Elementary arithmetic, with brief notices of its history... by Robert Potts.

MONEY.

27

By proclamation on 30 April, 1551, the debased groats and shillings
of Henry VIII. were ordered to be current for 3d. and 9d. on pain of
forfeiture and imprisonment, with a further fine at his M]ajesty's
pleasure. By another proclamation of 11 May was declared the
king's determination to proceed in the restoration of the fineness of
the coinage. On 18 July, a third proclamation was issued to quiet
the alarm raised by the reduction in the value of coins, threatening
severe penalties against all who should "invent, speak, mention, or
devise any manner of tale, news or report, either touching the abasing
of the said coins, or that in any manner of wise might sound either
to the dishonour of his Majesty's person, or the defacing of his
Highness's [the Regent, Duke of Somerset] proceedings, or of his
council, or to the disquieting of his subjects, on pain of six months'
imprisonment and such fine, &c." Notwithstanding the severity of
this proclamation, it appears from the king's own journal, that in less
little shillyng, indeed a very prety one. I have but one I thynke in my purse,
and the last day I had put it away almost for an old grote, and so I trust some
will take them. The finesse of the silver I cannot see. But therein is printed a
fine sentence; that is, Timer Doem2inifons vitc vel sapientice, ---The feare of the Lord
is the fountayne of lyfe or wisedome. I would God this sentence were alwayes
printed in the hart of the king, in chosing hys wyfe, and in all hys officers."
In the Sermon preached on March 22, he points out the pernicious consequences of debasing the coins of the kingdom: —" Thus they burdened me ever
with sedition, so this gentleman commeth up now with sedition. And weot ye
what? I chaunced in my last sermon to speake a mery word of the new shillyng
(to refreshe my auditorie), how I was lyke to put away my new shillyng for an
olde groat, I was herein noted to speake seditiously. Yet I comforte myselfe in
one thinge that I am not alone, and that I have a fellow... I have now
got one fellow more, a companion of sedition, and weot ye who is my fellow?
Esay the prophet. I spake but of a little preaty shillyng; but he speaketh to
Hierusalem after another sort, and was so bold as to meddle with their coine.
Thou proude, thou covetous, thou hautie citie of flierusalem: Argenteon twlon
versum est ini scoriaen, thy silver is turned into what? into testions? scoriamr,into drosse. Ah seditious wretch, what had he to do with the minte? why
should not he have left that matter to some master of policie to reprove? Thy
silver is drosse, it is not fine, it is counterfait; thy silver is turned, thou haddest
good silver. What pertained that to Esay? Mary he espied a peice of divinite
in that policie, he threateneth them God's vengeaunce for it. He went to the
roote of the matter, which was covetousnes; he espyed two pointes in it, that
either it came of covetousnes, which became hym to reprove: or els that it
tended to the hurte of the poore people, for the noughtynes of the silver was the
occasion of dearth of all thynges in the real me. He imputeth it to them as a
great crime. He may be called a master of sedition indeede. Was not this a
seditious varlet; to tell them this to their beardes? to their face?"
At St. Paul's, Jan. 17, 1548, Bp. Latimer, in a sermon, wae extremely severe
in his censure of the appointment of bishops, and other ecclesiastics to lay offices,
and more especially he pointed at their occupying situations in the Mint. He
supposed that some of the following reasons might be assigned to excuse them
being unpreaching prelates.
"They [the Bishops] are otherwise occupyedl; some in the kinge's matters, some
are ambassadours, some of the privy councell, some to furnish the courte, some are
lords of the Parliament, some are presidentes, and some comptrolle of myntes.
Well, well! Is this their duety? Is this their office? Is this their calling? should
we have ministers of the church to be comptrollers of the myntes! Is this a meet
office for a priest that hath cure of soules? Is this his charge? I would here aske
one question: I would fayne know who comptrolleth the devill at home at his
parish, while he comptrolleth the mynt? If the Apostles might not leave the office
of preaching to be deacons, shall one leave it for mynting? I cannot tell you;
but the saying is, that since priestes have been mynters, money hath bene wurse
than it was before. And they say that the evilness of money hath made all things
dearer."