One warrant may be is several ratepayers; of distress as aforesaid shall be made as well for the non-payment of the costs and expenses so as aforesaid incurred in obtaining such warrant of distress, if the same shall be so ordered as aforesaid, and the costs attending the said distress, and also the costs and charges of taking and conveying the party to prison, (the amount of such several costs, expenses, and charges being stated in such warrant of commitment), as for the nonpayment of the sum or sums alleged to be due for the said rates respectively. NOTE. According to the stat. 43 El. c. 2, if sufficient distress could not be found, the party was liable to be imprisoned until he paid the amount at which he was rated. This was deemed too severe; and therefore by this Act the imprisonment is limited to three months. III. And be it enacted, that for the saving of expense sued against in the levying of any sum or sums for rate and costs as aforesaid, it shall be lawful to make and issue one warrant of distress against any number of persons neglecting or refusing to pay the same, in the form in the schedule to this Act annexed; but nothing herein shall be deemed or construed to authorize justices in like manner to grant in default of or issue one warrant of commitment against several persons in default of distress as aforesaid. but other wise as to a commitment distress. To whom warrants of distress or NOTE. This is a most desirable provision, and saves a vast deal of expense to the defaulters. It was frequently adopted in practice before this Act; but it was not warranted by any statute, and was in strictness irregular. The practice, however, though objectionable as the law then stood, seemed so desirable, the defaulters being usually poor persons, little able to bear the expenses of proceedings against them, that it was thought right to legalize it by the present Act. It was found impracticable, however, to extend a like provision to the commitment in default of distress. IV. And be it enacted, that the warrants aforesaid may be directed to the churchwardens and overseers of commitment the poor, or the overseers of the poor, or the surveyors rected. of the highways respectively, and to the constable of the to be di parish or township, and to any other person or persons, or to any one or more of them, as by the justices granting the same shall be deemed fit. and how V. And be it enacted, that every summons to be issued Summons, against any person for nonpayment of any sum for which served; he or she is or shall be so rated or assessed as aforesaid, shall be directed to such person, and may be in the form (B.) in the schedule to this Act annexed, or in any form Post, p. 219. to the like effect; and the same may be served by any churchwarden or overseer of the poor, or surveyor of the highways, respectively, or constable or other person, to whom it shall be delivered for that purpose, upon the person to whom it is so directed, by delivering the same to the party personally, or by leaving the same with some person for him or her at his or her last place of abode; and the person who shall serve the same in manner aforesaid shall attend at the time and place and before the justices in the said summons mentioned, to depose if necessary to the service of the said summons; if not obeyed, the justices and if, upon the day and at the place appointed in and may proceed by the said summons for the appearance of the party so ex parte. summoned, such party shall fail to appear accordingly in obedience to such summons, then and in every such case, if it be proved upon oath or affirmation to the justices then present that such summons was duly served as aforesaid a reasonable time before the time so appointed for his or her appearance as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for such justices of the peace in their discretion, if they shall so think fit, to proceed ex parte, in the same manner to all intents and purposes as if such party had personally appeared before them in obedience to the said summons. NOTE. Before this statute, it was necessary that the rate should have been demanded of the party, and a summons served upon him similar to that above-mentioned, before a distress warrant could legally be issued. R. v. Benn and Church, 6 T. R. 198. And the demand must have been of the exact sum legally due, and the distress must have been for that sum and no more. Hurrell v. Wink, 8 Taunt. 369. It was not On payment or tender of rate and costs proceedings to cease. Costs already recovered or proceeded for deemed legal. intended by this Act to make any alteration in the law in these respects; the previous demand, and the summons are still necessary; the above section was introduced, merely to declare the manner in which the summons is to be served, and the mode of proceeding ex parte in case the party summoned should not attend at the time appointed. VI. And be it enacted, that in all cases where any proceedings have been or shall hereafter be taken to compel payment of any sum for which any such person is or shall be so rated or assessed as aforesaid, if at any time before such person shall be committed to and lodged in prison for non-payment thereof, or for or by reason of its being returned to such warrant of distress as aforesaid that there are no goods or chattels of such person whereon the same may be levied as aforesaid, such person shall pay or tender to the churchwardens or overseers of the poor, or any of them, or to the surveyor of highways respectively, or other person authorized to collect or receive such rate, the sum so sought to be recovered, together with the amount of all costs and expenses up to that time incurred in the proceedings so taken to compel payment thereof as aforesaid, then and in every such case the person to whom such sum and costs shall be so paid or tendered shall receive the same, and thereupon no further proceedings for the recovery of the same shall be had or taken. VII. And be it enacted, that in all cases where such costs and expenses as aforesaid shall have been paid and received, or any proceedings taken or imprisonment had for non-payment of the same, such payment and receipt, and such proceedings or imprisonment, shall be deemed legal to all intents and purposes, and no action or other proceeding shall be had or proceeded in for or in respect of the same. NOTE. This was introduced, in consequence of the doubt entertained of the legality of the proceedings for costs in these cases, previously to the present statute. schedule VIII. And whereas it may be convenient, and save Forms in expense and litigation, if forms to be used for the purpose schedu of levying the sums aforesaid should be given: be it enacted, that the forms in the schedule to this Act contained, or forms to the same or the like effect, shall be deemed good, valid, and sufficient in law. ment for rate limited. IX. And whereas it is desirable to limit the time Imprisonwithin which a person assessed to a church-rate may be nonpayment imprisoned for nonpayment of the same: be it enacted, of churchthat every person now undergoing any such imprisonment shall be discharged from such imprisonment so soon as he or she shall have been imprisoned three calendar months, or shall sooner pay the sum or sums with which he or she is charged; and that hereafter no person shall be imprisoned for the non-payment of any church-rate for any time exceeding three calendar months. NOTE. This clause was not in the bill originally; it was introduced, I believe, in the House of Commons. It cannot seemingly have reference to any proceedings at law for church rates; for the stat. 53 G. 3, c. 127, s. 7, and 54 G. 3, c. 170, s. 12, (which are the only statutes which give a summary remedy for church-rates before a justice of the peace,) direct the amount to be levied by distress, but they make no mention of a commitment in default of distress. Indeed, as the above statutes give power to justices to make an order for church-rates under £10, the proceeding may be deemed to be within stat. 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, ante, p. 95; and by the 22nd section of that Act, in all cases where a statute assigns no punishment in default of distress, the party may be committed and imprisoned for a time not exceeding three calendar months, unless the amount be sooner paid. But as the period of imprisonment is the same in the above section, it should seem that it has no reference to the stat. 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, s. 22, above-mentioned. As, however, churchwardens may proceed in the ecclesiastical court for non-payment of church-rates, and the decree of that court may be enforced by writ de contumace capiendo, it is likely the above section has reference to an imprisonment under that writ. SCHEDULE. (A. 1.) Complaint of the Overseers or Surveyors against Be it remembered, that on the day of to wit. in the year of our Lord - the [churchwardens and overseers of the poor, or the surveyors of the highways] of the parish of· in the county of aforesaid, by C. D., one of the said [overseers or surveyors], complain to the undersigned, [one] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said [county], that A. B. of the said [parish], being a person duly rated and assessed to [the relief of the poor, or the maintenance of the highways] of the said parish, in and by a rate * made on the day of in the year in the sum of hath not paid the same or any part thereof, but hath refused so to do: where. fore the said [churchwardens and overseers or surveyors], by C. D. aforesaid, pray that the said A. B. may be summoned to appear before two of her Majesty's justices of the peace, to show cause why he hath not paid and refuses to pay the said sum. C. D. day of the [churchwardens to wit. in the year of our Lord · and overseers of the poor, or the surveyors of the highways] of the parish of in the [county] of- aforesaid, by C. D., one of the said [overseers or surveyors], complain to the undersigned [one] of her Majesty's justices of the peace in and for the said [county], that the several persons whose names are mentioned and set out in the schedule hereunder written, being persons duly rated and assessed to [the relief of the poor, or the maintenance of the highways] of the said |