CHAPTER VI.

Relief by Select Vestries.

Select vestry, by whom elect- | Minutes of their proceedings

ed, &c., 387.

Their appointment, 388.

Their meetings, duties, &c.,

389.

to be laid before the parish vestry, 390.

Select vestry, by whom elected, &c.] By stat. 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 1," it shall be lawful for the inhabitants of any parish in vestry assembled, and they are hereby empowered, to establish a select vestry for the concerns of the poor of such parish; and to that end to nominate and elect in the same or any subsequent vestry, or any adjournment thereof respectively, such and so many substantial householders or occupiers within such parish, not exceeding the number of twenty nor less than five, as shall in any such vestry be thought fit to be members of the select vestry; and the rector, vicar, or other minister of the parish, and in his absence the curate thereof (such curate being resident in and charged to the poor's rates of such parish), and the churchwardens and overseers of the poor for the time being, together with the inhabitants who shall be nominated and elected as aforesaid (such inhabitants being first thereto appointed by writing under the hand and seal of one of His Majesty's justices of the peace, which appointment he is hereby authorized and empowered to make), shall be and constitute a select vestry for the care and management of the concerns of the poor of such parish; and any three of them (two of whom shall neither be churchwardens nor overseers of the poor) shall be a quorum; and when any inhabitant, elected and appointed to serve in any such select vestry, shall, before the expiration of his office, die or remove from the parish, or shall become incapable of serving, or shall refuse or neglect to serve therein, the vacancy which shall be thereby occasioned shall, as soon as conveniently may be, be filled up by the election and appointment, in manner aforesaid, of some other substantial householder or occupier of such parish, and so from time to time as often as any such vacancy shall occur; and every such select vestry shall continue and be empowered to act from the time of the appointment thereof, until fourteen days after the next annual appointment of overseers of the poor of the parish shall take place, and may be from year to year, and in any future

year, renewed in the manner hereinbefore directed" (a). But nothing in this Act shall extend to alter, affect, or disturb any select vestry, which in any parish has been established and acted upon by virtue of any ancient usage or custom (b). If, however, such ancient select vestry have not all the powers required to be exercised under this Act, as shall presently be mentioned, a select vestry may be elected and appointed under this Act, to perform the functions, which such ancient vestry cannot (c). And such ancient vestry cannot nominate or elect the select vestry under this Act, as the Act gives that power to the inhabitants in vestry, and not to any select portion of them (d). As to parish vestries, see stat. 58 G. 3, c. 69. 59 G. 3, c. 85. 1 & 2 W. 4, c. 60. 7 W. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 45. Ten days' public notice of holding a vestry for the purpose above mentioned shall be given by the churchwardens and overseers (e).

And all powers, provisions, and clauses in this Act contained, which relate to vestries, or to the inhabitants of any parish in vestry assembled, shall be construed to extend to all meetings of the inhabitants of any township, vill, or place having separate overseers of the poor, and maintaining its poor separately, to be held after due and legal notice for carrying into execution the laws for the relief of the poor, as fully as if in every such provision and clause they were severally and respectively named and repeated (ƒ).

By several local Acts, also, the poor of particular parishes have been placed under the management of select vestries.

Their appointment.] It will be perceived from the first section of the stat. 59 G. 3, c. 12, supra, that the persons so nominated and elected as members of the select vestry, must also be "appointed by writing under the hand and seal of one of His Majesty's justices of the peace, which appointment he is hereby authorized and empowered to make " (g); and he cannot reject any of them, from any idea he may entertain of their insufficiency, or that they already hold offices, incompatible with that of a select vestryman (h). This appointment may be in the following form :

Berkshire to wit: Whereas by an Act made and passed in the fifty-ninth year of the reign of our late sovereign lord King George the Third, intituled "An Act to amend

(a) 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 1. (b) Id. s. 36.

(c) R. v. St. Bartholomew the Great, 2 B. & Ad. 506. R. v. St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, 3 Id. 907. (d) R. v. Woodman et al., 4 B. & Ad. 504.

(e) 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 4.
(f) Id. s. 35.

(g) Id. s. 1.

(h) R. v. JJ. of Kent, 4 Nev. & M. 299. S. C. nom. R. v. Adams et al., 2 Ad. & El. 409.

the laws for the relief of the poor," it was amongst other things enacted that it should be lawful for the inhabitants of any parish, in vestry assembled, [here recite the first section above mentioned, but in the past tense, to the words] should be and constitute a select vestry for the care and management of the concerns of the poor of such parish; and whereas the inhabitants of the parish of A., in the county aforesaid, in vestry assembled, have nominated and elected the following [twenty] persons, to wit, [here name them] substantial householders and occupiers within the said parish, to be members of a select vestry, for the concerns of the poor of the said parish; and they now pray that I, G. H., as one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace for the county aforesaid, may appoint the same, by writing under my hand and seal; wherefore I, the said G. H., one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace for the county aforesaid, in pursuance of the statute above mentioned, do hereby, under my hand and seal, appoint the said [here name the parties] to be members of the said select vestry, for the care and management of the concerns of the poor of the said parish of A., in the county aforesaid. Given under my hand and seal this day of in the year of our Lord ·

Their meetings, duties, &c.] Every such select vestry shall meet once in every fourteen days, and oftener if it shall be found necessary, in the parish church, or in some other convenient place within the parish; and at every such meeting a chairman shall be appointed by the majority of the members present, who shall preside therein; and in all cases of equality of votes upon any question there arising, the chairman shall have the casting vote (i).

"And every such select vestry is hereby empowered and required to examine into the state and condition of the poor of the parish, and to inquire into and determine upon the proper objects of relief, and the nature and the amount of the relief to be given; and in each case shall take into consideration the character and conduct of the poor person to be relieved, and shall be at liberty to distinguish, in the relief to be granted, between the deserving, and the idle, extravagant, or profligate poor; and such select vestry shall make orders in writing for such relief as they shall think requisite, and shall inquire into and superintend the collection and administration of all money to be raised by the poor's rates, and of all other funds and money raised, or supplied by the parish to the relief of the poor; and where any such select vestry shall be established, the overseers of the poor are required, in the execution of their office, to conform to the directions of the select

(i) 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 1.

vestry, and shall not (except in cases of sudden emergency or urgent necessity, and to the extent only of such temporary relief as each case shall require) give any further or other relief or allowance to the poor than such as shall be ordered by the select vestry" (k).

The latter part of this section is also re-enacted, in substance, by stat. 4 & 5 W. 4, c. 76, s. 54, by which it is enacted that the ordering, giving, and directing of all relief to the poor of any parish, which shall be under the government and control of any select vestry, shall appertain and belong exclusively to such select vestry, according to the respective provisions of the Acts under which such select vestry may have been or shall be appointed; and it shall not be lawful for any overseers of the poor to give any further or other relief or allowance from the poor rate, than such as shall be ordered by such select vestry, except in cases of sudden and urgent necessity, in which cases, we have seen (7), he may give, and a justice of the peace may order him to give, such temporary relief as each case shall require, in articles of absolute necessity (but not in money), or medical relief where any case of sudden or dangerous illness may require it (m).

And by the same statute, 4 & 5 W. 4, c. 76, s. 15, the poor law commissioners are authorized and required from time to time, as they shall see occasion, to make and issue all such rules, orders, and regulations for the guidance and control of vestries, so far as relates to the management and relief of the poor, and the keeping, examining, auditing, and allowing of accounts, and making and entering into contracts in all matters relating to such management or relief, or to any expenditure for the relief of the poor, and for carrying this Act into execution in all other respects, as they shall think proper."

Select vestries relieve the poor of their respective parishes, in or out of the workhouse, in manner as shall be detailed hereafter.

Minutes of their proceedings to be laid before the parish vestry.] By stat. 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 3, every select vestry to be established by the authority of this Act, shall cause minutes to be fairly entered in books, to be for that purpose provided, of all their meetings, proceedings, resolutions, orders, and transactions, and of all sums received, applied, and expended by their direction; and such minutes shall from time to time be signed by the chairman, and shall, together with a summary or report of the accounts and transactions of the select vestry, be laid before the inhabitants of the parish in general vestry

(k) 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 1. (1) Ante, p. 362.

(m) See this section at length, ante, p. 363.

assembled, twice in every year, that is to say, in the month of March and in the month of October, and at such other times as the select vestry shall think fit; and the minutes, proceedings, accounts, and reports of every select vestry shall belong to the parish, and be preserved with the other books, documents, accounts, and public papers thereof.

Ten days' public notice must be given of the holding of such parish vestry, for the purpose of receiving the report of the select vestry, as above mentioned (n).

(n) 59 G. 3, c. 12, s. 4.