THE SPEECH OF Sir EDWARD TURNER KNIGHT,  
SPEAKER of the Honourable House of COMMONS, TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY,  
On Monday the eleventh day of April, 1670. Upon the Adjournment of the Parliament.  
EDINBURGH, reprinted by Evan Tyler, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majesty, 1670.   

 royal blazon or coat of arms 
C R  HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE  
THE SPEECH OF Sir EDWARD TURNER KNIGHT, SPEAKER of the Honourable HOUSE of COMMONS, To the KING'S most Excellent MAJESTY, On Monday the eleventh day of April, 1670. Upon the Adjournment of the Parliament.  
May it please Your most Excellent Majesty,  
AT the opening of this Session of Parliament, your Majesty was pleased to speak to your two Houses, and recommended three things especially to us; Unity amongst ourselves, the Union of your Majesties two Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and the supply of your Majesty's present and urgent Occasions. In obedience to your Majesty's Commands, we have industriously applied ourselves to the consideration of these Matters.  
By the blessing of God, all differences are buried in oblivion; Your Majesty's happy Expedient, hath like a strong gale of Wind, blown up the Rolling Sands, and filled up all impressions, Vestigia nulla retrorsum: And as your People will universally enjoy the fruit of this happy Union, So our united prayers to God shall be, that your Majesty may be Crowned with the promised Blessing, Beati Patifici.  
In order to the Union of your Majesties two Kingdoms, both your Houses of Parliament have humbly besought your Majesty to name Commissioners for this your Kingdom of England, and we have prepared a Bill to Authorise them to Treat with Commissioners to be appointed for your Kingdom of Scotland, upon such Grounds as shall be thought conducing to that end, and to report them to your Majesty, and to both Houses of Parliament of this your Kingdom of England, reserving always to your Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament, the entire consideration of the whole, and the allowing or disallowing thereof, or any part thereof, as they shall think fit.  
We have also considered of a Supply for your Majesty's Occasions; and I am commanded by the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the House of Commons, to present your Majesty with this Bill, whereby we have given to your Majesty an Imposition upon all Wines and Vinegar imported, after the rate of 8 l. per Tun for all French Wines and Vinegar, and 12 l. per Tun for all other Wines; and have granted this unto your Majesty for eight years, to commence from Midsummer next. And I am further commanded to acquaint your Majesty, that we apprehended the Revenue arising by the power of granting Wine Licences, settled upon his Royal Highness by Act of Parliament, hath been prejudiced by the last Imposition upon Wines, and will be much more impaired by this present Imposition: we therefore added the last year unto this Bill of Supply, with this Vote, That your Majesty be humbly desired therewith to recompense his Royal Highness the Duke of York, for the damage he hath received, and shall receive in his Revenue of Wine Licences, by this and the last Imposition.  
Having thus in the first place with all dutifulness obeyed your Majesty's Commands, we held it necessary to remember those that sent us hither, and to present unto your Majesty some Bills that will be of public use for all the People of the Nation.  
There is first a Bill for the prevention of Seditious Conventicles, whereby no man is hindered the use of his own Judgement, in the exercise of Religion by himself, or in his own Family, or in the presence of four Strangers; but because the Peace of the Nation may be endangered by more populous Meetings, contrary to the Liturgy and Practice of the Church of England, we have imposed a Penalty of 5 s. for the first offence, and 10 s. for the second, and every other offence upon all such offenders, to be levied by distress and sale of the offender's Goods.  
We are informed that your Majesty suffers much by the stealing and imbezilling of your Ordnance, Ammunition, Sail  and Stores; and likewise your good People are much damnified by a wicked sort of people, who make it their practice in the nighttime to steal woollen  and Stuffs from off the Racks, and they are much encouraged in this their wickedness, by reason they have their Clergy: We have therefore prepared a Bill for the taking away the benefit of Clergy, upon the conviction of all such offenders.  
We have likewise prepared an additional Bill for the rebuilding the City of London, wherein we have revived the Judicatory of your Majesties twelve Judges, impowering them to hear and determine the remainder of Causes and Controversies, which have not already received a settlement by them. We have also made provision for the widening many more Streets than were mentioned in the former Act, and to enable the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London, to give satisfaction to those whose Grounds shall be taken from them. And also for laying the foundation at least of the famous Cathedral of St. Paul, and towards the rebuilding of fifty one Parish Churches, we have added an Imposition of 2 s. for every Cauldron of Coals that shall be brought into the Port of London, for the space of seventeen years to come.  
We have likewise prepared a Bill for the ascertaining the Measures of Corn and Salt, and provided that one Measure shall be used in all the Market-Towns of this Kingdom.  
We have found great inconveniences by the want of due repairing the Highways of this Kingdom, and have therefore taken care for time to come both to amend them, and to prevent the spoiling of them again, by carrying excessive Loads, and drawing them with extraordinary number of Horses and other .  
Experience tells us, when the consumption of Foreign Commodities exceeds the use and exportation of our Native Commodities, the Nation must insensibly grow poor, and our Treasure will be exhausted: We have therefore prepared a Bill for the encouragement of Tillage, by permitting the exporting of Corn, and also for the encouragement of other sorts of good Husbandry, by exporting of Horses, Swine and other , and of Butter and Cheese, and have made them all free Merchandise, paying certain Duties to your Majesty upon the exportation.  
There be some other Bills of a public nature, and divers private Bills, all which are ready to be presented to your Majesty for your Royal Assent, the which I shall forbear to enumerate, for fear it may prove tedious to your Majesty.  
Having given your Majesty this Account of our proceed since our last meeting, in this our short, but happy Session, it is evident we have not misspent our time, but with the good Servant in the Gospel, have gained many Talents; So that we may with comfort and satisfaction return to our Houses, and we hope we shall carry our Master's Blessing with us.   

HIS MAJESTY'S GRACIOUS SPEECH.  
My Lords and Gentlemen,  
I Am unwilling to let you go away without telling you, that I am very well satisfied with the success of this Meeting; and that you have so well complied with My desires, both in the correspondence between the two Houses, and in the progress you have made towards an Union between the two Kingdoms. I hearty thank you for the Supply you have given Me; and I assure you, I will make it go as far as I can, towards the satisfying of My Debts. And because you have been long from home, I am content you Adjourn yourselves till the 24. of October next.  
FINIS.