Taxation Act 1640

XVII. Allowance to High Collectors and their Accountants.

Allowance to be paid by Collectors to Commissioners for their Expences and the Labour of their Clerks. Remedy for the same for Commissioners against Collectors. Commissioners, &c. not to be named Collectors, nor compellable to make Presentment other than to Exchequer. Head Collectors discharged of Fees, &c. Taking Fees of Accountants Penalty. Imprisonment. Commissioners at Meetings to shew Certificates and Presentments to the other Commissioners. Indenture of Collectors Names, and of Sums written to Collectors, Fines, &c. to be certified by Commissioners into the Exchequer; Collectors answerable for their own Collection only. Commissioners, if they cannot agree, may make several Indentures of their several Limits, &c. Collectors not chargeable for other Collectors. Commissioners or Collectors or Persons taxed, dying before discharged, Heirs and Executors chargeable as such Persons would have been if alive. Commissioners not thinking fit to join in one Certificate, Proceedings. Commissioners making Default of Certificate, Process out of Exchequer against them.

And be it alsoe enacted by the said Authority of this present Parliament that every of the said high Collectors which shall accompt for any part of the said Subsidies upon theire severall Accompts to be yeilded shall be allowed upon payment of the money chargeable upon his collection for every pound limited to his Collection whereof any such Collector shall be charged and yeeld accompt three pence as parcell of theire charge (that is to say) of every pound thereof for such persons as then have had the particular collection of the Towns and other places (as is aforesaid) specified in his collection one penny and one other peny of every pound thereof (every of the said cheife Collectors or theire accomptants to retain to theire owne use for theire labour and charge in and about the premisses and one peny of every pound residue to be delivered allowed and payed by the said Collector soe being thereof allowed to such of the Commissioners as shall take upon them the busines and labour for and about the p[re]misses) that is to say every Collector to pay that Commissioner or Commissioners which had the ordering of the writing of and for the said Subsidies where the said Collector or Collectors had theire Collection for the expences for the said Commissioners soe taking upon them the said busines and labour of theire Clerks writing the said Precepts and Extracts of the said Collections the said last peny of every pound to be devided amongst the said Commissioners having regard to theire labour and busines taken by them and theire said Clerks in and about the p[re]misses For which part soe to the said Commissioners appertaining the said Commissioners six five foure three or two or as many of them as shall be thereunto appointed by the Kings Majesties Commission and every of them jointly and severally for his and theire said part may have his remedy against the Collector or Collectors which thereof been or might have beene allowed by Action of debt in which the defendant shall not wage his law neither protection neither Injunction or Essoine shall be allowed And that no person now being a member of this present Parliament nor any Commissioner shall be named or assigned to be any Collector or Subcollector or Presentor of the said Subsidies or any part thereof nor any Commissioner shall be compelled to make any Presentment or Certificate other then into the Kings Majesties said Exchequer of for or concerning the said Subsidies or any part or parcell thereof and likewise that noe other person that shall be named and assigned to be Commissioners in any place to and for the execution of this Act of Subsidies be or shall be assigned or named head collector of any [X1 of] the said Subsidies neither of any part thereof and that every such person and persons which shall be nominated and appointed as is aforesaid to be head Collectors of and for the payment of the said Subsidies or of any part thereof be and shall be acquitted and discharged of all manner of Fees and rewards and of every other charge in the Kings Majesties Exchequer or else where of them or any of them by reason of that collection payment or accompt or any thing concerning the same to be asked and that if any person receive or take any Fees Rewards or Pleasures of any such Accomptants or use any unnecessary delay in theire account that then he shall forfeit to the Kings Majestie for every peny or value of every peny soe taken five Shillings and five pounds to the party greived for every such delay and suffer imprisonment at the Kings Majesties pleasure And after every taxing and assessing of the said Subsidies (as is aforesaid) had or made and the said Extracts thereof in Parchment unto the Collector in manner and forme before rehearsed delivered the said Commissioners which shall take upon them the execution of this Act within the limits of theire said Commission by theire Agreements shall have meetings together at which meeting every of the said Commissioners which then shall have taken upon them the execution of any part of the said Commission shall by himselfe or his sufficient Deputy truly certifie and bring forth unto the said Commissioners named in the said Commission the Certificate and Presentment made before him and such other Commissioners as were limited with him in one limit (soe as the same Certificate may be accompted and cast with the other Certificates of the other limits within the same Commission) and then the said Commissioners and every number of them unto twoe at the least as is aforesaid if any be in life or theire Executors or Administrators of theire goods if they then be dead shall joyntly and severally as they were divided within theire limits under theire seales by theire discretions make one or severall writings indented containing in it aswell the names of the said Collectors by the Commissioners for such Collections and Accompts in the Exchequer and payments and assigned as the grosse and severall sums written unto every such Collectors to receive the said Subsidies and alsoe all Fines Amerciaments and other Forfeitures if any such be by reason of this Act happen to be within the limit and precinct of theire Commission to be certified into the Kings Majesties said Exchequer by the said Commissioners in which writing or writings indented so to be certified shall be plainly declared & expressed the whole and entire Sum and Sums of the said Subsidies severally limited to the Collection of the said Collectors severally deputed and assigned to the said Sums soe as none of the said Collectors so certified in the said Exchequer shall be compelled there to accompt or be charged but onely to and for the Sums limited to his Collection and not to or for any Sum limited to the collection of his Fellowes but every of them shall be severally charged for theire part limited to theire Collection And if the said Commissioners joyned in one Commission amongst themselves in that matter cannot agree or if any of them be not ready or refuse to make certificate with the other of the same Commissioners that then the said Commissioners may make severall Indentures in form aforesaid of theire severall limits or separations of Collectors within the limits of theire Commission upon and in the Hundreds Wards Wapentakes Lathes Rapes or such other like divisions within the said severall limits of theire Commission as the places there shall require to be severed and devided and as [X2 to] the same Commissioners shall seeme good to make divisions or other limits or collections for the severall Charges of the same Collectors soe that alway one Collector shall be charged and [X3 accompted] for his part to him to be limited onely by himselfe and not for any Sum limited to the part of any of his Fellowes and the Charges of every of the Collectors to be set and certified severally upon them and every such Collector upon his Accompt and payment of the Sum of Money limited within his Collection to be severally by himselfe acquitted and discharged in the said Exchequer without paying any manner of Fees or Rewards to any person or persons for the same upon pain and penalty last abovesaid and not to be charged for any portion of any other Collector. And if any Commissioner after he hath taken Certificate of them that as is aforesaid shall be before any Commissioners examined and the Sums rated and set and the Books and Writings thereof being in his hands or if any Collector or other person charged with any receipt of any part of the said Subsidies or any other person taxed or otherwise by this Act charged with or for any parcell of the said Subsidies or with any other Sum Fine Amerciament penalty or other forfeiture happen to die before the Commissioners Collectors or other whatsoever person or persons have executed accomplished satisfied or sufficiently discharged that which to every such person shall appertain or belong to do according to this Act then the Executors and Heires of every such person and all other seised of any Lands and Tenements that any such person being charged by this Act and deceasing before he be discharged thereof or any other to his use onely had of an Estate of Inheritance at the time that any such person was named Commissioner Collector or otherwise charged with or for any manner of thing to be done satisfied or paid by reason of this Act And all those that have in theire possession or hands any Goods Chattels Leases or other things that were to any such person or persons at the time of his death or any Lands or Tenements that were the same persons at the time that he was as is aforesaid charged by this Act shall be by the same compelled and charged to doe and accomplish in every case as the same person so being charged should have done or might have beene compelled to doe if he had bene in plene life after such rate of the Lands and Goods of the said Commissioner and Collector as the party shall have in his hands And if the said Commissioners for causes reasonable then moving shall think it not fitt to joyne in one Certificate as is aforesaid then the said person or persons that shall first joyne togeather or hee that shall first certifie the said Writing indented as is aforesaid shall certifie all the names of the Commissioners of that Commission whereupon such writing shall be there then to be certified with the division of the Hundreds Wapentakes Wards Tithings and other places to and among other such Commissioners of the same Commission with the names of the said Commissioners where such separations and divisions shall be with the grosse Sums of Money as well of and for the said Subsidies taxed or set of or within the said Hundreds Wards Wapentakes or other places to him or them divided or assigned that shall soe certifie the said first Writings as of the fines Amerciaments Penalties and other forfeitures if any happen to be within the same limits whereof the same writings shall be certified And after such writings indented which as is aforesaid shall be certified and not contain in it the whole and full Sums set and taxed within the limits of the same Commission the other Commissioners of the same before the day of payment of the said Subsidies shall certifie into the said Exchequer by theire Writing or Writings indented to be made as is aforesaid the grosse and severall Sums set and taxed within the places to them limited for every of the said Subsidies and other Fines Amerciaments Penalties and Forfeitures with the names of the Hundreds Wards Wapentakes and other places to them assigned or else by theire said Writings indented to certifie at the same place before the same day of payment such reasonable causes for theire excuses why they may not make such certificate of and for the said Subsidies Fines Amerciaments and other Forfeitures growing or set by reason of the causes of theire lets or of theire not certifying as is aforesaid or else in default thereof Processe to be made out of the Kings Majesties said Exchequer against the said Commissioners every of them not making Certificate as is aforesaid or else in default thereof Processe to be made out of the Kings [X1 Majestie] said Exchequer against the said Commissioners and every of them not making Certificate as is aforesaid by the discretion of the Treasurer and Barons of the said Exchequer.

Editorial Information

X1 interlined on the Roll.

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