Taxation (No. 2) Act 1663

XXII. Allowance to High Collectors upon their Accounts.

Allowance to be paid by Collectors to Commissioners for Expences and Labour of their Clerks; Remedy for the same for Commissioners against Collectors; Commissioners, &c. not compellable to make Presentments other than to Exchequer.; Head Collectors of Two first Subsidies not compellable to be Collectors of Two last.; 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, &c. may make several Indentures.; 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 account for any part of the said Subsidies in the said Exchequer upon their severall Accounts to be yeilded, shall be allowed at every of the said payments of the said Subsidyes for every pound limitted to his Collection whereof any such Collector shall be charged and yeild Account Six pence as parcell of their charge that is to say of every pound thereof for such person as then have had the perticular Collection of the Townes and other places as is aforesaid specified in his Collection Two. pence, And other Two pence of every pound thereof every of the said cheife Collectors or their Accomptants to retaine to their owne use for their labour and charge in and about the premisses, And two pence of every pound residue to be delivered allowed and paid by the said Collector soe being thereof allowed to such of the Co[m]missers as shall take upon them the busines and labour for and about the premisses that is to say every Collector to pay that Co[m]missers or Comissers which had the ordering of the Writeings of and for every of the said Subsidyes where the said Collector or Collectors had their Collection for the expences of the said Co[m]missers soe takeing upon them the said busines and labour of the Clerks writeing the said Precepts and Extracts of the said Collections the said last Two pence of every pound to be divided amongst the said Co[m]missers haveing regard to their labour and busines taken by them and their said Clerks in and about the premisses, for which part soe to the said Co[m]missers appertaining, the said Co[m]missers Six Five Fower Three or Two or as many of them as shall be thereunto appointed by this Act, or the Kings Majestyes Co[m]mission, and every of them joyntly and severally for his and their said part may have his remedy against the Collector or Collectors which thereof have beene or might have beene allowed by Action of Debt, in which the Defendant shall not wage his Law, neither Protection nor Injunction [X1 nor] Essoigne shall be allowed, And that noe person now being of the number of the Company of this present Parliament nor any Co[m]misser shall be named or assigned to be any Collector or Subcollector or Presenter of the said Subsidyes or any part thereof, nor any Co[m]missers shall be compelled to make any Presentment or Certificate other then into the Kings Majestyes [X2 said] Exchequer of for or concerning the said Subsidyes or any part or parcell thereof, And likewise that noe other person that shall be named and assigned to be Co[m]missers in any place to and for the execution of this Act of Subsidyes be or shall be assigned or named Head Collector of any of the Payments of the said Subsidyes neither of any part thereof, And that every such person and persons which shall be named and appointed as is aforesaid to be Head Collector of and for the payment of the said Two first Subsidyes or of any part thereof shall not be compelled to be Collector for the payment of the said two last Subsidyes nor any part thereof, And the said Collectors which shall be assigned for the Collection of the said Fower Subsidyes or of any part thereof and every of them [X2 be and] shall be acquitted and discharged of all manner of Fees and Rewards and of every other charge in the Kings Majestyes Exchequer or 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 their Account that then he shall forfeite to the Kings Majestie for every penny or value of every pennyworth Five shillings and Five pounds to the party greived for every such delay and suffer Imprisonment at the Kings Majestyes pleasure And after every taxeing and assessing of the said severall 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 Co[m]missers which shall take upon them the execution of this Act within theire respective Limitts by their agreement shall have meeteings together, at which meeteing every of the said Co[m]missers which then shall have taken upon them the execution of any part of this Act shall by himselfe or his sufficient Deputie truely certifie and bring forth unto the said Co[m]missers named by this Act or in the said Co[m]mission the Certificate and Presentment made before him and such other Co[m]missers as were limitted with him in one Limitt, soe as the same Certificate may be accounted and cast with the other Certificates within their respective Limitts, And then the said Co[m]missers and every number of them unto two at the least as is aforesaid if any be in life, or their Executors or Administrators of their goods (if they then be dead) shall joyntly and severally as they were divided within their Limitts under their Seales by their Discretions make one or severall writeings indented containing in it aswell the names of the said Collectors by the Co[m]missers for such Collections and Accounts in the Exchequer and payments in the said receipt deputed and assigned as the grosse and severall summes written unto every such Collectors to receive the said Subsidyes And alsoe all Fines Amerciaments and other Forfeitures if any such by reason of this Act happen to be within their respective Limitts and Precincts to be certified into the Kings Majestyes said Exchequer by the said Co[m]missers, in which writeing or writeings indented soe to be certified shall be plainely declared and expressed the whole matter and entire su[m]me or su[m]mes of the said Subsidyes severally limitted to the Collection of the said Collectors severally deputed and assigned to the said summes soe as none of the said Collectors soe certifyed into the Exchequer shall be compelled there to accompt or be charged but onely to and for the summes limitted to his Collection, and not to or for any summe limitted to the Collection of his Fellowes, But every of them shall be severally charged for their part limitted to their Collection, And if the said respective Co[m]missers 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 Co[m]missers that then the said Co[m]missers may make severall Indentures in forme aforesaid of their severall Limitts or Seperations of Collectors within their respective Limitts upon and in the Hundreds Wards Wapentakes Lathes Rapes or such other like Divisions within their respective Limitts as the places there shall require to be severed and divided and as to the same Co[m]missers shall seeme good, to make Divisions or other Limits or Collections for the severall charges of the same Collectors, soe that alwayes one Collector shall be charged and accompt for his part to him to be limitted onely by himselfe and not for any summe limitted to the part of any of his Fellowes, And the charges of every of the Collectors to be sett and certified severally upon them, And every such Collector upon his accompt and payment of the summe of money limitted 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 paine and penalty last above mentioned and not to be charged for any portion of any other Collector, And if any Co[m]misser after he hath taken Certificate of them, that as is aforesaid shall be before any Co[m]missers examined and the Sumes rated and sett and the Bookes and Writeings thereof being in his hands, or if any Collector or other person charged with any Receipt of any part of the said Subsidyes or any other person taxed or otherwise by this Act charged with or for any parcell of the said Subsidyes or with any other Summe Fine Amerciament Penalty or other Forfeiture happen to dye before the Co[m]missers Collectors or other whatsoever person or persons have executed accomplished satisfyed or sufficiently discharged that which to every such person shall appertaine or belong to doe according to this Act, then the Executors and Heires of every such person and all [X3 others] seised of any Lands and Tenements that any such person being charged by this Act, and disceasing 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 Co[m]misser, Collector or otherwise charged with or for any manner of thing to be done satisfyed or paid by reason of this Act, And all those that have in their possession or hands any Goods Chattells 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 soe being charged should have done or might have beene compelled to doe if he had beene in plaine life after such Rate of the Lands and Goods of the said Comisser and Collector as the party shall have in his hands, And if the said Co[m]missers for causes reasonable them moveing shall thinke it not fitt to joyne in one Certificate as is aforesaid, then the said person or persons that shall first joyne together or he that shall first certifie the said Writeing indented as is aforesaid shall certifie all the names of the Co[m]missers of that respective Division, Whereupon such Writeing shall be there then to be certifyed with division of the Hundreds Wapentakes Wards Tythings and other places to and among such Co[m]missers of the same Division with the names of the said Co[m]missers where such Seperations and Divisions shall be, with the grosse Summes of money aswell of and for the said Subsidyes, and taxed or sett 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 Writeings, as of the Fines Amerciaments Penaltyes and other Forfeitures if any happen to be within the same limitts whereof the same Writeings shall be certifyed And after such Writeings indented which as is aforesaid shall be certifyed and not containe in it the whole and full summes sett and taxed within the respective Limitts of the said Co[m]missers, the other Co[m]missers before the day of payment of the said Subsidy shall certifie into the said Exchequer by their Writeing or Writeings indented to be made as is aforesaid the grosse and severall summes sett and taxed within the places to them limitted for every of the said Subsidyes and other Fines Amerciaments Penaltyes and Forfeitures with the names of the Hundreds Wards Wapentakes and other places to them assigned or else by their said Writeings indented to certifie at the same place before the same day of payment such reasonable causes for their excuses why they may not make such Certificate of and for the said Subsidyes Fines Amerciaments and other Forfeitures growing or sett by reason of the causes of their letts or for their not certifying as is aforesaid or else in defaulte thereof Processe to be made out of the Kings Majestyes said Exchequer against the said Co[m]missers and every of them not makeing Certificate as is aforesaid by the direction of the Treasurer and Barons of the said Exchequer.

Editorial Information

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

X2 interlined on the Roll.

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