jurisdiction, in which any of the goods or chattels of such persons shall be found; which oath such justice or justices are hereby required to administer and certify, by indorsing in his or their respective handwriting, his or their name or names, on the warrant granted to make such distress, the goods and chattels of the said person or persons so neglecting or refusing to pay as aforesaid, shall be subject and liable to such distress and sale, in such other county, riding, division, or jurisdiction, where the same shall be found; and may, by virtue of such warrant and certificate, be distrained and sold in the same manner as if the same had been found within the district, parish, township or hamlet, in or for which such rate or cess had been made or was due. [55 Geo. 3. c. 46.] An Act to amend an Act passed in the Forty-eighth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled, An Act for the better Care and Maintenance of Lunatics, being Paupers or Criminals, in England. [Repealed by 9 Geo. 4. c. 40. s. 1.] [55 Geo. 3. c. 137.] An Act to prevent poor Persons in Workhouses from embezzling certain Property provided for their Use; to alter and amend so much of an Act of the Thirty-sixth Year of His present Majesty, as restrains Justices of the Peace from ordering Relief to poor Persons in certain Cases for a longer Period than One Month at a time; and for other Purposes therein mentioned, relating to the Poor. [4th July, 1815.] Whereas many persons, received into public workhouses established for the relief, maintenance, and employment of the poor, pawn and dispose of their clothes and apparel, and the goods and chattels deposited in or belonging to such workhouses; and poor persons, relieved by having clothes and apparel given them by the officers of parishes, frequently pawn and sell the same; and by the laws now in force no punishment can be inflicted on them, or on the person or persons buying or receiving the same into pawn: For remedy whereof, may it please Your Majesty that it may be enacted and be it : acted 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 the property of and in all Property in and singular the goods, chattels, furniture, provisions, goods, &c. provided for clothes, linen, and wearing apparel, tools, utensils, mate- the use of the nals, and things whatsoever, had and to be had, bought, poor to be vested in procured, or provided for the use of the poor of any parish or Overseers. parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places, shall be and the same is hereby vested in the overseers of the poor of such parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places for the time being, and their successors in office, for the purposes of this act, who are hereby empowered to bring, or cause to be brought any action or actions, or to prefer or order the preferring of any bill or bills of indictment against any person or persons who shall steal, take, or carry away, or buy or receive any such goods, chattels, provisions, clothes, linen, furniture, wearing apparel, tools, utensils, materials, or things whatsoever as aforesaid, or any part thereof; and in every such action and indictment the said goods, chattels, provisions, clothes, linen, wearing apparel, tools, utensils, materials, and things, shall be laid or described to be the property of the overseers of the poor for the time being of such parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places, without stating or specifying the name or names of all or any of such overseers: Pro- Not to repeal vided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to re- provisions in peal any of the provisions contained in any act or acts of parliament, whereby the property of and in any such goods, chattels, furniture, provisions, clothes, linen, wearing apparel, tools, utensils, materials, and things, is or may be vested in any other person or persons jointly with, or independent of the overseers of the poor of any parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places. local acts. cause the II. And be it further enacted, That the overseers of the Parish offipoor, or other person or persons who may be appointed for cers may the ordering regulating, managing, or providing for the poor goods, &c. to of any parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or be marked. hamlets, place or places, jointly with or independent of such overseers of the poor, shall or may, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to cause all such goods, chattels, furniture, clothes, linen, wearing apparel, tools, utensils, materials, and things capable of being marked, and from time to time belonging to such overseers, or other person or persons, to be marked, stamped, or branded with the word work house,' ," and such other mark or marks as they shall think proper for identifying the parish or parishes, township VOL. I. R Penalty on ing or receiv- property pro vided for the poor by parish officers; or defacing marks. on non-payment of penaity, offenders to be com mitted. Persons absconding with work house property, to be committed. or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places, by which the same shall have been provided: And if any pawnbroker or other person or persons, shall knowingly take in pawn buy, exchange or receive any goods, chattels, furniture clothes, linen, wearing apparel, tools, utensils, materials and things provided for the use of any of the poor who are or shall be received into the workhouse of any parish of parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place of places, or to whom the same shall have been given by the overseers of the poor, or other such person or persons aforesaid appointed as aforesaid, of or for any such parish parishes, township or townships, hamlet or hamlets, place places, or any of them, or any of the goods or material carried into any such workhouse or workhouses, to wrought up, manufactured, or used by the poor there, any of the goods or furniture of such workhouse or work houses; or shall receive or buy any of the provisions allotte to or provided for the poor of such workhouse or workhouses or shall be aiding or assisting therein; or if any person persons shall cause such mark or stamp, marks or stamps as aforesaid, to be obliterated or defaced, every person offending shall forfeit for every such offence any sum no exceeding the sum of five pounds, nor less than one pound upon conviction thereof, either by the confession of such per son or persons, or by the oath of one or more credible wit ness or witnesses, before any one or more of His Majesty justices of the peace of the county, city, town, riding, division wherein the offence or offences shall be committed one moiety of which said penalty shall go to the informer of informers, and the other moiety shall go and be paid to the overseers of the poor of the parish or parishes, township o townships, hamlet or hamlets, place or places to which such articles or things may belong, for the use of the poor of such parish or parishes, township or townships, hamlet or ham lets, place or places; and in case any person or persons who shall be convicted as aforesaid, shall not pay such penalty or penalties upon conviction, then and in such case such justice or justices of the peace shall and may and is and are hereby required to commit such offender or offenders to the common gaol or house of correction, there to remain without bail or mainprize for any space of time not exceeding two calendar months; and if any person or persons shall desert or run away from any workhouse or workhouses, and carry away with him, her, or them, any clothes, linen, or other goods or things as aforesaid, such person or persons being thereof lawfully convicted either by the confession of such party or parties, or by the oath or oaths of one or more credible witness or witnesses, before any justice or justices of the peace, ticles to be hall by such justice or justices of the peace be forthwith committed to the common gaol or house of correction, there remain without bail or mainprize for the space of three alendar months; and in all cases such mark, stamp, or Mark or rand, on any such articles or things as aforesaid (being duly stamp on aruthenticated) shall be considered and taken to be sufficient evidence of vidence, without further proof, of the right of property in the right of property. ach overseers or other person or persons appointed as afore- Mark not to aid, as the case may be: Provided always, that such mark or be put on the tamp as aforesaid shall not at any time be placed on any outside of wearing aprticles of wearing apparel so as to be publicly visible on the parel. sterior of the same. Ill. And whereas by an act passed in the thirty-sixth year f the reign of His present Majesty, intituled, An act to amend 36 G. 3. c. 23. much of an act made in the ninth year of the reign of King George the First, intituled 'An act for amending the laws realing to the settlement, employment, and relief of the poor,' as revents the distributing occasional relief to poor persons in their won houses, under certain circumstances and in certain cases, jusices of the peace are authorized and empowered to direct and order collection and relief to industrious poor persons at their homes, in any parish, town, township, or place, notwithstanding any contract shall have been entered into or made with any person or persons for lodging, keeping, maintaining, and employing any and all poor persons there, in a house or houses for such purpose hired or purchased, provided that such order should be given for and remain in force for a time not to exceed one month from the date of such order, but that any two justices might make any further order for the same or a like purpose, for any further time not exceeding one month, and so on from time to time as the occasion should require: And whereas it is expedient that justices The time for should be empowered to order relief to be paid to poor per- tices may which jussons, in the cases mentioned in the said act, for longer periods order reliefto than one month at a time; be it therefore enacted by the poor persons authority aforesaid, that from and after the passing of this homes exact it shall and may be lawful to and for any justice or jus- tended. fices of the peace, in the cases and in the manner mentioned the said act, to direct and order collection and relief to be paid to any poor person or persons, at his, her, or their home or homes, house or houses, during such time or times as to such justice or justices may seem proper, not exceeding three months from the date of such order: Provided also, that it shall and may be lawful for any two such justices as aforesaid, to make any further order for the same or the like purpose, for any further time not exceeding six months from the date of such order, and so on from time to time as the at their own occasion shall require; such justice or justices first admini tering an oath as to the need and cause of such relief, in ea of the above cases, and thereupon summoning the overse or overseers of the poor of the parish, town, township, place, to be charged with such relief, to shew cause why su poor person or persons should not receive such relief manner as by law provided, in cases where no contract f lodging, keeping, and maintaining the poor shall have be made; and in case it shall afterwards appear to the justi or justices making such order, that the payment of su collection or relief to any such person or persons as aforesa payment of ought to be discontinued before the expiration of the tin for which any such order or orders shall have been mad such justice or justices shall and may order such relief to discontinued, and from thenceforth the person or persons f whom and on whose account such order shall have be made, shall not be entitled to ask or receive the same. Justices making such orders may direct the relief to be discontinued. Limitation of certain cases. IV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That t allowances in sum or sums of money which any such justice or justices sh or may order to be paid to any such poor person or person for any longer space or period of time than one month, sha not exceed for each such poor person the sum of three shi lings per week, or three-fourths of the average weekly e pence which shall be usually borne or paid by the parish place on which such order shall be made for the maintenan of each poor person, in any workhouse or workhouses which poor persons of or belonging to such parish or plac shall be usually maintained and employed. Persons guilty of misbehaviour in workhouses, mitted. V. And whereas persons maintained in public workhous sometimes refuse to work, or are guilty of drunkenness, an other misbehaviour, and by the laws in being no sufficie may be com- punishment is provided for such offences; be it therefore e acted, that in case any person or persons, maintained in an public workhouse or workhouses established for the relie maintenance, and employment of the poor, shall refuse work at any work, occupation, or employment, suited to hi her, or their age, strength, and capacity, or shall be guilty drunkenness or other misbehaviour, every such person persons, being thereof lawfully convicted before any justi or justices of the peace, shall thereupon by such justice justices of the peace be committed to the common gaol house of correction, there to remain without bail or main prize for any period of time not exceeding twenty-one day and during such time to be kept to hard labour. Persons hav. VI. And be it further enacted, That from and after t |