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<DATE>2014-03-10</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="act">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>&para; An Acte for the proui&s;ion and relief of the Poore.</HEAD>
<P>_TO thentent that valiaunt beggers, ydle, and loiteryng per&s;onnes, may be auoided, and the impotent, feble, and lame, prouided for whiche are poore in very diede: <HI>BE IT</HI> enacted by the Kyng our &s;ouereigne lord, with the a&s;&s;ent of the Lordes Spiritual, and Tem|poral, and the communes in this pre&s;ent Parlament a&s;&s;embled, and by aucthoritie of the &s;ame, that a&s;wel the &s;tatute made in the .xxij. yere of the late Kyng of famous memorie Kyng Henry the .viij. as al&s;o the &s;tatute made in the thirde, and fourth yeare of the reigne of the Kynges Maie&s;tie, that now is, concernyng beggers, vagaboundes, &amp; ydle per&s;onnes, &amp; euery arti|cle, clau&s;e, braunche, &s;entence, and other thynges conteined in them, &amp; in euery of them (other then &s;uche thynges, as &s;halbe by this pre&s;ent Acte ordeyned, and prouided for) &s;hal &s;tand, remaine, &amp; be in their ful force, and effecte, and &s;halbe from hencefutth iu&s;tly, and truely, putte in execucion, accordyng to the true meanyng of the &s;aid &s;eueral &s;tatutes, and euery of them.</P>
<P>And further, be it enacted by the aucthoritie afore&s;aied, that yearely, one holie daie in White&s;on weke, in euery Citie, Borough, and Towne corporate, the Maiour, Bailifes, or other heade officers for the tyme beyng: And in euery other Pari&s;he of the countrie, the per&s;onne, vicar, or curate, and the Churchewardeins (hauyng in a Rege&s;ter, or Booke, a&s;wel al the names of the enhabitantes, and hou&s;|holders, as al&s;o the names of al &s;uche impotent, aged and neadie per&s;ons, as beyng within their Ci|tie, Borough, Towne corporate, or Pari&s;he, are not able to lyue of them &s;elues, nor with their owne labour,) &s;hal openly in the Churche, and quietly, after diuine &s;eruice, cal the &s;aide hou&s;holders and en|habitantes together. Among whom the Maiour, and two of his brethren in euery Citie, the Bailifes, or other head officers in Boroughes&punc; and Townes corporate, the per&s;on, vicate, or Curate, and Chur|chewardeins in euery other Pari&s;he: &s;hal elect, nominate, and appoint yerely, two able per&s;ons, or mo, to be gatherers, and collectours of the charitable almo&s;e of all the re&s;idue of the people, for the relief of the poore. Whiche collectours the Sondaie next after their election, (or the Sondaie folowyng, yf niede require) when the people is at the Churche, and hath heard Goddes holy worde, &s;hal gently a&s;ke, and demande of euery man, and woman, what thei of their charitie wilbe contented to geue wekely, to|warde the relief of the poore. And the &s;ame to be written in the &s;aied Regi&s;ter, or Booke. And the &s;aid gatherers, &s;o beyng elected, and cho&s;en, &s;hal iu&s;tly gather, and truely di&s;tribute the &s;ame charitable almo&s;e wekelie (by them &s;elues or their a&s;&s;ignes) to the &s;aid poore, and impotent per&s;ons of the &s;aid Ci|ties, Boroughes, Townes corporate, or Pari&s;hes, without fraude, or couine, fauour, or affection. And after &s;uche &s;orte, that the more impotent may haue the more helpe: and &s;uche, as can gette parte of their liuyng to haue the le&s;&s;e. And by the di&s;crecion of the collectours to be putte in &s;uche labour, as thei be fitte, and able to do, but none to go, or &s;itte openly a beggyng, vpon paine limitted in the afore &s;aied Statutes.</P>
<P>Be it al&s;o enacted by thauthoritie afore &s;aid, that no per&s;on, or per&s;onnes, &s;o elected, nominated, and appointed to be gatherer, or gatherers, as is afore &s;aid, &s;hal refu&s;e the&s;aid office, but &s;hal iu&s;tly, and truely execute the &s;ame, by the &s;pace of one whole yere next en&s;uyng, vpon peine of forfeityng .xx. s~. to the almo&s;e boxe of the poore, to be leuied by the Churchewardeins, where thei, or he dwelleth. of the goodes of the &s;aid gatherer, or gatherers, &s;o refu&s;yng, by di&s;tre&s;&s;e.</P>
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<P>And further, be it enacted by the aucthoritie afore &s;aid, that the &s;aied gatherers, or collectours, &s;hal make there iu&s;t accompte quarterlie, to the Maiour of the Citie, Bailifes, or head officers of the Bo|rough, or Towne corporate: And in euery Pari&s;he of the countrie, to the per&s;on, vicare, or curate, and Churchewardeins of the Par<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">he. At whiche accompte, &s;uch of the Pari&s;he, as wil, may be pre&s;ent. And when thei go out of their office, thei &s;hal deliuer, or cau&s;e to be deliuered, furthwith vpo~ thende of their accomptes, al &s;uche &s;urplu&s;age of monie as then &s;hal remaine of their collection vndi&s;tributed, to be put in the common che&s;te of the Churche, or in &s;ome other &s;aufe place, to the v&s;e of the poore, at the ouer &s;ight, and di&s;crecion of the &s;aid Maiour, or other the officers before mencioned. And if the &s;aied collec|tours, or any of them, do refu&s;e to make their &s;aied accompte, within .viij. daies: then the Bi&s;hop of the Dioces, or ordinarie, &s;hal haue aucthoritie by vertue of this acte, to compelle the &s;aid per&s;on, or per&s;o|nes, by Cen&s;ures of the Churche, to make their &s;aied accomptes, before &s;uche per&s;ones as the &s;aied Bi&s;hop, or ordinarie, &s;hal appointe.</P>
<P>And be it further enacted, by thaucthoritie afore&s;aid, that if any per&s;on, or per&s;ones, beyng able to further this charitable worke, do ob&s;tinatly, and frowardly refu&s;e to geue towardes the helpe of the poore, or do wilfully di&s;courage other fro~ &s;o charitable a diede: the per&s;on, vicare, or curate, and Chur|chewardeins, of the Pari&s;he wherin he dwelleth, &s;hal gently exhort hym, or them, towardes the relief of the poore. And if he, or thei, wil not &s;o be per&s;uaded, then vpon the certificat of the per&s;on, vicare, or curate of the Pari&s;he, to the Bi&s;hop of the Dioces, the &s;ame Bi&s;hop &s;hal &s;ende for hym, or them, to in|duce, and per&s;uade hym, or them, by charitable waies, and meanes. And &s;o accordyng to his di&s;crecion, to take order for the reformacion therof.</P>
<P>And for the better maintenaunce of this charitable worke, it is ordeined, and e&s;tabli&s;hed by auc|thoritie afore&s;aid, that where as the late Kyng, of famous memorie, Kyng Henry the .viij. by his &s;eue|ral erections and foundacions, hath ordeined and appointed, any &s;omme, or &s;ommes of money to the v&s;e of the poore (not beyng taken away otherwy&s;e by Acte of Parlament) whether the &s;ame be in any Cathedral Churche, college, or els where: The Bi&s;hoppe of the Dioces for the tyme beyng, &s;hall from tyme to tyme, examine, how, and after what maner, the&s;aid money is be&s;towed, and cal to accompte the parties whiche reteine the&s;aid money, &s;o that it may appere that the &s;ame is di&s;tributed to the poore, accordyng to the Kynges Maie&s;ties foundacion.</P>
<P>Prouided alwaies, and be it further enacted by thaucthoritie afore&s;aid, that this pre&s;ent Acte, nor any thyng therin conteined, &s;hal extende, or be preiudicial vnto the Maiour, Shereues, &amp; citezeins, of the citie of Che&s;tre, for, or concernyng any gifte, or graunte, of any annuitie, or yearely rente, heretofore made, geuen, or graunted by the Kynges Maie&s;tie that now is, vnto the &s;aid Maiour Shiereues, and Citezeins, of the&s;aid Citie, goyng out of any Manours, Londes, tenementes, and hereditamentes of the Cathedrale Churche of Chri&s;te, and our Ladie, within the Citie of Che&s;tre, but that the &s;ame Maiour, Shiereues, &amp; Citezeins, &s;hal, &amp; may, from henceforth, receiue, v&s;e, &amp; employ, the &s;ame aucthorities, yere|ly rentes, or profectes, to &s;uche v&s;es, and ententes, and accordyng to the&s;aid gifte of our &s;ouereigne Lorde the Kyng, any thyng in this pre&s;ent Acte to the contrary, notwith&s;tandyng. This Acte to en|dure to thende of the fir&s;t &s;e&s;&s;ion, of the next Parlamente.</P>
<TRAILER>&para; God &s;aue the Kyng.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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<P>RICHARDVS GRAFTONVS, typographus Regius excudebat. <HI>Men&s;e Aprilis.</HI> Anno M.D LII.</P>
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