A. D. 1341. 529 



ber 1340, King Edwaid offered to pay the owners ^10,000 fteriing, if 

 the duke and community of Genoa would abftain from giving afliftance 

 to his adverfary of France. But this offer the Genoefe appear to have 

 declined. [FcederOj V. -v^pp. 244, 571.] 



Augufl 8"' — The king, finding that wool was fmuggled out of the 

 kingdom wiihout paying the duty, appointed the flaple for wool and 

 other flaple goods to be at Bruges in Flanders, under the diredion of a 

 mayor and conftables to be eledted by the merchants of the kingdom ; 

 and he confirmed all their former liberties and reafonable cufloms. All 

 perfons, natives or foreigners, were permitted to carry wool and other 

 merchandize to Bruges, on giving fecurlty to the colledtors of the cuf- 

 toms that they would carry them to no other place. The mayor and 

 conftables of the ftaple were direded, and empowered, to feize all goods 

 hot fairly cleared out for exportation, and to punifh all offences in the 

 ftaple, not according to the common law of the kingdom, but according 

 to the mercantile law: and, for defraying the necelTary charges, they 

 were authorized to levy a duty on the merchandize imported at Bruges 

 in proportion to the quantity belonging to each perfon. [Fadera, V. v, 

 pp. 273, 275.] 



1342, January 22'', May 28''' — The king wrote other letters to the 

 •duke of Genoa, earneftly labouring to win him to his alliance, and pro- 

 mifmg that the Genoefe merchants fhould be treated in all his do- 

 minions as well as his own fubjeds. IF^dera, V. v, pp. 296, 316.] 



February 14"' — He alfo endeavoured to draw the king of Majorca in- 

 to an alliance with him by a propofal for a marriage, and an offer of 

 commercial favours to his fubjeds, \Foedera, V.v, pp. 2^6, 2^^.^ The 

 commercial propofal had probably as" little efFeft as the matrimonial 

 one. 



1343, Spring — Another law againft carrying money out of the coun- 

 try was now enaded. \^ASts 17 Edw. III.} The frequent renovations 

 of fuch laws were not, it feems, fuflicient to convince the legiflature of 

 their inefficacy. 



The chronological order of this work requires me immediately to lay 

 -before the reader the following ftriking contraft to this ad of the Eng- 

 lifli parliament. 



May i'' — Pedro IV, king of Aragon, coftfidering the great hardship ira- 

 pofed upon the commerce of his fubjeds by an order, contained in the con- 

 ititutions of Catalonia, againft carrying filver out of the country, now 

 granted permiflion to the citizens ot Barcelona to export filver, whether 

 in bullion or in coin, except the money of Barcelona, from any part of 

 his dominions to any foreign country whatfoever. [^Caprnany , Menu hi/I. 

 de Barcelona, V. ii. Col. d'lpl. p. 1 17.] 



May 10^ — The parliament ordained, that no perfon for the three en- 



VoL. I. 3 X 



% 



