A single horse could haul a wagon on iron rails with 8
tons, on a soft road with 8 tons, and on his back 1/8 of a ton.
Real wages, which had been falling, reached their low point and
the gap between the poor and others widened. There were
depressions from 1629-32 and from 1636 to about 1640, which called
for Royal proclamations for the relief and distress, especially
among the poor. The Book of Orders, for the relief of distress in
earlier reigns, was to be reissued. The assize of beer and bread
maintaining quality, prices, weights, and measures, was to be duly
kept. Hoarding of foodstuffs was to be punished. Fish days and
lent were to be observed to maintain the fishers. Abstaining from
suppers on Fridays and on the eves of feasts was ordered in all
taverns and commended to private families. City corporations were
to give up their usual feasts and half the charge given to the
poor. Foreign ships were not to be victualled for long voyages.
The revised Book of Orders also covered the regulation of beggary,
the binding of apprentices, and the general relief of the poor.
All magistrates were to enforce the rules and raise special rates
from all the parishes, the richer of these to help the poorer.
A new trend of spring-sown crops led to better crop balance and
reduced the risks of scarcity in a bad year. But the economy was
still volatile.
There were riots in London in 1640-1 from a complete breakdown in
political consensus, the factions being the Royalist City elite
versus the middling and lesser merchants and craftsmen.
Pages:
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767