FOr as much as the City of London is of late years sore [Page 2] decayed, and daily is like to decay more and more, a great cause and occasion whereof, among other, hath been, for that free-mens chil­dren, Orphans of the said City, sometimes in the lives of their parents, and some­times after their deceases, being left wealthy and rich, do bestow themselves in un­godly marriages for the most part in their young age, at their own wills and pleasures, without the con­sent, and against the minds of their friends, saying & af­firming, that the Law and custome of the said City gi­veth [Page 3] unto them their porti­ons, whether they marry by the assent of their friends or not, and so doe daily cast a­way and undoe themselves, in trust to have their said portions whether their pa­rents or friends will or not, and thereby do bestow them­selves upon simple and light persons, having neither cun­ning, knowledge, substance, ne good or honest conditi­ons: by reason whereof such Orphans inordinately and insolently doe spend and consume their patrimony and portions in short time, not onely to the undoing of [Page 4] themselves, and to the great ignominy and shame of their friends, but also to the great slander of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City, who being re­puted and taken as fathers and protectors of the same Orphans, and to the great loss and hinderance of the said City.

And for as much as the said Lord Maior & Citizens have by their laws and cu­stomes, power and authori­ty to make laws and ordi­nances by their Common Councell for redress of the same: It is therefore now, to [Page 5] the intent to reduce the same to a more godly, more profitable & decent order and conformity, by the said Lord Maior & Commonalty & Ci­tizens in this present Com­mon Councel assembled, & by the authority of the same Common Councel ordained, enacted, authorised, and e­stablished for a Law perpe­tually to be observed and kept within the said City, That if any Orphan or child of any free-man or free-wo­man of the said City, do of­fend in any the things here­after expressed, and be there­of lawfully convicted afore [Page 6] the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen, or elsewhere, that then they and every of them, shall to all intents, purposes, constructions and meanings, be unabled and barred to demand and claim their portion or portions, and also shall lose and for­goe, and be barred for ever of all and every his, her or their part or parts and por­tions, to him or them be­longing, by and after the death of his said father or mother, of the goods and chattels of every such fa­ther and mother, by reason of any law, custome, ordi­nance, [Page 7] usage, franchise, pri­viledge, act of Common Councel, or other things heretofore had or used with­in the said City, the same Law, custome, ordinance, or other thing whatsoever heretofore had, made, ordai­ned, allowed and put in ure to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding: That is to wit, First, If any man child or woman child shall maliciously go about or at­tempt to doe or cause to be done any bodily harm, death or destruction to his or their father or mother, or if any man child do hereafter mar­ry [Page 8] or contract marriage in the life of his father or mo­ther by whom he will claim any portion, under the age of one & twenty years, with­out the consent of his said father or mother by whom he will claim any portion, or if any woman child doe hereafter marry or contract marriage in the life of her father or other parents by whom shee shall claim any portion, before the age of eighteen years, without the consent of her father or such other parent by whom shee shall or may claim any por­tion, or if any man child be [Page 9] a thief, or a felon, or com­mon whorehaunter, or com­mon dicer or common play­er at unlawfull games no­toriously known, or if any woman child shall hereaf­ter commit any whoredome or be a common picker, that then every of the persons so offending shall be barred & excluded to have or demand any portion: Provided al­waies that it shall be law­full for the father or mother of any such child or children to give and bequeath in le­gacy to such child or children as much as the portion of such child so offending shall [Page 10] amount unto by the custom of the said City, and then such child thereby to be ena­bled to have and demand the same as portion, this act notwithstanding; so that the same legacy be contained in his or their testament in wri­ting and not otherwise: and that then and from thence­forth his said child or chil­dren to be admitted and re­stored to claim such legacy or legacies in such sort, manner & form, as if there had been never such offence done or committed by any such child.

Item, it is further ordai­ned, [Page 11] enacted, authorised and established by authority aforesaid, that if any wo­man child being an Orphan & under the age of xxi. years, at any time hereafter after the death of her father doe censure or contract her selfe in marriage, or else accor­ding to the Ecclesiasticall laws of this Realm do per­fectly solemnize or consum­mate marriage with any free-man of this City, the consent & agreement of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the said City of London for the time being, not obtai­ned & had, that then for every [Page 12] such default & offence com­mitted or done by any Or­phan or Orphans of the said city, the same being con­fessed or sufficiently proved by two witnesses or other­wise, before the Lord Maior & Aldermen of this said Ci­ty of London for the time being at & in a Court of Al­dermen, she or they that so happen to behave her or themselves as is aforesaid, shall forfeit and forgoe and lose xii. d. of and for every pound so due or to be due un­to her or them by reason of any such Orphanage: The summe of xii. d. of every [Page 13] pound to goe or be to the use of the Chamber of the said City, according to the anci­ent custome before this time in such case used. And if the said contract or marriage of the said Orphan or orphans be made with any foreine, not being free of this City at the time of any such con­tract or marriage made, that then the said Orphan or Or­phans & every of them shall forfeit & lose three shillings of every pound due or to be due unto her or them by ver­tue of any Orphanage or custome, had or used within the said City, the one shil­ling [Page 14] of the said three shil­lings of every pound to goe or be to the use of the Chamber of the said City, in such manner and form as is aforesaid, and the other two shillings so forfeited of every pound to go to the use of such other Orphan or Orphans as then shall re­main unmarried, or else for default of such Orphans or Orphans to remain to the next of the kindred of the Orphan so offending.

Also be it further enacted, ordained and established by authority aforesaid, for and in eschewing of divers vari­ances, [Page 15] contentions & suites that daily heretofore have and hereafter may ensue, That if any free-mans child man or woman fortune to be married hereafter in the life time of his or their father by his consent, and not fully advanced of & to his or her full part or portion of his or her said fathers goods as he shall be worth at the time his decease, according to the ancient laws & customes of this said City, that then eve­ry such free-mans child so being married in the life time of his or her father shal be to all intents & purposes [Page 16] disabled to demand any fur­ther part or portion of his or her fathers goods after the decease of his or their fa­ther, but shall be adjudged, reputed and taken to be ful­ly advanced, according as the law & custome of this Ci­ty hath been long time out of mind, except his or her said father doe mention cer­tainly in his last wil or testa­ment, or by other writing signed with his own proper name or mark, the certainty of the sum or sums of mony, goods and chattels, and the value of them, that the fa­ther gave or departed with­all [Page 17] or otherwise assured, or hereafter shall give, pay or depart withall, or other­wise make assurance of un­to him or her, before, at, or after the marriage of him or her, or otherwise in his life time for & towards their advancements in the name of his or her part or porti­on. And then every such Or­phan or child which after the decease of his or her said father can bring forth the said testament or other wri­ting signed or marked with their fathers hand or mark, wherein the certainty of such mony, goods or chat­tals [Page 18] as they have or shall have received of their said father or by the same father assured by especialty, or o­therwise, shall have as much of the ready mony, goods, chattals and debts of the said father as (with that which he or they shall have received towards their advancements in the life of their said father) shall make up a full childs part of his goods and chattels as he shall be worth at the time of his decease, the same to be de­manded, asked and claimed, or sued for against the Exe­cutor or Executors, Admi­nistrator [Page 19] or Administrators of the goods and chattels of the said father by Bill origi­nal, to be commenced in our Sovereign Lord the Kings Court holden in the utter Chamber of the Guildhall of the said City, before the the said Lord Maior and Aldermen of the same City for the time being: any law or custome heretofore made or used to the contrary not­withstanding: in which acti­on no wager of law shall be admitted or allowed.

Provided alway, and it is further enacted, that if any free-mans son being of full [Page 20] age, which shall hereafter be married with the consent of his father or any other person, being of full age, which shall hereafter marry any free-mans daughter, do at the time of the espousals, or any time after, confesse themselves by writing fully satisfied of his or their por­tion, or do otherwise acquit and discharge the father of such free-mans sonns or daughters of all their part and portion, due, or to be due by the law and custome of this City: that then every such person so confessing, ac­quitting, or otherwise dis­charging, [Page 21] shall be reputed & taken as fully advanced of his or thier full part and por­tion, and shall not be enabled to demand any further or greater part of the sub­stance, goods and chattels, of his or her father: this law, or any other law or cu­stome, heretofore had, made, or used to the contrary not­withstanding.

And further, for as much as it is thought very preju­dicial and hurtfull to the fa­therlesse children and Or­phans, when the mother or mother in law, being Execu­trix of the last will and testa­ment [Page 22] of her late husband, by whom, & after whose death, the Orphans are entituled to an Orphanage, according to the laudable customes of this City, do divers times marry, or contract matri­mony, some with forreiners and persons unknown, and some with free-men, or ever a just inventory of the goods, chattels, plate, jew­els, ready mony of the testa­tors, be by them brought in, by reason whereof many times they either for fear or affection of their husbands, or for some other sinister cause, do bring in very suspi­tious [Page 23] inventories, omitting therein, either ready mony, plate, jewels, or debts, or some other thing or things, whereby some benefit should redound to the fatherlesse children, to the great loss & hinderance of the Orphans, & sometimes slander to the Lord Maior & Aldermen of this City, notwithstanding their great care and travail that they take for the good ordering and true answe­ring of the said Orphans: It is therefore by like au­thority ordained, established and enacted, that if after the first day of November [Page 24] next ensuing, any widow, which is or shall be made Executrix of the testament and last will of her late hus­band being free-man, or shall take upon her the Ad­ministration of the goods and chattels of her late hus­being a free-man, doe not upon her oath bring and ex­hibit, or cause to be brought in & exhibited, before the said Lord Mayor and Alder­men of this said City for the time being, at and in a Court of Aldermen, a just and perfect inventory to their knowledge of all the goods, chattels, plate [Page 25] and jewels, ready money and debts as were her said husbands at the time of his death appraised accor­ding to the Law of the said City, before shee doe en­sure her selfe in marriage or contract marriage, or else according to the Lawes of the Realme doe perfectly solemnize or consummate marriage with any person, before such time as afore­said: That then every per­son so offending, shall for­feit and lose eight shillings of every pound of her por­tion of the goods of her late husband, due to her by the [Page 26] laudable Custome of this said City, the same to goe to the use of such Orphan or Orphans as then shall be entituled to have or de­mande any Orphanage or Portion after the death of his or her late Father, the same to be demanded, ask­ed, claymed, or sued for, against such Executrix or Administratrix by Bill o­riginall or Debt to be com­menced in our Sovereign Lord the Kings Court, holden in the utter Cham­ber of the Guildhall of the said City, before the Lord Mayor and Alder­men [Page 27] of the same City for the time being, any Law, &c.

In which Action no Wager, &c.