I have examined all the items in this account, and compared them with the vouchers, and I do hereby certify and declare that every entry allowed by me is correct, and in conformity with the statutes now existing for the relief of the poor in England and Wales. Auditor of of UNION. To A. B. and C. D., Churchwardens and Overseers [or Overseers, as the case may be] of the Parish [or Township, as the case may be]. You are hereby authorised and directed to pay to F. G. at on the shillings, and day of the sum of pounds, pence, from the poor-rates of the said parish [or township, as the case may be], towards the relief of the poor thereof, and towards defraying such proportion of the general expenses of the Union as is lawfully chargeable on the said parish [or township, as the case may be], and you shall take the receipt of the said F. G. for the said sum of £ Given under our hands, at a meeting of the Guardians of the said Union, held on the 183 · day of By the 26th section of the Poor Law Amendment Act it is provided, that when any Union of parishes or townships is made, each parish or township shall still continue liable for the maintenance of its own poor, whether relieved in or out of any workhouse. The averages, therefore, which form the subject of the following order, can only be applied to the salaries of Union officers, the rent, &c., of the common workhouse or workhouses, and to such other expenses as are for the common benefit of the Union, but not to the maintenance or relief of the poor. A distinct and separate account of the expense of maintaining its own poor will be kept for each township, as well as of the expenditure of all sums which it may be called upon to contribute to the common fund of the Union. UNION. To the Board of Guardians of the in the count of Union, To the Clerk or Clerks to the Justices of Petty Sessions held for the Division or Divisions of the said Count in which the Townships and places comprised in the said Union are situate; and to all others whom it may concern. WHEREAS, in pursuance of the powers given to us in and by an Act passed in the fourth and fifth years of the reign of his late Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled "An Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to the Poor in England and Wales," We, the Poor Law Commissioners for England and Wales, appointed under the said Act, did, by an order under our hands and seal, bearing date the day of 183 order and declare that the townships and places named in the margin of the said order, which are situated in the count of being the townships and places named in the margin of this page, should, on the be and thenceforth remain united for the administration of the laws for the relief of the poor. day of And whereas it is by the said Act enacted, that when any Union of parishes, for the administration of the laws for the relief of the poor, shall be made, under the provisions of the said Act, it shall be lawful for the said Poor Law Commissioners, and they are thereby required, from time to time, by such means and in such manner as they may think fit, to inquire into and ascertain the expense incurred by each parish proposed to form part of such Union, for the relief of the poor belonging to such parish, whether such relief shall have been given in or out of any workhouse, for the three years ending on the 25th day of March next preceding such inquiry; and that thereupon the said Commissioners shall proceed to calculate and ascertain the average annual expense of each parish for that period; and that the several parishes included in such Union shall, from the time of effecting the same, contribute and be assessed to a common fund for purchasing, building, hiring, or providing, altering, or enlarging, any workhouse, or other place for the reception and relief of the poor of such parishes, or for the purchase or renting of any lands or tenements, under and by virtue of the provisions of the said Act, of or for such Union, and for the future upholding and maintaining of such workhouses or places aforesaid, and the payment or allowance of the officers of such Union, and the providing of utensils and materials for the setting the poor on work therein, and for any other expense to be incurred for the com mon use or benefit, or on the common account of such parishes, in the Jike proportions as, on the said average of the said three years, such relief had cost each such parish separately, until such average shall be varied or altered as in the said Act is provided. Now, therefore, these presents witness, that we, the said Poor Law Commissioners, having, in pursuance of the enactment hereinbefore recited, inquired into and ascertained, by such means and in such manner as we have thought fit, the expense incurred by each township or place forming part of the said Union, for the relief of the poor belonging to such township or place, for the three years ending on the twentyfifth day of March next preceding the inquiry; and having calculated and ascertained the average annual expense of each of the said townships or places, for that period, do hereby declare, that the average annual expense of each of the said townships or places, for the period aforesaid, amounts to the sum set opposite to the name of such township or place in the margin of the first page of these presents; and that the said townships and places shall respectively contribute and be assessed to a common fund, for the purposes hereinbefore referred to, in the proportion of their respective averages hereby declared. Provided, nevertheless, and it is hereby ordered and declared, That in all cases where the guardians of the said Union shall appoint any person to be assistant-overseer of any one or more of the townships and places in the Union, the salary of such assistant-overseer shall be debited to the account of the township or place, or townships and places, for which such assistant-overseer shall be appointed to act; and if he shall be appointed to act for more than one township or place, such proportions of his salary shall be debited to each of such townships and places as the guardians, subject to the approbation of the Poor Law Commissioners, shall direct. Provided also, That if any assistant-overseer, or other person, shall be employed to collect the rates of any township or place in the Union, he shall be remunerated for that service by the allowance of a certain ratio per cent. upon the amount from time to time collected, which ratio per cent. shall be determined by the guardians, subject to the approbation of the Poor Law Commissioners. Provided also, That the salary of any medical officer who may be appointed to attend the poor of any one or more townships of the Union, shall be debited to the account of each such township, in such proportions as the board of guardians, subject to the approbation of the Poor Law Commissioners, shall determine. Given under our hands and seal, this day of in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven. EXPLANATORY CIRCULAR to be issued by the Clerk to the Guardians previous to their assuming the administration of Relief. Sir, UNION, 1837. Ir has become my duty, as clerk to the guardians of Union, to inform you that the administration of relief to the poor in the town ship of will very shortly devolve upon the Board of Guardians, and such officers as they have appointed, or may hereafter appoint, to carry their directions into effect. The object of the present communication is to make known to you the exact nature of the change which is about to take place in the administration of relief to the poor, with the hope that, as much misapprehension is known to exist upon this subject, you will take advantage of the information now afforded, to correct, by any convenient means within your power, any wrong impressions which may exist among your poorer neighbours as to the actual state of the law. The guardians have been called upon to administer relief to the poor according to the provisions of the Statute of Elizabeth, and all other Statutes now existing for the relief of the poor. The guardians will therefore determine, in every case of application for relief, the nature and amount of the relief to be afforded, and the period for which it should continue. You will observe that the above power will be exercised not by every individual guardian for his own township, but by the Board of Guardians for the whole Union. A relieving officer, whose whole time will be devoted to visiting the poor, and affording relief according to the direction of the Board of Guardians, will attend in the township once at least in every week, to dispense relief, to receive applications for relief, and to inquire into the wants and distresses of any persons who may apply. These applications, and all the circumstances of the parties applying, will be laid by the relieving officer before the Board of Guardians at the next weekly meeting for their decision; and in the mean time the relieving officer will, in any case of urgent necessity, have the power of affording immediate relief. If, in the absence of the relieving officer, any case of sickness, accident, or other urgent necessity, should arise, application may be made to any of the overseers of the township, who, in such cases, may, if they think proper, give relief in provisions, or provide medical assistance, at the expense of the township, whether the person applying for relief be settled in the township or not. Any person not settled or usually residing in the township can apply, in circumstances of distress, to a justice of the peace, who can, if he thinks proper, direct an order to the overseers of the township to relieve such poor person in articles of absolute necessity, but not in money; which order the overseers of the township would be bound to obey. Every justice of the peace has the power of giving a similar order for medical relief to any parishioner as well as out-parishioner, when any case of sudden and dangerous illness may require it. If any aged or infirm person, wholly unable to work, should be refused any relief by the guardians otherwise than by admission to the workhouse, he or she can apply to two justices of the peace, who can, if they think proper, direct the Board of Guardians to order relief to be given to such poor person out of the workhouse; which directions the Board of Guardians would be bound to obey. With the exception of the cases above-mentioned, the Board of Guardians will have the entire and absolute authority of deciding whether any person should receive out-door relief, or should be relieved by admission to any of the poorhouses or workhouses of the Union. If any poor person seeking relief wishes to attend at the Board of Guardians and state his case himself, he can do so, and the Board of Guardians will hear his case; but application must first be made to the relieving officer before the day of meeting of the guardians. Further notice of the time when the guardians will begin to administer relief will be given to the overseers of the township; and until the receipt of such notice, the overseers will continue to administer relief as heretofore. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, No. 8. Clerk to the Guardians. PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE BRADFORD UNION (Yorkshire). A RETURN of the number of the METROPOLITAN POLICE who may have been sent to Bradford, in Yorkshire, since the 1st of October last, and up to the 22nd of November, the number of days that they have been so employed, together with the Order of the Commissioners of Police, and the Precept of the Magistrates commanding and authorising the attendance of such Police Constables at Bradford; also, a similar Account relative to the Policemen sent from Leeds to Bradford; also, Copies of any Correspondence between the Poor Law Commissioners and their Assistant-Commissioner, Mr. Power, and the Board of Guardians, relative to the sending of the London Police and the Military into the town of Bradford; together with any Correspondence that may have taken place relative to the same matters, between Mr. Power and the Home Office, or between the Poor Law Commissioners and the Home Office, or between any other Person or Persons and the Home Office, so far as the same can be communicated without Injury to the Public Service. No. 1. COPY of REPORT from A. POWER, Esq., Assistant Poor Law Commissioner, dated 30th October, 1837. Gentlemen, Bradford, 30th October, 1837. THE first meeting of the guardians of Bradford Union, under your order of the date 14th instant, took place this day, and I attended for the purpose of giving the guardians my advice and assistance in execution of the order. The meetings of the guardians have been regularly held in the courthouse at Bradford since the formation of the Union, where a room has, by permission of the Court of Quarter Sessions, been appropriated to to the use of the guardians; and the meeting was accordingly directed to be held in that building by the order recently issued. As considerable disturbance has taken place in the course of the day's proceedings, it will be necessary for me to lay before your Board a detailed Report thereof. The day being very rainy prevented, as I be |