PART II. rate for the relief of the poor which shall be due from and CLASS shall have been demanded of him, and a shall be entitled to vote or to be present in any vestry of the parish for which Stat. 58 such rate shall have been made, until he shall have paid the G. 3. c. 69. same. VII. No. 2. rates to be tries. For preser parish papers. VI. And be it further enacted, That as well the books excluded hereby directed to be provided and kept for the entry of from ves- the proceedings of vestries, as all former vestry books, and all rates and assessments, accounts, and vouchers of the Church-wardens, Overseers of the Poor, and Surveyors of the Highways, and other parish officers, and all certificates, books and orders of courts, and of Justices, and other parish books, documents, writings, and public papers of every parish, except the registry of marriages, baptisms, and burials, shall be kept by such person and persons, and deposited in such place and manner, as the inhabitants in vestry assembled shall diPenalty on rect; and if any person in whose hands or custody any such retaining book, rate, assessment, account, voucher, certificate, order, or injuring document, writing, or paper shall be, shall wilfully, or negparish books, &c. ligently destroy, obliterate, or injure the same, or suffer the same to be destroyed, obliterated, or injured, or shall, after reasonable notice and demand, refuse or neglect to deliver the same to such person or persons, or to deposit the same in such place as shall by the order of any such vestry be directed, every person so offending, and being lawfully convicted thereof on his own confession, or on the oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses, by and before two of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, upon complaint thereof to them made, shall for every such offence forfeit and pay such sum, not exceeding fifty pounds, nor less than forty shillings, as shall by such Justices be adjudged and deterRecovery mined; and the same shall be recovered and levied, by and appli- warrant of such Justices, in such manner and by such ways and means as poor's rates in arrear are by law to be recovered and levied, and shall be paid to the Overseers of the poor of the parish against which the offence shall be committed, or to some of them, and be applied for and towards the relief of the poor thereof: Provided nevertheless, that every person who shall unlawfully retain in his custody, or shall refuse to deliver to any person or persons authorized to receive the same, or who shall obliterate, destroy, or injure, or suffer to be obliterated, destroyed, or injured, any book, rate, assessment, account, voucher, certificate, order, document, writing, or paper, belonging to any parish, or to the cation of penalty. Not to affect other proceed ings. By Stat. 59 G. 3. c. 85. s. 3. n. 3. an ambiguity arising from the word "and" is amended. Church-wardens, Overseers of the Poor, or Surveyors of the PART II. Highways thereof, may in every such case be proceeded CLASS against in any of his Majesty's Courts, civilly or criminally, No. 2. in like manner as if this Act had not been made. VII. Stat. 58 extended VII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That G. 3. c. 69. all provisions, authorities, and directions in this Act con- Provisions tained in relation to parishes, shall extend and be construed in relation to extend to all townships, vills, and places having separate to parishes Overseers of the Poor, and maintaining their poor sepa- to townrately; and that all the directions and regulations herein ships, &c. contained in regard to vestries, shall extend and be applied to all meetings which may by law be holden of the inhabitants of any parish, township, vill, or place, for any of the purposes in this Act expressed; and that the notices by Manner of this Act required to be given of every vestry may, in places giving noin which there is or shall be no parish church or chapel, or vestries and where there shall not be Divine service in such church or meetings in chapel, be given and published in such manner as notices of special the like nature shall have been there usually given and published, or as shall be most effectual for communicating the same to the inhabitants of every such parish, township, vill, or place respectively. tices of cases. vestries VIII. Provided also, and be it further enacted, That Not to alter nothing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed the time for to extend to alter the time of holding any vestry, parish, or holding town meeting, which is by the authority of any Act required specially to be holden on any certain day, or within any certain time directed; in such Act prescribed and directed; nor shall any thing in nor to afthis Act contained extend to take away, lessen, prejudice, fect special or affect the powers of any vestry or meeting holden in any parish, township, or place, by virtue of any special Act or Acts, of any ancient and special usage or custom, or to change or affect the right or manner of voting in any vestry or meeting so holden. vestries. IX. Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing Not to exin this Act contained shall extend to any parish within the tend to city of London. London; Southwark. X. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That nor to nothing in this Act contained shall extend to any parish in the Borough of Southwark. England XI. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall ex- To extend tend only to that part of the United Kingdom called Eng-only to land and Wales; and that the same shall be a public Act, and Wales. and be judicially taken notice of as such by all Judges, Justices, and others, without specially pleading the same. PART II. No. 3. Stat. 59 G. 3. c. 85. 58 G. 3. c. 69. Persons rated to the poor, though not Anno 59 GEO. III. Cap. 85. An Act to amend and correct an Act of the last Session of WHEREAS an Act was passed in the last session of Parliament, intituled An Act for the Regulation of Parish Vestries, and it is expedient to amend the same; Be it enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this Act, any person who shall be assessed and rated for the relief of the poor in respect of any annual parishion- rent, profit, or value arising from any lands, tenements, or ers, may hereditaments, situate in any parish in which any vestry vote in ves- shall be holden under the said recited Act, although such ing to the person shall not reside in or be an inhabitant of such pavalue of the rish, shall and may lawfully be present at such vestry, and such person shall have and be entitled to give such and so many vote or votes at such vestry, in respect of the amount of such rent, profit, or value, as by the said Act any inhabitant of such parish present at such vestry might or ought to have and be entitled to give in respect of such amount, and to all intents and purposes as if such person were an inhabitant of such parish; any thing in the said recited Act to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. try accord premises rated. Clerk or corpora- II. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where any corporation or body politic or corporate, or company, shall be charged to the rate for the relief of the poor of may vote such parish, either in the name of such corporation, or of any officer of the said corporation, it shall and may be lawto the value ful for the Clerk, Secretary, Steward, or other agent duly of the pre-authorized for that purpose of such corporation, or body mises rated. politic or corporate, or company, to be present at any vestry in vestry according to be holden in the said parish under the said recited Act; and such Clerk, Secretary, Steward, or Agent, shall be entitled to give such and so many vote or votes at such vestry, in respect of the amount of the rent, profit, or value of such lands, tenements, or hereditaments, as by the said Act any inhabitant assessed to such rate present at such vestry might or ought to have and be entitled to in respect of such amount; any thing in the said recited Act to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. CLASS VII. No. 3. III. And whereas by the said Act it was intended to be PART II. enacted, that no person should be present at or vote at any vestry who should have refused to pay any assessment that had become due and had been demanded of such person, Stat. 59 but the word "and" was by mistake so inserted in the said G. 3. c. 85. Act as to make the same in that respect ambiguous; now Non-payto rectify such mistake, be it further enacted, That no per- ment of son who shall have refused or neglected to pay any rate for rates to disqualify the relief of the poor which shall be due from and shall from being have been demanded of him, shall be entitled to vote or to present or be present in any vestry of the parish for which such rate voting in shall have been made, until he shall have paid the same; nor shall any such Clerk, Secretary, Steward, or Agent, be entitled to be present or to vote, nor shall be present or vote, at any vestry in such parish, unless all rates for the relief of the poor, which shall have been assessed and charged upon or in respect of the annnal rent, profit, or value, in right of which any such Clerk, Secretary, Steward, or Agent shall claim to be present and vote, which shall be due, and which shall have been demanded at any time before the meeting of such vestry, shall have been paid and satisfied. vestry. Anno 59 GEO. III. Cap. 12. Extracts relating to Select Vestries. No. 4. empowered BY sect. 1. The inhabitants of any parish in vestry assem- The inhabled are empowered to establish a select vestry for the bitants of a concerns of the poor of such parish, and to that end to nomi- parish are nate and elect in the same or any subsequent vestry, or any to establish adjournment thereof respectively, so many substantial house- a select holders or occupiers within such parish, not exceeding the vestry. number of twenty, nor less than five, as shall in any such vestry be thought fit to be members of the select vestry; and the Rector, Vicar, or other Minister of the parish, and in his absence the Curate thereof, (such Curate being resident in and charged to the poor's rates of such parish,) and the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor for the time being, together with the inhabitants who shall be nominated and elected as aforesaid, (such inhabitants being first thereto appointed by writing under the hand and seal of one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace, which appointment he is required to make,) shall be and constitute a select vestry for the care and management of the concerns of the poor of such parish, and any three of them (two of whom shall VII. PART II. neither be Church-wardens nor Overseers of the Poor) shall CLASS be a quorum; and when any inhabitant elected and apNo. 4. pointed to serve in any such select vestry shall before the Stat. 59 expiration of his office die, or remove from the parish, or G. 3. c. 12. shall become incapable of serving, or shall refuse or neg To continue to Act from the time fourteen days after the next appointment of Over seers. lect to serve therein, the vacancy which shall be thereby occasioned shall, as soon as conveniently may be, be filled up by the election and appointment in manner aforesaid of some other substantial householder or occupier of such parish, and so from time to time as often as any such vacancy shall occur; and every such select vestry shall continue and be empowered to act from the time of the appointment thereof until fourteen days after the next annual appointof appoint- ment of Overseers of the Poor of the parish shall take place, ment until and may be from year to year, and in any future year renewed in the manner herein-before directed; and every such select vestry shall meet once in every fourteen days, and oftener if it shall be found necessary, in the parish church, or in some other convenient place within the parish; and at every such meeting a chairman shall be appointed by the majority of the members present, who shall preside therein, and in all cases of equality of votes upon any question there arising the chairman shall have the casting vote; and every such select vestry is hereby empowered and required to examine into the state and condition of the poor of the parish, and to inquire into and determine upon the proper objects of relief, and the nature and amount of the relief to be given; and in each case shall take into consideration the character and conduct of the poor person to be relieved, and shall be at liberty to distinguish in the relief to be granted between the deserving, and idle, extravagant, or profligate poor; and such select vestry shall make orders in writing for such relief as they shall think requisite, and shall inquire into and superintend the collection and administration of all money to be raised by the poor's rates, and of all other funds and money raised or applied by the parish to the relief of the poor; and where any such select vestry shall be established, the Overseers of the Poor are required, in the execution of their office, to conform to the directions of the select vestry, and shall not (except in cases of sudden emergency or urgent necessity, and to the extent only of such temporary relief as each case shall require, and except by orders of Justices in the cases herein-after provided for) give any further or other relief or allowance to the poor, than such as shall be ordered by the select vestry. |