[1581/10/37]¹

Against the excess of costly clothing and transporting of wool, whereby the poor may be the better held to work

²The king's majesty and estates of this present parliament, considering the great abuse standing among his subjects of the mean estate, presuming to copy his highness and his nobility in the use and wearing of costly clothing of silks of all sorts, linen, cambric, fringing and trimmings of gold, silver and silk, and woollen cloth, made and brought from other foreign countries, through which the prices of the same are grown to such exorbitant dearth as it is not able to be longer sustained without great hurt and inconvenience of the commonwealth, albeit God has granted to this realm sufficient commodities for clothing of the inhabitants thereof within the self if the people were virtuously employed in working of the same at home, whereby great numbers of poor folks, now wandering in begging, might be relieved, as well to the honesty and wealth of the country; for remedy whereof, it is statute and ordained by our sovereign lord, with advice of his estates and whole body of this present parliament, that none of his highness's subjects, man nor woman, being under the degrees of dukes, earls, lords of parliament, knights or landed gentlemen, that has or may spend of free yearly rent 2,000 merks or 50 chalders of victual at least, or their wives, sons or daughters, shall, after 1 May 1582, use or wear in their clothing or apparel, or linen thereof, any cloth of gold or silver, velvet, satin, damask, taffeta or any facing, fringing, trimming or embroidery of gold, silver or silk, nor yet linen, cambric or woollen cloth made and brought from any foreign countries under the pain of £100 of every gentleman landed, 100 merks of every gentleman unlanded, and £40 of every yeoman for every day that his wife, son or daughter transgresses this present act, the one half to the use of our sovereign lord or lord of the regality within whose bounds the transgressors are apprehended, and the other half to the sheriffs, stewarts and bailies within their jurisdictions, provosts, aldermen and bailies within burghs and cities and to the stewarts and bailies within regalities for their pains, which ordinary judges, by themselves, their deputes and officers, shall have power to accuse and arrest the persons, transgressors of the said act, and to put them in ward until they be tried upon the said transgression by an assize, which shall be done within the space of three days after their apprehension at the furthest; and, being found culpable, to hold them in ward until they have paid the said pain and found surety to abstain in time coming, under doubling of the pain; excepting always the officers and servants of our sovereign lord's household contained in the roll thereof, the officers of his estate, senators to the college of justice, advocates and scribes thereof, sheriffs, stewarts and bailies, the provost, bailies and persons being or that have been on the council of burghs, and judges in regalities, heralds and macers; which shall not be subject to the pains of this present act for wearing and using of such apparel as they have or shall happen to have in time coming, either in the time that they bear office and are councillors, or thereafter during their lifetimes; nether shall any of his highness's lieges be subject to the said pains for using and wearing of any of their clothing already made before the publication of this present act, nor to any servants for using and wearing of the old clothing of their masters or mistresses, nor to any women for using and wearing of such apparel upon their heads as they have been accustomed to wear in time bygone. And to the effect that all his highness's subjects prohibited by this present act to wear the said costly clothing may the better be served of cloth and other stuff wrought within this realm, to their sufficient clothing in their degrees; as also that the poor people may be the better held in work through the labouring of the wool of this country within the same, therefore it is statute and ordained by our sovereign lord, with advice of his said estates, that no manner of wool be transported or put in ships or boats to be transported out of this realm in time coming under the pain of confiscation of the same wool and of all the remaining goods moveable of the persons, owners and transporters thereof, to our sovereign lord's use; and that no licence or dispensation shall be granted by our sovereign lord or his successors to whatsoever person or persons for transporting of wool out of this realm after the said 1 May 1582, under whatsoever colour or pretence, and that as well the purchasers of the said dispensations or licences (if the same shall happen through lack of opportunity or wrong narrative to be granted) as their informers, buyers of the licences from the purchasers, users thereof, and transporters of the wool in their ships and vessels, shall incur the said pains, as if no such licences had been granted; which shall be esteemed but as private letters, surreptitiously purchased, wherever they shall happen to be shown in judgement, or outwith, through which the true effect and meaning of this present act shall in no way be hindered or prejudiced.