1 6 ENFORCEMENT OF THE STATUTES OF LABOURERS 



general clause for the enforcement of the legislation, has 

 now become the opening clause, and is followed by the 

 clause for the supervision of local officials (formerly 

 clause 5), and by the clause on the punishment of all 

 offences against both the ordinance and the statute (for- 

 merly clause 7). Usually the power to hear and deter- 

 mine unfinished indictments is included in this last. The 

 only important modification is the addition of the clause 

 concerning weights and measures. 



In the case of the counties palatine there is less evi- 

 dence as to the form of the commissions.' For Chester 

 the first entry on the Recognizance Rolls is a reference 

 to a commission for Flint, apparently dated 30 Sep- 

 tember, 1360;^ but other sources show that justices of 

 labourers, evidently on commissions distinct from those 

 of the peace, were acting in Chester in 1352, 1353, 1356, 

 1357, 1358 and 1359.^ For Durham, although the 

 statute is punctually enrolled on the Cursitor's Roll,"* I 

 have found no record of any commission issued between 

 that of 1350, already described, and one of 1369.^ For 

 Lancaster, commissions for labourers entered on the 

 Chancery Rolls were issued in 1355,^ i357^ ^"d 1359/ 



*I have examined the manuscript evidence for the commissions for 

 labourers only. 



'•' " Commissio Ken ap Roppert ad inquirendum de operatoribus et 

 artificibus," 30 Sept., 34th year; Recognizance Roll, no. 43, m. i. Cf. 

 Calendar in /?. £>. K., xxxvi, app. 2, 409. I have reason to believe 

 that the date should be a year later, but the discussion of this point does 

 not belong to this monograph. 



'App., 145-149- 



'Cursitors' Records, 30, rot. i, Hatfield, ann. 6, m. 6 d; cf. Lapsley, 

 op. cit., 125. For calendar, see app., ig-20. 

 *Rymer, iii, pt. 2, 863; Lapsley, op. cit., 179. 



*App., 29-31; there is some difficulty as to the date. 'App., 2T. 



"Duchy of Lancaster, Chancery Rolls of the Palatinate, ii, no. 38d; 



