Document: Notice|Notice by Burgomasters and Schepenen concerning the theft of timber

Their Honors, the Burgomasters and Schepens of the City of Amsterdam in N.N. have learned by frequent complaints of this and that inhabitant, that timber for piling, for building houses and necessarily used for other purposes is stolen and carried off, whereby such work is hindered and cannot be completed and great injury as well as damage is done,— and to prevent this their said Honors hereby strictly forbid under arbitrary correction for the first offense, that anybody should dare do it or have it done by either his servants or children or anybody else and the parents, whose children are inclined to do it and who allow it without punishing them, whereby they grow up in their wickedness and finally cannot give up their daily habits, shall suffer the punishment of their children, as if they themselves had committed the deed, without favour or pity. Furthermore whoever upholds such persons for the sake of greed and unrighteous gains shall be punished, as they are, for the receiver is as bad as the thief, and they shall be held as accomplices and abettors. Thus done etc., December 3, 1657.

It having been found, that some burghers and inhabitants of this City of Amsterdam or their servants throw into the just commenced graft all their filth, as ashes, dead animals etc. to the great inconvenience by bad odors of the people working there, also again filling up, what has been excavated,— Therefore the Burgomasters of this City hereby forbid, that henceforth anybody shall make so bold, as to throw into said graft any filth whatever, but he must carry it to the places, mentioned in the proclamation of the 20th of February of this year under the penalty of 25 fl. and that this order may properly be carried out, the Honble Officer is hereby commanded to execute it after publication and to proceed against the transgressors. Thus done etc., December 3, 1657.