A. D. 1662. Anno decimo tertio & quarto Caroli II. C. 21. 253 fufe. The Time of Continuance in the Service. Prefent Payment to be made. No Gifts or Rewards may be taken by Juftices of the Peace to fpare any Perfon. The Penalty and how to be recovered. None may imprefs, other than Perfons impowcred as aforefaid. The Penalty. Ships and VefTels fraighted by Charter-party, exempted. The Continuance of this Ad:, Continued by n tf 12 ^V. 3. c. 13. §. i. for feven Years, from i'^)/. 1700. EXP. C A P. XXI. An A& for preventing, the unneceflary Charge of Sheriffs, and for Eafe in palling their Accounts. WHEREAS the Office of Sheriff, as well by Reafon of the great and unneceffary Charges in the 13 EJ. i. r. jjr Time of Affixes and other publick Meetings, as by the tedious Attendance and Charge of She- '^ ^'^' '^'
- riffs in paiRng of their Accounts in the Exchequer, hath of late Years been very burthenfome to the
- Gentry of this your Realm, who in the late Times of Tyranny and Opprefiion have been great Sufferers,
- and thereby much impoverifhed in their Eftates and Fortunes :' For Remedy wherein, your Majefty's
moft loyal Subjedts, the Knights, Citizens and Burgeffes affembled in Parliament, do moll humbly be- feech your moft Excellent Majefty, that it may be declared and enafted ; (2) and be it declared and enact- ed by the King's moft Excellent Majefty, by and with the Advice and Confent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons, in this prelent Parliament affembled, and by the Authority of the fame. That no Peribn or Perfons being duly fworn into the Office of Sheriff for any County or Shire within this Sheriffs at the I your Majefty's Realm, ftiall from and after the firft Day of February next enfuing, in the Time of the ^"^'^^hi j Affixes held for the faid County or Shire during his or their Sheriffalty, keep or maintain, or caufe to be foV others t^ha" (kept or maintained, one or more Table or Tables, for Receipt or Entertainment of any Perfon or Perfons of their own Fa-- ireforting to the faid Affizes, other than thofe that ftiall be or his own Family or Retinue 5(3) nor ffiall ^^^ andReu-
- make or fend in any Prefent to any Judge or Judges of Affize for his or their Provifion, nor give any Gra- Nor make no
tuity to his or their Officers or Servants, or any of them ; (4) and alfo that no Sheriff fhall after the faid Prefent or Gift j firft Day of February have more than forty Men-Servants with Liveries attending upon him in the Time affize "^^ '^ I of the faid Affizes, nor under the Number of twenty Men-Servants, in any County whatfoever within Tiie riumberof ithe Kingdom oi England, nor under the Number of twelve Men-Servants in any County within the Do- Servants with ' minion of Wales; (;) upon Pain that every Sheriff offending in any of the Premiffes contrary to the true j^^'wale^"^' Meaning hereof, ihall forfeit for every Default the Sum of two hundred Pounds. Penalty of 200 1. IL Provided that nothing before in this A6t contained ihall in any wife extend unto, or any ways con- p^^^-^j^ for She-* eern, the ^hmSs oi tht CitY oi Londoti znd Middle/ex, and the Sheriff oi We/imerland, or either of them, riffs of London^ or any of the Sheriffs of or belonging to any City and County, or Town and County within this Realm ; Mlddiefex, but that the fame Sheriff or Sheriffs ftiaH or may do as heretofore hath been ufed or accuftomed within the anj cTttes^and faid County of Middle/ex and Cities of London and Wejlminjier, and fuch other Cities and Counties, or counties; Towns and Counties aforefaid ; any Thingherein before contamed to the contrary in any wife notwithftanding. ' III. And to the End that Sheriffs may for the Time future be eafed of the great Charge and Trouble How sheriffs
- which they heretofore have been put to in paffing their Accounts in the Exchequer, occafioned partly in iiaii be eafed in
' regard that divers Sums of Money have ftood charged upon them in grofs, without expreffmg from co^ifi'nlhe^ ' what Perfons, for what Caufe, or out of what Lands or Tenements the fame are to be particularly le- Exchequer.
- vied, or out of what Particulars the faid Sums in grofs do arife, (whereby it cometh to pafs that the faid
' Sheriffs do ftill ftand charged in grofs with divers Sums of Money, which were heretofore payable by
- Abbots, Priors, Perfons attainted, and fuch other Perfons, whofe Eftates have fince come to the Crown,
' or are otherwife difcharged or illeviable) and partly by the Account of Seizures or foreign Account, and ' by the ExaiStion of undue Fees of Sheriffs upon their Appofal concerning tlie fame : I IV. For the preventing whereof, and for the future Eafe of Sheriffs in paffing their AccountSj be it Seizures of enaded and declared. That from henceforth every Seizure for or concerning any Lands, Tenements and Lands remain-- I Hereditaments, now remaining charged in the foreign Account of any Sheriff or Sheriffs within the King- Mfchali^^j/' i dom of England for the Year ended at Michaelmas one thoufand fix hundred and fixty, fhall be from the j66o. faid foreign Account charged particularly in the Great Roll of the Exchequer; (2) and that the feveral 1 Remembrancers of the faid Court, or their refpedtive Deputies, do in their refpedtive Offices forthwith, i and fo from Time to Time for the Future, write and make true and perfed Copies of all and every fuch ( other Seizure and Inquifition as already are or hereafter fhall be certified into their refpedtive Offices, with- Seizures hereafi Jout certifying the Copy of the Writ, or Commifiion at large, upon which fuch Seizure or Inquifition is ^" taken or re- ior ftiall be fo taken and returned, mentioning only in brief the Date of the faid Writ or Commifiion, and "™® ' ifliall deliver the fame Copies well and truly examined and attefted under his or their Hands, to the En- jgroffer of the faid Great Roll ; (3) and that all fuch of the faid Seizures and Inquifitions as now are re- turned into any of their refpeftive Offices Ihall be delivered before the firft Day of February next coming : I And that all fuch other Seizures as finall hereafter be returned or certified into their refpeftive Offices,. i fhall be delivered fo examined and attefted as aforefaid, to the faid Engroffer before the firft Day of the I next Term after the faid Remembrancers ftiall have received the fame, fo as the fame may be charged in the Great Roll, to the End that the Frocefs of the Court may from thence ifliie for levying the Ifiiies and; Profits thereof to the Ufe of the Crown; (4) unto which faid Remembrancers or their Deputies, fhallbt Feesto theRe. I from Time to Time paid for every Sheet which they, or their refpedive Clerks, ftiall ib write and deliver, membrancers. the Sum of eight Pence, the fame to be paid unto them by the aforefaid refpedtive Sheriffs, who ftiall be allowed the fame by the Barons upon their refpedlive Accounts, out of the Ifiiiesand Profits arifing out of the Premiffes fo feized ; (5) and no Sheriff or Sheriffs for this prefent Year one thoufand fix hundred fixty sheriffs fiiaiinot and one, nor any Sheriff or Sheriffs to be hereafter made or appointed within this Kingdom of England, anfv.ritieviabie fliall be charged in Account to anfwer any illeviable Seizure, Farm, Rent or Debt, or other Seizure, ^f^^'^'J^^^J^rm, Farm, Rent, Debt, Matter or Thing v>ihatfoever, which was not writ in Procefs to bim ovthein to be * ' levied, wherein the Perfons of whom, or the Lands or Tenements out of which,- together witrithe Caufe for
