[1600/11/26]¹

²Explanation of the acts of parliament regarding ocker and usury

Our sovereign lord, with advice and consent of the estates, ratifies and approves the acts of parliament made regarding usury and taking of unlawful annualrent or profit for silver in all points according to the tenor of the same. And because the obscurity of the act of his majesty's 15th parliament, entitled 'It is not permissible to take more annualrent or profit than ten for the hundred', regarding the manner of trial and probation of the said crime by oath of party and all other lawful probation conjoined therewith competent of the law, has bred such difficulty in pursuit and decision of the said cause that justice thereby has been greatly frustrated and the contraveners of the said act altogether unpunished, therefore his majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, statutes and ordains that in all actions already intended, depending or hereafter to be intended against the contraveners of the said acts, litiscontestation being made therein by admitting the summons to probation, it shall be permissible to press the said summons and contravening of the said acts or any of them regarding the taking of unlawful and exorbitant profit for sums of money by writ or oath of party, receiver of the said unlawful profit, and by the witnesses inserted in the security made for the said sums, without receiving of the oath of the party, giver of the said unlawful profit, for eschewing of all occasion of perjury which might be suspected to proceed thereupon.