HONOURABLE,
THE
Lords Spiritual and Temporal,
AND
Commons in Parliament
assembled.
May it please your Honours,
I HUMBLY make bold to lay before You an Account of our Proceedings in the City of Bristol, on the Act of Parliament for Erecting Hospitals and Work-houses for the better Employing and Maintaining the Poor of that City, which passed in the first Sessions of the Parliament begun at Westminster the 22d of November 1695. whereby the Power invested in the Corporation commenced from the 12th of May 1696.
The first Thing we did was to choose Four Guardians for each of our Twelve Wards, as the Statute does direct, which, with the Mayor and Aldermen, amounted to Sixty Guardians, and made up our Court.
The Court being thus constituted, at our first Meeting we chose our Officers appointed by the said Act, viz. a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, Twelve Assistants, a Treasurer, a Clerk, and a Beadle.