Description:During the early 1800s, people in the Potteries grew very wary about the use by dishonest traders of false weights and measures on market day.
Rip-off
It was the big 'rip-off' scandal of its time, as local people took home less produce than they thought they had bought.
Local constable John Morton ordered an inspection of all the weights and measures in the neighbourhood - and ordered every single one to be adjusted.
In this notice he informed people that dishonest traders would be brought to justice, and that he would make genuine weights and measures available for comparison in suspicious cases.
At the same time he assured traders that the "peaceable behaviour of the Inhabitants" would be maintained - there was no formal police force at this time, and when people felt aggrieved, there was a risk of unrest.
About this document
Pottery manufacturer Enoch Wood collected this document and it is now among the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.