Before any step is taken to enforce payment under these ftatutes, the rate must be lawfully demanded. And if the perfon liable fhould die after fuch demand, and before further proceedings, it seems the better opinion and fafer practice to demand it likewife from his perfonal reprefentatives. If the money is tendered by any other than the person rated, as by the landlord on his tenant's account, it must be received. Where payment is refused, the overfeers should apply to two magiftrates of the county or place in which the district is fituated for which the rate is made. This is ufually done at what are called petty feffions, which are periodical meetings of magiftrates who refide within a convenient extent of country subject to their jurifdiction, and are held weekly or otherwife for the difcharge of fuch duties as require the conjunction of at least two magistrates to perform. When the juftices entertain the information, their first duty is to fummon the party, or in cafe of death, his perfonal reprefentative, to hear them upon the complaint. It was the practice formerly to grant a conditional warrant in the firft inftance to diftrain in case of non-payment; and in a reported case, a mandamus was directed to juftices to fign a warrant of diftrefs for levying the poor's rate without fummoning the party. But the Court of King's Bench, upon mature deliberation, difregarded these precedents; because a distress to levy this rate is in the nature of an execution. The juftices must, therefore, exercise a difcretion of enquiring into the circumstances, and it is of courfe neceffary that a fummons to the perfon who refused to pay, fhould precede it. The party, when served with a fummons, either refufes to obey, or appears in conformity to the tenor of the summons. If he does not appear, or offer fuch a fatisfactory excufe as ought to induce the magistrates to poftpone the hearing until another time, the warrant of diftrefs fhould iffue upon proof of service of the fummons. But if there be any just reafon to suppose that granting the warrant may subject the justices to an action, such as, that the rate is void for any cause; as, for instance, that the place for which it is made is without their jurisdiction; they may require the parish officers to fhew that their act in granting the warrant will not be illegal. But they can inquire no further than is necessary for this purpose, fince they are civilly anfwerable in no other cafes to perfons who may be aggrieved by their war rant. If the defendant appears, he may fhew for cause why the warrant should not iffue, any thing which amounts to payment, as, that the fum at which he ftands rated has Pp 2 been

been tendered by him, or by fome perfon on his behalf, and refused, and that he or they are ftill ready to pay it. That he has paid the affeffiment to one of the parish officers, who has not accounted for it. He may alfo urge any circumstances which fhew the rate to be a nullity, into which the magiftrates might inquire of their own accord. Such as, that public notice has not been given of the rate in the church on the next Sunday after it was allowed by the juftices. That the place for which it is made is not within their jurifdiction, or that it is not made for the proper diftrict. That the subject for which he is affeffed, is not by law rateable. That he is not liable to the rate, either as not being the occupier at all, or as not being a rateable occupier. For if the rate is void, those who are rated may treat it as a nullity; and the warrant being illegal where the affeff ment is fo, the magiftrates are not compellable to issue one even by mandamus; and the Court will not grant the writ for the purpose, fince it would be no juftification in an action of trefpafs brought for a distress taken under the warrant. But no other circumstances can be enquired into at this hearing, excepting fuch as amount to payment, or prove that the rate is a nullity. The quantum, or any overcharge in the rate, is only to be controverted by an appeal to the quarter feflions. If the defendant omits to difpute it there, he is fuppofed in legal conftruction to have acknowledged the propriety of his affeffment; neither can the magiftrates refufe their warrant, from the party's utter inability to difcharge his quota, although it may be a good ground for appealing against a rate made upon him, for perfonal property.

Formerly, if notice of appeal was given, it took away the magiftrate's jurifdiction to distrain until the appeal was either abandoned or decided; but now, by 41ft Geo. III. c. 23. f. 1. the justices may proceed to recover by diftrefs, fo much only as the perfon then rated, or any occupier of the premifes was rated in the last effective rate. The juftices do not act minifterially, but have difcretionary power to grant or refufe the warrant. But where no fufficient cause is fhewn againft granting it, they must issue it.

The affeffments in a legal rate become due from the moment that it is allowed and publifhed; and may be demanded, and the warrant granted before the time has expired for which the rate is made. When the warrant is thus iffued, it becomes the duty of thofe to whom it is directed, to levy under it, and they are alone answerable for their conduct, if

is good in its form, and properly granted. As to the place

In which this levy is to be made, the most obvious is the parish for which the affeffment is made. But by 17 Geo. II. c. 38. f. 7. the goods of any perfon affeffed and refufing to pay, may be levied by warrant of diftrefs, not only in the place for which the affeffment is made, but in any other within the fame county or precinct. If fufficient diftrefs cannot be found in the faid county or precinct, on oath made thereof before fome juftice of any other county or precinct (which oath fhall be certified under the hand of fuch juftice on the faid warrant), fuch goods may be levied in fuch other county or precinct by virtue of fuch warrant or certificate. In taking goods under a warrant of distress, the law gives a power in fome refpects different from that which obtains in diftreffes made by landlords for recovery of rent. Under the ftatutes relating to levying a poor's rate, two forts of things found on the premifes of the perfon diftrained are protected from the ftatutory execution. ift, Such as are not the actual property of the perfon rated, and refusing to pay; the act of Eliz. exprefsly requiring, that the fum due fhall be levied by diftrefs and fale of the offender's goods." 2d, Things affixed to the freehold, and which therefore do not come properly under the legal denomination of "goods," as they are called by the act of Eliz., or "goods and chattels," as by the fubfequent ftatutes. The goods are to be publicly fold at the time directed in the warrant, unless the fum due, with reasonable charges for taking and keeping the distress, is previously paid. When fold, the officer who makes the diftrefs is empowered by 27 Geo. II. c. 20. to deduct the reasonable charges of taking, keeping, and felling the dif tress out of the money arifing by the fale; and the overplus, after fully fatisfying and paying thefe charges, and the fum directed to be levied, is to be returned on demand to the owner of the goods and chattels diftrained. If the officer does not obtain fufficient goods by his firft diftrefs to fatisfy the exigence of his warrant, he may make a fecond under it for that purpofe, although he could have taken enough upon his first coming on the premifes. If there fhould be no diftrefs, the party may be committed by warrant of two juftices to the common goal, there to remain without bail or mainprize, until he difcharge the fum at which he is affeffed; and when it is intended to proceed to this extremity, the fummons to appear before the magiftrates fhould be ferved upon the defendant in perfon. But no parish ought to take this courfe, unless by way of punishment, where the defendant has fraudulently difpofed of his goods. SETTLE

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SETTLEMENTS. In treating on the origin and history of the law of fettlements, Mr. Nolan obferves; It is difficult to trace this law with precifion to its original foundation. The poor, as regulated by act of parliament, were originally diftinguished into two claffes: beggars able to work, whom it punished with severity as criminals; and beggars, who being unable to maintain themselves from age or bodily infirmity, were compelled to live by the alms of charity.

The fettlements provided for this latter clafs of unfortunate people, are eafily followed through the ftatute-book. The earliest act is the 12 R. II. c. 7., and many subsequent ftatutes regulate, though imperfectly, the mode of removing vagrants to fome place of their former inhabitancy, or to that of their birth, and alfo the provifion to be made for the cafual or helpless poor.

The cafes which were decided before the paffing of the ftatute 13 and 14 Car. II. tend to fhew that the obligation to relieve impotent and fettled poor, continued not only while they remained in the parish, but after leaving it, until they became vagrants, or had acquired other fettlements. But it is difficult to point out the origin of the power of removal in fuch cafes, as it feems to have been exercised by juftices of the peace before that act which gives it exprefsly. That of removing vagrants and common beggars was created by ftatute. Ever fince 14 Eliz. c. 5. perfons of this defcription were transferred to their parifh under país, warrants, which configned them from conftable to conftable, in the fame manner as vagrants are paffed at this day. Magistrates would have to determine in all cafes when they were called upon to grant relief, whether it was afked by a perfon who was neceffitous from cafualty, or by a beggar and vagrant. But whether the practice arofe from a liberal interpretation of these ftatutes, or crept into ufe from juftices not having originally attended to the diftinction pointed out by the act, but regarding every person afking parish relief as a common beggar; or whether it originated with the magistrates in feffions, by reason of their appellate jurifdiction over the parish rate and overseers' accounts; or in what other mode it commenced, or to what extent it was exercifed, is no where exprefsly laid down.

The ftatute last alluded to gives a more effectual power of removing paupers than had previously been poffeffed by magiftrates. It recites that, Whereas, by reafon of fome defects in the law, poor people are not reftrained from going from one parish to another, and therefore to endeavour to fettle themselves in those parishes where there is the

best

beft ftock, the largest commons or wafte to build cottages, and the most woods for them to burn and destroy; and when they have confumed it, then to another parifh, and at laft become rogues and vagabonds, to the great difcouragement of parishes to provide ftocks when it is liable to be devoured by ftrangers: and enacts, that it fhall and may be lawful, upon complaint made by the churchwardens, or overfeers of the poor of any parish, to any juftice of the peace, within forty days after any fuch perfon or perfons coming to settle as aforefaid, in any tenement under the yearly value of ten pounds, for any two juftices of the peace, whereof one to be of the quorum, of the divifion where any person or perfons that are likely to be chargeable to the parifh fhall come to inhabit, by their warrant to remove and convey such person or perfons to fuch parish where he or they were laft legally fettled, either as a native, householder, fojourner, apprentice, or fervant, for the fpace of forty days at the leaft, unless he or they give fufficient fecurity for the discharge of the faid parish, to be allowed of by the faid juftices.

This act places vagrant beggars on the fame footing with other impotent poor, in refpect to the methods of acquiring a fettlement; and puts it beyond doubt, that the settlement gained is to continue until a new one is acquired. It gives power to juftices of peace in all cafes of removal and fettlement, and prevents a fettlement being acquired by the mere act of refidence for a month, without being chargeable, as might have been done previously; for it ena bles two magiftrates to remove not only thofe who become chargeable before they have refided for the space of forty days, but fuch as they fhall in their difcretion deem likely to become so, unless they give fecurity for the difcharge of the parish. Prior to this ftatute, no one could be removed unless he were in a state of vagrancy, or had become actually chargeable to fome other place than that of his fettlement. But this act regards all perfons of an inferior condition, who change their habitation as vagrants and vagabonds, unless they come to refide upon a tenement of 10%. a year value. Laftly, it gives a right of appealing to the next quarter feffions, to thofe who are aggrieved by the

order.

A place of settlement may be defined a district maintaining its poor, to which perfons become removeable for the purpose of obtaining the relief given by 43 Eliz. c. 2.

The feveral methods of acquiring fettlements, may be divided into two general claffes; 1. Such as are communi

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cated