That each Corporation be one Body Politick in Law, and be capable of Suing and being Sued, and be enabled to Purchase, Take and Receive, Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, Goods and Chattles, for the Benefit of the Poor.
These, or such like Methods, being Rectified by the Wisdom of a Parliament, will soon appear to be of great Use to the Nation, and also to the Poor who are truly Objects of Relief; and will also put a stop to Wandering Vagrants, against whom, every Corporation will then be a Barrier, and none will expect Charity, but from the Parishes to which they belong, and who are the most proper Judges whether they do deserve it.
Conclusion.And thus I have gone through what I Undertook, and have given my Thoughts of these Two Subjects; wherein I have no other View, than promoting the Welfare of this Kingdom, by Improving its Trade, and providing for the Poor in a Regular Method; Both which will tend to the Honour of His Majesties Government, and the advancing the Wealth and Prosperity of the Nation.
FINIS.
The Appendix.
Anno Septimo & Octavo
GULIELMI III. Regis.
An Act for Erecting of Hospitals and Work-Houses within the City of Bristoll, for the better Employing and Maintaining the Poor thereof.
WHereas it is found by Experience, That the Poor in the City of Bristoll do daily multiply, and Idleness and Debauchery amongst the meaner Sort doth greatly Increase, for want of Work-houses to set them to Work, and a sufficient Authority to Compel them thereto, as well as to the Charge of the Inhabitants, and Grief of the Charitable and Honest Citizens of the said City, as the great Distress of the Poor themselves; for which sufficient Redress hath not yet been Provided: For Remedy whereof, Be it Enacted by the Kings most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in Parliament Assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Twelfth Day of May, which shall be in the Year of our Lord, One thousand six hundred ninety and six, there be, and shall be, a Corporation to continue for ever within the said City of Bristoll, and the County thereof, consisting of the several Persons herein after mentioned (that is to say) of the Mayor and Aldermen for the time being, and of Eight and forty other Persons, to be Chosen out of the Honestest and Discreetest Inhabitants of the said City and County, by the Eleven Wards in the said City, and the Castle Precincts there, which to all Intents and Purposes, shall be from henceforth for ever a Ward within the said City (that is to say) Four out of each Ward, and of such other Charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted Guardians of the Poor of the said City, in a manner as is herein after expressed: And the First Eight and Forty Persons shall be Elected at a Court for that purpose to be held within each Ward, by the Alderman of the same, or his Deputy, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, Paying One Penny per Week, or more, in his own Right, for and towards the Relief of the Poor of the said City, or of the major part of them then present.
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that the said Eight and Forty Persons shall be chosen in manner, as aforesaid, the Twelfth Day of May next following, and shall continue in their Office until others shall be Elected in their Rooms, according to the Direction herein after mentioned; And in case any of the said Persons so Elected, or any other Person Elected in their Room, shall, after their respective Elections, happen to Die, That then it shall, and may be Lawful to and for the Alderman of the Ward, for which such Person so Dying was Elected, or his Deputy, at a Court to be held within the said Ward for that purpose, within the space of Ten Days next after the Death of such Persons, to Elect others in their Place, in manner, as aforesaid; which Court and Election, such Alderman, or his Deputy, is and are hereby required to Hold and Make: Which said Mayor and Aldermen, and Forty eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons, so Elected and Constituted for the time being, shall be called Guardians of the Poor of the City of Bristoll.