THe King's most Excellent Majesty, having, from the constant affection and care, which He hath alwayes had of the concerns of this His Ancient Kingdom, Resolved further to gratifie His good Subjects, by such Grants and publick Laws as He shall judge to conduce most for their good and advantage: And understanding by the prosecution and ma­nagement of the Pre-emption of Salt within this Kingdom; that the same hath been occasion of trouble and burden to His Subjects. His Majesty doth therefore Annull and Discharge[?] the said Pre-emption, and all Pre-emptions of Salt in time coming, and Declares the same, and all Acts, Commissions, or other warrands whatsomever authorizing it, to be, from and after the first day of December, this presen [...] year, one thousand six hundred and seventy three, vacated, void and [...]ull. And in order thereunto, His Majesty, with advice and consent of His Estates of Parliament, Doth hereby Rescind and Annull, all and sundry the Contracts, which in prosecution of this Pre-emption, were entred into by the Salt-masters, and these persons who, by warrand of the Commissioners of His Majesties Thesaurie, contracted with them for the sale of their Salt. And declares the saids Contracts and every of them to be void and null, after the said first of December next to come: It is alwayes hereby declared, that these Contracts are to stand good to all intents and purposes therein contained, for all the Salt that is or shall be made before the said first day of December. Likeas the King's Majesty, for the en-couragement of the Manufacture of Salt, and for the fur­ther ease of His good Subjects, Doth hereby declare, all Salt made or to be made within this Kingdom, to be henceforth free from payment of Excise. And further, His Majestie, with advice foresaid, allowes the im­portation of forraign Salt; And Statutes and Ordains, that ilk boll of forraign Salt of Linlithgov measure, shall pay fourty shillings Scots of Excise, whether the Salt be imployed on Fishes or not; and that secu­rity shall be given at the entrie of the Salt, that this Excise duty shall be compleatly payed within year and day after the importation thereof: And in consideration of the Exemption which the forraign Salt em­ployed on Fishes had from Excise formerly; His Majesty Declares, That all exported Fishes, whether Herring, Salmond, or others, shall be in time coming free from the paiment of Custom.

Likeas, His Majesty, with advice foresaid, doth Inhibit and Discharge the Collectors and Farmers of Excise, upon any pretext, to give any ease or abatement of the said fourty shillings of Excise imposed upon ilk boll of Forraign Salt, under the pain of deprivation, if they be Collectors, and the loss of the bneefit of their tack of the Excise, if they be Farmers; and of such further punishment as the Lords of Exchequer shall think fit to inflict. And to the end it may be known, what quantities of Forraign Salt are truely entred, His Majesty, with advice foresaid, Ordains the severall Collectors of Excise, from time to time, to make pa­tent to any of the Owners of Salt, or these having their Warrand, their Books, in so far as concerns the entrie of Forraign Salt. And if the Salt-owners, or their Factors, shall find any quantity conceal'd or im­bezel'd, or that there is abatement given of the duty, that are hereby warranded to pursue the trans­gressours before the Lords of Exchequer: And shall have for their own use, the equal half of the seisure-concealment, or abatement respective, which shall be so discovered by them. And His Majesty doth, with advice foresaid, Rescind and Annull any former Acts of Parliament, or clauses therein, relating to the Excise of Salt, which are inconsistent with, and prejudicial unto, the intent of this Act: And Declares, that so long as the Excise continues, this shall be the constant rule for regulating the Excise of Salt, and the custom thereof to continue as it is in the Book of Rates.