Book I. of the religious houses. But, upon the total diffolution of these, the inconvenience of thus encouraging the poor in habits of indolence and beggary was quickly felt throughout the kingdom and abundance of statutes were made in the reign. of king Henry the eighth and his children, for providing for the poor and impotent; which, the preambles to some of them recite, had of late years greatly increased. These poor were principally of two forts: fick and impotent, and therefore unable to work; idle and sturdy, and therefore able, but not willing, to exercife any honeft employment. To provide in fome measure for both of these, in and about the metropolis, Edward the fixth founded three royal hofpitals; Chrift's and St. Thomas's, for the relief of the impotent through infancy or fickness; and Bridewell for the punishment and employment of the vigorous and idle. But thefe were far from being fufficient for the care of the poor throughout the kingdom at large: and therefore, after many other fruitless experiments, by ftatute 43 Eliz. c. 2, overfeers of the poor were appointed in every parish,

By virtue of the ftatute last mentioned, thefe overseers are to be nominated yearly in Eafter-week, or within one month after, (though a fubsequent nomination will be valid ") by two juftices dwelling near the parish. They must be fubftantial householders, and fo expreffed to be in the appointment of the justices",

THEIR office and duty, according to the fame ftatute, are principally thefe: firft, to raise competent fums for the neceffary relief of the poor, impotent, old, blind, and such other, being poor and not able to work: and fecondly, to provide work for fuch as are able, and cannot otherwife get employment: but this latter part of their duty, which, according to the wife regulations of that falutary ftatute, fhould go hand in hand with the other, is now moft fhamefully neglected. However, for these joint purposes, they are impowered to make and levy rates upon the feveral inhabitants of the n 2 Lord Raym. 1394.

m Stra. 1123.

parifli,

parish, by the fame act of parliament; which has been farther explained and enforced by feveral fubfequent statutes.

THE two great objects of this statute seem to have been, 1. To relieve the impotent poor, and them only. 2. To find employment for such as are able to work: and this principally by providing stocks of raw materials to be worked up at their separate homes, inftead of accumulating all the poor in one common work-house; a practice which puts the fober and diligent upon a level (in point of their earnings) with those who are diffolute and idle, depreffes the laudable emu lation of domestic industry and neatnefs, and deftroys all endearing family connexions, the only felicity of the indigent. Whereas, if none were relieved but those who are incapable to get their livings, and that in proportion to their incapacity; if no children were removed from their parents, but fuch as are brought up in rags and idlenefs; and if every poor man and his family were regularly furnished with employment, and allowed the whole profits of their labour ;- -2 spirit of bufy cheerfulness would foon diffuse itself through every cottage; work would become easy and habitual, when abfolutely neceffary for daily fubfiftence; and the peafant would go through his task without a murmur, if affured that he and his children (when incapable of work through infancy, age, or infirmity) would then, and then only, be entitled to support from his opulent neighbours.

THIS appears to have been the plan of the ftatute of queen Elizabeth; in which the only defect was confining the management of the poor to fmall, parochical, districts; which are frequently incapable of furnishing proper work, or providing an able director. However, the laborious poor were then at liberty to feek employment wherever it was to be had: none being obliged to refide in the places of their fettlement, but fuch as were unable or unwilling to work; and thofe places of fettlement being only fuch where they were born, or had made their abode, originally for three years, and afterwards (in the cafe of vagabonds) for one year only ". P Stat. 39 Eliz. c. 4.

Stat. 19 Hen. VII. c.12. 1 Edw. VI. c. 3. 3 Edw. VI. c. 16. 14 Eliz. c. 5.

AFTER

2 & 3 Ph. & M. c. 8. furveyors of the highways were ordered to be chofen in every parish'.

THESE furveyors were originally, according to the ftatute of Philip and Mary, to be appointed by the conftable and church-wardens of the parish; but now they are conftituted by two neighbouring justices, out of fuch inhabitants or others, as are described in statute 13 Geo. III. c. 78. and may have falaries allotted them for their trouble.

THEIR office and duty confifts in putting in execution a variety of laws for the repairs of the public highways; that is, of ways leading from one town to another: all which are now reduced into one act by ftatute 13 Geo. III. c. 78. which enacts, 1. That they may remove all annoyances in the highways, or give notice to the owner to remove them; who is liable to penalties on non-compliance. 2. They are to cail together all the inhabitants and occupiers of lands, tenements, and hereditaments within the parish, fix days in every year, to labour in fetching materials or repairing the highways: all perfons keeping draughts (of three horfes, &c.) or occupying lands, being obliged to send a team for every draught, and for every 50%. a year, which they keep or occupy; perfons keeping lefs than a draught, or occupying lefs than 50l. a year, to contribute in a less proportion; and all other perfons chargeable, between the ages of eighteen and fixty-five, to work or find a labourer. But they may compound with the furveyors, at certain easy rates established by the act. And every cartway leading to any market-town must be made twenty feet wide at the least, if the fences will permit; and may be increased by two juftices, at the expenfe of the parish, to the breadth of thirty feet. 3. The furveyors may lay out their own money in purchafing materials for repairs, in erecting guide-pofts, and making drains, and fhall be

i This office, Mr. Dalton (juft. cap. 50.) fays, exactly anfwers that of the curatores viarum of the Romans; but it fhould feem that theirs was an office of rather more dignity and authority than ours not only from comparing the me

thod of making and mending the Roman ways with those of our country parishes; but also because one Thermus, who was the curator of the Flaminian way, was candidate for the confulship with Julius Cæfar. (Cic. ad Attic. I. 1. ep. 1.)

reimbursed

reimbursed by a rate, to be allowed at a special feffions. 4. In cafe the personal labour of the parish be not sufficient, the furveyors, with the confent of the quarter feffions, may levy a rate on the parish, in aid of the personal duty, not exceeding, in any one year, together with the other highway rates, the fum of 9d. in the pound; for the due application of which they are to account upon oath. As for turnpikes, which are now pretty generally introduced in aid of fuch rates, and the law relating to them, thefe depend principally on the particular powers granted in the feveral road acts, and upon fome general provifions which are extended to all turnpike roads in the kingdom, by statute 13 Geo. III. c. 84. amended by many subsequent acts *.

VI. I PROCEED therefore, laftly, to confider the overfeers of the poor; their original, appointment, and duty.

THE poor of England, till the time of Henry VIII, fubfifted entirely upon private benevolence, and the charity of well difpofed chriftians. For, though it appears by the mirTour', that by the common law the poor were to be “sus"tained by parfons, rectors of the church, and the parishi66 oners; fo that none of them die for default of fufte"nance;" and though by the ftatutes 12 Ric. II. c. 7. and 19 Hen. VII. c. 12. the poor are directed to abide in the cities or towns wherein they were born, or fuch wherein they had dwelt for three years, (which feem to be the first rudiments of parish settlements) yet till the statute 27 Hen. VIII. c. 25. I find no compulfory method chalked out for this purpose: but the poor feem to have been left to fuch relief as the humanity of their neighbours would afford them. The monafteries were, in particular, their principal resource; and, among other bad effects which attended the monaftic inftitutions, it was not perhaps one of the leaft (though frequently esteemed quite otherwife) that they supported and fed a very numerous and very idle poor, whose sustenance depended upon what was daily diftributed in alms at the gates

k Stat. 14 Geo. III. c. 14. 36. 57. 82, 16 Geo. III. c. 39. 18 Geo. III.

c. 28.

I c. I. §. 3.

of

of the religious houfes. But, upon the total diffolution of thefe, the inconvenience of thus encouraging the poor in habits of indolence and beggary was quickly felt throughout the kingdom and abundance of ftatutes were made in the reign of king Henry the eighth and his children, for providing for the poor and impotent; which, the preambles to fome of them recite, had of late years greatly increafed. Thefe poor were principally of two forts: fick and impotent, and therefore unable to work; idle and sturdy, and therefore able, but not willing, to exercife any honeft employment. To provide in fome measure for both of these, in and about the metropolis, Edward the fixth founded three royal hofpitals; Chrift's and St. Thomas's, for the relief of the impotent through infancy or fickness; and Bridewell for the punishment and employment of the vigorous and idle. But thefe were far from being fufficient for the care of the poor throughout the kingdom at large: and therefore, after many other fruitless experiments, by ftatute 43 Eliz. c. 2, overfeers of the poor were appointed in every parish.

By virtue of the ftatute last mentioned, thefe overfeers are to be nominated yearly in Eafter-week, or within one month after, (though a fubfequent nomination will be valid ") by two juftices dwelling near the parish. They must be fubftantial householders, and fo expreffed to be in the appointment of the juftices ",

THEIR office and duty, according to the fame ftatute, are principally thefe: first, to raise competent fums for the neceffary relief of the poor, impotent, old, blind, and fuch other, being poor and not able to work: and fecondly, to provide work for fuch as are able, and cannot otherwife get employment: but this latter part of their duty, which, according to the wife regulations of that falutary ftatute, fhould go hand in hand with the other, is now moft fhamefully neglected. However, for these joint purposes, they are impowered to make and levy rates upon the feveral inhabitants of the n 2 Lord Raym. 1394.

m Stra. 1123.

parifh,