4 A ROYAL PURVEYANCE IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE. 



and pleasure of God, the amendment of the outrageous grievances 

 and oppressions done to the people, and the relief of their estate, 

 after a general confirmation of previous statutes, immediately 

 proceeds to enact five statutes on the suhject of purveyance. 

 These statutes confirm the exercise of it to the king and queen, 

 and provide that for the future the heinous name of purveyor be 

 changed to that of achatour, i.e. buyer. They forbid the use of 

 force or menaces, and direct that where purveyors cannot agree 

 upon the price, an appraisement shall be made, with other 

 regulations. The provisions of these statutes are very full and 

 satisfactory, but they appear to have wholly failed in their 

 operation. Other statutes were passed, but without effect. Several 

 of the charges against "Wolsey were the exercise of purveyance 

 on his own behalf. 



In the time of Queen Elizabeth, two attempts were made in the 

 same year by the Commons to regulate the abuse of purveyance. 

 The Queen was extremely indignant at this, and desired the 

 Commons not to interfere with her prerogative. In the early 

 years of her reign the Queen appears to have employed this 

 prerogative for the purpose of victualling her navy. She after- 

 wards revoked the warrants issued for that purpose, and designed 

 likewise to have taken away the commissions relating to the 

 provision for her own household, some counties having agreed 

 some time after to yearly furnish oxen, calves, muttons, poultry, 

 corn, malt, and other provisions at a certain rate, to get rid of the 

 collectors a kind of vermin the Queen called harpies. 



These compositions for provision of the royal household, of which 

 we now furnish a complete example, were made by the justices of 

 the peace in each county upon agreement with the officers of the 

 Board of Green Cloth, at such rates and prices as were agreed 

 between them. The difference between the price and the value at 

 market was raised by an assessment in the county, and paid to 

 the owners of the goods, but copyhold estates and small freeholds 

 usually paid nothing towards these provisions. A parish thinking 

 itself over-rated as to quantity to be served, appealed to the Green 

 Cloth, from whence an order was sent to the Quarter Sessions to 

 examine into it. The royal prices were far short of the market 

 rates, and taking the county of Middlesex as an example, the 

 difference in favour of the crown on the articles furnished amounted 

 to nearly a thousand pounds, which would represent a very con- 

 siderable sum according to our present standard. 



