| Chap. 73. |
Poor.
shall yearly, within one Month after Easter, under their Hands
and Seals,
appoint in every Parish four, three, or two substantial Housholders,
as shall
be Overseers of the Poor within the same Parish. 21 Jac. cap.
28. |
147 |
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The Justices of Peace, which have the appointing
of these Overseers,
must therein be careful to chuse such Men as in every Town are fittest,
sc.
Substantial persons, having competency of Wealth, Wisdom, and a good
Conscience. ' And it seems also, they must be Housholders, not
Sojourners,
' however otherwise qualified. And indeed, this name and office
of Overseers,
may beseem the best, and not the meanest men (it being a name and
office of great antiquity and excellency, as you may see 1 Chro.
23.
4. Acts
20, 28, and Acts 6. 3, 5.) And though the persons
are not dignified according
to the singularity of the Subject; yet this is not the least office
to be called
Overseers of the Poor: For as God himself hath a special respect
to the
miseries of the Poor; for they be like God, which provide for the necessities
of the Poor. |
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All poor, needy, impotent, and lame persons,
within every Township and
Village in the Counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire,
Yorkshire,
Northumberland, the Bishoprick of Durham, Cumberland, and
Westmerland,
and other Counties where by reason of the largeness of the Parishes,
they cannot reap the benefit of the Statute of 43 Eliz. shall
be maintained
and set on work in the respective Township or Village wherein they
were
inhabiting or setled; and that according to the Rules of 43
Eliz. shall be
yearly in every Township and Village chosen two or more Overseers,
who
shall do and forfeit as in the Act of 43 Eliz. is appointed.
14 Car. 2.
c. 12. |
§. 3.
Large Parishes. |
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The Justices of the Peace of the said Counties,
shall do and execute such
authority in those Villages and Townships, as is directed by 49
Eliz. 14 Car.
2. c. 12. |
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It seemeth that this Act extendeth not only to
the Counties therein named,
but also to other Counties where such great and large Parishes are. |
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These Overseers and Churchwardens (or the greater
part of them) with
the consent of two or more such Justices, shall take order from time
to
time for setting their Poor on work, putting out Apprentices, and relieving
their impotent, as followeth. |
§. 4.
The Overseers
duty. |
| P. 25. |
1. First, For setting to work the Children
of all such, whose Parents
shall not by the greater part of the Overseers be thought able to keep
and
maintain their Children, which Children they, or the greater part of
them,
by the assent of two Justices, may also put out to be Apprentices,
scil.
The Men Children till their age of 24, and the Women Children till
their
age of 21 years, or the time of their Marriage. |
Apprentices. |
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And all poor Children of the age of 7 years, or
above, so bound Apprentices
may be taken and kept as Apprentices by their Masters, any
former Statute to the contrary notwithstanding. See 1 Jac.
c.
25. and 21 Jac.
28. and 3 Car. 4. but such binding must be by Indenture.
See Ant. tit.
Labor. Crom. 184 b. And see the form of such an
Indenture,
hic postea. |
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Note, that the putting of poor Children Apprentice,
is holden to be one of
the best ways of providing for the Poor, Resol. 1. |
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And one Justice of the Peace may compel any person
meet, to be bound as an
Apprentice. |
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2. For setting to work all such persons (married
or unmarried) as having
no means to maintain them, use no ordinary and daily Trade of life
to get
their living by. |
§. 5.
Work. |
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Such also as can get no work, are by the Overseers
to be set on work;
and any one Justice of Peace may send to the House of Correction, or Common |
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