The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.—Psalm 19.1
LAWS AND ACTS: That is, Excerpts from the Laws, Acts, Constitutions, & Public Declarations of Sundry Nations ONCE FAVOURED WITH THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments... But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments .—Nehemiah 9.13,16. |
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17. What money should be coined: Alloyed-money should not be coined without consent of the Estates. Money should not be melted. |
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ITEM, Forsomuch as the ordering of the Coining-house, and the forging of money within this Realm, is a matter of great importance, to the whole lieges thereof, as may appear by divers Acts, made in our Sovereign Lord’s predecessor’s Parliaments of before; And seeing the great necessity now required, for having of good and sufficient coinage within the Realm, seeing the good Silver, as Testans, and other old silver, is utterly melted and destroyed, so that the ounce of silver, is at double price, that it wont [used] to be at, within these late days, where-through the Realm is utterly impoverished by evil Coinage. Therefore it is declared, in this present Parliament, that our Sovereign Lord, with advice of his Regent, may cause print and coin Gold and Silver of such fineness, as other Countries do, to pass within this Realm to the lieges of the same. And that no print nor coinage of any alloyed-money, be made or coined, in any time coming, but advise of the three Estates of Parliament. And suchlike OUR SOVEREIGN LORD with advice of his Regent, and the three Estates foresaids, ordains, that no manner of Gold, nor Silver, already coined within this Realm, be melted, nor broken down, in the Coining-house, or otherwise in any time hereafter, under the pain of confiscation of the half of the goods of the owner, and melter for the first fault. And if the melter be not responsal [solvent], to punish his person at the discretion of the Justice. And the second fault, confiscation of their whole goods. |
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