Forasmuch, as by the twenty sixth Act of the third Session of Our first Parliament, The Ordering and Disposal of Trade with Forreign Countreys, and the laying of Restraints and Impositions upon Forreign Imported Commo­dities, is asserted to belong to Us and Our Royal Successors, as an undoubted Priviledge and Prerogative of the Crown; and that by vertue thereof, We may lay such Impositi­ons and Restraints upon Forreign imported Commodities, and so Order and Dispose up­on the Trade of them, as We shall judge sit for the good of Our Kingdom: And where­as, by an Act and Proclamation of the eleventh of April last, upon consideration of the great detriment Our Customes and Excise might sustain by a Prohibition put upon several Forreign Commodities, deduction of the Excise of that imployed upon Fishes and other allowances, given for the encouragement of Manufactures and building of Ships; We did for ballance of some part thereof, appoint a further Duty to be put upon Wine and Tobacco, which is found to be ve­ry far short in ballancing and compensing the foresaid loss: Wherefore We, with advice of Our Privy Council, conform to the Power given Us by the said Act of Parliament, Ordain, that each Tun of French, Spanish and Rhenish Wine, which for­merly payed thirty pound Scots of Custom, shall hereafter pay thirty pound Scots more, being in all threescore pounds Scots, with the burden of the Bullion as formerly, by way of Custom: And each pound of Tobacco coming immediatly from the Plantations, pay hereafter two shilling four pennies Scots of Custom, and eight pennies Scots of Excise: And each pound of all other Tobacco, coming from any other place, except the Plantations, pay five shilling Scots of Custom; and twelve pennies of Excise, making in all six shilling Scots of Custom and Excise, each pound weight. And whereas, by the Act of Parliament, Anno 1669. the Merchant exporter is to have allowed or repayed by the Customers, ten pounds four shilling Scots for the Salt of each exported Last of Herrings: And that by an Act of Parliament, Anno 1673. anent the taking away the Pre-emption of Salt, It is appointed that the exporters of Herring, shall only be free of Custom at the export, being only twenty four shilling Scots per Last; And that by the foresaid Proclamation following thereupon, the Merchant exporter is to have allowance according to the first Act of Parliament, without considering that We did quite the Excise then payable to him upon In-land Salt, being fifteen shilling Scots per Linlithgow Boll, which would have extended to much more then what is to be returned to the Merchants for their exported Herrings; and that the Act 1673. does take away all pretences thereto. Therefore We Ordain, that the said Act, 1673. shall stand in full force, and that no allowance be given for ex­ported Herrings, notwithstanding of the said Act of Council and Proclamation foresaid, following thereupon, appointing re­payment for exported Herrings, according to the Act of Parliament foresaid, in the year, 1669. And Ordains the Collectors or Fermorers of Our Custom and Excise, present and to come, their Deputs, Servants and Waiters, to uplift and exact the said Custom and Excise upon the saids Goods, as the same is now Imposed in time coming, whether Our Customes and Excise be uplifted by Collection or Ferm, any former Act to the contrair notwithstanding. And We ordain these Presents to be Pub­lished at the Mercat Cross of Edinburgh, and other places needful, that none pretend ignorance.

God save the KING.