Part 10

7. That the said Governors have Power to settle out the young People at such Ages as they shall think fit; the Boys to Navigation, Husbandry, and Manufactures; the Maids in Service, and to bind them Apprentices for certain Years.

8. That this will prevent Children from being Starved, by the Poverty of their Parents, and neglect of the Parish-Officers, which is now a great Loss to the Nation; forasmuch as every Person if imployed, would by his Labour add to the Wealth of the Public.

9. That this will encourage Men of Charity to make Endowments, when they shall see their Bounties so well laid out.

10. That Application be made, in order to procure an Act of Parliament, for the better carrying on this Work.

Which Proposals being considered of in several Meetings of the Citizens appointed for that Purpose, were with some Alterations made the Model for an Act of Parliament, which past Anno Septimo & Octavo Gulielmi Tertii, being the first Act of that Nature, from which sundry Acts for many other Places have taken their Frame; and though the Promoters thereof, met with more difficulties and discouragements in the Execution, than they did expect, yet to the Honour of those Gentlemen it must be said, that they never looked back, but with the utmost Application, prosecuted what they had undertaken, till they brought it to such a State, as to render it plain and practicable to their Successors; and this good Effect it hath had, that there is not a common Beggar, or disorderly Vagrant, seen in their Streets, but Charity is given in its proper Place and Manner, and the Magistrates are freed from the daily Trouble they had with the Poor, and the Parishes they lived in, and are discharged from the Invidious Fatigues of their Settlements, when a great deal of what should have maintained them, was spent in determining what Parishes were to do it.

I wish it could be said so of the two Metropolitan Cities of England and Ireland, where such Swarms of lazy Beggars pester the Streets, that they are not only troublesome, but also nauseous to the Beholders; and the Church Doors are so crouded with them, that you can scarce pass to your Devotion; nor do you know when you bestow your Charity rightly, those who do not deserve it, taking such Methods to move Compassion, that you cannot easily distinguish them from those who do.

And since I have mentioned this Act, and the well executing thereof by the first Undertakers, I think it cannot be amiss to set it forth Verbatim (being never yet printed, save only some Copies for the Use of the Corporation) together with the Steps whereby the first Guardians proceeded, and as it was laid before the Parliament Anno 1700; which I have done in the Appendix, because it may probably be of use to those, who shall be willing to take Pains in a Work of such Service, both to God and the Public.

But because this Act was adapted only for Cities and great Towns, and can’t be a Model for the Counties at large, I will here subjoin such Methods as may be proper to carry on this charitable Design throughout the whole Kingdom, if Power be given by some public Act of Parliament, for all Places to incorporate who are willing (but may not be able to be at the Charge of a private Act) and to build, or otherwise provide, Hospitals, Work-Houses, and Houses of Correction, for the better maintaining and imploying their Poor, under the Management of such Corporations; which in the Counties must be by uniting one or more Hundreds, whose Parishes must be comprehended in one Poors Rate, and each of them contribute to the Charge thereof, not by bringing them to an equal Pound Rate on their Lands and personal Estates, as in Cities and great Towns, but by Taxing every Parish according to what it paid before, there not being the same Parity of Reason for that way of raising Money in the Hundreds, as there is in Cities and Towns; because in the former, the Parishes do not receive an equal Benefit from the Labour of the Poor of other Parishes, as they do in the latter; which Hospitals, Work-Houses, and Houses of Correction, to be provided at the general Charge of the Parshies thus united, according to the Proportion that each of them pays to the Poor.

The Guardians of these Corporations to consist of all the Justices of the Peace inhabiting within the several Parishes thus united, together with a Number of Inhabitants chosen out of each Parish, in proportion to the Sum of Money it pays; which Choice to be made every Year, or once in two Years, when one half of those that were first chosen must go out, and the Remainder stay in, to instruct those who were last chosen; the Electors to be the Freeholders of ### per Annum; and on the Death of any Guardian, another to be chosen in his Room, by the Parish for which he served.

That the Guardians being thus settled, they shall have Power to choose a Governor, Deputy-Governor, Treasurer, and Assistants, Yearly, and to hold Courts, and make By-Laws, and appoint a Common Seal; and also to Summon the Inhabitants to answer to Matters relating to the Corporation; and to compel all People, who seek for Relief, to dwell in their Hospitals and Work-Houses, if they see fit; and to take in young People of both Sexes, and breed them up to work, who they shall also be obliged to teach to Write and Read, and what else shall be thought necessary, and then to bind them out Apprentices; and likewise to provide for the aged and Impotent, and to assist those whose Labours will not maintain their Charges, and to apprehend Rogues, Vagrants and Beggars, and cause them to be set at Work, and also to inflict reasonable Correction where they see it necessary, and to entertain proper Officers, and pay them out of the Stock; with a Clause to secure them from vexatious Suits; and they must be obliged once in ### at least to hold a General Court, where the Governor, Deputy-Governor, or one half of the Assistants, together with such a proportionable Number of the Guardians as they shall agree on, shall be present.

That the Court shall once in six Months agree and settle how much Money will be necessary for maintaining and imploying the Poor for the six Months next ensuing, and certify the same to the Justices inhabiting within the said Hundred or Hundreds, at a Meeting to be had for that Purpose, who shall proportion the same Regularity in each Parish, and grant out their Warrants to proper Persons to Assess the same, and afterwards, other Warrants to collect, and pay it to the Treasurer of the Corporation; with a Power to inflict Penalties on the Assessors and Collectors, if they refuse or neglect to do their Duty, in Assessing, Collecting, and paying the said Money, according to their Warrants.

That each Corporation be one Body Politic in Law, and be capable of Suing and being Sued, and be enabled to Purchase, Take and Receive, Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, Goods and Chattles, for the Benefit of the Poor.

These, or such like Methods, being rectified by the Wisdom of Parliament, will soon appear to be of great use to the Nation, and also to the Poor who are truly Objects of Relief; and will also put a Stop to wand’ring Vagrants, against whom, every Corporation will then be a Barrier, and none will expect Charity, but from the Parishes to which they belong, and who are the most proper Judges whether they deserve it.

And thus I have gone through what I undertook, and have given my Thoughts of these important Subjects; wherein I have no other View than promoting the Welfare of this Kingdom, by improving its Trade and Commerce and providing for the Poor in a regular Method: Both which will tend to the Honour of His Majesty’s Government, and the advancing the Wealth and Prosperity of the Nation.

FINIS.

THE

APPENDIX.

Anno Septimo & Octavo

GULIELMI III. Regis.

An Act for Erecting of Hospitals and Work-Houses within the City of Bristol, for the better Employing and Maintaining the Poor thereof.

WHEREAS it is found by Experience, That the Poor in the City of Bristol do daily multiply, and Idleness and Debauchery amongst the meaner Sort, doth greatly Increase, for want of Work-houses to set them to Work, and a sufficient Authority to compel them thereto, as well as to the Charge of the Inhabitants, and Grief of the charitable and honest Citizens of the said City, as the great Distress of the Poor themselves; for which sufficient Redress hath not yet been provided: For Remedy whereof, 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 Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Twelfth Day of May, which shall be in the Year of our Lord, One thousand six hundred ninety and six, there be, and shall be, a Corporation to continue for ever within the said City of Bristol, and the County thereof, consisting of the several Persons herein after-mentioned (that is to say) of the Mayor and Aldermen for the time being, and of eight and forty other Persons, to be chosen out of the honestest and discreetest Inhabitants of the City and County, by the Eleven Wards in the said City, and the Castle Precincts there, which to all Intents and Purposes, shall be from henceforth for ever a Ward within the said City, (that is to say) Four out of each Ward, and of such other charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted Guardians of the Poor of the said City, in a manner as is herein after expressed: And the first eight and forty Persons shall be Elected at a Court for that purpose to be held within each Ward, by the Alderman of the same, or his Deputy, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, paying one Penny per Week, or more, in his own Right, for and towards the Relief of the Poor of the said City, or of the major part of them then present.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that the said Eight and Forty Persons shall be chosen in manner, as aforesaid, the Twelfth Day of May next following, and shall continue in their Office until others shall be elected in their Rooms, according to the Direction herein after-mentioned; and in case any of the said Persons so Elected, or any other Person so Elected in their Room, shall, after their respective Elections, happen to die, That then it shall, and may be Lawful to and for the Alderman of the Ward, for which such Person so dying was Elected, or his Deputy, at a Court to be held within the said Ward for that purpose, within the Space of ten Days next after the Death of such Persons, to Elect others in their Place, in manner, as aforesaid; which Court and Election, such Alderman, or his Deputy, is and are hereby required to Hold and Make: Which said Mayor and Aldermen, and Forty-eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons, so Elected and Constituted for the Time being, shall be called Guardians of the Poor of the City of Bristol.

And to the intent that the said Guardians so Elected out of the said Wards may have perpetual Succession: Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said respective Aldermen for the Time being, or their respective Deputies, shall and may, and are hereby required, on the first Thursday in April, in every second Year, from henceforth, to hold a Court in their respective Wards, and then and there, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, so qualified, as aforesaid, or of the Majority of them then present, to Elect and Choose two of the honestest and discreetest Persons out of the said Inhabitants of the said City, to be Guardians of the Poor of the said City for the said Ward; which Paid two Persons, so Elected, shall be Guardians, and shall succeed the two Persons before that first Elected, and then being Guardians for the said Ward; and the said two Persons so first Elected, shall immediately upon such Election, and Notice thereof given to them, cease to be Guardians.

And be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Mayor, Aldermen, Eight and forty Persons, and such other Charitable Persons elected and constituted, as is herein mentioned and expressed, for the time being, shall for ever hereafter in Name and Fact, be one Body Politic and Corporate in Law, to all Intents and Purposes, and shall have a perpetual Succession, and be called by the Name of The Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants, and Guardians of the Poor in the said City of Bristol; and that they shall be enabled to Plead and Sue, and to be Sued and Impleaded by that Name, in all Courts and Places of Judicature within this Kingdom; and by that Name shall and may, without License in Mortmain, Purchase, Take, or Receive any Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, of the Gift, Alienation or Demise of any Person or Persons, who are hereby, without further Licence, enabled to transfer the same, and any Goods and Chattles whatsoever, for the Use and Benefit of the Corporation aforesaid. And for the better governing of the said Corporation, the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Eight and forty Persons, or the Majority of them, shall have, and hereby have Authority to meet on the Nineteenth Day of May next following, in St. George’s Chapple in the said City, or in some other convenient Place there, and shall on that Day, or any other Day or Time, that to them shall seem convenient, Elect and Constitute out of and from amongst themselves, the several Officers following (that is to say) one Governor, one Deputy-Governor, one Treasurer, and twelve Assistants, to continue in the said Office for one Year, and no longer; and from thenceforth the said Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants, Treasurer, and other Officers, shall Yearly, and every Year, by the said Mayor, Aldermen, Forty-eight Persons, and such other charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted as is herein mentioned and expressed, or the Majority of them, be Elected and Constituted out of and from amongst themselves, on the Second Thursday in the Month of April, or any other Day or Time, as they shall think convenient, to continue in their respective Offices for one Year and no longer; and the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Forty-eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons that shall be Elected and Constituted, as herein mentioned and expressed, for the Time being, or the Majority of them, shall have Power, in case of the Death of any such Officer so Elected and Constituted, before the said Year expired, to Elect and Constitute others in their Room, to hold the said Office for the Remainder of the said Year, and shall have Power and Authority at any Time or Times, for just Cause, to remove, displace, and put out any such Officer out of his said Office, and to Elect and Constitute another in his Room.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Governor, or in his Default, the said Deputy-Governor, or in both their Defaults, Six of the said Assistants for the Time being, shall have, and hereby have Power and Authority, and are hereby Enjoyned and Required from time to time, upon the Second Thursday in every Second Month in every Year, accounting January for the first Month, to hold and keep a Court or Assembly of the said Corporation within the said City of Bristol, of one and Twenty of the said Guardians at least, on the Days and Time, and in manner, and for the ends in this Act mentioned; (that is to say) The said Governor shall hold the said Court or Assembly between the Hours of One and Two in the Afternoon; and in his Default, the said Deputy-Governor, or any Six of the said Assistants, shall, after the Hour of Two, hold the same; and also, the said Governor for the time being, shall have, and hereby hath Power and Authority, at any such other time or times as to him shall seem meet, to Summon, Assemble and hold a Court or Assembly of the said Corporation, upon two Days Notice or Warning at the least to be given of such Court or Assembly to be held; and in case any twenty of the said Guardians, upon any Emergency, signifying it under their Hands to the Governor for the time being, That it is their Desire that an extraordinary Court or Assembly of the said Corporation may be called and held, the said Governor shall be bound, and is hereby Enjoyned and Required to call and hold such Court or Assembly at such Time as the said twenty Guardians shall so desire; and on his Refusal, the said Deputy-Governor for the Time being, on such Signification, shall be Bound, and is hereby likewise Enjoyned and Required to call and hold the said Court or Assembly, and on his Refusal, any six of the said Assistants shall have, and hereby have Authority to call and hold the said Court or Assembly; at all which Courts or Assemblies all and every Member and Members of the said Corporation for the Time being, are hereby Enjoyned to appear and be present, and not to depart from the same without the Licence of the said Court or Assembly, on pain to Forfeit such reasonable Sum and Sums of Money, not exceeding Five Shillings, to the Use of the said Corporation, as by the said Court or Assembly, or any succeeding Court or Assembly, shall be Assessed upon them, unless they can shew some reasonable Excuse to be allowed of by the said Court or Assembly; and the said Court or Assembly are hereby Impowered to Summon to appear before them any of the Inhabitants of the said City to answer to Matters relating to the said Corporation, who are hereby required to appear upon such Summons, and answer such Questions, on Forfeiture, to the Use of the said Corporation, of a Sum not exceeding two Shillings and Six-pence for every Default to be Levied as is herein after directed.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, Thar the said Corporation, at the said Court or Assembly, shall have, and hereby have Power and Authority from time to time to make and appoint a Common Seal or Seals for the Use of the said Corporation, and to make and ordain By-Laws, Rules and Ordinances for and concerning the better Governing the said Corporation, and the Poor of the said City, and shall have, and have hereby Power to Purchase, Buy or Erect an Hospital or Hospitals, Work-house or Work-houses, House or Houses of Correction, and to provide other Necessaries they shall think convenient for the setting to work the Poor of the said City, of what Sex or Age soever they be, and shall have, and hereby have Power and Authority to compel such idle or poor People begging or seeking Relief, who do not betake themselves to some lawful Imployments, and such other Poor who do or shall hereafter receive Alms of the respective Parishes or Places where they Inhabit or Seek the same, or by any of the Laws now in force ought to be maintained or provided for by any Parish or Place within the said City, to Dwell and Inhabit in such Hospital or Hospitals, Work-house or Work-houses, and to do such Work as they shall think them able and fit for; and to detain and keep in the Service of the said Corporation, until the Age of sixteen Years, any poor Child or Children of the said City, left to be maintained by the said City, or any Parish or Place in the same, or begging or seeking Relief, or which by any of the Laws now in force ought to be maintained and provided for by any Parish or Place within the said City, or the Child or Children of any other Person or Persons, that are or shall be willing or desirous to place or put their Child or Children in such Hospital or Hospitals, until their said Age of sixteen Years; and after they shall have attained their said Age of Sixteen Years or sooner, the said Corporation, by Indenture, shall have Power to Bind and Put forth such Child or Children Apprentices, to any honest Person or Persons within the Kingdom of England, for any Number of Years, not exceeding seven Years, as they shall think convenient; which Indenture shall be binding to such Child or Children.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Court or Assembly so constituted, as aforesaid, shall have, and hereby have Power to inflict such reasonable Correction and Punishment on any poor Person or Persons within the said Hospital or Hospitals, Work-house or Work-houses, House or Houses of Correction, that shall not conform to such Rules, Orders and Ordinances so made, as aforesaid, or misbehave themselves in the same; and that the said Court or Assembly so constituted, as aforesaid, shall have, and hereby have Power to appoint a Committee to consist of One and Twenty of the Guardians at the least, who, or any five of them, of which two shall be Assistants, shall from time to time, or at any time until the next Court, have Power to inflict such reasonable Correction and Punishment, as aforesaid, on any such poor Person or Persons offending as aforesaid.

And for the better carrying on so Pious and Charitable a Work, be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be Lawful for the said Corporation, in their said Courts or Assemblies, from time to time, to set down and ascertain what Sum, or Sums of Money shall be needful for the Building and Erecting of such Hospitals, Work-houses, or Houses of Correction, so that the same do not exceed the Sum of five Thousand Pounds, to be raised within the Space of three Years, or any longer Time, as to them shall seem meet, by such Quarterly or other Payments, as they in their Discretion shall think fit; and also from time to time, to set down and ascertain what Weekly, Monthly, or other Sums, shall be needful for the Maintenance of the Poor in the said Hospital or Hospitals, Work-house or Work-houses, House or Houses of Correction, or within the Care of the said Corporation, so that the same do not exceed what hath been paid in the said City towards the Maintenance of the Poor thereof, in any one of the three last Years; and shall and may, under their Common Seal, certify the same unto the Mayor and Aldermen of the said City for the time being; which said Mayor and any two of the Aldermen, or any Five of the said Aldermen without the Mayor, may, and are hereby required from time to time, to cause the same to be raised and levied by Taxation of every Inhabitant, and of all Lands, Houses, Tythes Impropriate, Appropriation of Tythes, and all Stocks and Estates in the said City and County of the same, in equal Proportion, according to their respective Worth and Values: And in order thereunto, the said Mayor and any two of the said Aldermen, or any five of the said Aldermen without the Mayor, shall have power, and are hereby required indifferently, to proportion out the said Sum and Sums upon each Parish and Precinct within the said City, and by their Warrants under their Hands and Seals to authorize and require the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of each respective Parish and Precinct, to Assess the same respectively; and after such Assessment made, by like Warrant under their Hands and Seals, to authorize the said respective Church-wardens and Overfeers to Demand, Gather, and Receive the same, and for Non-payment thereof (being lawfully demanded) to Levy the same by Distress and Sale of the Goods of the Offender, restoring the Surplusage to the Party so distrained; and if no Distress can be found, then it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Mayor, and any two of the Aldermen, or any five of the said Aldermen without the Mayor, to commit such Offender to Prison, there to remain without Bail or Mainprize, till the same shall be paid: And after the same shall be received, to pay the same unto the Treasurer of the said Corporation for the time being. Provided always, That if any Person or Persons, Parish or Precinct, find him or themselves to be unequally Taxed or Assessed, he or they may Appeal to the Justices of the Peace of the said City and County, at their next General Quarter-Sessions after such Assessment made and demanded, who shall and hereby have full Power and Authority, to take and make a final Order therein.