566 
But as 418lbs. was still the quan- 
tity of bread to be sold for the 
price of a quarter of wheat, your 
Committee are led to believe that 
the allowance in bread no longer 
continued to be noticed, 
During the reigns of James I., 
and Charles I., the money allow- 
ance was at 6s. ; by thestatute of 
eighth of Anne, the money allow- 
ance was raised to 12s., but by a 
slight error in the calculation of 
the tables, the weight of bread 
was reduced to 417 Ibs; and as 
this statute continued in force 
down to the year 1758, this acci- 
dental variation is the only one 
which for the long period of 556 
years took place in the quantity 
of bread which was to be sold 
for the price of a quarter of 
wheat. 
The Act of 31 Geo.II, repealed 
the8th of Anne and it contained 
a table of assize constructed 
on a principle differing from all 
those which preceded it ; instead 
of 417lbs. the bakers were to 
sell no more than 365lbs. of 
wheaten bread for the price of a 
quarter of wheat, and 52lbs. of 
bread were by these means added 
to the two advantage loaves ori- 
ginally granted, an alteration 
which could not fail materially 
to raise the price of bread ; and 
your committee therefore beg 
leave to point out its practical 
result. By the table in 8th of 
Anne, when wheat was at 84s, 
and the baker’s allowance at 19s. 
the quarter, 4lbs 5 oz. 8 dr. be- 
ing a quarten loaf of wheaten 
bread, was to be sold for one 
shilling. 
By the table of Geo. II. when 
wheat was equally at 84s. and 
the baker’s allowance at 195. the 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 
1815. 
quarter, the quartern loaf of. 
‘wheaten bread was to be sold 
for 133d. But as there is no- 
thing in the act itself, or in any 
of the records of the House, 
which your Committee have ex- 
amined, which in any way notices 
the important alteration above 
pointed out, your Committee 
have no means of explaining 
the grounds on which it was 
made. 
The operation of the law, how- 
ever, and the higher price of 
bread it occasioned, gave rise to 
much inquiry ; and in the 13th 
of the King an Act was passed, 
the object of which was, to restore 
the bread laws to their former 
footing. This statute contained 
a re-enactment of the table of 
the 8th Anne, and contained also 
specific directions for dressing 
the flour of which the bread was 
to be made ; but as these direc- 
tions were in themselves contra- 
dictory, and as the profits to the 
bakers were by the construction 
of the table so largely reduced, 
they found means to prevent the 
possibility of putting it in force 
in London, although an attempt 
was made to do so in the year 
1800. 
YourCommitteehavingproceed~ 
ed thus far in their examination 
of the tables of assize, by which, 
according to the market price of 
wheat (and latterly of flour) the 
price of bread was to be set, pro- 
ceeded to inquire in what way 
that market price was directed to 
be ascertained: and on this sub- 
ject they found nothing earlier 
than the statute of Anne; therein 
it is directed generally, ‘* That 
the magistrates, in setting the 
assize of bread, are to have re- 
