Jews) was rais'd upon his Demeanes, Efcheats and Wardships, and upon the Burghs and Towns of the Realm. In the elder Times it was ufually call'd Donum and Affifa. Donum was a general Word,and us'd with great Latitude. When it was paid for or out of Lands which were not of a Military Tenure, it fignify'd Hidage; when it was paid out of Knight's Fees, it was Scutage; and when it was paid by Towns and Burghs, it was Tallage. Thofe Manors and Lands were properly talliable to the King, which the King had in his own Hands, and under the fame were comprehended the King's Efcheats and Wardships. Moreover, fome Serjeanties were wont to be tallag'd together with the King's Demeanes; that is (I fuppofe) certain Petit Serjeanties of an ignoble and inferior Kind, and fuch as had no Military Service annex'd to them. If Men were not the King's immediate Tenants, they were not tallageable to the King, but to their immediate Lord. The Tallages affefs'd upon the King's ancient Demeanes were more heavy than the Tallages upon other Perfons living in the Counties at large. When a Town was tallag'd, the Tallage was rais'd upon the Men of the Town; and they were properly the Men of the Town, who belong'd to the Gild, and made Merchandize in the Town. p. 480, 497, 498, 499, and 500.

Carucage was alfo a Duty paid to the King in ancient Time; to wit, fo much for each Carue of Land holden by bafe or inferior Tenure. Duty we find but little Account. p. 502.

Of this

None, Difme, Quinzieme, Vintifme, Trentifme, were fo call'd from the Quantity and Proportion of their Payment, as the feveral Names do import. p. 503.

Tallage was wont to be affefs'd upon the Men of the Demeanes and Towns, fometimes in communi; fometimes by the Poll, per Capita, or per fingulos; a 4

at other times, partly one of these ways, and partly the other. Tallage was not demandable of Lands held in Frankalmoine. p. 506.

Custom paid to the King was anciently wont to be call'd in Latin, Confuetudo and Cuftuma. Confuetudo was us'd in an extenfive Senfe, for Payments or Duties of many Kinds.

There was a Custom or Duty paid to the King for Wines, which was call'd Prifa and Recta Prifa; the Proportion of which was one Dolium before the Maft, and another behind the Maft. 'Tis true,

Prifa is a Word of equivocal Meaning: Properly it fignify'd Capture, and was fometimes us'd for Captures taken in War; fometimes for Purveyance, Impoft, or Capture of other Kinds. p. 525.

Difme, Quinzime, &c. were alfo taken of Merchants trafficking along the Thames; and this Duty, or at least one Part of it, was call'd Avalagium Thamifia. p. 529.

To thefe Duties may be added those paid to the King's Chamberlains of London for his Ufe; the Duties arifing at Billingsgate, and by Tronage. p. 531.

In Procefs of Time, the King's Cuftoms came to be moft generally call'd Cuftuma, and were wont to be laid on Wool, Pelts, or Skins with the Wool or Hair on, and Leathers. p. 535.

Having faid thus much concerning the Duties in general, it will not be improper to fee from the fame Gentleman, how the Payments were made; with a Word of old Coins and Mints.

In the Time near the Conqueft there was in England very little Money in Specie; the general Payments were by Services, by Work, and Provisions. Till the Reign of K. Henry I. the Rents and Ferms due to the Crown were render'd in Provifions and Neceffaries for his Houfhold; but in K. Henry the Firft's Reign the fame were chang'd into Money; and

in fucceeding Times were chiefly anfwer'd in Gold and Silver, and Horfes, Dogs, and Hawks, &c. Hist. Excheq. p. 186.

Payments ad Scalam and ad Penfum were by Weight. Twenty Shillings was then a Pound, and the Officers took Six Pence over, called VantageMoney. This kind of Payment was very ancient. When Payment was made ad Penfum, the Payer was to make good the Weight, tho' he had allow'd the 6 d. over. To prevent Fraud in the Fineness, as well as Weight, part of the Money was melted down, called Combustion. There were two Sorts of Payments by Combustion, real and nominal; real, when a Sample of the Money was put into the Furnace; nominal, when a 20th Part of a Pound was taken and accepted in lieu of actual Combuftion.

When Money paid in was melted down, or the Supplement made by adding one Shilling to each twenty, the Ferme was faid to be dealbated or blanched. So 100 l. thus paid into the Exchequer, after Combustion, was faid to be 100 l. Blank. Payments made Numero, or by Tale, is our modern Way. Ibid. p. 187.

Payments, or at least Computations, were made by Pounds, by Marks, half Marks, Shillings, Pence, &c. Silver Marks, and half Marks; Ounces, and half Ounces of Gold. The Mark of Gold was equivalent to fix Pounds of Silver, or fix fcore Shillings of Silver. The Ounce of Gold was equivalent to 15 s. Silver. The Pound of Silver was 20 s. The Mark of Silver 13 s. 4 d. The Shilling 12 d. Ibid. p. 189.

1

In King Stephen's Time there was a Coin call'd Denarius.

A Bezant was of the Value of two Shillings, and that was anfwer'd in lieu of a Talent.

About the Year 1175 (22 Hen. II.) new Money was made in England. p. 190.

In

In or about 1207 (9 K. John) there were feve ral Mints in England; as at Winchefter, Exeter, Chichefter, Canterbury, Rochefter, Ipfwich, Norwich, Lynn, Lincoln, Tork, Carlile, Northampton, Oxford, Bury, Durham.

About the Year 1318, (12 Edw. II.) at London and Canterbury was minted, between the 11th of June and 19th of November, being the 11th Year of his Reign, and to the 21st of April in his 12th Year, 40730 l. p. 198.

Having explain'd all the feveral Denominations of Taxes and Contributions, and how the Payments were made, with fomething of Coins and Mints from the Hiftory of the Exchequer, the next fhall be a M.S. in the Cotton Library, showing by whom first, and how often afterwards, thofe Duties were levy'd, with the many Contefts about Purveyors, &c•

Cotton Library, Cleopatra, F. VI, Fol. 69.

Money rais'd by Impofitions for Defence of the State.

For fuppreffing Incurfions and Piracy upon the Coaft by the French (as formerly Danegelt was among the Saxons) Tonnage and Poundage was granted by Parliament in the forty-fifth Year of Edward III. and was rais'd of every Tun of Wine 2 s. and of every Pounds worth of Merchandize 6 d. And two Fifteenths, with the like Poundage, in the forty-feventh Year. The Tonnage, with the laft, being renew'd in the fecond Year of Richard II. for eleven Months only. And both of them granted in the feventh of the fame King for one Year. And in the tenth of the fame King, for Guard of the Sea, half a Tenth and Fifteenth granted. And

the

the Tonnage improv'd to 3 s. and the Poundage to I s. was granted for one Year' to him; and, by feveral Admittats, fo continued until the twentieth of his Reign.

Two Shillings Tonnage and eight Pence Poundage were impos'd the fecond of Henry IV. and fo continued, with one Year's Intermiffion, unto his Death. Henry V. held them, as his Father did, all his Life. And fo did Henry VI. but with two Years Intermiffion. And Edward IV. his firft Year; and, after his third, held them both, at the last Rate, for Term of Life. To Henry VII. they were advanc'd, the one to 3 s. and the other to 12 d. and continued the most part of his Reign without Interruption. Thus, what in the firft Nature was not invested perpetual in the Crown, but permiffive and restrictive, as pleafed the Affent and Occafion of the general State, is now become no conditional Gratuity, but a prerogative Duty.

Money rais'd for Conclufion of Peace.

King William II. to procure and buy Peace at the Hand of his elder Brother, was inforc'd to borrow of his Subjects 1000 l. And in the Time of Richard II. in the Year 1395, the Clergy and Commons grant the King a Moiety of a Tenth and a Fifteenth for Conclufion of a Peace with France.

For fuppreffing of Herefies and Defence of the Church.

To Henry II. 1166, was given from the Value of every Man's Estate 12 d. in the Pound, for Defence of the Church. And in the Year 1290, the Clergy grant a tenth, and the Laity a fifteenth

Penny