of this king, directed to the mayor and sheriffs of
London, to take up all ships of forty ton and upwards, to be converted
into ships of war.[*]

The parliament attempted the impracticable scheme of reducing the price
of labor after the pestilence, and also that of poultry,[**] A reaper,
in the first week of August, was not allowed above twopence a day, or
near sixpence of our present money; in the second week, a third more. A
master carpenter was limited through the whole year to threepence a day,
a common carpenter to twopence, money of that age.[***] It is remarkable
that, in the same reign, the pay of a common soldier, an archer, was
sixpence a day; which, by the change both in denomination and value,
would be equivalent to near five shillings of our present money.[****]
Soldiers were then enlisted only for a very short time; they lived idle
all the rest of the year, and commonly all the rest of their lives: one
successful campaign, by pay and plunder, and the ransom of prisoners,
was supposed to be a small fortune to a man; which was a great
allurement to enter into the service.[*****]

* Rymer, vol. iv. p. 664.

** 37 Edward III. cap. 3.

**** 25 Edward III, cap. I. 3.

***** Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 784.

****** Brady's Hist. vol. ii. App No. 92.

The staple of wool, wool-fells, leather, and lead, was fixed by act of
parliament in particular towns of England.[*] Afterwards it was removed
by law to Calais: but Edward, who commonly deemed his prerogative above
law, paid little regard to these statutes; and when the parliament
remonstrated with him on account of those acts of power, he plainly told
them, that he would proceed in that matter as he thought proper.[**]
It is not easy to assign the reason of this great anxiety for fixing a
staple; unless, perhaps, it invited foreigners to a market, when they
knew beforehand, that they should there meet with great choice of any
particular species of commodity. This policy of inviting foreigners to
Calais was carried so far, that all English merchants were prohibited
by law from exporting any English goods from the staple; which was in
a manner the total abandoning of all foreign navigation, except that to
Calais;[***] a contrivance seemingly extraordinary.

*Brady, ibid.

** Commodities seem to have risen since the conquest.
Instead of being ten times cheaper than at present, they
were, in the age of Edward I