A. _Parliamentary History._ § 1. Discussions, Bills and Statutes between 1566 and 1576. § 2. Parliamentary history between 1576 and 1597. § 3. The Bills and Statutes of 1597. § 4. General features of the discussion in Parliament. B. _The action of the Privy Council._ § 5. The chief characteristics of the action of the Privy Council. § 6. The whipping campaign. § 7. The scarcity measures. § 8. The influence of the Privy Council on county and municipal officials pp. 67-94 CHAPTER VII. 1569-1597. THE MEASURES OF THE TOWNS AND THE EVENTS OF THE YEARS 1594-1597. § 1. The organisation of London with regard to the poor. § 2. The organisation of Norwich. § 3. The action of other towns (1) concerning the settlement of new comers; (2) concerning the unemployed; (3) concerning the raising of funds. § 4. The events of the years of scarcity 1594-1597. § 5. Summary of the period 1569-1597 pp. 95-131 CHAPTER VIII. 1597-1644. PARLIAMENT AND THE PRIVY COUNCIL. § 1. Characteristics of the period. § 2. Legislation from 1597 to 1644. _Administrative machinery._ § 3. Action of the Privy Council before 1629. § 4. Action of the Privy Council after 1629 with regard to the provision of corn. § 5. Action of the Privy Council after 1629 with regard to the unemployed. § 6. The Book of Orders as a whole and the royal commission of 1630/1. § 7. Interference with wages as a method of helping the poor. § 8. Summary pp. 132-164 CHAPTER IX. 1597-1644. THE LOCAL MACHINERY FOR ADMINISTRATION. § 1. Powers of the justices. § 2. Work of the justices in first putting the law in execution (_a_) in the West Riding during 1598, (_b_) in the North Riding during the years immediately following 1605. § 3. Reports of the justices in response to the Book of Orders. § 4. The work of the judges: (_a_) Authoritative decisions on points of law; (_b_) Administrative work as the link between the Privy Council and the justices. § 5. The work of the overseers (_a_) in 1599; (_b_) when stirred to greater activity by scarcity measures; (_c_) after the issue of the Book of Orders pp. 165-183 CHAPTER X. METHODS OF RELIEF, 1597-1644. A. _In times of emergency._