Section IV An Assayer to be elected in each City.
His Allowance and Oath.
And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid That there shall be an able and skillfull Man experienced in assaying of Gold and Silver elected by the said Company of Goldsmiths in each of the said Cities respectively for whom it shall and may be lawfull to detain Eight Grains only from every Pound Troy of Silver he shall assay Four Grains whereof shall be put into the Box of Dyett and the other Four Grains shall be allowed him towards his Wast and Spillings in making the said Assays And who imediately after his Election shall take the Oath following (viz[en])
I A : B : do swear That I will be faithfull and true to our Sovereign Lord King William and will so long as I shall continue an Assayer well and faithfully behave my self in the said Office and no undue Profit to my self take to the hurting or hindrance of any Person that is Owner or Bringer in of any Gold or Silver X1in Plate to be assayed except of Plate wrought only Four Grains of every Pound Weight to be taken and put into the Box of Diet and other Four Grains to be taken likewise of every Pound Weight of Plate wrought (and not otherwise) towards my Wast and Spillings in making the said Assays And that I will touch no Gold nor Silver but what shall be of the Goodness of and according to the Standard of this Kingdom which for the time being is or shall be appointed by Law for wrought Plate And all such Gold X2or Silver as shall be brought to me to be touched I will truly sett down in Writing and the same at all times as I shall be required will duely and truly deliver again (except Eight Grains as aforesaid) and will true Accounts make thereof when thereunto required by the Wardens of the Companies wherein I am chosen Assayer and that I will no Assays make of Things new wrought before they be markt with the Mark of the Maker or Owners thereof And that I will not put into the aforesaid Box any Silver but that Silver which I shall have scraped and taken from the Plate which I shall assay and pass for Standard So help me GOD.
Which Oath the Mayor in the respective Cities aforesaid is hereby required and impowered to administer to such Assayer
Annotations
Editorial notes
- X1
interlined on the Roll.
- X2
Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: and O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]