fworn.

Millman to

affix a feal of lead to the cloths.

Millman to be well and truly perform fuch measuring, (which oath such justice of the peace is hereby authorized and required to adminifter, and to give fuch mafter, owner or occupier of fuch fulling-mill, a certificate of fuch oaths having been adminiftred and taken) and every mafter or occupier of every fuch fulling-mill fhall affix, or cause to be affixed, at each end of every fuch cloth, before it shall be carried from the mill, a seal of lead, to be furnished by the clothier; and the faid mafter or occupier of every such fulling-mill fhall rivet the fame on every fuch cloth, and ftamp his name in plain words at length thereupon, and in figures plainly to be feen and known ftamp likewife the length and breadth of every fuch cloth, for which he shall be paid by the owner of every fuch cloth, two pence, one penny whereof to be paid to the treasurer of the faid weft-riding, for the time being, to be applied by direction of the juftices of the peace at their general quarter-feffions, towards the falaries of fearchers by them to be appointed by virtue of this act; and the length and number of yards, fo ftamped on such seals, shall be a rule of payment for every fuch cloth by the buyer of the fame: provided, that if it fhall happen, that after any cloth fhall have been milled, fealed and stampt as aforefaid, any part thereof fhall by any accident be damaged and taken off, fuch part of the fame, as fhall not be damnified, fhall be again measured, fealed and ftampt, as is before directed, and the said seal shall be affixed to that end of the cloth from whence such part was cut off.

IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That from and after the said twenty fourth day of June, if any owner, mafter, occupier or millman of any fulling-mill fhall refufe or neglect to take the before-mentioned oath, or to fix fuch feals at each end of every woollen broad cloth, before it shall be carried from the mill, in manner and with fuch ftamp or impreffion as is before directed, and to enter in a book to be kept by such mafter, owner, occupier or millman, a fair and true regifter or entry of the marks, fort, number, length and breadth of every fuch cloth, or fhall refufe to permit and fuffer any buyer or fearcher of cloth to infpect the faid book, in order to compare the marks, forts, number, length, breadth and admeasurement of any or every fuch cloth, wherein he or they are refpectively concerned, with fuch book or regifter, or if any perfon or perfons fhall afterwards take off fuch feal or feals, or deface, counterfeit or alter the fame, before the cloth is fold to the retailer in Great Britain, or is fent beyond the feas, except the millman who milled the faid cloth, or fome other fworn millman, who is in that case also to register the fame in manner as aforefaid, every perfon or perfons fo offending, being thereof lawfully convicted upon the oath of one or more credible witness or witneffes, before one or more such justice or juftices for the faid riding, or any corporation within the fame, fhall for every fuch neglect or offence, forfeit the fum of five pounds, to be recovered and diftributed as is afterwards provided for by this prefent act.

*:

V. Pro

}

and measure

them, &c.

V. Provided, That in cafe fuch merchant or buyer fhall have Buyer may cause to suspect the real and true lengths and breadths of fuch wet the cloths, cloth or cloths not to be the fame as ftamped upon fuch feal or feals, fuch merchant or buyer fhall and may for proof thereof have the liberty, within fix days after delivery thereof, and upon two days notice given in writing to the feller or maker of fuch cloth, unless it be otherwife agreed by the mutual confent of the buyer and feller, to put fuch cloths into water for any time not exceeding four hours, and afterwards to caufe the fame to be measured by any two indifferent perfons to be appointed and chofen, one by the buyer and the other by the feller of fuch cloth; and in cafe they difagree in afcertaining the length and breadth of the faid cloth, then the said admeasurement shall be made by a third perfon, to be chofen and nominated by the faid two perfons appointed as aforefaid; and in cafe the faid two perfons fhall neglect or refufe to choose and nominate fuch third perfon within the space of two hours, or if fuch third person so chofen fhall refufe or neglect to take upon him the admeasurement of the faid cloth, at the request of the buyer or feller thereof, then a fit perfon fhall be nominated and appointed by the next justice of the peace or chief magiftrate of the place where the faid cloth fhall happen to be fold, to make such admeasurement; which faid juftice of the peace or chief magiftrate is hereby authorized and required to appoint and fwear such person, truly to admeasure the fame, and the perfon fo appointed fhall be and is hereby obliged to be fworn, and to act for the purposes aforefaid, on pain of forfeiting the fum of forty fhillings, on conviction before fuch justice of the peace or chief magistrate, to be levied by his warrant, by diftrefs and fale of the goods and chattels of fuch offender; and if, upon fuch admeafurement laft mentioned, there fhall be found a less or smaller quantity of cloth in length, or a lefs or smaller quantity in breadth, in more than one fifth part of the length than is mentioned in the feal or feals before directed to be affixed to fuch cloth, in every fuch case every clothier, owner or feller of fuch cloth, shall forfeit the Penalty for fixth part of the value of every fuch cloth to the poor of the false measure. parish where fuch cloth fhall be found to be defective, and the faid forfeiture fhall be paid by the buyer of fuch cloth to the overfeer of the poor of fuch parish, for their use, and by fuch buyer to be deducted and retained out of the price of fuch cloth fo found wanting in measure as aforefaid, upon paying for the fame, after certificate of fuch defect made by the perfon or perfons measuring the fame, and oath made thereof by fuch perfon and persons, before any justice of the peace of the said riding, or any corporation within the fame, which oath in fuch cafe, fuch perfon and perfons are required to make, and fuch juftice is required to adminifter, and thereof to give a certificate to fuch perfon or perfons taking the faid oath, without fee or reward; and all fuch fums of money which the clothier, owner or feller of any fuch cloth shall forfeit and pay on account of such fraudulent feal or feals of fuch mafter, owner, cccupier or millman of

fuch

Millman to

fuch mill, being fixed to the faid cloth, fhall, upon demand, be repaid by faid master, owner, occupier or millman of the said fulling-mill, who affixed or caufed to be affixed the faid feals, to fuch clothier, owner or feller of fuch cloth, and upon refufal to be recovered and levied as is herein after provided.

VI. And be it enacted by the authority aforefaid, That, if affix new feals, upon such admeasurement the feals affixed by the millman are found not to contain the just lengths and breadths of fuch cloths, in fuch cafe the clothier fhall be obliged to carry it back to the millman, where it was before ftampt, in order to affix on the faid cloths new feals, to be made and affixed as aforesaid, which fhall contain the true lengths and breadths of the faid cloth, and that the faid measurer or measurers fhall have and receive from the buyer of fuch cloth fix pence, and no more, for every piece of cloth which shall be by him or them so meafured.

Merchant

VII. And be it enacted by the authority aforefaid, That, if upon fuch admeasurement as is last mentioned, any cloth fo measured shall be found not to be of the respective breadths, or shall exceed the lengths herein before-mentioned, directed and prescribed, or in cafe upon fuch admeasurement there fhall be found a less or smaller quantity of cloth in length, or a less or smaller quantity in breadth, in more than one fifth part of the length than is mentioned in the feal or feals before directed to be affixed to such cloth, in every such case the merchant or buyer of fuch cloth, which thall be fo found to be fraudulent and defective as aforefaid, shall be at liberty, within three days after fuch admeasurement, to return fuch fraudulent or defective cloth to the clothier. to the clothier or other person who fold the fame, who thereupon is hereby required to repay unto fuch merchant or buyer all fuch money, charges and expences as he fhall have paid or been put unto, for or by reafon or means of fuch defective or fraudulent cloth, the fame to be afcertained by the oath of fuch merchant or buyer, before any juftice of the peace of the faid riding or corporation as aforefaid, to be recovered upon his refufal, by warrant under the hand and feal of one or more justice or juftices of the peace, not being a dealer in woollen cloth, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person fo refufing.

may return defective cloth

Clothier to af

fix his mark on his cloths, on pain of 5

VIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every clothier and maker of fuch cloth fhall, at the time of making thereof, weave or few into the head of the cloth, in 1. distinct letters and words, plain to be read, at length, the name and place of abode of fuch clothier and maker: and, if any clothier or maker of fuch woollen broad cloth fhall, after the faid twenty fourth day of fune, expofe to fale any cloth without fuch feals as before directed, or without fuch name and place of abode, fo woven or fewed into fuch cloth in words at length, plainly to be feen and read, fuch clothier or maker fo offending, and being thereof lawfully convicted upon the oath of any one or more credible witness or witneffes, made before fuch juftice

any

justice or justices of the peace for the faid riding, or any corporation within the fame (he being no dealer in cloth) who is hereby authorized to adminifter the faid oath, fhall forfeit the fum of five pounds for every fuch piece of cloth; and if any perfon or perfons whatsoever fhall willingly take off, alter, counter- the feals beCutting out feit, deface, obliterate or cut out, any of the aforefaid feal or fore fale, feals of lead, fo fixed and riveted to fuch end or half cloth, or forfeits 51. to fuch long or whole cloth, or the figures, letters and words. thereon stamped, made or fet, or therein woven or fewed, before the cloth be fold to the retailer or consumer thereof, for the confumption of Great Britain, or be exported beyond the feas, every person or perfons fo offending, and every person in whose custody any such cloth without feals, or with the feals defaced, altered, cut out or obliterated, before it be fold to fuch retailer, or be exported beyond the feas, fhall be found, being thereof lawfully convicted, for every fuch offence thall forfeit the fum of five pounds.

&c.

IX. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That if any perfon or perfons whatsoever, after the faid twenty the cloth forOverstretching fourth day of June, fhall, over and beyond the measure fet and feits zos. for contained in the faid feal or feals, ftretch or ftrain, procure or every halfcause to be stretched or strained, any end or half-cloth, more yard in length, than one yard in length, or any whole or long cloth, more than two yards in length, or any piece of the faid broad cloth, more than one inch in every quarter of a yard in the breadth, every such person or perfons fo offending, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall, for every half-yard in length, and every inch in breadth fo over stretched or ftrained as aforefaid, forfeit the fum of twenty fhillings, to be levied by warrant or warrants under the hand and feal, or hands and feals of any juftice or juftices of peace for the faid county, riding, city, liberty or place where the offence fhall be committed, not being a merchant or trader in the woollen manufacture.

X. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That Cloths to be from and after the faid twenty fourth day of June one thousand dressed in all feven hundred and twenty five, every woollen broad cloth made parts alike, within the weft-riding of the faid county of York, whether the fame be called an end or half-cloth, or a long or whole cloth, fhall throughout be dressed in all parts alike, not only at the fides or edges next to the lift, (as hath of late years been the custom) but also in the middle, and at the edges, from end to end, that is to fay, That the middle of the cloth, and fo throughout the whole, from end to end, have the fame work or dreffing, the one part equal with the other; and in order to difcover fuch Worker to afabuses, every cloth-dreffer or cloth-worker is hereby obliged to fix at the head affix or caufe to be affixed at the head end of every fuch cloth dressed by him or them, a feal of lead, and fhall rivet the fame, and stamp his name in words at length thereupon, that it may be thereby discovered who the dreffer of each cloth shall be, that the work may be done and performed as aforefaid, every perfon VOL. XV. R

fo

end his mark,

fo offending fhall, for every fuch neglect or offence, forfeit the Penalty, 51. fum of five pounds.

XI. And, for the better and more eafy discovery of the unThe lengths due stretching and straining of cloth, be it further enacted by of yards to be the authority aforefaid, That every owner or proprietor of any numbred on tenter or tenters in the faid weft-riding of the faid county of the tenters, on York fhall, and he is hereby required to measure fuch tenter or pain of 51. tenters, as fhall be made ufe of for tentering of cloth, and to mark or number in figures, plain and fair to be seen, the true length of yards of each tenter or tenters, beginning at number I. and fo continuing it to the end thereof, marking and numbering each yard, distinctly, plainly and fairly to be feen upon the top bar belonging to each tenter on the fore-fide thereof; and any such tenter or tenters fhall, after the twenty fourth day of June one thousand seven hundred and twenty five, be found not to be measured and truly marked and numbered as aforefaid, the owner or proprietor of fuch tenter or tenters shall forfeit and pay the fum of five pounds for each tenter that shall be found not so numbered and marked as aforefaid; fuch penalty to be levied and recovered as any other penalty is hereby directed to be recovered and levied.

Quarter-feffions yearly to chule fearch ers to inspect the mills:

Their oath.

if

XII. And be it further enacted, That the juftices of the peace for the faid weft-riding of the faid county of York shall at their quarter-feffions of the peace to be holden for the faid westriding, next after Midfummer next, and afterwards at their general quarter-feffions of the peace to be holden next after Eafler, yearly and every year, choose and appoint so many men of good character and repute within the said riding, as they fhall think reasonable, to be fearchers for the year enfuing, and may allow to each of them a falary, not exceeding fifteen pounds per annum, to be paid out of the money as fhall be received by the treasurer of the faid weft-riding as before directed; which faid searchers fhall and may, by the direction and authority of any one of the faid juftices of the peace of the faid weft-riding, or any corporation within the fame, have full power, at all seasonable and convenient times, to enter and infpect in the day-time, (Sundays excepted) the mill and mills of any clothier or other perfon for milling of cloth, and, if he or they think fit and reafonable, to measure the length and breadth of any cloth he fhall find there, before it be carried from thence; and all and every fuch fearcher and fearchers, before he or they shall enter upon the execution of his and their faid office, fhall take the following oath, before any fuch justice of the peace, videlicet;

I

A. B. do fwear, That I will well and truly execute the office of a fearcher of broad woollen cloth, within the weft-riding of the county of York, according to the laws and ftatutes of this realm, and according to the best of my skill and knowledge.

So help me God.

XIII. And