The Early History of English Poor ReliefLeonard, E. M., of Girton College
History
The Early History of English Poor Relief
Leonard, E. M., of Girton College
Poor laws -- Great Britain -- History
[406] _Dom. State Papers_, James I., Vol. 115, Nos. 98, 100.
[407] _Dom. Stat. Papers_, James I., Vol. 116, No. 51.
[408] See p. 154 _supra_.
[409] Michael Dalton, _The Countrey Justice_, ed. 1655, p. 115. The
resolutions are given in the form of answers to questions submitted
to the judges on particular points of law. They decided among other
things, that a man must take an apprentice if the justices so ordered
whether payment were made or not; that all the lands in the parish must
be rated equally, but that an extra sum might be levied from a man
"for his visible ability" within the parish; and also various points
concerning settlement. One question and answer are as follows:
_Qu._ If one who is under the age of 30 years and brought up in
husbandry or a maid servant, or brought up in any of the arts or trades
mentioned in the statute, 5 Eliz. cap. 4, and not enabled according
to that stat. to live at his or her own hand, shall be warned by two
justices of the peace to put him or her self in service by a day
prescribed by them, and shall not doe the same accordingly, but shall
after continue living at his or her own hand, what course shall be
taken with such a person and how punished?
_Resol._ Such persons being out of service, and not having visible
means of their own, to maintain themselves without their labour, and
refusing to serve as a hired servant, by the yeer, may be bound over to
the next Sessions or Assises, and to be of good behaviour in the mean
time, or may be sent to the house of correction. These resolutions of
the judges are quoted by Dalton as having great authority.
[Sidenote: 4 _b_. Administrative work as the link between the Privy
Council and the justices.]
But the duties of the judges of assize under the orders of the Privy
Council were much more important. They had to act as the link between
the central government and the county and municipal officials. They
were particularly ordered to let the Council know which justices did
their duty[410], and many of the reports were sent in to them. In March
1630 we hear that in Suffolk malting was prohibited in the interest
of the poor by the judges of assize in order to increase the supply
of barley[411]; a little earlier the Norwich authorities had great
difficulty in controlling the maltsters, but stated that with the
approbation of the judges they had arranged that no alehouse should
be licensed but such as entered into a recognisance by sureties to
sell two "thurdendeles" of beer for a penny[412]. The work done by the
judges is indicated by one or two references of this kind[413], and
since some of the later orders of the Privy Council were especially
directed to them it seems probable that they had a great deal of
influence in enforcing the orders of the Council.
[410] _Privy Council Register_, 16 Oct., 1633.
[411] _Dom. State Papers_, Chas. I., Vol. 187, No. 22.
[412] _Dom. State Papers_, Chas. I., Vol. 186, No. 16.
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