Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/484

Rh POOR LAWS none to go or sit openly a-begging.&quot; It is noteworthy that, except a penalty of 20s. imposed on a person refusing the office of gatherer, duties were enforced by ecclesiastical censure. The gatherers were required to account for the money ; and if they refused the bishop of the diocese or ordinary was to compel them by censures of the church to account before such persons as he appointed. Further, if any person, being able to further the charitable work, &quot; do obstinately and frowardly refuse to give towards the help of the poor or do wilfully discourage others from so charitable a deed,&quot; the parson, vicar, or curate, and churchwardens should &quot; gently exhort him, and if he will not be so persuaded&quot; then on certificate the bishop should send for him &quot; to induce and persuade him by charitable ways and means, and so according to his discretion to take order for the reformation thereof &quot;(5 & 6 Edw. VI. c. 2). This statute was recognized in part after the accession of Mary, by altering the time of choosing collectors to Christmas and doubling the penalty for refusing to fill the office of collector, and moving wealthy parishes in cities and towns to contribute towards the relief of the poor in the less wealthy parishes. At the same time a material modification of the spirit of earlier legislation was effected by enabling justices to license the poor of parishes having more poor than they could relieve, to go begging into specified parishes, wearing a badge &quot; both on the breast and back of their outermost garment &quot; (2 & 3 P. & M. c. 5). Eliza- Early in Elizabeth s reign the spiritual persuasion bethan towards obstinate and froward persons withholding con tributions was strengthened by the aid of the civil power, by directing the bishop or ordinary to bind all obstinate persons by recognizance to appear at the next sessions; and then, the charitable and gentle persuasions of the justices failing, the latter could tax the obstinate person in a weekly sum according to good discretion, and in default commit him to jail until payment. A corresponding power was given to deal with collectors refusing to account (5 Eliz. c. 3). A few years later (1572) legislation took a more vigorous turn &quot; for the punishment of vagabonds and for relief of the poor and impotent.&quot; The Act 14 Eliz. c. 5, reciting that &quot; all the parts of this realm of England and Wales be presently with rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars exceedingly pestered, by means whereof daily happeneth in the same realm horrible murders, thefts, and other great outrages, to the high displeasure of Almighty God,, and to the great annoy of the common weal, and for avoiding confusion by reason of numbers of laws concern ing the premises standing in force together,&quot; repealed the before-mentioned statutes of 22 Hen. VIIL, 3 & 4 Edw. VI., and 5 Eliz. c. 3, and made provision for various matters, &quot; as well for the utter suppressing of the said outrageous enemies to the common weal as for the charitable relieving of the aged and impotent poor people.&quot; Persons above fourteen and being rogues, vagabonds, or sturdy beggars, and &quot; taken begging in every part of this realm, or taken vagrant, wandering and misordering themselves,&quot; were upon their apprehension to be committed to prison to the next sessions or jail delivery without bail, and on conviction &quot; shall be adjudged to be grievously whipped, and burnt through the gristle of the right ear with a hot iron of the com pass of an inch about, manifesting his or her roguish kind of life and his or her punishment received for the same.&quot; This judgment was not to be executed if after imprison ment &quot; some honest person, valued at the last subsidy next before that time to five pounds in goods or twenty shillings in lands, or else some such honest householder as by the justices of the peace of the same county, or two of them, shall be allowed, will of his charity take such offender before the same justices into his service for one whole year,&quot; under recognizance to keep this poor person for that period and to bring him, if still living, before the justices at the year s end; on the other hand the pauper departing within the year against the will of his master was to be whipped and burnt as above provided. The offender was absolved from a second punishment for a short time, but if after threescore days, and being of the age of eighteen or more, he &quot; do eftsoons fall again to any kind of roguish or vagabond s trade of life,&quot; then the said rogue, vagabond, or sturdy beggar, from thenceforth was &quot; to be taken, adjudged, and deemed in all respects as a felon,&quot; and should suffer as a felon, subject, however, to like redemption as on the first charge, conditioned for two years service ; but offending a third time he was to &quot;be adjudged a felon&quot; and suffer pains of death and loss of lands and goods as a felon, without allowance or benefit of clergy or sanctuary. Offenders under fourteen were punishable by whipping or stocking as provided by the repealed statutes. A clause defining persons subject to the above punish ment throws a light on the manners of the age, and is, as well as its exceptive provisions, of considerable interest; but, as relating to vagrancy, and only indirectly to the relief of the really poor, it is not given here. It is to be observed, however, that the statute provided that it should be still lawful to masters and governors of hospitals to lodge or harbour impotent or aged persons by way of charity according to their foundation, and to give money in alms as provided by the terms of their foundation. Harsh as was the treatment of rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars, it was not so cruel as the short-lived legislation of the reign of Edward VI. imposing slavery in its worst form on wandering serving men (see vol xiv. p. 168). Exceptional provision was made for persons provided with passes and safe conducts, as in former Acts. The statute goes on to say that, &quot; forasmuch as charity would that poor, aged, and impotent persons should as necessarily be provided for as the said rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars repressed,&quot; and that the former should have &quot; convenient habitations and abiding places throughout this realm to settle themselves upon, to the end that they nor any of them should hereafter beg or wander about,&quot; and enacts that justices of the peace in their different divi sions &quot; make diligent research and inquiry of all aged, poor, impotent, and decayed persons born within their said divisions and limits, or which were there dwelling within three years next before this present parliament, which live, or of necessity be compelled to live by alms of the charity of the people that be or shall be abiding within the limits of their commissions and authorities,&quot; and to register in a book the names of the poor persons, and devise and appoint meet and convenient places at their discretion &quot; to settle the same poor people for their habitations and abidings, if the parish within the which they shall be found shall not or will not provide for them.&quot; The justices were also to number the poor people and &quot; set down what portion the weekly charge towards their relief and sustentation would amount to ;&quot; and, that done, the justices, mayors, and other officers should &quot;by their good discretions&quot; tax the inhabitants dwelling within these limits to such weekly charge, and appoint collectors and also overseers of the poor for one year. Much as by a previous statute of 1547, compulsory removal of poor people from parish to parish (except the leprous and bed ridden), not born or not having dwelt in the place, was pro vided for. Poor people refusing to &quot;be bestowed in any of the said abiding places, but coveting still to hold on their trade of begging,&quot; or afterwards departing, were for the first offence to suffer as rogues or vagabonds in the first degree of punishment, and for a second offence to suffer