A NEW WAY FOR THE MAKEING AND ERECTING OF FLOATING MILLE VPON THE RIVER OF THAMES AND ALL OTHER NAVIGABLE RIVERS, FOR THE GRINDEING OF ALL SORT OF GRAINE, WHICH BEING PUTT INTO PRACTISE MAY BEE OF GREATE VSE AND ADVANTAGE TO OUR SUBIECT IN GENERALL
Year: 1682

page_text: come, greeteing.
WHEREAS wee have beene informed by our trusty and welbeloved Jonn
JOACHIM BECHER, Doctor of Lawes, that hee, with greate charge and study,
hath found out and discovered "A NEW WAY FOR THE MAKEING AND ERECTING
OF FLOATING MILLE VPON THE RIVER OF THAMES AND ALL OTHER NAVIGABLE
RIVERS, FOR THE GRINDEING OF ALL SORT OF GRAINE, WHICH BEING PUTT INTO
PRACTISE MAY BEE OF GREATE VSE AND ADVANTAGE TO OUR SUBIECT IN
GENERALL;" and hath humbly besought vs to grant vnto him Letters
Patente, vnder our Greate Seale of England, to empower and enable him to
put in execučon the said Invencon, to continue for the terme of fourteene
yeares, accordeing to the statuto in that behalfe made.
NOW KNOW YEE, that wee, being desirous to encourage the inventors
of such arts as may be of publick vse and benefitt, of our especiall grace,
certaine knowledge, and meere močon, have given & granted, and by these
present for vs, our heires and successors, doe give and grant, vnto the said.
John Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, and assignes, especiall
lycense, full and sole power, priviledge and authority, that hee and they, and
his and theire workemen, servante, and agente, and noe others, shall or may,
dureing the terme of fourteene yeares next ensueing the date hereof, vse,
practise, exercise, enioy, and putt in execuĉon the said art or Invenĉon,
within our kingdomes of England and Ireland, in such manner as to
Lim and them shall seeme meete, and shall have and enioy the sole

page_text: benefitt and advantage ariseing thereby or by reason thereof, to have,
hold, and enioy the said lycence, power, priviledge, and authority, and other
the misses hereby granted or intended to be granted to the said John
Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, and assignes, from the day of
the date of these psente, for and dureing the terme of fourteene yeares from
thence next ensueing, fully to bee compleate and ended, according to the
statute in that case made and pvided; and to the end that hee, the said
John Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, and assignes, and every
of them, may the better enioy the full and whole benefitt, and the sole vse
and practise of the said Inventon, aswell within libertyes as without, wee
doe by these psente; for, vs, our heires and successors, require and strictly
charge & comand all and every pson and psons, bodyes politique and
corporate, that they or any of them doe not or shall not, dureing the terme of
yeares hereby granted, either directly or indirectly vse or putt in practise or
execuĉon the said art or inveučon, nor doe or shall counterfeite, imitate, or
resemble the same, nor doe or shall make any addičon therevnto or substraccon
from the same, whereby to ptend themselves the inventors or devisors thereof,
without the lycence, consent, or agreement of the said John Joachim Becher,
his executors, administrators, or assignes, in writeing vnder his or theire hande
and seales first had and obtained in that behalfe, vppon such paines and
penaltyes as can or may bee inflicted on such offenders for the contempt of this
our command; and further, to bee answearable to the said John Joachim
Becher, his executors, administrators, and assignes, for his or theire damages
susteined thereby; and further, wee doe by these psente for vs, our heires
& successors, give and grant vnto the said John Joachim Becher, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, full power and authority that hee, they, and every
of them, his, theire, and every of their deputyes, servante, or agente, or any of
them (having first obtained a warrant in that behalfe from the Lord Cheife
Justice of the Court of Kinge Bench in either of our said kingdomes for the
time being) may, with the assistance of a constable or any other lawfull officer,
aswell within libertyes as without; vpon request, att convenient times in the
day, dureing the terme aforesaid and in lawful manner, enter and make
search in any place or places where there shall bec iust cause of suspicon for
discovering and findeing out of all such psons as shall within the said terme.
of fourteene yeares imitate or cause to bce imitated, or shall vse or putt in
practise, the art or invenčon aforesaid, that soe such offenders may bee pro-
eeeded against and punished accordeing to theire demerite. And further, wee
doe by these sente, for vs, our heires and successors, will, authorize, and
require all and singular iustices of the peace, mayors, sheriffes, bayliffe,

page_text: hedboroughes, and all other officers and ministers of vs, our heires and suc-
cessors for the time being, that they, and every of them respectively, bee from
time to time, durcing the said terme hereby granted, in theire respective places
favouring, aydeing, helpeing, and assisting vnto the said John Joachim
Becher, his executors, administrators, and assignes, or his, theire or any of
theire deputy or deputyes, servante and agente, or any of them, in and about
the accomplishment of our will & pleasure herein declared, and the exercise
and execucon of the powers and priviledges herein and hereby granted, or
menconed to bee granted, as aforesaid. And moreover, wee will and command
by these sente, for vs, our heires and successors, that our said officers, or any.
of them, doc not molest, trouble, or interrupt the said John Joachim Becher,
his executors, administrators, or assignes, or any of them, his, theire, or any of
theire deputy or deputyes, servants or agente, or any of them, in or about the
vse or exercise of the said art or Invencon, in any matter or thing con-
cerneing the same: Provided alwais, that if att any time dureing the said
terme of fourteene yeares itt shall bee made appeare to vs, our heires or
successors, or any six or more of our or theire Privy Councell, that this grant
is iudicial or inconvenient to our comon wealth, or that the said art or
Invenĉon is not a new Invenčon of the said John Joachim Becher, as to the
vse and practice thereof within these our kingdomes, then vpon significacon and
declaracon to bee made by vs, our heires or successors, vnder our or their
signett or privy seale, or by the lorde and others of our or theire Privy
Councell, or six or more of them, for the time being, in writeing vuder theire
hande, of such Piudice & inconvenience, these our Lřes Patent & all things
herein conteyned shall forthwith cease, determine, & be vtterly voyd to
all intent & purposes, any thing herein-before contained to the contrary not-
withstanding: Provided also, that these our Lřes Patente, or any thing
herein contained, shall not extend or bee construed to extend to give privi-
ledge vnto the said John Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, or
assignes, or any of them, to vse or imitate any invenčon or worke found out
or invented by any other pson or psons & publickly exercised in our kingdomes
of England or Ireland vnto whome we have already granted our like Lřes
Patente of Priviledge for the sole vse & benefitt thereof, itt being our will &
pleasure that the said John Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, &
assignes, & all other pson & psons to whome we have already granted our
like Lies Patent or priviledge, shall distinctly vse & practise theire severall
Invenčons by them invented & found out, according to the true intent &
meaneing of theire said severall & respective Lřes Patente, & of these psente,
And lastly, we doe by these psente, for vs, our heires & successors, grant vnto

page_text: the said John Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, & assignes, that
these our Lřes Patent, or the inrollm' thereof, shall be in & by all thing
good, valid, sufficient, & effectuall in the law, according to the true intent &
meaneing of these psente, & shall be taken, construed, & adiudged most
favourably & beneficially for the best benefitt and advantage of the said John
Joachim Becher, his executors, administrators, & assignes, aswell in all
court of record as elsewhere, notwithstandeing the not full and certaine
"describeing of the said art or Invenčon, or of the certaine vse or bencfitt
thereof, & notwithstanding any other defecte or incerteintyes in these sente
conteyned, or any act, statute, ordinance, provision, or restraint to the contrary
in anywise notwithstandeing.
In witnesse, &c. Witnesse ourselfe at Westin, the Eight-and-twentyeth
Aprill.
By Writt of Privy Seale.