be Void by reason of the Death or Demise of His said late Majesty, or of any of His Heirs or Successors, Kings or Queens of this Realm, but that every such Commission should Be, Continue and Remain in full Force and Virtue, for the Space of Six Months next after any such Death or Demise, unless in the mean time Superseeded, Determined or made Void by the next and immediate Successor, to whom the Imperial Crown of this Realm, according to the Act of Settlement therein mentioned is Limited and Appointed to Go, Remain and Descend; The Queens most Excellent Majesty,[1] in Her Princely Wisdom and Care of the State, (Reserving to Her Own Judgment hereafter, the Reformation and Redress of any Abuses in Misgovernment, upon due Knowledge and Examination thereof) is Pleased, and doth hereby Signifie and Declare, That all Commissions, both Civil and Military, Granted by His said late Majesty, and in Force at the time of His Death, shall Be, Continue and Remain in full Force and Virtue: And that all Persons, that at the time of the Decease of the late King, were Duly and Lawfully Possessed of, or Invested in any Office or Place of Authority or Government, either Civil or Military, within His Majesties Realms of England, Ireland, the Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, Sark or Alderney, or within His Majesties Colonies and Plantations in America; and Namely all Governors, Lieutenants or Deputy Governors, Counsellors, Judges, Justices, Provost-Marshals, Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, and all others in Place of Government either Meaner or Superior, as aforesaid, and all other Officers and Ministers shall Be, and hold themselves Continued in the said Places and Offices, under the same Condition as formerly they Held and Enjoyed the same, until Her Majesties Pleasure be further Known, or that other Provision be made, pursuant to His late Majesties Commissions and Instructions to His Governors and Officers of the Islands, Colonies, and Plantations aforesaid; And that in the meanwhile, for the Preservation of the State, and Necessary Proceedings in Matters of Justice, and for the Safety and Service of the State, all the said Persons, of whatsoever Degree or Condition, may not fail every one severally according to his Place, Office or Charge, to Proceed in the Performance of all Duties thereunto belonging, as formerly Appertained unto them while the late King was Living; And further Her Majesty doth hereby Will and Command all and singular Her Highness Subjects, of what Estate, Dignity or Degree they or any of them be, to be Aiding, Helping and Assisting, and at the Commandment of the said Officers and Ministers, in the Performance and Execution of the said Offices and Places, as they and every of them tender Her Majesties Pleasure, and will answer the contrary at their utmost Perils. And further Her Majesties Will and Pleasure, and Express Command is, That all Orders or Directions Made or Given by the late King of most Blessed Memory the Lords of His Privy Council, or His late Majesties Principal Secretaries of State, or other Legal Authority Derived from His said Majesty in His Life time, shall be Obeyed and Performed by all and every Person and Persons, and all and every Thing and Things to be done thereupon, shall Proceed as Fully and Amply as the same should have been Obeyed or Done in the Life of the said late King, until Her Majesties Pleasure be further Known thereupon.
Given at the Court at St. James's, the Ninth Day of March, In the First Year of Her Majesties Reign, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, and other Her Majesties Territories and Dominions.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. MDCCI.
_1 p. folio. Copies in Antiq., B. M., Crawf., Dalk., P. C., and P. R. O. Entered on Patent Rolls; entered in Privy Council Register, Anne, vol. 1, p. 15._
FOOTNOTE:
[1] A form of proclamation of the accession of Queen Anne was provided for the American colonies. It was sent over as a printed sheet, with blanks for the name of the colony and the body issuing the proclamation. Copies of this printed form are in the British Museum and the Public Record Office. A similar form was provided for previous accessions, but does not seem to have been printed, being found in the manuscript Registers of the Privy Council.
1704, June 18.
[Rates of Foreign Coins in Plantations.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION
FOR SETTLING AND ASCERTAINING THE CURRENT RATES OF FOREIGN COINS IN HER MAJESTIES COLONIES AND PLANTATIONS IN AMERICA.
ANNE R.
We having had under Our Consideration the different Rates at which the same Species of Foreign Coins do Pass in Our several Colonies and Plantations in America,[1] and the Inconveniencies thereof, by the indirect Practice of Drawing the Money from one Plantation to another, to the great Prejudice of the Trade of Our Subjects; And being Sensible, That the same cannot be otherwise Remedied, than by Reducing of all Foreign Coins to the same Current Rate within all our Dominions in America; And the Principal Officers of Our Mint having laid before Us a Table of the Value of the several Foreign Coins which usually Pass in Payments in Our said Plantations, according to their Weight, and the Assays made of them in Our Mint, thereby shewing the just Proportion which each Coin ought to have to the other, which is as followeth, viz. Sevill Pieces of Eight, Old Plate, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence; Sevill Pieces of Eight, New Plate, Fourteen Peny-weight, Three Shillings Seven Pence One Farthing; Mexico Pieces of Eight, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence; Pillar Pieces of Eight, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence Three Farthings; Peru Pieces of Eight, Old Plate, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Five Pence, or thereabouts; Cross Dollars, Eighteen Peny-weight, Four Shillings and Four Pence Three Farthings; Duccatoons of Flanders, Twenty Peny-weight and Twenty one Grains, Five Shillings and Six Pence; Ecu's of France, or Silver Lewis, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence, Crusadoes of Portugal, Eleven Peny-weight Four Grains, Two Shillings and Ten Pence One Farthing; Three Gilder Pieces of Holland, Twenty Peny-weight and Seven Grains, Five Shillings and Two Pence One Farthing; Old Rix Dollars of the Empire, Eighteen Peny-weight and Ten Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence; The Half, Quarters and other parts in Proportion to their Denominations, and Light Pieces in Proportion to their Weight: We have therefore thought fit for Remedying the said Inconveniencies, by the Advice of Our Council, to Publish and Declare, That from and after the First Day of January next ensuing the Date hereof, no Sevill, Pillar, or Mexico Pieces of Eight, though of the full Weight of Seventeen Peny-weight and an half, shall be Accounted, Received, Taken, or Paid within any of Our said Colonies or Plantations, as well those under Proprietors and Charters, as under Our immediate Commission and Government, at above the Rate of Six Shillings per Piece Current Money, for the Discharge of any Contracts or Bargains to be made after the said First Day of January next, the Halfs, Quarters, and other lesser Pieces of the same Coins to be Accounted, Received, Taken, or Paid in the same Proportion: And the Currency of all Pieces of Eight of Peru, Dollars, and other Foreign Species of Silver Coins, whether of the same or Baser Alloy, shall, after the said First Day of January next, stand Regulated, according to their Weight and Fineness, according and in Proportion to the Rate before Limited and Set for the Pieces of Eight of Sevill, Pillar, and Mexico; So that no Foreign Silver Coin of any sort be permitted to Exceed the same Proportion upon any Account whatsoever. And We do hereby Require and Command all Our Governours, Lieutenant-Governours, Magistrates, Officers, and all other Our good Subjects, within Our said Colonies and Plantations, to Observe and Obey our Directions herein, as they Tender our Displeasure.
Given at Our Castle at Windsor, the Eighteenth Day of June, 1704. In the Third Year of Our Reign.
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
London, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd; Printers to the Queens most Excellent Majesty. 1704.
_1 p. folio. Copies in Antiq., B. M., Crawf., Dalk., P. C., P. R. O., and in N. Y. Historical Society. Entered in Privy Council Register, Anne, vol. 2, p. 132. Printed in "London Gazette," June 22, 1704; also in Boston News-Letter, Dec. 11, 1704._
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The attention of the Council of Trade had been frequently called to the disorder in the currency in the Plantations (see _Cal. State Papers, Colonial, 1700_, pp. 108, 393; and Chalmers' _History of Currency in the British Colonies_, pp. 11-15). On November 18, 1703, the Privy Council referred to the Lord Treasurer a representation from the Board of Trade for settling the rates of foreign coins in America, upon which the Lord Treasurer, May 18, 1704, submitted a report from the Officers of the Mint with a table of the weights and values of foreign coins then current in the Plantations (_Acts of Privy Council_, ii, 452). The proclamation which followed was little observed, however, and after several reports on the subject had been rendered, an Act of Parliament was passed April 1, 1708, entitled "An Act for ascertaining the Rates of Foreign Coins in Her Majesty's Plantations in America." (_Statutes of the Realm_, viii, 792. See also _Lords Journals_, xviii, 486, 566; _Commons Journals_, xv, 635; _Acts of Privy Council_, ii, 452). For the action of Massachusetts upon this proclamation, see _Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay_, viii, 471.
1708, June 26.
[Encouraging Trade to Newfoundland.]
BY THE QUEEN.
A PROCLAMATION.
ANNE R.