HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE  royal blazon surmounted by a crown  
❧ The several Rates and taxations for gospel-privileges, made and set forth by the Iustices of Peace, for the county of Lancaster.  
WHere in the Parliament holden at Westminster the xii. day of Ianuarie, in the fist year of the reign of our sovereign Lady the queens majesty, it was enacted by the queen our sovereign Lady, the Lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons in that Parliament assembled, that the Iustices of the Peace of every Shire, Riding,& liberty, within the limits of their several commissions, or the more part of them, being resiant within the same, and the sheriff of the county, if he conveniently might, and every Maior, bailiff, or other head officer within any city or town corporate, wherein is any Iustices of the Peace within the limits of the said city or town, should by force of the said Act, yearly after Easter at times convenient, appointed by the same, assemble themselves together, and calling before them such discreet and grave persons of the said County, city and town, as they should think meet, and conferring together, respecting the plenty or scarcity of the time and other circumstances necessary to be considered, should by virtue of the said Act, within the limits and precincts of their several commissions, limit, rate, and appoint the wages, as well of such and so many of the said Artificers, handicrafts men, husbandmen, or any other labourer, seruant, or workman, whose wages in times past hath been by any law of Statute ranted& appointed, as also the wages of all other labourers, artificers, workmen, or apprentices of husbandry, which haue not been ranted, as the same Iustices, Maiors, or head officers within their several commissions or liberties, should think meet by their discretions to be ranted, limited, or appointed, and the same rates& taxations should certify unto the queens highnes Court of Chancery before a certain day limited in the said Act. whereupon it should be lawful for the Lord Chancellor, or Lord keeper of the great seal of England, for the time being, vpon declaration thereof to her Highnesse, her heires or successors, or to the Lords& others of her majesties privy Counsel, to cause Proclamations to be printed& sent down into every of the said shires and places, containing the several rates appointed by the said Iustices& other head officers, commanding thereby in her Highnes name, all persons straitly to observe& keep the same, vpon the danger of the punishment and forfeitures limited& appoynted by the said Act and Statute.  
And where also it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all maner of person and persons, after such Proclamation made, should observe and keep the said rates for wages, vpon pain of the forfeitures& penalties contained in the said statute, until by further order by Proclamation, according to the purport of the same statute, it should be otherwise ordered and proclaimed: Wherefore the queens majesty, having received into her said Court of Chancery, amongst diuers other Certificates, from sundry her Highnesse Shires, Cities and towns, one Certificate from the county of Lancaster, containing the Rates for wages hereafter following, made and appointed by the Iustices of the county of Lancaster, according to the tenor of the same act: And minding to haue the same rates put in execution in all points, as by the process of the same Act is prescribed, like as her majesty hath and intendeth to do in all other her Highnesse Counties and Shires, and other places of liberty within this her realm: Therefore her Highnesse straightly chargeth and commandeth all maner person and persons within the county of Lancaster, to keep and observe in all poyntes the said rates, taxations, orders and appointments for wages hereafter following and set forth vpon the pains and forfeitures appointed by the said statute, and vpon pain of her Highnesse displeasure.  
And further her Highnesse pleasure& express commaudement is, that all Iustices of Peace, sheriffs,& other Officers of the said county of Lancaster, shall see and cause the same rates duly and severely to bee observed and kept in all points: And this Proclamation to bee used in every behalf, according to the tenor and effect of the same Act. And her majesties further pleasure and commandement is, that if any question, scruple or doubt, shall arise vpon any of the taxations or rates for the said county of Lancaster, hereunder mentioned: That then the same shalbe resolved and determined by her Highnesse Iustices of Peace, that did make and ordain the same taxations and rates: And that all persons shall perform and keep the same resolutions, orders, and determinations, so by them to be made and determined touching the same.  

The county of Lancaster.  

INprimis no bailiff of Husbandry, chief hind, or Misier, shall take above forty shillings by year and his livery, or viii. s. for the same at the election of the said seruant.  
Item, no common seruant of husbandry of the age of xiii. yeeres or above, not above xxvi. s.vii.d. by shall take for wages above xxvi. s.viii.d. by year, and his livery, or vi. s.viii.d. for the same, at the election of the said seruant.  
Item, no man seruant from the age of xvi. yeeres, to the age of xx. yeeres, shall take for his wages above xx. s. by the year and his livery, or v.s. for the same, at the election of the said seruant, and from the age of xx. yares, unto xxui. yeres, not above xxvi. s.viii.d. by year and his livery, or v.s. for the same, at the election of the said seruant.  
Item, no man seruant under the age of xvi. yeeres, shall not take any wages, but sufficient meate, drink, and apparel, with other necessaries.  
Item, no woman seruant above xviii. yeeres of age, shall take for her wages& livery, above xiii. s.iiii.d. by year.  
Item, no woman seruant above the age of xiiii. yeeres, unto the age of xviii. yeeres, shall take for her wages and livery, above x.s. by year.  
Item, no woman seruant under the age of xiiii. yeeres, shall take any wages, but meate and drink, and apparel necessary for their degree.  
Item, that no maner of men being husbandry labourers, from the first day of May, until the last day of October, shall take by the day with meate and drink above iii. d. and without meate and drink vi. d. and from the first of October until the first of May, shall take by the day with meate and drink, above ii. d. and without meate and drink v.d. and not above.  
Item, every other inferior man labourer in Hay harvest, or corn harvest, shall haue and take with meate and drink ii. d. and without meate and drink iiii. d. by the day, and every woman labourer in Hay harvest, shall take with meate and drink i.d. and without meate and drink iii. d. and in corn harvest, every woman seruant and labourer, shall take with meate and drink ii. d. and without meate and drink iiii. d. by the day and not above.  
Item, every mower of Hay or corn, shall haue and take by the day with meate and drink iiii. d. and without meate and drink viii. d. and not above.  
Item, that all the aforesaid labourers to be hired by the week or by the month, shall take after the rates aforesaid, accounting the number of dayes in the week, or month, after the rates aforesaid, accounting every Saturday or eve of Holy day, but as half a day.  
Item that all maner of labourers in hedging, ditching, paling, railing, wood making and other task work, shall take for the perch, yard, lugge, pole, dozen of wood, and hundreth of faggot, and other task work, as it may and shall be reasonably agreed between the hirer and the tasker, according to the quality of the work: the hardness, deepness, breadth, length, and other nature of the soil, and the work being therein considered.  
A master Mason, a master Carpenter, a master joiner, a master Plumber, a master Hellier, a master plasterer, and a master Thatcher, and every of them having seruants or apprentices according to the statute, and able to take charge of the work, shall take by the day with meat and drink iiii. d. and without meat and drink viii. d. and not above.  
Item, every other Mason, Carpenter, joiner, Plumber, Hellier, plasterer, tiler, Shindler, and Cowper, being no master, ne apprentice, shall take by the day with meate and drink iii. d. and without meate and drink vi. d. and not above. and every apprentice of the foresaid artes, ii. d. by the day with meate and drink, and without meate and drink v.d. and not above.  
Item, a pair of Sawyers to take by the day with meate and drink viii. d. and without meate and drink xvi. d. and for every hundreth foot of board, or such as saw by task, without meate& drink xviii. d. and not above.  
Item every other master artificer or handicrafts man, mentioned in the said statute, shall take by the day with meate and drink iii. d. and without meate and drink vi. d. and every other artificer and apprentice being no master mentioned in the said act, shall haue by the day with meate and drink ii. d. and without meate and drink v.d. and not above.    
God save the queen. 
 August. 30. 1595.   

❧ Imprinted at London by the Deputies of Christopher Barker, Printer to the queens most excellent majesty.   

❧ By the queen.  
A Proclamation against sundry abuses practised by diuers lewd& audacious persons falsely naming themselves Messengers of her majesties Chamber, traveling from place to place with writings counterfeited in form of Warrants: As also against another sort of vagabond persons that carry counterfeit passports wherewith to beg and gather alms.  
THe queens most excellent majesty being given to understand of certain most notable and lewd practices put in bred by diuers dissolute and audacious persons, to the great slander of her majesties service, and abuse, charge, and hindrance of her majesties loving Subiects: the which deceitful persons falsely taking vpon them to be Messengers of her majesties chamber,& for that purpose undutifully wearing bores or scutcheons of arms, as the Messengers do, being associated with others of like bad disposition, haue of late time, and still do go up and down the country with Writings in the form of Warrants, whereunto the names of the Lords and others of her majesties privy council, and other ecclesiastical Commissioners, are by them counterfeited; by colour whereof they do warn Gentlemen, Ministers of the Church, Women, Yeomen, and other her majesties Subiects, that dwell in sundry Counties of the realm, to appear before the Lords and others of her majesties privy council, and exact fees of them for their labour and travail, as though they had been expressly sent from the Court by the order of the said Lords, to those, whose names are inserted in such counterfeit Warrants. By which slanderous practise, diuers Gentlemen, and other honest persons are not onely defrauded of the money by this fraudulent means extorted from them, but to their further charge and hindrance, do repair from Countries far distant unto the Court, supposing they were sent for by the said Lords of her Highnesse privy council. And although diuers of these shameless counterfeit persons haue( by such means as the said Lords haue used) been apprehended, and brought into the star-chamber, where by just sentence diuers of them haue been condemned, and set on the pillory, lost their ears, and some also marked in the face for their notable abuses, yet such is the audacious and wicked disposition of these most vile and dissolute persons, as they continue more and more this practise to the notorious abuse of the Lords and others of her majesties privy council, and great hindrance and charges to the Subiects, which show a dutiful regard in obeying the said Warrants, as they ought to do, supposing them to be good. For reformation of these foul abuses, her majesties pleasure is, that all Iustices of the Peace, and other public Officers, from henceforth shall do their best endeavour, vpon any notice, or just suspicion given them for the apprehending of these audacious and wicked impostors, and to see them safely sent up to the said Lords of her majesties privy council. And because these persons do practise this abuse especially to make unhonest gain of the same, her majesties pleasure is, that from henceforth no Messenger of her Chamber, groom, or other person, naming themselves pursuivants, shall exact or take any fees of any party, that shall be sent for to appear before the said Lords, until they haue made their appearance at the Court before them, neither shall the party warned give or make any allowance or other consideration to the Messenger, until, vpon his appearance, order shall be taken for the same, which party required to appear, is also to come up in the company of the Messenger, and to be presented by him to the said Lords, or to the clerk of the council attending: and if the Messenger shal refuse to come in his company, pretending any feigned cause or excuse, the party warned may forbear his appearance, and if there be many name in one Warrant, their appearance shall be on a certain day, when the Messenger shall be there also. And if the party warned shall haue any suspicion of the Messenger or of the Warrant to be counterfeit, in that case he may cause the Constable of the Parish, where he dwelleth, or the next public Officer, to bring the supposed Messenger before the next Iustice of Peace, where the Warrant may be viewed, and the party thoroughly examined. And if the Iustice of Peace shall find apparent cause of suspicion, her majesties pleasure is, he shall detain the said Messenger in some Prison, until the Warrant be sent up to her majesties privy council, and the truth may be discovered: or else he shall sand the party under safe custody to the Court, as he shall think good. Where also these base and shameless kind of people the better to colour their lewd dealing, and abuse her majesties Subiects, do offer to compound with the parties, whose names are inserted in the counterfeit Warrants, and to dispense with them for a sum of money, not to make their appearance before the said Lords; whereunto the parties warned to avoid expenses in coming up to the Court, or further cause of trouble, do often yield: Her majesties pleasure is, most straitly to charge and enjoin all and every person and persons that shall be served with any Warrant, requiring his or their appearance before her privy council, not to offer or yield to any such agreement with any Messenger, groom of the Chamber, or other, calling themselves by the name of pursuivants, to be forborn for his said appearance, vpon pain of imprisonment, and her majesties further displeasure. And all Messengers are hereby charged, and specially forbidden to make or take any such composition with any party sent for, vpon pain to loose their place, and to be imprisoned, and severely punished for their misbehaviour.  
moreover where there are another sort of vagabond persons that either themselves do make, or cause counterfeit passports to be made, and licences to beg and gather alms, pretending that they haue been hurt and maimed in her majesties service, or received some other great loss or hindrance by casualty, and unto those licences do counterfeit the hands and seals of the said Lords, and others of her majesties privy counsel, or of some of them, or of some Iustices of the Peace, or of the Generals of her majesties forces beyond the Seas, or of the Captaines of companies and other Officers, thereby to defraud her majesties subiects, and sometimes repair to the Churches at the time of divine service, to make and gather collection by colour of these counterfeit licences: of which sort, there are a great number dispersed in diuers Counties of the realm, conspiring also, and combining themselves together in very tumultuous sort to evil purposes: For the avoiding of which abuses, and just punishment of such wicked and base people, her majesties pleasure is, that all Parsons or Vicars of Parishes, Churchwardens, or other her majesties Officers, and loving subiects, to whom these kind of evil disposed persons may resort, shall consider well of the said licences, and finding cause to suspect the same, they shall bring them before the next Iustice of the Peace to be strictly by them examined, and vpon further cause of suspicion, he shall commit them to some Prison until he may be certainly informed from such, whose names are subscribed to the said passports or licences, whether the same bee true or counterfeit. And because these latter sort being kind of Rogues and loose people, do often assemble in diuers Counties of the realm in great numbers together, and commit robberies, spoils& other outrages, and do threaten further hurt, as hath been manifested by the confessions of some of them that haue been lately apprehended. An Iustices of the Peace and other public Officers are hereby further commanded to use all good and possible means for the apprehension of these malefactors, that they may receive severe punishment according to the quality of their offences, and that thereby also all such further inconvenience, as is by them intended, may be avoyded.  
given at the Court at greenwich the third day of May, in the xxxviii. year of her majesties reign. God save the queen.   

❧ Imprinted at London by the Deputies of CHRISTOPHER BARKER, Printer to the queens most excellent majesty. 1596