deliberate debate," the Court ordered, that answer should be returned with all humble respect;

ift, That the act of Common Council, ordering the Companies to provide corn, expreffed only wheat and

not rye.

2dly, That they had hitherto furnished the markets and wards, agreeably to his Lordship's directions, to their apparent lofs of £400 at the least, and were yet stored with 400 quarters for future supply, which proportion, they conceived, would be fufficient till harvest, when (God willing) they hoped to renew their store upon better and more easy rates.

3dly, That, besides the proportion of corn they then had, they expected the performance of a contract from Mr. Burlamach of 200 quarters more.

the

4thly, That they found, by their experience and lofs, notwithstanding the great scarcity and dearth, that poor would not receive or use meal of either barley or rye alone, nor yet with the mixture of two-third parts of wheat with it, fo that 500 quarters of rye would require 1500 quarters of wheat to be put to it and they, therefore, conceived it impoffible for the Company to undertake fuch a bargain. They state, besides, that, in winter, when wheat was very dear, and scarcely to be had, they were constrained to buy rye to mix with wheat, to furnish the neceffity of the market at that time; but they found the city markets then fo flack for that commodity, that the greater part of what was then bought remained still on their hands for want of purchasers, to the Company's great lofs; and they further contended" that there had been no public contract made for any corn with the merchants mentioned, and they conceived, therefore, that they

had only bought it in hope of profit, for which purpose they landed some part of it upon the coaft; and divers other merchants, both Dutch and English, had likewise brought in great quantities, which they offered to fell at 5s. the bushel, which was the cause of the faid loss, it being a thing usually incident to merchants to receive loss by overloading of a market with any commodity." They therefore humbly prayed to be excused.

In 1642 the Court of Aldermen having communicated to the Court the diftreffed fituation of the Protestants in Londonderry, who, in a petition, prayed for a fupply of corn, requested a contribution from the Company's store; upon which one hundred quarters were ordered to be iffued for the purpose. After the Restoration, in 1660, a sum of £12,000 was levied, by the Common Council, upon the Companies of the city," to be laid out in corne as a prefent to the King's Majestie." The proportion of the Grocers was £1080, which they freely gave as an acte of honor and respect from the cittie, and which may in due time conduce to the fingular advantage and benefit of the Companie." The stock of corn was conftantly kept up, as before stated, until the great fire of London in 1666; the Company's property having been then entirely destroyed, the custom was discontinued. I fhould have stated that the money for this purpose was levied by a perfonal contribution from the members, and that two of the Livery were, from time to time, appointed by the Court of Affiftants, under the name of "Corne Renters," to collect it.

One of the popular acts of Queen Elizabeth's reign 1561.. was the restoration of the circulating medium to a just

1567. Firft lot

tery in

England.

ftandard and value and it was naturally expected that this would have been followed by a decline in the prices of all kinds of commodities; but the dealers evidently conspired to keep them up, as appears by a curious article inferted in the Company's books:

In the year 1561 the Wardens of the Mercers' Company being fummoned before the Queen's council "for uttering and felling velvetts, fattens, and damaskes" at the great prices they did; "confidering her Majesty had brought her base coin to as fine a coin as ever was in England; which baseness of coin had been thentofore their's and other's excufes for the high prices of all manner of wares, and that the nobility and gentry perceived no amendment of the prices of the faid forts of filks, to the great offence of her Grace." The Mercers replied, that they had no power or authority over those who fold filks, except they were members of their own Company, and that retail dealers of other Companies were much more faulty: in proof whereof, they requested their Honors would fend for the Grocers, and take them to task, promifing for themselves to make fuch reform as would give fatiffaction. It is most probable, that some communication was made to the Company on this subject, as the above appears in the records; but as no further notice is taken of it, we have no means of afcertaining whether the Grocers proceeded to recommend a reduction in the prices of commodities to the members of their Fraternity.

It has already been stated that Queen Elizabeth, whose treasury was frequently at a very low ebb, made occafional applications to the Companies of London for the loan of small fums of money. She resorted,

befides, to other modes of fuftaining her finances, fuch as discharging her obligations to her fervants and dependants by granting them patents for monopolies, which they fold to others; an impolitic proceeding on her part, which created general discontent.* In 1567 The borrowed a hint from fome of the continental governments and had recourse to the expedient of a lottery, the first ever known in England. The science of puffing, which, in our times, has attained fuch perfection, was unknown, at that period, and, in lieu of placards and advertisements, she appears to have adopted the more direct mode of personal solicitation. A notice in the records, dated November 1567, sets forth, that the Lord Mayor fent a precept to the Wardens to acquaint them, that he had received from the Lords of the Queen's most honourable Privy Council, in her

* "She granted her fervants and courtiers patents for monopolies ; and those patents they fold to others, who were thereby enabled to raise commodities to what price they pleased and who put invincible restraints upon all commerce, industry, and emulation in the arts. It is aftonishing to confider the number and importance of those commodities, which were thus affigned over to patentees. Currants, falt, iron, powder, cards, calf-skins, felts, pouldavies, ox-fhin bones, train oil, lifts of cloth, &c. &c. These are but a part of the commodities, which had been appropriated to monopolifts. When this lift was read in the house, a member cried, Is not bread in the number? Bread! faid every one with astonishment: Yes, I affure you, replied he, if affairs go on at this rate, we shall have bread reduced to a monopoly before the next parliament.”—Hume's History of England, vol. v.

In 1575, a precept was read to the Court by the Wardens, of a license granted by the Queen's Majesty to one Acerbo Devitello, an Italian, that he only should bring into this realm "comon and fallet oyle, and he to fell the fame to any perfon he will, foreign or freeman, and at his owne beame," which being thought prejudicial to the freemen of the city, a petition to the Mayor and Aldermen, on the subject, was ordered to be drawn up.

L

Grace's name, a letter " in comendacion of the lotterie lately published by her Highness, which, for the furtherance of the fame, did require, that the Wardens would call the Companie together, and exhorte the fame to adventure fome reasonable fum toward the preferment of the fame lotterie.”* The contents of this letter being confidered, every one of the Company present promised "to put in fomewhat, as to themfelves should seem good." It was also refolved, that the Wardens should, of the goods of the house, “ adventure and put into the faid lotterie, the fome of £xx, which is for xxxx lotterie fhares," and the Court to be a fufficient warrant for the fame. The pofie to be this

"For the Grocers' Hawll,

A lott greate or small.”

It was likewise thought good that the Master and Wardens fhould cause the whole Livery and Commonalty to affemble" to the end the like exhortation might be made to them." The lottery here mentioned is described in a very curious and rare tract, in the Guildhall library, entitled, "The great froft; cold doings in London, except it be at the lotterie. A familiar talke betweene a countryman and a citizen, touching this terrible froft and the great lotterie and the effects of them." The following dialogue occurs in it :

Countryman." I remember, in the eleventh yere of the raigne of Queene Elizabeth, a lotterie began here in London, in which, if my memorie faile not, were foure hundred thousand lotts to be drawne.

*This lottery was drawn at the western door of Saint Paul's Cathedral.-Maitland's Hiftory of London.