** 102 A. D. 1548. 



to be purpofely exprefled very loofely for a loophole), on pain of for- 

 feiting 10/ for the firft offence, and ten days imprifonment, without 

 all that time eating any flefli, and 20/" and twenty days imprifonment 

 for the fecond and for every following offence — This a6t vi'as ' not to 

 ' extend to any who might have the king's licence, nor to aged, weakly, 

 ' fick, or maimed perfons, nor to women with child or lying-in, nor to 

 ' prifoners, nor to the king's lieutenants, or captains of his army or 

 ' forts ; neither was it to extend to St. Lawrence even, St. Mark's day, 

 ' nor to any who heretofore had obtained licence from the archbifhop 

 ' of Canterbury.' 



An aft [2, 3 Edzv. VI, c. 6.] for the encouragement of the New- 

 foundland and Iceland fifheries, obferves in the preamble, that within 

 a few years naff the officers of the admiralty had exaded fums of mo- 

 ney, fliarts of fifh, &c. from the fifhermen, to the great difcourage- 

 ment of the fifheries, and damage of the whole commonwealth ; and 

 ther.efor enacted, that all fuch exaftions fhould be abolifhed. 



About this time the Emperor Charles V is faid to have begun to 

 execute a defign he had long been forming, of reducing the republic of 

 Genoa to a ftate of abfolute dependence on him, thereby to keep a 

 door always open for his armies from Spain to pais into Italy. For the 

 Genoefe, notwithftanding the decay of their former vaft commerce, were 

 ftill immenfely rich, and being great bankers and dealers in money, he 

 realonably concluded, that if, by extraordinary allowances for intereft, he 

 could draw their moneys into his exchequer, he fhould, in that cafe, pof- 

 fefs himfelf of the furefl; plt-dges he could have of their fidelity. In this 

 year, therefor, that emperor being in' the Netherlands, lent for his 

 e^de(l fon Philip, who failing from Barcelona to Genoa (in order to go 

 through Germany to his father), the Genoefe, for a fortnight together, 

 entertained him with furprifing magnificence (lays their hiftorian De 

 Mailly). The prince, whilft there, propofed to the republic that the 

 Spaniards fhould build a citadel in their Tuburbs, the garrifon of which 

 would fecure them from the frequent confpiracies and tumults they 

 were fo liable to. But that propoial was unanimoufly rejeded by the 

 fenate, who were with very good rtafon fufpicious of his great reti- 

 nue, which occafioned a great fquabble between them and the Genoefe, 

 and made the prince glad to leave Genoa. Whereupon (fays De 

 Mailly) the emperor took other meafures to fecure to himfelf the fide- 

 lity of the Genoefe ; for he determined never to pay the fums which 

 he had borrowed of them for his occafions in Italy and the Nether- 

 lands (fee alfo Thuani hijiona, L. Ixi.) but only to pay them the inter- 

 eft, to the end that remuitiing always in their debt, they might live in 

 a conftant dread of embroiling themfelves with a prince who owed 

 them fo much. His fon Philip II improved upon his father's fcheme, 

 whereby many millions of money were borrowed of them on the fe- 



