WHEREAS in pursuance of the Resolutions of the late Parliament to settle a yearly Revenue of Thirteen hundred Thousand pounds for support of the Government and defence of these Nations by Sea and Land, It being found that the Imposition of the Excise is the most easie and indifferent Le­vy that can be laid upon the People, aswel for and towards the discharging of those Engagements which lye, and are charged upon that Receipt, as for the carrying on the other urgent and pressing Affairs of the Commonwealth, and defraying the Charges of the Naval Forces thereof in the present War with Spain, and against the Common Enemy; An Act was made in the same Parliament, Intituled, An Additional Act for the better improvement and advancing the Receipts of the Excise and New Impost, Wherein it is (amongst other things) Provided and Enacted, That no Fine imposed, or Imprisonment, Penalty, or Forfeiture inflicted, or seizure made by, or by vertue of the said Act, or any other Act or Ordinance for or concerning the levy­ing or paying of the duty of Excise for any In-land commodity, shall be levied or executed, or sale of any such seizure be made by the Sub-Commissioners, or Farmers of the Excise, within the several Coun­ties and places of this Commonwealth (Except the City of London and the destrict thereof) or by any their Agents, Deputies, or Officers otherwise then by Order or Warrant under the hands and seals of two, or more Iustices of the Peace of the said County, or place, the said Iustices not being any way interessed or concerned in the thing in question, or Landlord, or Tenant, or of Kindred or Rela­tion to the parties therein concerned, or any of them; Which said two Iustices are thereby authorized and required upon complaint to them made by the said Officers or Parties, to hear and examine the same upon Oath, and finally to determine the said matters of Complaint; And in case they shall finde upon such Examination that any Default hath been in any of the said Parties through ignorance or mistake, and not by designe of fraud or deceipt, The said Iustices are thereby authorized to miti­gate such Fine, Penalty, or Forfeiture, so as by such mitigation the same be not made less then double the value of the duty of Excise, which should or ought to have been paid besides the reasonable Costs and charges of such Officer, or Officers as were employed therein, to be to them allowed by the said Iustices. And whereas in order to the ends aforesaid, the said Parliament finding it necessary that the profits of the Excise and Customs and other the Publique Revenue might be by all good ways and means improved to the best advantage of the Commonwealth, and as much as may be, reduced to a certainty, by one other Act made in the same Parliament, Intituled, An Act for the improvement of the Revenues of the Customs and Excise; certain Persons therein named, or any seven of them, are autho­rized and impowred to be a Committee of Parliament to treat, contract and conclude with any person or persons for the Farming all or any part of the Duties of Customs and Subsidie of Tonnage and Poundage, and of Excise and New Impost; And it is thereby Enacted, That what Contract Bar­gain or Agreement shall be made by the said Committee or any seven of them, with any person or per­sons, for or touching the premises or any part thereof, being assented unto by Vs with the advice of Our Council, and ratified and confirmed by any Grant or Grants under the Great Seal of England, should be and are thereby declared to be good and valid to all intents and purposes. In pursuance of which last recited Act, several Contracts, Bargains and Agreements have been made by the said Commit­tee with divers persons touching the Farming of the Excise or New Impost, aswel of Beer, Ale, Per­ry, Cider, Mead, and Metheglin within the Cities of London and Westminster, and several other Ci­ties, Towns and Counties in England and Wales, as of several other Commodities Native and For­raign; Which We with the advice of Our Council have assented unto, and ratified and confirmed by several Grants under Our Great Seal of England. Whereby the said Revenue is in some measure im­proved, and reduced to more certainty then formerly; and, if the same be duly and constantly paid, will tend much to the Publique advantage, and without which the Affairs of the Publique Peace and safety cannot be carried on. Now forasmuch as it hath been represented unto Vs, that divers Brew­ers and other persons within the Cities of London and Westminster, and other the Cities, Counties and places of this Commonwealth; and also divers Vintners, Inn-keepers, Victuallers, Alehouse-kee­pers, and other Makers, Planters, Growers and Ingrossers of Native Commodities exciseable, for the making of unjust gain to themselves, or out of dis-affection to the Publique, Do Detain, withdraw, hold and keep to themselves the several Duties of Excise, by not making true Weekly particular En­tries of what they Brew and make, and forthwith clearing and paying the Duty of Excise for the same, [Page] As by the several Acts and Ordinances for the Excise they are required to do, and by divers frauds and concealments, whereby not onely the Publique Revenue is daily diminished, but other persons duly conforming to the said Acts and Ordinances are thereby prejudiced in their Trades and Callings by being undersold; And that divers of the said Iustices of the Peace do refuse or neglect so speedily to grant their Warrants to the said Subcommissioners, for the executing and levying of the Penalties and Forfeitures by them adjudged for the said offences, as the necessity of that service doth require, and do oftentimes by pretext of the said Proviso, mitigate the said Penalties contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, whereby the said Revenue (without which the Publique affairs of the Common­wealth cannot be carried on) is in danger to be diminished. We do therefore hereby publish and Declare that Our wil and intention is, That the said Revenue of the Excise be by all just and lawfull means maintained and upheld, And that we do expect that the Commissioners and Sub-Commissioners of the Excise, and all and every of the Iustices of the Peace in the several Counties, Cities and places of this Commonwealth do put the Laws of Excise in effectual execution in that behalf: And We do straitly will and require all Iustices of the Peace, in the several Counties, Cities and places of this Commonwealth, and every of them, That upon any Certificate or Certificates unto them, or any two of them made, by the respective Sub-Commissioners of the Excise, in the respective County, City or place where there shall be Iustices, of any judgment or sentence by them passed or given, in any cause or causes of the Excise, according to any of the Acts and Ordinances of the Excise in that behalf made, the said two Iustices do forthwith without delay, make and signe a Warrant or Warrants for the exe­cution of the said judgment or sentence accordingly, As by the true intent and meaning of the said Ad­ditional Act for the better improvement and advancing of the Receipts of the Excise and New Impost they may and ought to do. And that they do not take upon them to mitigate any Fine, Penalty or Forfeiture by the said Sub-Commissioners adjudged and set; But upon application of the party sen­tenced by way of Appeal unto them made, or otherwise then in cases in the said Act mentioned, as they and every of them will answer their neglect of the duty herein (being of such Importance to the Publique) at their Perils; And of which We are resolved, and do hereby declare We intend to take special notice, and do require an exact accompt of all such failings and neglects. And whereas divers Vintners, Inn-keepers, Victuallers, Alehouse-keepers, and other Retailers of Beer and Ale, do refuse to give security to the said Sub-Commissioners or Farmers, within whose jurisdictions and li­mits they do inhabit or dwell, for the true payment of the Excise of all such Beer and Ale as they do Brew and Make, and yet do Brew and Make their own Beer and Ale, and will not take what they sell and utter of some common Brewer, contrary to the two and thirtieth Article of an Act of Parlia­ment made and published the Fourteenth day of August, in the Year of our Lord One thousand six hun­dred forty nine, and confirmed and continued by the first recited Act of Parliament herein before men­tioned; In which case, upon due proof made (as by the said Article is prescribed) before any one Iu­stice of the Peace within the County, City or Town Corporate, where the party offending doth re­side and dwell, the said Iustice of the Peace hath power to impose and levy upon the said party so of­fending, the several penalties and forfeitures by the said Article limited. And We do further hereby straitly charge and command every such Iustice of the Peace (before whom any such proof shall be made or tendred to be made as aforesaid) That he do forthwith without delay proceed against the said party offending, by hearing and determining the said Offence, and by levying and executing of the se­veral penalties and forfeitures therein limited, according as by the said two and thirtieth Article of the said last recited Act of Parliament is directed and required. And if it shall be made appear to Vs or our Privy Council, That any Iustice or Iustices of the Peace shall neglect or refuse to do his or their Duty herein, according to the true intent and meaning of the several Acts of Parliament above mentioned, All and every such Iustice and Iustices shall be by Vs reputed and taken to be persons disaffected to the service, safety and welfare of the Commonwealth; And to the end that Our will and pleasure herein may be made known, We do hereby will and require the several and respective Sherifs, Majors and Baylifs in the said several and respective Counties, Cities and Towns Cor­porate, to cause this Our Proclamation to be openly read and published in the Market place of every Market Town within their several and respective Sherif-wicks and Liberties, upon some Market day within ten days next after the receipt hereof. And all Officers aswel Military as Civil are hereby respectively required to be aiding and assisting in the due execution hereof.

Given at Our Palace of Westminster the 10th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, 1657.