THE DERBY COMPANY OF MERCERS. 151 



now from the first of August 1698 charged with an additionall 

 duty of i^" And on June i6th, 1719, it was "agreed that wee 

 will enter the members of this Company upon stamped paper as 

 the Law directs." 



There is a sheet of parchment about 29 X 12 inches with 

 thirteen names written on it, saying that each one was " admitted 

 a member of the Mercers Company." The dates run from 1683 

 to 1720, and correspond with those in the minutes on which the 

 respective people were elected brothers of the Company. From 

 an analysis of the signatures to the minutes for several years 

 preceding 1720, it appears that this is a list of names of the 

 thirteen officers of the Company in 1720. It is signed '■'ad hue 

 supvd R. Baynes." For each name two one-shilling stamps are 

 attached. This parchment roll may be the result of the minute 

 of June 1 6th, 17 19. We have seen that brothers were called 

 members on this parchment, and on and after April 7th, 1724, 

 the word " member" is always used in the minutes instead of the 

 old and correct word "brother." 



After the minutes of May 14th, 1730, the inspector wrote: 

 " Supvis Wm. Longman ; " immediately under is the following 

 entry, which for some time the writer of this paper could not 

 understand — 



" Fra Walker Jun 

 pauU Nightingale 



on no stamp 



Joseph Wharton on ■? . 6 1 , „ 



^ ^ \ only" 



James Grayson on do. 6 j 



The whole has been crossed through with the pen, and under- 

 neath written, "All made good by Wm. Longman, exc: Nightin- 

 gale." All this is in Mr. Longman's hand-writing. Some papers 

 received afterwards explained the entry. They were eleven 

 certificates of membership of the Company (for nine members, 

 two of them being duplicates with the difference explained below). 

 They are very likely some of the stamped papers referred to in 

 the minute of June i6th, 17 19. 



Two of them were for Mr. Joseph Wharton, saying that he was 

 admitted free of the Mercers' Company. The one is on paper, 



