678 A. D. 1465. 



1465, January— The parliament, obferving that many frauds had 

 crept into the manuflidure of cloths, by reafon of which their reputa- 

 tion in foreign countries was much impaired, and foreign cloths were 

 even imported into England, ena£ted, that every whole cloth, when 

 properly finifhed for fale, fliould meafure 24 yards in length, and 2 

 yards, or at leafl 7 quarters, in breadth within the lifts : if longer, the 

 buyer fhould pay for the extra meafure. Straits, properly finifhed, 

 fhould meafure 12 yards in length and i yard in breadth; kerfeys, 18 

 yards in length and i-'y, or at leaft 1 yard, in breadth. Half pieces of 

 each in proportion, and all meafured with an allowance of an inch to 

 every yard in the length. The makers were prohibited from putting 

 lamb's wool, flocks, or cork *, in any cloth. Cloth might be made, 

 however, all of lamb's wool : and cork might be ufed in dying cloth or 

 wool woaded, or cloth perfe6lly boiled and maddered. They required, 

 that cloths fliould be perfedly uniform in their fabric from end to end, 

 and they ordained, that cloths of unequal fabric, and thofe of irregular 

 lengths, fliould be diftinguifhed by leaden feals, different from thofe put 

 upon goods of flandard dimenfion and quality. — Another abufe, com- 

 plained of, was, that the manufacturers compelled their carders, fpin- 

 ne^s, and other work-people to take ' a great part of their wages in 

 ' pins, girdles, and other unprofitable wares,' and alio delivered wool to 

 them by exceflive weight ; wherefor it was now ordained, that they fliould 

 pay their labourers in money only, and ufe jufl weights. — The parlia- 

 ment alfo now declared, that all foreign-made cloth, found in England 

 after the i" of Auguft 1465, fliould be forfeited to the king, except 

 cloths made in Ireland or Wales, or taken from enemies upon the fea 

 without fraud or collufion. \^J£is 4 Edw. IV^ c. i.] 



In order to abolifh the trade of fmuggling wool, which was openly 

 fliipped off in defiance of the law by day-light, as well as fecretly by 

 night, it was enacted, that it fliould be exi^orted at no other ports or 

 creeks, than Pool, Southampton, Chichefter, Sandwich, London, Ipf- 

 wich, Bofton, Hull, and Lynne, at all which ports colledfors of the cuf- 

 toms were ftationed, and beams and weights provided ; and alio that it 

 fliould be fliipped only in gallies and carracks, except what was to go to 

 the Mediterranean. The cuftom-houfe officer at Calais was direded to 

 give every merchant a certificate of the wool landed by him there, 



