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Vacancies supplied.

thereupon issue a writ to the sheriff of the county, commanding him that ten days before the ensuing court day, he shall inform the said person or persons that he or they hath or have been elected overseer or overseers of the poor, and require him or them to appear at the next court day, and make oath that he or they will truly and faithfully administer the said office. And if the said person or persons, or either of them, being summoned, shall not appear, or shall appear and refuse to qualify as aforesaid, the same rules shall be observed by the court in supplying such vacancies, as well as vacancies which may happen by resignation, as is before directed. And the overseers of each district, or such of them as shall have qualified, shall between the months of April and of August, in each year, levy and assess upon the tithables within their county Levy, when (the list of which shall be furnished them by the clerk paid. of the county) competent sums of money, or tobacco in lieu thereof, at a stated price, to be paid at the option of the party chargeable therewith, for the necessary relief and support of such poor, lame, blind, and other inhabitants of the said district as are not able to support themselves, and for such contingent expences as may probably arise before the succeeding levy.Where no levy has been made for the present year, it shall and may be lawful for the overseers of each district to provide in the succeeding levy for the payment of all such reasonable sums as shall be expended on the poor of the districts after the first day of January next. And the said overseers shall return to the court of the county a list of the persons to and for whom such monies are to be paid, the purposes for which, and the particular sums, with the amount of the sum to be levied for contingent expences, which list shall be kept for and be open to all persons interested therein; and the clerk of the county shall unite the several levies returned from the different districts in the county, and make out a list of the persons and property chargeable therewith, for the use of the public collector, who shall be bound by the terms of the said act, and have the powers thereby given.

III. Be it further enacted, That the overseers of each district shall provide for the poor, lame, blind, Duty of overand other inhabitants of the district not able to main- seers to protain themselves, and may also provide houses, nurses

VOL. XII.

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vide for poor.

Settlement.

Orphans, how bound out,

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and doctors, in such cases as they, or a majority of them, shall think necessary; the expenses of which, if the contingent fund shall be insufficient, shall be provided for in the succeeding levy. If any poor person shall suppose that he or she is entitled to the benefit of the laws for the relief of the poor, and the overseers of the district, in which he or she resides, shall refuse to give such person the benefit thereof, upon application of such person, the county court may, if they think proper, direct the overseers to receive him or her upon their lists of poor, and until the next levy provide for him or her out of the contingent fund.— That the overseers of each district shall take effectual measures to prevent the poor resident within the same from strolling into another county; and each of the overseers within a county shall have the same power of sending away poor persons not resident therein, and the same redress against the overseers of the district, in which they have residence, as the churchwardens of any parish formerly had in similar cases. Where any dispute shall arise respecting the residence of any poor persons, the court of any county adjacent to either of the counties interested therein, is hereby authorised and required to take cognizance thereof, and they are hereby vested with all powers, which would belong to the general court if this provision had not been made; and all power of determining questions of residence, except on appeal from the court of such county, is hereby taken from the general court.

IV. Be it further enacted, That the overseers of the poor of each district, shall monthly make returns to and what co- the court of their county, of the poor orphans in their district, and of such children within the same, whose parents they shall judge incapable of supporting and bringing them up in honest courses. And the said court is hereby authorised to direct the said overseers, or either of them, to bind out such poor orphans and children apprentices to such person or persons as the court shall approve of, until the age of twenty one years, if a boy, or eighteen years, if a girl. The indentures of such apprentices shall contain proper covenants to oblige the persons to whom they shall be bound, to teach them some art, trade or business, to be particularised in the indentures, as also reading and writing, and, if a boy, common arithmetic, including

the rule of three, and to pay to him or her, as the case may be, three pounds and ten shillings at the expiration of the time of service.

wardens for

V. Be it further enacted, That where no settlement Overseers of has been made by the late churwardens of their paro- poor to call chial accounts, conformably to the said act, any over- on church. seer within the county, shall have power to call a meet- settlement. ing of the overseers of the county, to be held at the court-house on a certain day, and to call on the said churchwardens to attend the same, for the purpose of settling their said accounts. The time of meeting shall be at least one month after notice to the churchwardens; and in case there shall be a majority of the overseers so assembled, and the churchwardens summoned as aforesaid, shall delay or refuse to come to such settlement, the county court, on the motion of any overseer, shall render judgment against such churchwardens for the balance which shall appear by the vestry-books to be due, and for which sufficient vouchers cannot be produced, with costs of suit. And if, after settlement made, they shall refuse to pay the balance, which shall appear to be due on such settlement; the county court, on motion of any overseer, shall render judgment for the same with costs; provided, that in the cases before mentioned, the churchwardens shall have had ten days notice that such motion would be made. Any money so recovered, may be applied to the use of any district; and the overseers, who shall use the same, shall render account thereof, as of money received for the use of their district. The overseers of each district, shall in the month of June in each year, settle their accounts with the county court, and the money, which shall remain in their hands, or in the hands of the collector of the public taxes, unappropriated, shall be deducted from the rate to be made for the ensuing year.

transmit list

clerks of county courts

CHAP. XVIII.

An act to amend the act, intituled An act to amend the act concerning pensioners.

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I. BE it enacted by the General Assembly, That Auditors to from and after the passing of this act, the auditor of of pensioners public accounts shall annually before the last day of annually to January, transmit to the clerks of the several counties within this commonwealth, a general list of sioners; and every pensioner shall annually in February or April, apply in person, or if an orphan, by his or her guardian, to the court of the county wherein he or she resides, and exhibit the certificate upon which his or her claim is founded, and make oath that he or she is the person to whom it was given; or where such person shall be unable to attend, he or she shall make the like oath before a magistrate, and the court, upon comparing the certificate with the list transmitted from the auditor, and finding it to be right, shall order it to be recorded, and direct the sheriff to pay the pensioners to be sion; a copy of which order shall be given to the penpaid. sioner: Whereupon the sheriff shall make payment thereof, and take a receipt on the said order, and be entitled to credit for the same in the settlement of his accounts with the auditor.

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11. So much of the above recited act, as comes within the purview of this act, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed.

CHAP. XIX.

An act to enable the solicitor more ef fectually to collect the arrearages of the taxes, and proceed against public delinquents.

1. WHEREAS the laws enabling the solicitor to proceed against public delinquents, have been hitherto

ineffectual, the consequence of which has been a vast accumulation of arrearages of taxes in the hands of the several sheriffs and collectors:

II. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, Summary re That it shall and may be lawful for the general court, medy for ar on the tenth day of their sessions in October and April, rears of taxes on motio.. of and on the first day of their sessions in June and Desolicitor gea cember, to give judgment with costs, at the motion of eral. the solicitor, on ten days previous notice, against any person or persons indebted to the commonwealth, by bond, note, or any other written speciality, whether the same be taken in the name of the governor, treasurer, or any other person acting in any public character, for or on behalf of the commonwealth; and also to give judgment in like manner for all bills of exchange, notes, or other specialities, and for the penalty of all bonds entered into by any person or persons, conditioned for the rendering of accounts or for other duties.

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III. And be it enacted, That where any person or persons have been, are, or may hereafter be indebted to prejudice of the commonwealth, either in specie, or in other articles commoncollected or otherwise received for and on behalf of the tlement of commonwealth, and such person or persons on a set- accounts, cortlement with the auditor, have obtained a quietus, and rected on mo where judgment hath been or may be obtained in fayour of the commonwealth, and the amount thereof adjusted and discharged, either before or after the issuing of the execution, whereby a quietus may have been or shall hereafter be obtained by the party or parties, and it shall afterwards appear that an error or mistake had been committed to the prejudice of the commonwealth in the settlement of such account, judgment, or execution; in all or any of these cases, it shall and may be lawful for the general court to give judgment, on motion, with ten days previous notice, for the amount of such error or mistake, without interest or damages thereupon, the same being proved to the satisfaction of the court.

IV. And be it further enacted, That when it shall Same remedy appear after settlement, that by error or mistake, any against the person may or shall have paid more to the common- common. wealth than was really due, such person shall have the wealth. same remedy, by motion, with notice against the solicitor, as is by this act given to the commonwealth.

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