Hall marks on gold & silver plate

92
HALL MARKS ON PLATE.
watch cases, sword hilts, shoe buckles, and other small toys, as well
as the annoyance of search by night or day, etc.
"6th. That Government will be deprived of the advantage received
by wrought plate when bullion was wanting should the
'
manufacture of silver decay in this kingdom, as certainly it will,
"
should this Bill pass.'
Guildhall Library.
At the Committee meeting of the Goldsmiths' Company, held
on February 23, 1725, "The Workmen's remonstrances is read, com-
plaining, first, against the practice of plateing of brass, iron, copper,
and other metalls with silver.
Secondly, against admitting any but freemen of the Company
to have the benefit of the assay and touch, and saying that there
is an Act of ye 3rd King William to forbid it.
Thirdly, complaining of the number of apprentices.
The Committee order the first paragraph to be read again, and
then resolve to give for answer thereto that the Company have
already applied to the Government agamst the evil complained of,
and have bought several pieces of the said brass wares to lay before
them; and will use their further endeavours to prevent the same.
The second paragraph is read a second time, and it is resolved
yt the Act of King William III enacts yt no plate shall be wrought
or sold before it is markt at Goldsmiths' <strong>Hall</strong> ; and that the Attorney-General,
in his report for the Treasury, says the Company
cannot refuse to mark plate wrought by unfreemen; as has been
also the opinion of all the councell the company have consulted
thereupon, as particularly the late Common Sergeant, Mr. Dee,
Mr. Sergeant Darnell, and Mr. Fazakerly, and hath not been contradicted
by the counsell of the late prosecutors. Sergeant Cheshire,
Knot, and Probyn.
The third paragraph is read a second time, and it is resolved
that the company cannot prevent goldsmiths ffree of other
companies from binding many apprentices, but will consider of the
best method they can to remedy it, and will recommend it to the
consideration of the next Court of Assistants."
At the Court of Wardens, January 8, 1730:
" Then Mr. Wardens took into consideration how to remedy
an antient evil practice, amongst ill-disposed goldsmiths, of cutting
out the Company's <strong>marks</strong> from old pieces of plate, and soldering
the same into new pieces, which have never been tryed at the <strong>Hall</strong>,
and may possibly be very coarse, and the fraud equal to the counterfeiting
of the Company's <strong>marks</strong>, for which there is a penalty of
^^500 set by Act of Parliament. Now in order to prevent the said
evil practice of cutting out the <strong>marks</strong> from one piece of plate, and
soldering the same into another piece, Mr. Wardens ordered that the
officers in the Assay Office, who usually strike the <strong>marks</strong> on plate,
do strike the <strong>marks</strong> on every piece of plate as far distant from each
other as the same conveniently may be struck, so that they may
not be cutt out together."*
* Memorials of the Goldsmiths' Company.