An order of filiation can no longer be made with respect to any illegitimate child born after the passing of the Act; nor can either the putative father or mother be punished in respect of it (a). But if the mother be unable to maintain it, and it therefore become chargeable to the parish, the overseers or guardians of the parish, or guardians of any union in which such parish is included, after making diligent inquiry as to the putative father, (and having given fourteen days' previous notice to him of the intended application,) may apply to the next Court of Quarter Sessions for an order upon him to reimburse such parish or union for its maintenance and support (b). And a justice of peace may, at the instance of the overseers or guardians, summon him; and if such justice be satisfied that he intends to abscond, he may require him to enter into recognizance to appear and answer, or in default thereof may commit him to the gaol or house of correction until he does so, or until the application shall be heard (c). The following may be the form of the notice: Whereas Ann Styles, single woman, was on the day of last delivered of a male bastard child; and the said child, on the day of last, by reason of its said mother being unable to provide for its maintenance, became chargeable to the parish of and from thence hitherto has been maintained and supported by the said parish. And whereas we the undersigned, being the overseers of the poor of the said parish, [or "the guardians of the poor of the said parish," or" the guardians of the union in which such parish is situate,"] have made diligent inquiry as to the father of the said child, and find that you John Nokes are the father of the same: therefore take notice, that at the next general Quarter Sessions of the Peace, to be holden for the county of· within which such parish is situate, we, as such overseers of the poor of the said parish, intend to make application to the Court at the said Sessions, for an order upon you John Nokes to reimburse the said parish for the maintenance and support of the said child. Given under our hands this · To John Nokes, of labourer. day of C. D. 1834. Overseers of the said parish of (a) Sect. 69, 70. (c) Sect. 75. (b) Sect. 72. Care must be taken that the notice be signed by the overseers, or by the guardians where guardians are appointed; and it may be prudent to have it signed by all, until by some case it shall be decided that it is sufficient if signed by a majority of them. In a recent case, (R. v. JJ. Carnarvon, B. R., T. 1835, M. S.,) where it appeared that the copy of the notice, which was put in evidence at sessions in order to prove a service of the notice, had not the names of the overseers subscribed to it, the Court of King's Bench held that the sessions were warranted in dismissing the application for this defect. If the putative father appear at the sessions, (or indeed whether he do or not (d)), the Court, on proof of the notice, may proceed to hear the evidence. To support the application, the overseers will first have to prove the service of the notice; they must then prove that the child was born a bastard, that the mother was not able to support it, that it became chargeable, and the amount expended in its maintenance, and that the party to whom notice was given is the father of it. This last part of the evidence is the only part generally in which the parish officers will experience much difficulty, as this often depends very much upon the testimony of the mother; and it is provided by the statute (e), that unless the evidence of the mother shall be corroborated in some material particular by other testimony to the satisfaction of the Court, no order shall be made. If the Court, however, be satisfied that the party charged is "really and in truth" the father of the child, it shall make such order upon him as shall appear to them to be "just and reasonable under all the circumstances of the case, not exceeding the actual expense incurred or to be incurred for the maintenance" of the child; and such order shall continue in force only until the child shall attain the age of seven years (ƒ). The form of the order of sessions may be as follows: : 1. Form of an order of bastardy where the putative father appears at the sessions: Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, holden in and for the East Riding of the county of York, at Beverley in the said Riding, on Whereas the overseers of the poor of the parish of Seaton Ross, in the said Riding, having given due notice to John Nokes of their intention to apply to the Court here at these sessions for an order upon him the said John Nokes, as the putative father of a certain male bastard child, of which one Jane Styles was then lately delivered, and which had then lately become chargeable to the said parish, to reimburse the said parish for the maintenance and support of the said chili; and the said overseers having now made such application accordingly, and the said John Nokes being at (d) Sect. 74. (e) Sect. 72. (f) Sect. 72, and see sect. 73. the same time here present, and it having now been duly proved to the Court here in the presence and hearing of the said John Nokes, that the said child was, on the day of last past, at the parish of Seaton Ross aforesaid, born a bastard of the body of the said Jane Styles, and that the said child, on the day of by reason of the inability of its said mother to provide for its maintenance, became, and from thence hitherto hath been and still is, chargeable to the said parish of Seaton Ross, and that the said John Nokes is the father of the said child: The Court here, having heard the evidence in this behalf adduced, and having heard the said parties, are satisfied of the facts aforesaid, and that the said John Nokes is really and in truth the father of the said child; and it appears to the Court here to be just and reasonable, under all the circumstances of the case, that the said John Nokes should pay unto the overseers of the poor of the said parish of Seaton Ross for the time being, such sum or sums of money as they have expended, and also such sums as they may from time to time hereafter expend, for the maintenance and support of the said bastard child, not exceeding the sum of· per week. The Court here, therefore, do now hereby order that the said John Nokes do pay unto the overseers first aforesaid the sum of - by them expended for the maintenance and support of the said child from the day of aforesaid, when the said child first became chargeable as aforesaid, to the present day; and do also pay unto the overseers of the poor of the said parish of Seaton Ross for the time being, weekly and every week, from henceforth until the said child shall attain the age of seven years, (if the said child shall so long live and continue to be chargeable to the said parish,) such sum and sums of money as shall be weekly expended by or on behalf of the said parish for the maintenance and support of the said child during the time last aforesaid, not exceeding the sum of· each and every week. in 2. The like form where the putative father does not appear: Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, holden in and for the East Riding of the county of York, at Beverley in the said Riding, on Whereas the overseers of the poor of the parish of Seaton Ross, in the said Riding, having given due notice to John Nokes of their intention to apply to the Court here, at these sessions, for an order upon him the said John Nokes, as the putative father of a certain male bastard child, of which one Jane Styles was then lately delivered, and which had then lately become chargeable to the said parish, to reimburse the said parish for the maintenance and support of the said child; and the said application being now made accordingly, and the same coming on now to be heard before the Court here, according to the said notice, and it being now duly proved to the Court here that fourteen days' notice of the said application, under the hands of the said overseers, was duly given to the said John Nokes, the said John Nokes being now called, and not appearing either by himself or his attorney, the Court here nevertheless proceed to hear the said application, in pursuance of the statute in that case made and provided; and it being now duly proved to the Court here that the said child was, on the day of last past, at the parish of Seaton Ross aforesaid, born a bastard of the body of the said Jane Styles, and that the said child, on the day of last past, by reason of the inability of its said mother to provide for its maintenance, became, and from thence hitherto hath been and still is, chargeable to the said parish of Seaton Ross, and that the said John Nokes is the father of the said child: The Court here, having heard the evidence in this behalf adduced, and having heard the said overseers, are satisfied of the facts aforesaid, and that the said John Nokes is really and in truth the father of the said child; and it appears to the Court here to be just and reasonable, under all the circumstances of the case, that the said John Nokes should pay [&c., as in the last form to the end]. If, after the order is made, the payments get into arrear, they may be recovered by distress and sale of the party's goods, or by attaching his wages in the hands of his master (g). It may be necessary to add, that this statute, as far as it relates to bastards, extends only to cases where the children are born after the passing of the act. As to children born previously to that time, the law remains the same as formerly; and magistrates may still make orders of filiation in respect of them, and compel payment of the sums ordered, &c. in the same manner precisely as if this act had never been made (h). (g) Sect. 76. (h) See sect. 69, post, p. 107, and the note there. |