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place then as aforesaid, then the jury shall find for the defendant or defendants; and upon such verdict, or if the plaintiff or plaintiffs shall be nonsuited, or discontinue his, her, or their action or suit, after the defendant or defendants shall have appeared; or if, upon demurrer, judgment shall be given against the plaintiff or plaintiffs, the defendant or defendants shall recover treble costs of suit, and have the like remedy for the same, as any defendant or defendants hath or have in other cases by law.

4 Geo. III.

c. 74.

XXI. And it is hereby further enacted and declared, That this act shall Public Act be taken and allowed in all courts of justice in this kingdom, as a public act; and all judges and justices are hereby required to take notice thereof as such, without specially pleading the same.

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An Act for amending and supplying the deficiencies of an Act passed in the second year of the reign of his present Majesty King George the Third, intituled, "An Act to amend and "render more effectual several Acts made for cleansing and ،، enlightening the streets of the town of Kingston-upon-Hull; "and for preventing annoyances therein."

66

Recital of 2nd

Geo. III. c. 70.

I. WHEREAS by an act of parliament passed in the second year of the Preamble. reign of his present Majesty King George the Third, intituled, "An Act to "amend and render more effectual several acts made for cleansing and “ enlightening the streets of the town of Kingston-upon- Hull, and for pre"venting annoyances therein," it was (amongst other things) enacted, That the mayor and aldermen of the said town of Kingston-upon-Hull for the time being, or the major part of them, within one month next after the twenty-fourth day of June in every year should, by writing under their hands, nominate and appoint one or more inhabitant or inhabitants within the said town to make and settle, and such persons so to be nominated were thereby required, within two months next after notice of such nomination, to make or settle one or more rate or rates, assessment or assessments, according to a pound rate, upon the several inhabitants and occupiers of houses and tenements within the said town and liberties thereof, of the yearly rent or value of three pounds and upwards, for raising such sum and sums of money as the said mayor and aldermen should think necessary, and by such writing direct, not exceeding, in any one year, eight pence in the pound, according to such valuation as the said houses or tenements were or should be in the same year, or last were assessed to the public land tax, to be allowed and confirmed, collected, levied, and raised by such person and persons, and in such manner, and with and under such penalties and provisoes as in the said act are directed, expressed, and contained; and it is thereby enacted, That the money to be raised, levied, or collected upon or by the rates or assessments aforesaid should be paid and applied according to the orders and directions of the mayor and aldermen of the said town for the time being, or the major part of them, for and towards the payment of the wages of the scavenger or scavengers to be appointed as therein mentioned, for sweeping, cleaning, and carrying away the dirt off and from the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within the said town and liberties thereof, other than as therein is mentioned, and for and towards defraying the expences of buying lamps, and other .charges necessarily attending the setting up, lighting, and supplying the same with proper materials for lighting and keeping them in constant repair, and accounted for by such person and persons, and in such manner, and under such penalties, provisoes, conditions and restrictions as in the said act are mentioned, expressed and contained.

4 Geo. III. c. 74.

That the pro. visions of the said Act are inadequate,

And should be altered.

Rates and
Assessments.

Churchwardens to give Notice.

II. And whereas since the passing of the said act, the mayor and aldermen of the said town of Kingston-upon-Hull have caused a calculation to be taken and made of the charges and expences of sweeping, cleansing, and keeping clean and enlightening the streets, lanes, squares and alleys in the said town and liberties thereof, according to the direction and intent of the said act, and of the amount of the sums of money which can be yearly raised by or upon such rates and assessments as they are thereby empowered to order to be made, levied, and collected, and have found that the same will be greatly deficient to answer the purposes aforesaid, by reason that many houses and tenements in the said town, of considerable yearly rent or value, are belonging to the hospital of the Trinity House in the said town, or appropriated to other charitable uses, and have never been assessed to the land tax, and that many other houses and tenements in the said town, of the yearly rent or value of three pounds and upwards apiece, lately built by or belonging to some one owner, and by him or her let to several tenants, have never been separately assessed to the land tax, but such owner hath always been assessed and paid the land tax for all his said houses together, so that the several tenants or occupiers of such houses, and of the houses and tenements belonging to the said hospital, and appropriated to charitable uses as aforesaid, cannot be assessed for the same as by the said act is directed, although they will have equal benefit with the other inhabitants of the said town of the cleansing and enlightening the streets thereof; and further, by reason that the inhabitants of the houses in the market-place in the said town, which are numerous, and of very considerable yearly rents or value, are exempted by a proviso in the said act hereinafter mentioned and recited from being assessed towards the cleans. ing the streets thereof.

III. And whereas for the reasons aforesaid, and by reason of the doubts and objections that have arisen and been made by the occupiers of meadow and pasture ground lying within the liberties of the said town of Kingstonupon-Hull, and not adjoining to or occupied with any dwelling-house, touching and against their being chargeable with the said rates as they seem to be by the words of the said act, it is become necessary to make some alteration in the rates and assessments directed by the said act, and manner of laying the same, and to apply the money to arise therefrom to the purpose of sweeping, cleansing, and enlightening the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within the walls and gates of the said town of Kingstonupon-Hull only.

IV. May it therefore please your Majesty, That it may be enacted; and be it enacted, by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That instead of the rates and assessments directed by the said act to be made, levied, and raised for the purposes therein mentioned, there shall be, from and after the first day of August one thousand seven hundred and sixtyfour, annually raised within the said town of Kingston-upon-Hull, by assessments as hereinafter mentioned, such sum and sums of money as shall be sufficient for the purposes of lighting, sweeping and cleansing the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within the walls and gates of the said town of Kingston-upon-Hull, at, from, and during such times and in such manner as hereinafter is mentioned and directed, so as the money to be raised in any one year for the purposes aforesaid shall not exceed the sum of eightpence in the pound of the yearly rent or value of the houses, grounds and tenements to be charged with such assessments as hereinafter is expressed.

V. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the respective churchwardens for the time being of the several parish-churches of the Holy Trinity and Saint Mary in the said town of Kingston-uponHull, shall and they are hereby required on the Sunday next after the first day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four, and in every succeeding year, to give or cause to be given public notice in their said respective parish churches immediately after morning or evening service, for the several owners or occupiers of messuages, lands or tenements situate and being within the walls and gates of the said town, of the yearly rent or value of three pounds or upwards, to assemble and meet together on the Thursday next following every such

4 Geo. III.

c. 74.

Assessors.

notice, between the hours of eleven in the morning and two in the after-
noon, in the vestry, or some other public place in the said church of the
Holy Trinity, then and there to choose and nominate, in manner hereinafter
mentioned, one or more person or persons who shall be an inhabitant or
inhabitants and an householder or householders within the walls and gates
of the said town, for each of the seven wards within the same town (not
exceeding three for each ward) to be assessor or assessors for the several
wards for which they shall respectively be chosen and nominated for the
purposes of executing the several powers and authorities by this act herein-
after given to and vested in them respectively for the year then next ensuing,
and until others shall be chosen in their rooms; and that the church-
wardens for the time being of the said several parish churches, or two or
more of them, shall attend at the time and place aforesaid, pursuant to
every such notice; and that such of them as shall so attend shall imme- Election of
diately proceed to an election of such assessors as aforesaid, and take the
votes of the several persons qualified to vote as aforesaid in manner follow-
ing that is to say, each person so qualified who shall appear between the
said hours of eleven and two shall give in to the said church wardens then
present the name or names, or a note or list in writing under his or her
hand, of one or more person or persons (not exceeding three) being an in-
habitant or inhabitants, an householder or householders as aforesaid, to be
an assessor or assessors for the ward in which such voter lives; and the
said churchwardens or some of them, after they shall have taken the votes
or lists of every person qualified as aforesaid, who shall so appear as afore-
said, and offer to vote, shall immediately proceed to cast up the numbers of
votes for each person who shall be so voted for to be an assessor for each
respective ward, and shall declare the person or persons (not exceeding
three) who shall have the majority of votes of the inhabitants and house-
holders aforesaid living in each respective ward, to be the assessor or
assessors for that ward from the first day of August next ensuing for one
whole year,
and until another or others shall be chosen in his or their
room or rooms; and in case there shall be an equality of votes for any one
or more person or persons (not exceeding three) to be assessor or assessors
for any of the said wards, then the first in rank of the church wardens of the
said church of the Holy Trinity, if present, or, if not, the other church-
warden of the same church, or in his absence the first in rank of the church-
wardens of the said church of Saint Mary, shall have a casting vote, and
determine and declare which person, or which of the persons so having an
equality of votes, shall be assessor or assessors for that ward.

VI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the said churchwardens of the said several parish churches, or such of them as shall be present at such election, shall, within six days after the day of the making thereof, by writing under their hands, to be delivered to or left at the dwelling-house of each person so chosen an assessor for any of the said wards, signify to every such person such his election, and require him to take upon him the said office of an assessor for the ward for which he shall be so chosen; and an entry shall be made in the parish books of each of the said parish churches, under the hands of the respective churchwardens, of the names of all the persons so chosen assessors as aforesaid, distinguishing the wards for which so chosen; and each of the persons so chosen an assessor for any of the said wards shall, on or before the first day of August then next ensuing, signify his acceptance of the said office, in writing under his hand, in such book of that parish wherein he shall reside; and if any person so chosen an assessor shall neglect or refuse to accept of such office in manner as aforesaid, every person so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit the sum of five pounds, to be levied, recovered, paid, and applied as hereinafter mentioned.

VII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the said assessors, so to be chosen for each and every of the said wards, shall, on some day within one week next after the said first day of August, meet together in the vestry, or some other convenient place in the said church of the Holy Trinity, pursuant to notice to be given by the churchwardens of the same church on the Sunday next before such meeting, immediately after morning or evening service (which notice the said churchwardens, or See 50 Geo. III. c. 41. s. 20, post.

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Notice to be

given by the Churchwardens to Assessors.

Assessors to meet

in vestry Room.

4 Geo. III. c. 74.

Sums to be raised.

one of them, is and are hereby required to give or cause to be given; and at the same meeting, or at some other subsequent meeting or meetings to be by them the said assessors held by adjournment, at the same or some other convenient place within the said town, within seven days after their first meeting (which adjournment or adjournments the major part of them are hereby authorized and required to make) shall fix, settle, and deterAnd to settle the mine what gross sum of money shall be requisite and necessary to be raised within the said town for the year next following the first day of August in the same year, for the purposes of enlightening, sweeping, cleansing, and carrying off the dirt from the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within the walls and gates of the said town in manner as hereinafter is mentioned; and shall within the same seven days make and lay one general rate and assessment, in writing under all their hands, upon the occupiers of all the houses, tenements, and buildings within the walls and gates of the said town, having legal settlements therein, and on all public and private buildings within the said walls and gates, except the workhouse commonly called Charity-Hall, and churches, and chapels appropriated to public worship, meeting-houses and hospitals, which are or shall be of the yearly rent or value of three pounds* and upwards, by an equal pound rate, for raising such gross sum, so as the same shall not exceed in the whole the sum of eight pence in the pound of the yearly rent or value of the houses, tenements, and buildings aforesaid, distinguishing in such rate and assessment the respective wards in which such houses, buildings and tenements respectively lie; which rate and assessment, when so made in pursuance of this act, shall be signed and confirmed by two justices of the peace of and for the said town; and being so signed, the assessor or assessors, to be chosen and appointed as aforesaid for each respective ward, shall take an extract from such general rate and assessment of so much thereof as concerns his or their particular ward, and shall have the receipt and manage. ment of the money assessed upon the same ward, and, by writing under his or their hand or hands, shall, within one week next after such assessment laid and signed as aforesaid, nominate and appoint some proper person, who is or shall be an householder within the same ward, to be collector of the rates and assessments aforesaid upon the same ward for the same year; and such person being so nominated and appointed, is hereby required immediately to take upon him the said office of collector for the same ward without further warrant, upon pain of forfeiting the sum of five pounds, to be levied, recovered, and applied as hereafter is mentioned; and having received from the assessor or assessors (who so shall appoint him) a duplicate of the rates and assessments laid upon the houses, teneinents, and buildings in the same ward as aforesaid (which such assessor or assessors is and are hereby required to make out and give to him, under the hand or hands of such assessor or assessors, without delay) such collector is also hereby re. quired and authorized to demand, collect, and receive quarterly, without any other warrant, the several sums specified in such duplicate of and from the several persons who ought to pay the same according thereto, and to give receipts, in writing under his hand (if required) for what he shall so receive; and the same, when so received, shall pay over quarterly to the then assessor or assessors for the same ward, who shall likewise give receipts, in writing under his or their hand or hands, to the said collector for what he shall so pay to him or them.

And deliver
Assessments to
Collectors.

For Appointinent of Assessors and

Collectors in case of Death, &c

VIII. Provided always, That in case any person so to be chosen or no. minated an assessor or collector for any of the said wards, shall happen to die or remove out of the said town of Kingston-upon-Hull, or refuse to take upon him such office, by which the same shall become vacant, in any of those cases the churchwardens of the parish in which such person so dying, removing, or refusing to act, did inhabit, shall, on the next Sunday after such vacancy shall have happened, give or cause to be given such public notice as herein before mentioned of such vacancy, and of some day in the same week for the inhabitants of the ward wherein such vacancy shall be, to meet in the vestry of the same parish church, between the bours of eleven in the morning and two in the afternoon, to supply the same; and then and there the said inhabitants, or the major part of them, who shall

Altered to six pounds by 50 Geo. III. c. 41, s. 33, post.

4 Geo. III.

c. 74.

appear at such time and place, shall, by the ways and means aforesaid, choose, nominate, and appoint some other substantial householder living in the same ward, to supply such vacancy of an assessor or collector (as the case shall require) for the same ward, till the annual day of election of assessors as aforesaid then next ensuing, and to act in the mean time with the same power and authority in all respects as if such person had been chosen an assessor or nominated as collector (as the case may be) in manner as herein before directed; and that every person who shall be so chosen, nominated, or appointed an assessor or collector upon any such vacancy, shall within ten days after such election, nomination, or appointment, accept of such office or employment, to which he shall be so chosen, nominated, or appointed, and signify such his acceptance, by writing under his hand in the churchwardens book of the same parish: and if any person so chosen, nominated, or appointed shall neglect or refuse so to accept of or to execute the said office, he shall forfeit the sum of five pounds, to be levied, recovered, paid, and applied as hereafter mentioned. IX. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any of For punishing the churchwardens for the time being of the said respective parishes, or of the assessors to be elected as aforesaid (and who shall take upon them the said office) shall wilfully neglect or refuse to give or cause to be given such notices as they are herein before respectively required to give or cause to be given, or any of the said notices, or wilfully neglect or refuse to do any such act or thing as they are herein before respectively required to do in the execution of this act, every such churchwarden or assessor, so wilfully neglecting or refusing as aforesaid, shall for every such offence forfeit the sum of ten pounds.

Churchwardens and Assessors

neglecting their Duty.

X. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That from and For providing after the first day of August one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four Lamps. such number of bell lamps, twelve inches in diameter, as shall be sufficient for enlightening the said streets, squares, lanes, and alleys, and all as near as possible of the same kind and goodness in all respects, shall be provided with the first money to arise from the said rates and assessments, and set up in the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within the walls and gates of the said town, in such parts thereof, and at such distances one from another, as the said assessors to be chosen for all the said wards in manner as aforesaid, or the major part of them, shall from time to time think fit; and such lamps shall be either fixed with irons against any wall or building in the said streets, squares, lanes and alleys, or upon strong posts, fit to support the same and that from and after the first day of October one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four, all such lamps shall be lighted at sun-set every evening, and kept burning till twilight every morning, from the first day of October to the first day of May in every year, and during the time of any assizes being held in the said town.

XI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within the walls and gates of the said town shall, from and after the said first day of August in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four, twice in every week, between the first day of October and first day of May, and once in every week between the first day of May and first day of October in every year, or oftener as occasion shall require, be well and sufficiently swept and cleansed, and all the dirt and soil which shall be in the said town before or against any houses, walls, gardens and grounds, and before or against any churches, chapels, or other public buildings and places in the said streets, squares, lanes and alleys, or any of them shall be carried away.

XII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the assessor or assessors for the said several wards, to be chosen and appointed as aforesaid, shall respectively provide and take care that the streets, squares, lanes and alleys within their respective wards be from time to time lighted, swept and cleansed in manner as aforesaid, and shall and may respectively apply and dispose of the money which shall be raised by the rates and assessments to be laid in his or their respective wards as aforesaid, or so much thereof as shall be requisite, in buying such number of such

Altered to 1st September by 23 Geo. III. c. 55. s. 44. but see 50 Geo. III. c. 41. s. 19 and 47, post. + See 50 Geo. III c 41. s. 19, 50, 51 and 76, post,

Streets to be swept at certain Times.

Assessors to take Care that Streets be swept.

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