had and used against any Quaker or Quakers for the recovering of any tithes or rates, or any customary or other rights, dues, or payments belonging to any church or chapel, which of right by law and custom ought to be paid for the stipend or maintenance of any Minister, or Curate officiating in any church or chapel; and any two or more Justices of the Peace of the same county or place, other than such Justice of the Peace as is Patron of any such church or chapel, or any ways interested in the said tithes, upon complaint of any Parson, Vicar, Curate, farmer, or proprietor of such tithes, or any Church-warden or Chapelwarden, or other person who ought to have, receive or collect any such tithes, rates, dues or payments, as aforesaid, are hereby authorized and required to summon in writing, under their hands and seals, by reasonable warning, such Quaker or Quakers, against whom such complaint shall be made, and after his or their appearance, or upon default of appearance, the said warning or summons being proved before them upon oath, to proceed to hear and determine the said complaint, and to make such order therein, as in the said Act is limited or directed; and also to order such costs and charges, as they shall think reasonable, not exceeding ten shillings, as upon the merits of the cause shall appear just; which order shall and may be so executed, and on such appeal may be reversed or affirmed by the General Quarter Sessions of the county or place, with such costs and remedy for the same, and shall not be removed into any other Court, unless the titles of such tithes, dues or payments, shall be in question, in like manner as in and by the same Act is limited and provided. Anno 53 GEO. III. Cap. 127. Sect. 4-7. An Act for the better Regulation of Ecclesiastical Courts in England; and for the more easy Recovery of Church Rates and Tithes. [12th July 1823.] PART I. IX. Stat. 1 G. 1. c. 6. No. 6. determine IV. AND whereas in the seventh and eighth years of Justices of King William the Third, an Act was made and passed, in- Peace may tituled An Act for the more easy Recovery of small Tithes, complaints whereby, amongst other things therein enacted, two or more respecting of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace are authorized and tithes not required to hear and determine complaints touching tithes, ten pounds. oblations, and compositions, substracted or withheld, not exceeding forty shillings: and whereas it has become expe IX. No. 6. PART I. dient to enlarge such amount, and also to extend the said CLASS Act to all tithes whatsoever of certain limited amount; be it enacted, that such Justices of the Peace shall from and Stat. 53 after the passing of this Act be authorized and required to G. 3. c. 127. hear and determine all complaints touching tithes, oblations, and compositions, substracted or withheld, where the same shall not exceed ten pounds in amount from any one person, in all such cases, and by all such means, and subject to all such provision and remedies, by appeal or otherwise, as contained in the said Act of King William touching small tithes, oblations, and compositions, not exceeding forty shillings: Provided always nevertheless, that from and after the passing of this Act, one Justice of the Peace shall be competent to receive the original complaint, and to summon the parties to appear before two or more Justices of the Peace, as in the said Act is set forth. Limitation respecting tithes. V. And be it further enacted, That from and after the of actions passing of this Act, no action shall be brought for the recovery of any penalty for the not setting out tithes, nor any suit instituted in any Court of Equity, or in any Ecclesiastical Court, to recover the value of any tithes, unless such action shall be brought or such suit commenced within six years from the time when such tithes became due. Acts 7 & 8 to pay tithes, &c. Extending VI. And whereas in the seventh and eighth years of the provi- King William the Third an Act was made and passed, insions of the tituled An Act that the solemn Affirmation and Declaration Gul. 3. and of the People called Quakers shall be accepted instead of an 1G. 1. as to Oath in the usual Form, whereby among other things it is Quakers neglecting therein enacted, where any Quaker shall refuse to pay for or compound for his great or small tithes, or to pay any church rates, two or more of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace are authorized to hear and determine the same, not exceeding the value of ten pounds: and whereas, by a Statute made and passed in the first year of King George the First, the said Act is extended to other objects: and whereas it is become expedient to enlarge the said sum; be it enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act, all the provisions of the said Acts of King William and King George shall be deemed and taken to extend to any value not exceeding fifty pounds: Provided always nevertheless, that from and after the passing of this Act one Justice of the Peace shall be competent to receive the original complaint, and to summon the parties to appear before two or more Justices of the Peace, as in the said Act is set forth. Recovery VII. And whereas it is expedient that church rates or or chapel chapel rates of limited amount, unduly refused or with of church rates. CLASS IX. No. 6. G. 3. c. 127. held, should in certain cases be more easily and speedily PART I. recovered; Be it enacted, That, from and after the passing of this Act, if any one duly rated to a church rate or chapel rate, the validity whereof has not been questioned Stat. 53 in any Ecclesiastical Court, shall refuse or neglect to pay the same sum at which he is so rated, it shall and may be lawful for any one Justice of the Peace of the same county, riding, city, liberty or town corporate, where the church or chapel is situated, in respect whereof such rate shall have been made, upon the complaint of any church-warden or church-wardens, chapel-warden or chapel-wardens, who ought to receive and collect the same, by warrant under the hand and seal of such Justice, to convene before any two or more Justices of the Peace any person so refusing or neglecting to pay such rate, and to examine upon oath (which oath the said Justices are hereby empowered to administer) into the merits of the said complaint, and by order under their hands and seals to direct the payment of what is due and payable in respect to such rate, so as the sum ordered and directed to be paid as aforesaid do not exceed ten pounds, over and above the reasonable costs and charges, to be ascertained by such Justices; and upon refusal or neglect of such party to pay according to such order, it shall and may be lawful for any one of such Justices, by warrant under his hand and seal, to levy the money thereby ordered to be paid, together with the amount of such costs and charges, by distress and sale of the goods of such offender, his executors or administrators, rendering only the overplus to him or her, the necessary charges of distraining being thereout first deducted and allowed by the said Justices; and any person finding him or herself ag- Appeal. grieved by any judgment given by two or more such Justices, may appeal to the next General Quarter Sessions to be held for the county, riding, city, liberty or town corporate wherein the church or chapel is situated, in respect whereof such rate shall have been made, and the Justices of the Peace there present, or the major part of them, shall proceed finally to hear and determine the matter, and to reverse the said judgment if they shall see cause; and if the Justices then present, or the major part of them, shall find cause to affirm the judgment given by the first two or more Justices, the same shall be decreed by order of Sessions, with costs, against the appellant, to be levied by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the said party appellant: Provided always, that in case Proviso for any such appeal be made as aforesaid, no warrant of Ecclesiasti cal Jurisdiction. PART I. distress shall be granted until after such appeal be deCLASS termined: Provided also, that nothing herein contained IX. shall extend to alter or interfere with the jurisdiction of Stat. 53 the Ecclesiastical Courts to hear and determine causes G. 3. c. 127. touching the validity of any church rate or chapel rate, No. 6. Proviso. No. 7. + Sic. 7 & 8 W. or from proceeding to enforce the payment of any such rate, if the same shall exceed the sum of ten pounds from the party proceeded against: Provided likewise, that if the validity of such rate, or the liability of the person from whom it is demanded to pay the same, be disputed, and the party disputing the same give notice thereof to the Justices, the Justices shall forbear giving judgment thereupon, and the person or persons demanding the same may then proceed to the recovery of their demand, according to due course of law, as heretofore used and accustomed: Provided likewise, that nothing herein contained shall affect any regulations that may have been made by authority of Parliament, respecting the church rates or chapel rates of any particular parishes or districts. Anno 7 GEO. IV. Cap. 15. An Act to amend an Act passed in the Seventh and Eighth Year of the Reign of King William the Third, for the more easy Recovery of Small Tithes. [11th April 1826.] WHEREAS by an Act passed in the seventh and 3. c. 6. s. 1. eighth years of the reign of King William the Third, intituled An Act for the more easy recovery of Small Tithes, it is enacted, that all and singular the tithes, commonly called Small Tithes, with all oblations and obventions due to the several Rectors, Vicars and other Persons, in England and Wales and Berwick upon Tweed, not exceeding the sum of forty shillings, shall be recovered by complaint to two or more Justices of the Peace within the county, riding, city, town corporate or place, where the same shall grow due; neither of which Justices is to be Patron of the church or chapel where the said tithes shall arise: And whereas by an Act passed in the fifty-third year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, intituled 53 G. 3. c. An Act for the better Regulation of Ecclesiastical Courts in England, and for the more easy Recovery of Church Rates and Tithes, the sum to be recovered for all manner of tithes and offerings is extended to an amount not exceeding ten pounds: And whereas it is expedient in certain cases to alter and amend that part of the said recited Act of King 127. s. 4. IX. Patrons of William the Third, which relates to the jurisdiction before PART I. which the said tithes shall be recovered: Be it therefore CLASS enacted by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with No. 7. the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, Stat. 7 and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and G. 4. c. 15. by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this Act it shall and may be lawful, in all cities, where Justowns corporate or other towns or places in England, Wales, tices are or Berwick upon Tweed, where the Justices of the Peace in and for the same are Patrons of the said church or chapel tithes to be where any tithes or offerings do or shall arise, for two Jus- recovered tices of the Peace in and for any adjoining county, riding tices of any or division, to hear and determine all complaints for with- adjoining holding the said tithes and offerings, not exceeding the county. amount of ten pounds; such complaint to be made in writing by the said Rector or Vicar or other person, his attorney or agent. Church, before Jus II. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this How far Act shall be construed to repeal or alter any of the clauses recited Acts or provisions of the said recited Acts, or either of them, save repealed. and except as to such parts thereof as are expressly altered or amended by the same. A a |