Report from His Majesty's commissioners for inquiring into the administration and practical operation of the Poor Laws. Published by authority.

  • Great Britain. Poor Law Commissioners.
Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report from His Majesty's commissioners for inquiring into the administration and practical operation of the Poor Laws. Published by authority. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    486/510 (page 110)
    The justices shall rate every parish to a weekly sum. Penalty for re- fusing to pay moiieyjaxed. Relief for the pri- soners of the King’s Bench, Marshal sea, and hospitals. forfeited by any person or persons, shall go and be employed to the use of the poor of the same parish, and towards a stock and habitation for them, and other necessary uses and relief, as before in this Act are mentioned and expressed; and shall be levied by the said churchwardens and overseers, or one of them, by warrant from any two such justices of peace, or mayor, alderman, or head officer of city, town, or place cor- porate respectively, within their several limits, by distress and sale thereof, as aforesaid ; or in defect thereof, it shall be law- ful for any two such justices of peace, and the said alderman and head officers, within their several limits, to commit the offender to the said prison, there to remain without bail or mainprize till the said forfeitures shall be satisfied and paid. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the justices of peace of every county or place corporate, or the more part of them, in their general sessions to be holden next after the feast of Easter next, and so yearly, as often as they shall think meet, shall rate every parish to such a weekly sum of money as they shall think convenient, so as no parish be rated above the sum of sixpence, nor under the sum of a half- penny, weekly to be paid, and so as the total sum of each taxation of the parishes in every county amount not above the rate of twopence for every parish within the said county, which sums so taxed shall be yearly assessed by the agreement of the parishioners within themselves, or, in default thereof, by the churchwardens and petty constables of the same parish, or the more part of them ; or, in default of their agreement, by the order of such justice or justices of peace as shall dwell in the same parish, or (if none be there dwelling) in the parts next adjoining ; and if any person shall neglect or refuse to pay any such portion of money so taxed, it shall be lawful for the said churchwardens and constables, or any of them, or, in their de- fault, for any justice of peace of the said limit, to levy the same by distress and sale of the goods of the parly so refusing or neglecting, rendering to the party the overplus; and in default of such distress, it shall be lawful to any justice of that limit to commit such person to the said prison, there to abide, without bail or mainprize, till he have paid the same. And be it also Enacted, That the said justices of the peace, at their general quarter sessions to be holden at the time of such taxation, shall set down what competent sums of money shall be sent quarterly out of every county or place corporate, for the relief of the poor prisoners of the King's Bench and Marshalsea, and also of such hospitals and almshouses as shall be in the said county, and what sums of money shall be sent to every one of the said hospitals and almshouses, so as there be sent out of every county yearly twenty shillings at the least to each of the said prisons of the King's Bench and Marshal- sea, which sums, rateably to be assessed upon every parish, the churchwardens of every parish shall truly collect, and pay over to the high constables in whose division such parish shall be situate, from time to time, quarterly, ten days before the end of every quarter; and every such constable, at every such quarter sessions in such county, shall pay over the same to two such treasurers, or to one of them, as shall, by the more