improperly collected from them the said three shillings, shall be entitled to recover the same in the manner and under the same restrictions as are herein prescribed for persons who have been illegally charged with the six shillings on tobacco inspected before the tenth day of January last, any thing in any act to the contrary notwithstanding.

CHAP. XLVIII.

An act to amend the acts concerning the poor.

[Passed the 31st of December 1787.]

ited.

1. WHEREAS the laws heretofore made for proDistricts, for viding for the poor have in some instances proved dif electing u ficalt and burthensome in their execution, and in others verseers of inadequate to the purpose; For remedy thereof, Be it the poor, lim. enacted by the general assembly, That there shall not in future be more than four districts for electing overseers of the poor in any one county; and that in the several counties wherein there are at present more than four such districts, the courts of such counties respectively shall be, and they are hereby empowered and required at some one of their respective courts in the months of February, March, or April next, to cause their respective counties to be laid off into convenient dis tricts not exceeding four, and shall order new elections to be made of overseers of the poor in such districts in the manner prescribed by the act, intituled, "An act to provide for the poor of the several counties within this commonwealth," which overseers of the poor so to be elected shall serve for and during the same term for which the former overseers of the poor in such counties had respectively been elected.

verseers.

II. And be it further enacted, That the overseers of Meeting of.. the poor in every county, although in different districts, shall meet annually at some convenient place, to be appointed by a majority of them, on the first Monday in September, if fair, if not the next fair day.

Their duties.

Collector of poor rates

how appointed, his power and duty.

The overseers of the poor of the different districts (if there be more than one in the county) shall bring with them to such annual meeting a distinct state of the number, names and situation of the poor, and an account of their expenditures in their respective districts, and a majority of the overseers of the poor in the county so meeting, and there being in such majority at least one overseer of the poor from each district, shall chuse a president, and shall be empowered to regulate the necessary provisions to be made for all the poor of the county (exclusive of the poor of any corporate town) for the succeeding year, as well as to adjust and settle the charges of supporting and maintaining the poor the preceding year, and to levy and assess upon all such taxables of their county as are subject to county levies, except the inhabitants of any corporate town, and settle the amount of the poor rate upon each such taxable in the same manner as the vestries used formerly to ascertain and assess the parish levy, either in tobacco or money at a certain price at the option of the payer: for which purpose the clerk of the county shall furnish the said overseers of the poor with a certified. copy of the list of all such taxables in the county exclusive of those in any corporate town within the same, if any such there be.

III. And the said overseers of the poor shall also be, and they are hereby empowered and required, at their annual meeting to appoint a collector of such county poor rate, and to take from him bond with sufficient security, in a sum double the amount of the sum to be collected by him, payable to their president, for the use of the said overseers of the poor, to be applied towards lessening the county poor-rate, and conditioned for the faithtal and diligent collection of the said poor-rate, and the payment to the several persons respectively entitled thereto of the sums of tobacco or money due to them according to the entries and accounts of the said overseers of the poor (a copy of which shall be delivered to such collector) and also for settling with the said overseers of the poor, or their successors, at their next annual meeting, a just and true account of all his receipts and disbursements with proper vouchers, and paying whatsoever balance shall, upon such settlement, appear to be in his hands; such collector shall be allowed the same commissions for receiving the said

poor-rate, as the sheriff is by law allowed for receiving county levies, shall be subject to the same rules and regulations, and shall have the same power of distress in case of non-payment of any person chargeable therewith, at the time the county levies are by law distrainable.

lectors.

IV. It shall be lawful for such collector to appoint one or more deputies to assist him in the collection of Deputy col the poor rate, for whose conduct he shall be answerable, which deputies shall have the same powers as the collector himself, and if such collector shall refuse or neglect to settle his account with the overseers of the poor, as herein before directed, or shall fail or refuse to pay them any money or tobacco which shall be in his hands, or in the hands of any of his deputies, or shall delay or refuse to pay off the several claims to the persons respectively entitled thereto, it may and shall be lawful for the court of the county wherein such collector was appointed, upon the motion of the overseers of the poor, or of any of the persons having legal claims, to grant judgment against such collector and his securities for the sums of money or tobacco respectively due to the said overseers of the poor, or to such legal claimants with costs: Provided such collector and his Liabilities. securities have ten days previous notice of such motion. And such collector shall have the same remedy and mode of recovery against his deputies, or either of them, and their securities respectively, for any sums of money or tobacco, which, by virtue of this act such collector may be subjected to the payment of, on account of the transactions of any of his deputies.

cessors.

V. The overseers of the poor at their annual meeting, shall be and they are hereby empowered to settle Overseers to the accounts of the former overseers and to receive settle with from them any sums of money or tobacco which shall their prede. be in their hands, and to call upon the collector or collectors heretofore appointed by any vestry for a settlement of their accounts, and payment of any balances which shall be in their hands, and on failure of such payment they shall have the same mode of recovery, as is by this act directed for the recovery of money or tobacco in the hands of a collector of their own appointment.

Power to pay

VI. The said overseers of the poor shall also be and they are hereby empowered to levy, in the manner be- parish debts.

fore directed, such sums of money or tobacco as shall be necessary to pay any arrears which may be due and unpaid by any parish or district to individualsAnd that where several counties shall compose one parish only, it shall be lawful for the overseers of the poor of each county to recover of the collector or wardens their proportion of any tobacco or money in their

hands.

VII. All the proceedings and accounts of the overProceedings, seers of the poor shall be regularly entered in a book, How entered. and shall be signed by the members present at each

Rules, in voting.

Power of ad

annual meeting, and for this purpose the said overseers of the poor of each county, or a majority of them, shall be and are hereby empowered to appoint a clerk, and at any time upon his misbehaviour or neglect of duty to remove him and appoint another in his stead, and to make such clerk an allowance, not ex. ceeding the sum of five pounds annually, for his ser

vices.

VIII. At the said annual meeting each of the overseers of the poor in the county who are present shall have a vote, and if upon any such vote they be equally divided, the question shall be decided in favor of that side on which the president shall have voted.

IX. If on the first day of the before mentioned anjournment. nual meeting there shall not appear a sufficient majority of the overseers of the poor for the county to proceed to business, any one or more of such as shall have attended, shall be and are hereby empowered to adjourn, from, day to day, until such a majority shall meet, who may afterwards adjourn from day to day until their business shall be finished.

Allowance to
Overseers.

X. And be it further enacted, That the overseers of the poor shall, if they demand the same, be allowed the sum of six shillings each, to be charged in their account of other expenditures, for every day they shall attend the before mentioned annual meeting, and shall be subject to a penalty of the like sum for every day each of them respectively shall fail to attend the same, to be computed in both cases from the first day of such annual meeting during the continuance thereof, and their clerk shall in like manner be subject to the penalty of twelve shillings for every day he shall fail to attend such annual meeting, unless such overseers of the poor, or their clerk, respectively, shall be prevented from at

tendance by sickness or other unavoidable accident; to be recovered with costs by warrant before any justice of the peace for the county.

XI. And any person being duly elected who shall Penalty for refuse or neglect to serve as an overseer of the poor in refusing to the county of which he is an inhabitant unless disqual- serve. ified by age or other infirmity (such disqualification to be judged of by the county court) shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten pounds to be recovered with costs by action of debt or information in any court of record within the commonwealth: Provided that no person shall be compelled to serve more than three years nor be subject to the penalty for refuse more than once in any term of nine years.

XII. Upon the death, refusal, removal or disability Vacancies, of any overseer or overseers of the poor some other how sup person or persons shall be elected in the stead of the plied. person or persons so dying, refusing, removing, or disabled, to serve for the same time, such person or persons should otherwise have remained in office.

XIII. And be it further enacted, That the overseers Vagrants, of the poor, or any one of them, shall be and are here- how dealt by empowered upon discovering any vagrant or va- with. grants within their respective districts to make information thereof to any justice of the peace for the county, and to require a warrant for apprehending such vagrant or vagrants to be brought before him or some other justice of the peace for the county; and if upon due examination it shall appear to such justice that such person or persons are within the true description of a vagrant as herein after mentioned, such justice shall, by warrant under his hand, order such vagrant or vagrants to be delivered to some one of the overseers of the poor in the district, in which such vagrant or vagrants shall have been apprehended, to be employed in labor for any term not exceeding three months, and by the said overseer of the poor hired out for the best wages that can be procured to be applied to the use of the poor. And if any such vagrant or vagrants shall, during such term of service, run away from the person so employing or hiring him or them, he or they shall be dealt with in the same manner as other run away servants.

Power of corporations to

XIV. And be it further enacted, That the corpora- provide for tion courts of the several corporate towns within this Vob MI.

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