Taxation Act 1640

XVII. Assessors, Attornies, Factors, &c. after being charged with Receipt of Assessment, dying or removing or concealing their Goods, &c. or when Monies comprized in Estreat cannot be levied by Distress, or where Distress cannot be sold;

Process out of the Exchequer, and the Commissioners may direct Precepts to Officer to levy such Money; Commissioners to direct Precepts to Officers, who by virtue thereof may distrain. Distress appraised and sold. If Distress taking out of Limit assigned, Allowance. Persons charged discharged by Distress. Persons distrained having no Lands, &c. Proceedings. Imprisonment until Sums due, and also Fee for Arrest paid. Officer not executing Process. Penalty 20s. Gaoler suffering Escape. Penalty 40s. and Double Value of Rate and Fees. Like Process for Subsidies due by any Persons charged for another unpaid. Certificate of Default, Imprisonment, &c. by Commissioners. Collectors, &c. disobeying Commissioners; or Persons suspected not to be indifferently taxed refusing to be examined, or resisting Distress, &c. Penalty 40s. or under, at Discretion of Commissioners. Commissioners may punish by Imprisonment.

And it is alsoe by the said authority enacted that if any Inhabitants or Officers or whatsoever other person or persons charged to and for the Collection and receipt of any part or portion of the said Subsidies by any manner of meanes according to this Act or any person or persons for themselves or as keeper guardian deputy factor or atturney of or for any other person or persons for any Goods or Chattels of the owner thereof at the time of the said assessing to be paid being out of this Realm or in any other parts not knowne or of or for the Goods and Chattels of any other person or persons of any Corporation Fraternity Mystery or other whatsoever Comunalty being Corporate or not Corporate and all persons having in theire rule governance and custody any Goods or Chattels at the time of the said assessing to be made or which for any cause for or by collection or for himselfe or for any other or by reason hee hath any rule governance or custody of any goods or chattels of any other person or persons Corporation Co[m]munalty Fraternity Guild or Mystery or any such other like or as factor deputy or atturney of or for any person shall be taxed valued rated and set to any sum or sums by reason of this Act and after the taxation and assessing upon any such person or persons as shall be charged with the receipt of the same happen to die or depart from the place where he was soe taxed and set or his goods or chattels to be soe eloyned or in such privy or covert manner kept as the same person or persons charged with the same by estreats or other writings from the said Commissioners or as many of them as shall be thereunto appointed by the said Commission as is aforesaid can ne may leavy the same sum and sums comprised within the same Estreats by distresse within the limits of theire Collection as is aforesaid or cannot sell such distresse or distresses as be taken for any of the said payments before the time limited to the high Collector for his payment to be made as aforesaid then upon relation thereof with due examination by the oath or examination of such person or persons as shall be charged with and for the receipt and collection of the same before the said Commissioners or as many of them as by the [X1 same] Commission shall be thereunto appointed where such person or persons or other as is aforesaid theire Goods and Chattels were set and taxed and upon plain Certificate thereof made by the same Commissioners as well of the dwelling place names and sums of the said persons of whom the said Sums cannot be leavied and had as is aforesaid then as well the Constable and other Inhabitants appointed for the same particular Collection against the high Collector as the high Collector upon his account and oath in the said Exchequer to be discharged thereof and Processe to bee made in the Kings Majesties name out of the same Exchequer by the discretion of the Barons of the same Exchequer against such person his heires or executors soe being behinde with his payment And over that the same Commissioners to whom any such declaration of the p[re]misses shall be made in forme aforesaid from time to time shall have full power and authority to direct theire precept or precepts to the said person or persons charged with any sum of for and upon any such person and persons or other as is aforesaid or to any Sheriffe Steward Bailiffe or other whatsoever Officer Minister person or persons of such place or places where any such person or persons soe owing any such sum or sums shall have Lands or Tenements and other Hereditaments or reall Possessions Goods and Chattells whereby any such person or persons so indebted his heires executors or assignes or other having the custody governance or disposition of any goods or chattells Lands Tenements or other hereditaments which ought or may by this Act be lawfully distreined or taken for the same hath and shall have Goods Chattels Lands Tenements or other possessions whereof such Sum and Sums which by any such person or persons may or ought to be leavied be it within the limits of such Commission where such person or persons was or were taxed or without in any place within this realme of England Wales or other the Kings Majesties Dominions Marches or Territories by which Precept as well such person or persons shall be charged to leavy such money as the Officer of the place or places where such distresse may be taken shall have full power and authority to distreyn every such person indebted charged or chargeable by this Act or his Executors or Administrators of his goods and chattels his guardians factors deputies lessees farmours and assignes and all other persons by whose hands or out of whose lands any such person should have Fee Rent Annuity or other profit or which at the time of the said assessing shall have goods or Chattels or any other thing moveable of any such person or persons being indebted or owing such summe and the distresses soe taken cause to be kept appraised and sold in like manner and forme as is aforesaid for the distresse to be taken upon such persons to be taxed to the said Subsidies and being sufficient to distrein within the limits of the Collectors Inhabitants or other Officers charged with or for the said Sums soe upon them to be taxed and if any such distresse for non payment happen to be taken out of the limit of the said persons charged and assigned to leavy the said persons soe charged for the levying of any such sums by distresse shall perceive and take of the same distresse for the labour of every person goeing for the execution thereof for every mile that every person soe laboureth for the same two pence and every farmour guardian tenant factour or other whatsoever person being distreined or other person charged for payment of any such sum or sums or any other summe by reason of this Act shall be of such sum or sums of him or them soe levied and taken discharged and acquitted at his next day of payment for the same or at the delivery of such goods and chattels as he that is so distreyned had in his custody or governance against him or them that shall bee soe taxed and set (any Grant or writing obligatory or other whatsoever matter to the contrary made heretofore notwithstanding) And if any such person that should [X2 be soe] distreined have no Lands or Tenements sufficient whereby he and his Tenants and Farmours may be distreined or have aliened eloyned or had his Goods and Chattels whereby he should or might be distreyned in such manner that such goods or chattels should not be knowne or found soe that the sum of or by him to be paid in the said forme shall not ne can X3 be conveniently levied then upon relation thereof to the Commissioners or to as many of them as by the said Commission shall be thereunto appointed where such person or persons was taxed and set by the oathes of him or them that shall be charged with the levying and payment of that summe or summes the same Commissioners shall make a precept in such manner as is aforesaid for to attach take and arrest the body of such person or persons that ought to pay the said sums and by this Act shall be charged with and for the said Sum and Sums and them soe taken safely to keepe in prison within the shire or other place where any such person or persons shall be taken and attached there to remaine without baile or mainprise untill he have paid the X4 Sum or Sums that such person for himselfe or for any other by this Act shall be chargeable or ought to be charged withall and alsoe for the Fees of every such Arrest to him or them that shall execute such Precept twentie pence and that every Officer unto whom such Precept shall be directed do his true diligence and execute the same upon every person soe being indebted upon pain to forfeit to the Kings Majestie for every default in that behalfe twenty shillings And that no keeper of any Gaole from his Gaole suffer any person to goe att large by letting to baile or otherwise to depart out of his prison before he hath paid the said debt and the said twenty pence for his arrest upon pain to forfeit to the Kings Majestie fourtie shillings and the said Gaoler to pay to the Kings Majestie the double value aswell of the rate which the said person soe imprisoned was taxed at as of the said twentie pence for the Fees and like Processe and remedy in like manner forme shall be granted by the said Commissioners or as many of them as by the said Commission shall be thereunto appointed at like information of every person or persons being charged with any sum of money for any other person or persons by reason of the said Subsidies and not thereof paid but wilfully withdrawne nor the same levyable within the limits where such persons were thereunto taxed and if the Sum or Sums being behinde unpaid by any person or persons as is aforesaid be leavyed & gathered by force of the said Processe to be made by the said Commissioners or if in default or for lack of payment thereof the person or persons soe owing the said Sum and Sums of money by processe of the same Commissioners to be made as is aforesaid be committed to prison in forme abovesaid that then the said [X1 Commissioner] which shall award such Processe shall make certificate of that shall be done in the p[re]misses after such sum or sums of money soe being behinde shall be leavyed and gathered of such person or persons for non payment of the same comitted to prison And if it happen any of the said Collectors to be assigned or any Maiors Sheriffes Stewards Constables Headboroughs Bursholders Bailiffes or any other Officer or Minister or other whatsoever person or persons to disobey the said Commissioners or any of them in the reasonable request to them made by the said Commissioners for the execution of the said Commission or if any of the Officers or other persons doe refuse that to them shall appertain and belong to doe by reason of any Precept to him or them to be directed or any reasonable commandement instance or request touching the p[re]misses or other default in any appearance or collection to make or if any person [X2 be] suspected not to bee indifferently taxed as is aforesaid do refuse to be examined according to the tenour of this Act before the said Commissioners or as many of them as shall be thereunto assigned as is aforesaid or will not appeare before the same Commissioners upon warning to him made or else make resistance or rescues upon any distresse upon him to be taken for any parcell of the said Subsidies or commit any misdemeanour in any manner or wise contrary to this Act or commit any wilfull omission or other whatsoever wilfull doeing or misdoing contrary to the tenour of this Act or grant the same Commissioners and every number of them above remembred or two of them at the least upon certaine knowledge of any such misdemeanour had by information or examination shall and may set upon every such offendour for every such offence in the name of a fine by the same offendour to be forfeited forty Shillings or under by discretion of the same Commissioners And further the said Commissioners and every number of them or twoe of them att the least shall have authority by this present Act to punish every such offendor by imprisonment there to remaine and to be delivered by theire [X3 discretions] as shall seeme to them convenient the said fines if any such be to be certified by the said Commissioners that soe assessed the same into the Kings Majesties Exchequer to be levyed and payed by the Collectors of that part for the said Subsidies returned into the said Exchequer to be therewith charged with the payment of the same Subsidies in such manner as if the said fines had beene set and taxed upon the said Offendors for the said Subsidies.

Editorial Information

X1 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: Com[er]s O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]

X2 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: being O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]

X3 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: discrec[i]on O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]

X4 interlined on the Roll.