A. D. 1429; 645 



judicial to the kingdom, and it being alleged that they innported no 

 money (their proceeds being apparently inverted in goods wanted at 

 . home, and yielding a profit upon importation) they were now ordered 

 to carry their goods to Calais, as other fubjecls of England were obliged 

 to do. Perfons conveying llaple goods into Scotland, in order to evade 

 this law, were to be punillied by confifcation of their goods with double 

 value, and a year's imprifonment. [c. 21.] 



Some regulations againft fraudulent pradices in exporting and pack- 

 ing wool, and againfl felling the ends of woollen yarn, called thrums, 

 were now enaded. [cc. 22, 23.] 



It was ufual with foreign merchants to ftipulate with the buyers, that 

 the payments fliould be made in gold, apparently for the convenience 

 of carriage, as the laws fubjeded them to the expenfe and rifk of fmug- 

 gling their money out of the country. The parliament, in order to 

 counteract their purpofe, ordained that no perfon fliould be compelled 

 to pay in gold: and they alio enaded, that no perfon in England fliould- 

 fell any goods to a foreigner, unlefs for ready money, or goods in ex- 

 change immediately delivered, [c. 24.] 



All thefe fetters upon commerce, impofed, as the legiflators fincerely 

 believed, for advancing the profperity of it, were like attempts to pre- 

 vent the rivers from running in their natural courfes. 



1430, March — In Scotland the parliament enadlcd, that no perfons un- 

 der the rank of knights, or having lefs than 200 marks of yearly in- 

 come, fliould wear clothes made of filk or adorned with the finer furs. 

 The fons and heirs of the noble and opulent were allowed to drefs as 



fine as their fathers In cafe of vefl^els being wrecked on the coafl: of 



Scotland, the prefervation of the property for the owners, or the con- 

 fifcation of it to the king, was regulated by the law refpeding wrecks 

 in the country to which they belonged — All proprietors of land within 

 fix miles of the weft and north coafts, except thole who held their land 

 by the fervice of finding velTels, were now ordered to contribute to the 

 building and equipment of gallies for the public fervic, in the propor- 

 tion of one oar of the gallies to every four marks worth of land. [yJcfs 

 Jac.I.cc. 133, 138, 140.] 



July 12*'' — The fuperiority of the Englifli commerce and manufac- 

 tures over thofe of Scotland appears by King James employing two citi- 

 zens of London to ftiip for his own ufe 20 tuns of wine, 12 bows, 4. 

 dozen yards of cloth of different colours and 12 yards of fcarlet, 20 

 yards of red worfted, 8 dozen pewter veflels, 1,200 wooden bowls (or 

 caps) packed in 4 barrels, 3 dozen coverels, a bafin and font, 2 lumnier 

 laddies, i hackney faddle, and i woman's diddle with furniture, 2 

 portmanteaus, 4 yards of motley, 5 yards of morrey, 5 yards ot black 

 cloth of lyre, 12 yards of kerfey, 12 fl<ins of red leather, and fonie trifl- 

 ing articles. Thefe goods, fliipped onboard a velfel belonging to Lou- 



