Rules for assizing of bread viz. by troy-weight, or sterling, and by avoirdupoids weights : together with the rule of coequality of both weights, and the assize by a standard-weight for white, wheaten, and household loaves, assized by a certain price, rising and lowering, as the price of wheat rises and falls in the market : all three calculated exactly according to the statute Assiza panis 51.H.3. now in force in Ireland.

RULES FOR ASSIZING OF White, Wheaten, and Houshold-Bread; BY A Certain Standard Weight, for each kind of LOAVES. Assized in Money at a certain Price, according as the Rate of Corn Rises and Falls in the Market. Calculated exactly, and made Coequal with the Weights, and Prices, prescribed by the Statute Assiza Panis, 51. H. 3.

THis way of Assizing the Bread, would require but little Calculation, could the Weight of Corn, and Price, be Regulated at the same time, according to the value of Cur∣rant Money, as the Venetians do: For every First day of the Month, they have an account brought of all the Corn in their Dominions, and according to the Quantity, they value it at a certain Price, and every Monday they affix in the Market place the Weight, that the several sorts of Bread ought to Weigh, and the Price; And if the Bakers do not Conform, and miss in the Weight, the

Discoverer has power to go with the Officer of the Market, to the Bakers House to Seize all his Bread; the half whereof is for the Informer, the other for the Poor.

In this Kingdom we are Bound by the Statute, to a certain Weight of a Quarter of Wheat, and by a certain Weight of the Quantity of Corn, which the Bread must Weigh, when at such a Price, and also by our Currant Money Divided only in Shillings, or 12 Pences, or 24 Half Pence, or 48 Farthings, which is something troublesome because of our Assize, which Rises and Falls by odd Numbers and Fractions, and extendeth further then the Number of 48 Farthings; therefore we are necessitated to Divide our Farthing in Four Pieces, which we may call Deniers; and that may be easily done, and without charge.

The other Assizes beginneth by a Supposition; when Corn is at 6 d. the Quarter, a Penny White Roll ought to Weigh so much: But that Supposition is only for Rule sake, and not to be practised; because the Bakers since that Statute, have Six Shillings allow∣ance, and therefore if Corn should ever fall so low as 6 d. a Quar∣ter, they ought to be Assized as if sold at 6 s. 6 d. as they are allow∣ed in all Assizes: And therefore a certain proportion of Money ought to be applied on every Six Pence that a Quarter of Wheat, and allowance to the Baker, amounts unto, and so exactly that when the Price of Corn Rises or Falls by 6 d. that of the Standard Bread, may also Rise and Fall accordingly by equal portions, as it doth by the Assize by Troy, and Avoir-du-poids, viz. from 6 d. to 5 l.

The Rule of the Statute is, That a Quarter of Wheat shall be Divided in 8 Bushels, or 64 Wine Gallons, and shall Weigh 512. Pound, or 6144 Ounces, or 122880 Penny Weight, or 3932160 Grains Troy.

I shall therefore take the Number of 64 Gallons for Rule, (which is a full Quarter) and Divide my Shilling into as many

parts, which obliges me to Divide the Farthing in 4 Deniers, there being but 48 Farthings in a Shilling; and so having 192 Deniers, the Third Part of which is 64, I fix 3 Quarters of a Farthing on every Gallon of Corn, which Rising, and Lowring in Price by Six Pence, shall also Rise and Fall the Price of my Standard, by 3 Quarters on each Six Pence, which will answer exactly the Assizes by Troy, and Avoir-du-poids.

Example.

Suppose that Corn be sold at 26s. and 6 s. allowance, which makes 32 s. or 64 Six Pences, each Six Pence bearing 3 Quarters, the 64 amounts to 192, which Divided by 4 brings 48 Farthings which is a Shilling.

Look on the Assize by Troy Weight at 32 s. Price of Corn, and allowance, and you will find that the Penny White is to Weigh 10 Ounces 11 Penny Weight and half, so that a 12 Penny Loaf must Weigh 126 Ounces, 18 Pence, or 10 Pound 6 Ounces, 18 Penny Weight. The Wheaten is to weigh half more, and the Houshold twice as much: And these are our Three Standards for White, Wheaten, and Houshold Bread.

All the Assizes answers this exactly; I shall not trouble the Reader with the Proof of each; for it would make this Book too Voluminous, and every one may easily Calcutate them. I shall on∣ly Instance few of them without Fractions.

Suppose the Corn and Allowance be Lowred to 8 s. or Sixteen Six Pences, the 16 times 3 Quarters is 48, and 48 Deniers is 12 Farthings, or 3 Pence: Now as 3 Pence is the Fourth Part of 12 Pence, so is 16 the Fourth Part of 64, therefore this Falls in proportion. On the contrary; supposing the Corn Rises to 40 s. with the allowance, which is 80 Six Pences, Calculate 80 times 3 Deniers whic his 240, the Fourth Part makes 60 Farthings or 15

Pence, so that our Standard Rises one fourth part more then that at 32 s. as also the Price from 32 to 40 s. Rises a fourth part, and so doth all other Assizes, from First to Last, as you see in the Table.

I doubt not but some will say, that althô this way of Assizing be the best, and the most certain, and most useful, that yet it is not practicable, because we have no such small Money as 3 Quarters of a Farthing. But this difficulty will be easily removed; for it is very easie, and without any charge to the King, to make 4 pieces for a Farthing, and to call them Quarters or Deniers.

Such small Money being very near the intrinsick value, and Authorized by the King, would be pleasing to the People, and would pass as Currant as Silver, both at home and abroad.

I remember that when King Charles the Second, was Petitioned to allow to the Blew-Boys-Hospital liberty of Coining Half Pences, as an advantage towards that Foundation; there were those who are still in being, that would have undertaken to Coin Small Money, one third part heavier then that now Currant, and give some be∣nefit to the Hospital: If the same was allowed, it would be not only an advantage to that Foundation, but a benefit to the genera∣lity of the Poor; for if in lew of a Half Penny there were 8 Deni∣ers, or 8 Quarters of a Farthing, he that has but Two Pence a day to distribute to the Poor, in lew of helping 4 with Four Half Pence, might distribute his Two Pence to 32 Poor Persons.

There is a Table of Assize of Bread in Money used in London, but it is only for a Peck Loaf of Houshold Bread, which is to Weigh always 17 Pound 6 Ounces 1 Drachm Avoir-du-poids, and never changes but by the Falling or Rising of the Quarter of Wheat by 2 s. So that in case an Assize be at 28 s. and Corn Rises to 28 s. and 6 d. and 29 s. and 29 s. and 6 d. yet the Price never Rises; by which the Bakers look always 6d. or 1 s. or 18 d. in a Quarter of Wheat; till the Price comes to an even

Sum: This doth not answer the Statute, and therefore ought not to be practised here, nor can we bind the Bakers to such an Assize. And on the contrary, if the Price should fall to 27 s. ands 6 d. or 27 s. or 26 s. and 6 d. and the Bakers should contrive to keep it at those odd Prices, they should be continually Gainers, of as much as the odd Price amounts unto, over and above the even Shillings Prices: Besides that, if an Unfree Baker was bound to such Standard, and to convert all in Houshold, he could not Bake but at a great Loss.

They have also a Table of Assize by Troy-Weight, wherein they have omitted all the Assizes by 6 d. and all the Fractions in all other Assizes by Shillings, so that in case the Baker transgress, his punishment must be Arbitrary, for they cannot plead the Statute against them, none of their Assizes answering the Rules prescribed by that Act.

There is another small Assize incerted in a Book of Sir Samuel Morland's Works, which I believe gave birth to the former; it is Calculated by the Bushel of Wheat, when at 2 s. and Rises by 3 d. in each Assize, therefore 2 s. answers 16 s. a Quarter, 2 s. 3 d. answers 18 s. a Quarter. 2 s. 6 d. answers and 20 s. and so on to 9 s. a Bushel, which is 3 l. 12 s. the Quarter; but all Assizes that falls to One, Two, or Three odd Six Pences he left out, be∣cause of the difficulty of the Fractions.

His First Assize of 2 s. per Bushel requiring Three other Assizes before his Second at 2 s. 3 d. for all the Assizes must Rise or Fall by 6 d. so that he should have made all Assizes by 2 s. and the ¾ part of a Farthing, 2 s. Farthing and ½, and 2 s. 3 Farthings ¼, which is the 16th part of a 6. Penny, as 2 s. a Bushel is the 16th part of 16 s. a Quarter: The want of those Fractions makes the Assize useless, and contrary to the Statute, and of the same prejudice as the former.

Edmund Wingate in his Abridgment of the Statutes mended that mistake in some measure in his Assize, which begineth by the price of Corn when at 19 s. 6 d. and observes all along the Assize by odd Six Pences and Shillings, but he leaves out all the Fractions in his Divisions of the Weight, that the Penny White Loaf ought to Weigh, which amounts to 24 times as much in the Twelve Penny Houshold; which is the Bread that requires the most exact Weight. Besides there are several Assizes wherein he mistook. I shall mention one for example, When Corn is at 58 s. 6 d. per Quarter, he Calculates it, That the Penny White is to Weigh 5 Ounces 14 Penny Weight, whereas it ought to Weigh 5 Ounces 15 Penny Weight, and 81 part of 117, which multi∣pled makes the Assize of the Twelve Penny Houshold short by 40 Penny Weight and 72 parts of 117 which is above 2 Ounces, all his following Assizes are like this; and therefore does not answer the Statute, and ought not to be followed.

One Powell an English Baker, has also Printed a Book of Assize, in favour of his Brethren of England, which has been the stum∣bling Block of several of our Clerks of Assize here. The Rules he has taken I know not; but as to his Assertions concerning the Assize for Foreigners they are altogether contrary to the Statute Assiza Panis; and I really believe intended here on purpose to Ruin them; for none can Bake by that false Assize, but must loose very considerably: And if the Magistrates should Authorize it a∣gain, as the Free-Bakers desire so earnestly, then indeed neither the Unfree-Bakers, nor Foreigners, nor Country Bakers, would be able to live by their Calling: Less then nothing being allowed for Baking by that false Assize. But the Act of Parliament will re∣lieve them against such Oppression, if ever the Free-Bakers should prevail again to have it imposed on those poor People.

The Table of the Assize of Bread in Money, by a certain Standard-Weight.

White Standard 10 Pound 6 Ounces 18 Penny Troy. Wheaten Standard 15 Pound 10 Ounces 7 Penny Troy. Houshold Standard 21 Pound 1 Ounce 16 Penny Troy.
Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow¦ance.	Price of the great Standard Loaf.	Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Price of the great Standard Loaf.	Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alo∣wance.	Price of the great Standard. Loaf.
L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.	L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.	L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.
0 0 6	0 0 0 3	0 12 6	0 4 2 3	1 4 6	0 9 0 3
0 1 0	0 0 1 2	0 13 0	0 4 3 2	1 5 0	0 9 1 2
0 1 6	0 0 2 1	0 13 6	0 5 0 1	1 5 6	0 9 2 1
0 2 0	0 0 3 0	0 14 0	0 5 1 0	1 6 0	0 9 3 0
0 2 6	0 0 3 3	0 14 6	0 5 1 3	1 6 6	0 9 3 3
0 3 0	0 1 0 2	0 15 0	0 5 2 2	1 7 0	0 10 0 2
0 3 6	0 1 1 1	0 15 6	0 5 3 1	1 7 6	0 10 1 1
0 4 0	0 1 2 0	0 16 0	0 6 0 0	1 8 0	0 10 2 0
0 4 6	0 1 2 3	0 16 6	0 6 0 3	1 8 6	0 10 2 3
0 5 0	0 2 3 2	0 17 0	0 6 1 2	1 9 0	0 10 3 2
0 5 6	0 2 0 1	0 17 6	0 6 2 1	1 9 6	0 11 0 1
0 6 0	0 2 1 0	0 18 0	0 6 3 0	1 10 0	0 11 1 0
0 6 6	0 2 1 3	0 18 6	0 6 3 3	1 10 6	0 11 1 3
0 7 0	0 2 2 2	0 19 0	0 7 0 2	1 11 0	0 11 2 2
0 7 6	0 2 3 1	0 19 6	0 7 1 1	1 11 6	0 11 3 1
0 8 0	0 3 0 0	1 0 0	0 7 2 0	1 12 0	1 0 0 0
0 8 6	0 3 0 3	1 0 6	0 7 2 3	1 12 6	1 0 0 3
0 9 0	0 3 1 2	1 1 0	0 7 3 2	1 13 0	1 0 1 2
0 9 6	0 3 2 1	1 1 6	0 8 0 2	1 13 6	1 0 2 1
0 10 0	0 3 3 0	1 2 0	0 8 1 0	1 14 0	1 0 3 0
0 10 6	0 3 3 3	1 2 6	0 8 1 3	1 14 6	1 0 3 3
0 11 0	0 4 0 2	1 3 0	0 8 2 2	1 15 0	1 1 0 2
0 11 6	0 4 1 1	1 3 6	0 8 3 1	1 15 6	1 1 1 1
0 12 0	0 4 2 0	1 4 0	0 9 0 0	1 16 0	1 1 2 0

The Table of the Assize of Bread in Money, by a certain Standard Weight.

White Standard 10 Pound 6 Ounces 18 Penny Troy. Wheaten Standard 15 Pound 10 Ounces 7 Penny Troy. Houshold Standard 21 Pound 1 Ounce 16 Penny Troy.
Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Price of the Standard Loaf.	Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Ptice of the great Standard Loaf.	Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Price of the great. Standard Loaf.
L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.	L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.	L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.
1 16 6	1 1 2 3	2 8 6	1 6 0 3	3 0 6	1 10 2 3
1 17 0	1 1 3 2	2 9 0	1 6 1 2	3 1 0	1 10 3 2
1 17 6	1 2 0 1	2 9 6	1 6 2 1	3 1 6	1 11 0 1
1 18 0	1 2 1 0	2 10 0	1 6 3 0	3 2 0	1 11 1 0
1 18 6	1 2 1 3	2 10 6	1 6 3 3	3 2 6	1 11 1 3
1 19 0	1 2 2 2	2 11 0	1 7 0 2	3 3 0	1 11 2 2
1 19 6	1 2 3 1	2 11 6	1 7 1 1	3 3 6	1 11 3 1
2 0 0	1 3 0 0	2 12 0	1 7 2 0	3 4 0	2 0 0 0
2 0 6	1 3 0 3	2 12 6	1 7 2 3	3 4 6	2 0 0 3
2 1 0	1 3 1 2	2 13 0	1 7 3 2	3 5 0	2 0 1 2
2 1 6	1 3 2 1	2 13 6	1 8 0 1	3 5 6	2 0 2 1
2 2 0	1 3 3 0	2 14 0	1 8 1 0	3 6 0	2 0 3 0
2 2 6	1 3 3 3	2 14 6	1 8 1 3	3 6 6	2 0 3 3
2 3 0	1 4 0 2	2 15 0	1 8 2 2	3 7 0	2 1 0 2
2 3 6	1 4 1 1	2 15 6	1 8 3 1	3 7 6	2 1 1 1
2 4 0	1 4 2 0	2 16 0	1 9 0 0	3 8 0	2 1 2 0
2 4 6	1 4 2 3	2 16 6	1 9 0 3	3 8 6	2 1 2 3
2 5 0	1 4 3 2	2 17 0	1 9 1 2	3 9 0	2 1 3 2
2 5 6	1 5 0 1	2 17 6	2 9 2 1	3 9 6	2 2 0 1
2 6 0	1 5 1 0	2 18 0	1 9 3 0	3 10 0	2 2 1 0
2 6 6	1 5 1 3	2 18 6	1 9 3 3	3 10 6	2 2 1 3
2 7 0	5 5 2 2	2 19 0	1 10 0 2	3 11 0	2 2 2 2
2 7 6	1 5 3 1	2 19 6	1 10 1 1	3 11 6	2 2 3 1
2 8 0	1 6 0 0	3 0 0	1 10 2 0	3 12 0	2 3 0 0

The Table of the Assize of Bread in Money, by a certain Standard Weight.

White Standard 10 Pound 6 Ounces 18 Penny Troy. Wheaten Standard 15 Pound 10 Ounces 7 Penny Troy. Houshold Standard 21 Pound 1 Ounce 16 Penny Toyr.
Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Price of great Standard Loaf.	Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Price of the great Standard Loaf.	Price of a Quar∣ter of Wheat & alow∣ance.	Price of the great Standard Loaf.
L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.	L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.	L. sh. d.	sh. P. F. D.
3 12 6	2 3 0 3	4 3 0	2 7 0 2	4 13 6	2 11 0 1
3 13 0	2 3 2 2	4 3 6	2 7 1 1	4 14 0	2 11 1 0
3 1 3 6	2 3 2 1	4 4 0	2 7 2 0	4 14 6	2 11 1 3
3 14 0	2 3 3 0	4 4 6	2 7 2 3	4 15 0	2 11 2 2
3 14 6	2 3 3 1	4 5 0	2 7 3 2	4 15 6	3 11 3 1
3 15 0	2 4 0 2	4 5 6	2 8 0 1	4 16 0	3 00 0 0
3 15 6	2 4 1 1	4 6 0	2 8 1 0	4 16 6	3 00 0 3
3 16 0	2 4 2 0	4 6 6	2 8 1 3	4 17 0	3 00 2 2
3 16 6	2 4 2 3	4 7 0	2 8 2 2	4 17 6	3 00 3 1
3 17 0	2 4 3 2	4 7 6	2 8 3 1	4 18 0	3 1 0 0
3 17 6	2 5 0 1	4 8 0	2 9 0 0	4 18 6	3 1 0 3
3 18 0	2 5 1 0	4 8 6	2 9 0 3	4 19 0	3 1 1 2
3 18 6	2 5 1 3	4 9 0	2 9 1 2	4 19 6	3 1 2 1
3 19 0	2 5 2 2	4 9 6	2 9 2 1	5 0 0	3 1 3 0
3 19 6	2 9 3 1	4 10 0	2 9 3 0
4 0 0	2 6 0 0	4 10 6	2 9 3 3
4 0 6	2 6 0 3	4 11 0	2 10 0 2
4 1 0	2 6 1 2	4 11 6	2 10 11
4 1 6	2 6 2 1	4 12 0	2 10 2 0
4 2 0	2 6 3 0	4 12 6	2 10 2 3
4 2 6	2 6 3 3	4 13 0	2 10 3 2