IN the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King Charles the Second, passed an Act of Parliament for Assigning Orders in the Exchequer, without Revocation, made, as is therein expressed, for the Advantage of the Trade of this Kingdom; and for Seven Years to give Credit to His Majesty's Exchequer; also for payment of Moneys that should be Charged on any Branch of His Majesty's Revenue, &c. The said Act encouraged several Goldsmiths and Others to Advance great Sums to serve publick Occasions, which had not been advanced, but upon the Reputation of that Act. But notwithstanding the Encouragement given in that Act, His said Majesty in Council, on the Second of January 1671/72, 1671 declared, That his Necessities forced him to postpone Payments of Money for One Year; And to that purpose was then published his Declaration, to put a stop to Payments in the Exchequer, and to Command the Lords of the Treasury, that they should employ and dispose of all the Moneys so stopped, for setting forth, and payment of the Fleet, and other publick Services, in order to the Preservation and Safety of His Majesty's Government, and Defence of His People.

By the said unusual stop upon Payments in the Exchequer, the said Goldsmiths were unable to pay their Debts: Whereupon His Majesty, to Remove the great Difficulties which very many of His Subjects lay under by the said stop of Payments; And for want of a more effectual Relief, was pleased in April 1676, to direct the then Lord High Treasurer to cause the Accounts of those persons whose Payments in the Exchequer were so stopped to be truly Examined, and exactly Stated; which Matter his Lordship referred to the Consideration of Sir John Ernle, Sir Robert Howard, Charles Bertie Esq Sir George Downeing, Sir Charles Harbord and Mr. Auditor Aldworth, (then Members of the House of Commons;) who having frequently debated, and seriously considered thereof, declared to his Lordship, That they were fully satisfied in each respective person's Account, and had nothing further to Offer or Object in relation thereto; And then, by his Lordship's Order, the said Auditor made up those several Accounts, with the Interest due thereon, to the First of January 1676, after the Rate of Six Pounds per Cent. per Annum; and each of the persons concerned, having Sworn to the Truth of his Account before One of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer, they were approved of and signed by the said Sir John Ernle, as he was Under-Treasurer and Chancellor of the Exchequer; as also by the said Lord-Treasurer, who then were His Majesty's proper Officers for passing Accounts, and under Oath faithfully to discharge those Offices of Trust: So they having in due Form passed those several Accounts, the Lord High Treasurer in February 1676, Reported them to His Majesty in Council.

And in lieu and satisfaction of the Moneys due upon those Accounts to each Respective person, his said Majesty, by his Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England, did about April and May 1677, Grant to them, their Heirs and Assigns, and for the benefit of their Creditors, a yearly Rent or Sum for ever, payable out of the Hereditary Revenue of Excise, equal in Value to the Interest of each Respective Debt, after the Rate of Six Pounds per cent. per Annum, with a Clause of Redemption upon his Majesty's paying the Principal-Money, with the Arrears of Rent: The said Rent or Annual Sums to be paid Quarterly upon Talleys to be struck in the Receipt of the Exchequer upon the Commissioners, &c. of the Excise; And his said Majesty, by the said Patents, Directs and Commands the Treasurer, &c. Barons and Officers of the Exchequer of the King, his Heirs and Successors, That they do from Time to Time perform all Acts necessary for the constant payment of the Money; and from time to time Levy and Strike Talleys without any further Warrant; so that those Yearly Sums may be constantly paid without any further or other Warrant, to be sued for from the King, his Heirs or Successors: And if the Money should happen to be paid into the Receipt of the Exche­quer, that then the High-Treasurer, and Commissioners of the Treasury, Under-Treasurer, Chamberlains and Barons of the Exchequer for the Time being, and all other Officers and Ministers of the Exchequer, and of the Receipt thereof, are authorized and required to pay out of such Moneys as shall be so paid into the Exchequer, or elsewhere, so much as shall be in Arrear, without any further or other Warrant; and the said Payments to be preferred before any other Payment out of the same, by Vertue or Colour of any Warrant, Order or Directions whatsoever, of any After-date, excepting for the Management of the said Revenue, and about 36209 l. 15 s. 4½ a Year to the then Queen-Consort and the Duke of York. Also his Majesty thereby Granted, That those Letters Patents should be Expounded and taken most favourably and beneficially for the Patentees, and their Assigns; also Covenanted to make further Assurance, if required: And on the 23d of May 1677, Ordered in Council, That the said Letters Patents should be printed, and made publick for the Information and Satisfaction of the Creditors of the said Goldsmiths.

And pursuant thereto, the said Patentees, and their Assigns, were paid in the Reigns of King Charles the Second and King James the Second, to Lady-day 1683; but not any part since that time, notwithstanding all due Applications to that purpose. Which Occasioned the Proprietors to have many Thoughts which way to be Relieved: And upon their applying to the Members of the Honourable House of Commons, to know if it was not proper for them to Offer their Case to their Committee of Agrievances; They advised first to prosecute their Legal Remedy, which through great Difficulties hath been Effected by Ten Years Labour, and great Charge: Their Titles under the said Patents have been solemnly allowed to be good, by the several Judgments given in the Court ot Exchequer, for the Patentees and their Assigns. And although by Writs of Error the said Barons Judgments were brought before the then Lord-Keeper of the Great Seal in the Exchequer-Chamber, where the Judges of the King's-Bench and Common-Pleas all agreed, That those Patentees, and their Assigns, have a Legal Title: Also all the Judges but One agreed, That the Jurisdiction of the Court of Exchequer (according to ancient Presidents) is sufficient, and ought to direct Payments 1696 of Money out of the Exchequer, or elsewhere, when a Legal Title is brought before them: But the said Judgments of the Barons being Reversed by the Lord-Keeper, and a Writ of Error being allowed in Mr. Williamson's Cause against the said Judgment of Reversal, the last Session of Parliament, the House of Lords had the Records of the said Proceedings brought before 1699 their Lordships; and upon their hearing Counsel on both sides, as also the Judges Opinions, their Lordships Reversed the said Lord-Keeper's Judgment of Reversal; and affirmed the Judg­ment of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer, and Remitted the same to the said Barons, to make Execution accordingly; which the Barons have also Awarded, by their Writ of Exe­cution, carrying with it a Liberate or Warrant, to the Commissioners of the Treasury, and Chamberlains of the Receipt, to pay the Arrears to Christmas 1699; and that for the Quarterly payments after the said time, [...] upon the Commissioners, &c. of the Excise, to the said Williamson, as they grow due, pursuant to the said Letters Patents; and accordingly Demands have been made by the said Williamson of the Commissioners of the Treasury, and Chamberlains of the Receipt, who have made payment thereon.

☞ If Demanded, What does these Proprietors expect from the Parliament, now they are to provide for Deficiencies, and the Nation's Safety &c.?

It is Answered, They neither design to hinder other Business, nor expect any new Fund; but pray, that they may enjoy the Fruits of their Legal Estates, according to the Re­lief which the Law hath given them; and not be obstructed therein, by a Scruple made by the King's Counsel in the Court of Exchequer, when the Barons Awarded the said Writ of Execution: Viz.

That there is not any Saving for these Proprietors Estates out of the Hereditary Excise, which is one of the Revenues in the Act, for Granting to His Majesty a further Subsidy of Tunnage and Poundage, towards Raising the Yearly Sum of Seven hundred thousand Pounds, for the Service of His Majesty's Houshold, and other Uses, &c. And the Overplus is not to be disposed of without Authority of Parliament: So from thence they infer, That these Proprietors are thereby debarred the Payment of their Annual Rents or Sums, from Christmas 1699, when that Act Commenced, during His Majesty's Life; And the said Barons refusing to give their Opinions of the said Act as to this Matter, unless it were with the Rest of the Judges, they Awarded the said Execution for Payment out of the Money arising from the Hereditary Excise; Not otherwise disposed or applied by Authority of Parliament; nor forbid or restrained to be disposed or applied without Authority of Parliament.

Upon a Petition in the Honourable House of Commons (at the Passing that Act) for a Saving of these Proprietors Legal Rights, it was there debated, and agreed to be needless, because that Bill no ways affected their Estates, nor any Saving made therein for any other Persons, who are also Entituled unto several Estates from the Crown: However, to satisfy them it should not Injure them, was put in the word hereafter in the Sentence, That all Grants and Dispositions whatsoever hereafter to be made of such Overplus, &c. (shall be void; which their Counsel also took to be an Allowance of their Patents.

His Majesty having the Four and Twenty Thousand Pounds a Year, which is Excepted in their said Patents for the Duke of York; and also the Remainder of the Hereditary Excise, which was King Charles the Second's, after Payment of the said Patentees and their Assigns what due to them, they could not have been part of the Provision for His Majesty's Houshold, &c. unless the Act for Raising that Duty had been mentioned in the Preamble amongst the other Revenues, out of which His Majesty's said Seven Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year should arise; but all those Branches were His Majesty's Revenues, excepting the Customs therein mentioned, before that Act was made; so they neither needed Granting, or was thereby Granted to His Majesty, but stood in all respects betwixt the King and private Persons, in the same Condition as they were in, before the Passing of that Act.

The said Act did not Commence, until near Two years after it was Enacted, that the Talleys therein mentioned might first be paid; but there is not therein any word tending to a Resumption of any Grants or Annual Payments; nor a Saving for any persons Rights or Titles out of any of those Revenues, not so much as for Charges in Collecting; And in the Enacting-part is only an Appropriating of the King's Clear Money out of all those Branches of Revenue. But the said Scruple tends to the Ruin of Thousands of the Subjects of this Kingdom, by depriving them of the Fruits of their said Estates in Fee, unless they shall be Redeemed by Payment of the Principal-Money, and the Arrears thereof; Although in the said Act, neither their Persons nor Titles are so much as mentioned, nor any Reason therein given, for doing these proprietors such an Injury, whose Titles being purchased for valuable Considerations, they are in no particular inferior to the best of Titles from the Crown.