| 1 | In Curi[ia] de Tynwald tent[ament] 25th |
| 2 | die Juny 1649 |
| 3 | Considering the extraordinarie dearth and |
| 4 | scarsetie of bread and all manor of victual this |
| 5 | present yeare, And comisseratinge the sadd con= |
| 6 | dic[i]on of the poorer soarte of people of this Island |
| 7 | who have not breade to eate or any other victuall |
| 8 | to sustaine nature w[i]thall, By meanes whereof |
| 9 | greate numbers of them are alreadie deade – as |
| 10 | starved by meere hunger and many alsoe – yea |
| 11 | the most p[ar]te of the poorer soart of the Island |
| 12 | scarse able to stand upon their ffeete for |
| 13 | want of sustenance |
| 14 | It is thought fitt and soe ordered by this |
| 15 | Court That all & [and] every the ffarmors & house= |
| 16 | =keepers of this Island, shall twise every weeke |
| 17 | viz upon Wednesdayes & ffrydays, spare and |
| 18 | forbeare both from themselves and from every |
| 19 | p[er]son of their famelyes – as children, servants |
| 20 | and such like, the usuall proporc[i]on of |
| 21 | victualls for one meale, upon both the said |
| 22 | dayes weekely; and that proporc[i]on of victuall |
| 23 | in Christian charetie – and in the feare of God |
| 24 | to dispende, give & distribute to the poore people |
| 25 | that shall come unto their houses or w[hi]ch they |
| 26 | shall knowe most needefull, to send the same unto |
| 27 | beinge not able to come for it; And this over |
| 28 | and besides such Almes as they in Charety |
| 29 | shall thinke in conscience they ought to give |
| 30 | and bestowe in this kinde, And this is to bee |
| 31 | observed till new corne come in viz untill that |
| 32 | p[ro]vision of corne come into this Island which his |
| 33 | Lo[rdshi]p hath sent for into ffrance & other places for |
| 34 | releeffe of this countrie. |
The governor, the controller and twenty-three other men, presumably the officers of the Court and most of the members of the House of Keys signed the document.
