Taxation (No. 8) Act 1640

X. Commissioners to meet and call Persons named in Precept to appear before them.

Such Persons making Default, or refusing to serve; Penalty £5.; Upon Appearance to be charged to make Inquiry into the Substance of Persons to be charged; but such Inquiry not to be taken on Oath; and to certify before Commissioners such Substance, and the Names of the Parties charged, &c.; Penalty £5.; Thereupon Commissioners to read the Rates openly, and instruct Officers how to make their Certificates, &c.; Afterwards another Day to be appointed by Commissioners for such Persons to appear.; Such Persons not appearing, and refusing to make Certificate.; Penalty £5.; Proviso for Sickness, &c.; Commissioners to examine Presenters of Certificate.; Further Proceedings on Assessments by Precepts to Constables, &c. to warn Persons named therein to appear.; Oath not allowed on Inquiry into the Substance of Persons charged.; Persons named in the said Precept, called upon, not appearing.; Proviso for reasonable Excuse.; Panalty, Double Rate.; On Inquiry into the Substance of Persons charged, Commissioners may increase Taxation.; Spiritual Persons how rated for Temporal Possessions.

And be it further enacted by the authority of this p[re]sent Parliament That at the said day and place p[re]fixed and limited in the said precept every of the said Commissioners then being in the Shire and not having sufficient excuse for his absence at the day and place p[re]fixed for that part whereunto he was limited shall appeare in his owne proper person and there the same Commissioners being p[re]sent or as many of them as shall be appointed by the Kings Majesties Commission shall call or cause to be called before them the said Inhabitants and Officers to whom they have directed theire said precepts and which had in commandment there to appeare by vertue of the said precept And if any person so warned make default unlesse he then be letted by sicknes or lawfull excuse and that lett be then witnessed by the Oathes of two credible persons which oath the said Commissioners or any two or more of them shall have power by this act to administer or if any appearing refuse to serve in form following then every such person so making default or refusing to serve shall forfeit to the Kings Majestie five pounds and so att every time appointed by the said Commissioners for the said severall taxations untill such time as the number of every such persons have appeared and certified in form underwritten every of them so making default or refusing to serve shall forfeite to the Kings Majestie five pounds And upon the same appearance had they shall be charged before the Commissioners by all convenient wayes and meanes other then by corporall oath to enquire of the value of the substance after the usuall manner of every person dwelling and abiding within the limits of the places that they shall be charged with and of other which shall have his or theire most resort unto any of the said places and chargeable with any su[m]m of money by this act and all other things requisite touching the said act and according to the intent of the same and thereupon as neere as it may bee or shall come to theire knowledge without respect of any former taxation heretofore had truly to present & certifie before the said Commissioners the names and surnames and the substance and values of every of them after the usuall manner as aforesaid as well of Lands Tenements Fees Offices Tythes and other hereditaments possessions and proffits as well ecclesiasticall as temporall as of goods chattels debts and other things chargeable by the same act without any concealment love favour affection dread or malice upon paine of forfeiture of five pounds at the most to be taxed extracted and levied in form as hereafter in this p[re]sent acts shall be limited or appointed And thereupon the said Commissioners shall openly there read or cause to be read unto them the said rates in this act mentioned and openly declare the effect of their charge unto them in what manner and form they ought and should make theire certificates according to the rates and su[m]ms thereof abovesaid and of all manner of persons as well Aliens and Strangers Denizens or not Denizens inhabiting within this Realm as of such Popish Recusants and other persons as be borne under the Kings obeysance chargeable to this act and of the possessions Goods and Chattels of Fraternities Guilds Corporations Brotherhoods Mysteries Communalties and other as is aforesaid and of persons being in the parts beyond the Seas having goods and chattells lands or tenements within this Realm as is aforesaid and of all goods being in the custodie of any person or persons to the use of any other as is aforesaid by the which information and shewing the said persons may have such plain knowledge of the true intent of this p[re]sent act and of the manner of theire certificate that the same persons shall have no reasonable cause to excuse them by ignorance And after such charge and the Statute concerning the said money to be raised and the manner of the said Certificate to be made in writing containing the names and surnames of every person and whether he be born without the Kings Dominions or within and the value of every person in every degree aswell of the yearely value of Lands and Tenements and of such like possessions and proffits as of the value of Goods and Chattels Debts and every thing to theire certificate requisite and necessary to them declared the said Commissioners there being shall by theire discretions limit and appoint unto the said persons another day and place to appeare before the said Commissioners and charging the said persons that they shall in the meane time make diligent enquiry by all wayes and meanes of the p[re]misses and then and [X1 theire] every of them upon pain of forfeiture of five pounds to the Kings Majestie to appeare at the said next prefixed day and place there to certifie unto the said Commissioners in writing according to theire said charge and according to the true intent of the said grant of the su[m]ms of money aforesaid and to them in manner aforesaid hath been declared and shewed by the Commissioners At which day and place so to them p[re]fixed if any of the said persons make default or appear and refuse to make the said certificate then every of them so offending to forfeit to the Kings Majestie five pounds (except there be a reasonable excuse of his default by reason of his sicknes or otherwise by the Oathes of two credible persons there witnessed which Oathes the said Commissioners or any two of them shall have power by this act to administer) And of such as appeare ready to make certificate as is aforesaid the said Commissioners there being shall take and receive the same certificate and every part thereof and the names values and substance of every person so certified And if the said Commissioners see cause reasonable they shall examine the said Presenters thereof and thereupon the said Commissioners at the said dayes and places by theire agreement amongst themselves shall from time to time there openly p[re]fix a day att a certaine place or places within the limits of theire Commission by theire discretion for theire further proceeding to the said assessing of the same su[m]m and su[m]ms of money And thereupon at the said day of the said Certificate as is aforesaid taken the same Commissioners shall make theire p[re]cept or p[re]cepts to the Constables Subconstables Bailiffes or other Officers of such Hundreds Wapentakes Towns or: other places aforesaid as the same Commissioners shall be of comprising and containing in the said precepts the names and sirnames of all persons presented before them in the said Certificate of whom if the said Commissioners or as many of them as shall be thereunto appointed by the Kings Commission shall then have vehement suspition to be of greater value or substance in Lands Goods Chattels or su[m]ms of money owing unto them or other substance aforesaid then is upon such person or persons so certified and specified as aforesaid the same Commissioners shall make theire precept or precepts directed to the Constables Bayliffes or other Officers commanding them to whom such precepts shall be directed to warn such persons whose names shall be comprised in the said Precepts at theire Mansions or to theire persons that the same persons named in such precepts and every of them shall personally appeare before the said Co[m]mission[er]s at the said new p[re]fixed day and place there to be examined by all wayes and meanes (other then by corporall oath) by the said Commissioners of theire substance and value in manner as aforesaid and of all and every su[m]ms of money owing to them and other whatsoever matter concerning the p[re]misses or any of them according to this act At which day and place so p[re]fixed the said Commissioners then and there being or as many of them as shall be thereunto appointed by the Kings Commission shall cause to be called the said persons whose names shall be comprised in the said Precept [X2 or] is aforesaid for theire examination And if any of those persons which shall be warned as aforesaid to be examined which at any time after the warning and before the day p[re]fixed shall be within such place as he may have knowledge of his said appearance to be made shall make default and appeare not unlesse a reasonable cause or excuse by the Oathes of two credible Witnesses before the said Commissioners which Oathes the said Commissioners or any two of them shall have power by this act to administer be truly alledged for his discharge that then every of them so making default to be taxed and charged with and at the double su[m]m of the rate that he should or ought to have beene set at for and after the value aforesaid of his lands or substance upon him certified if he had appeared by the discretion of the Commissioners there being which Commissioners shall use theire best endeavors with every of the other persons so then and [X3 theire] appearing whose names shall be expressed in the said precept or precepts and in whom any vehement suspicion was or shall be had in form aforesaid by all wayes and meanes they can (other then by corporall Oath for theire better knowledge of theire value as aforesaid either in hereditaments or possessions or else in goods or debts and thereupon shall have power and authority by vertue of this act according to theire discretions to inlarge and increase the taxation of such persons as they shall [X4 soe] finde by due examination to be of greater value or substance in lands or goods then they were presented at And that every spirituall person at every of the said taxations of the said su[m]me or su[m]ms of money shall be rated and set according to the rate abovesaid of and for every pound that the same spirituall persons or any other to his use hath in any Mannors Lands Tenements Rents Services Offices Fees Corodies Annuities Tithes and Hereditaments ecclesiasticall or temporall as well in right of theire Churches as otherwise after the true just and yearely value thereof and according as other the Kings Majesties subjects born within this Realm be charged in form above remembred so the same extend to the yearely value of twenty shillings or above.

Editorial Information

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

X4 Variant reading of the text noted in The Statutes of the Realm as follows: there O. [O. refers to a collection in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge]