Land Tax Act 1698

VII. Commissioners, at their Meeting, to set down in Writing what Number of Commissioners shall act in each Division, &c.

Commissioners, in their Divisions, to cause Proportions to be equally assessed; and appoint Assessors; and direct Precepts to Inhabitants, &c. requiring them to appear and charge them with Execution of Act.; Such Persons absenting, Penalty; Or refusing to serve, Penalty; Commissioners to appoint Assessors; and a Day for bringing in their Assessments; The Assessors to assess the full Sum, and bring a Certificate of Assessment; and return Persons to be Collectors; for whose Payment to Receiver General, &c. Parish to be answerable; Every Assessor, before he acts, to take the Oaths of 1 W. & M. Sees. 1. c.8.; Assessors to deliver Copy of Assessments to Commissioners; who are to sign and seal Two Duplicates, One to be delivered to Collectors,; A Schedule to be transmitted to the King's Remembrancer's Office; to be certified into Exchequer before 7th of July 1699, or within 20 Days after; Penalty £10.

And for the more effectuall Performance thereof Be it enacted and declared That the Commissioners at such Generall Meeting or the major Part of them shall alsoe agree and sett downe in Writing who and what Number of the said Commissioners shall act in each of the said Divisions or Hundreds and shall deliver true Copies of such Writings to the Receiver Generall to be appointed by His Majesty to the end there may be no failure in any Part of the due Execution of the Service by this Act required and the Commissioners within the severall Hundreds Laths Wapentakes Rapes Wards or other Divisions or any Two or more of them are hereby authorized and required to cause the severall Proportions charged on the respective Hundreds Laths Wapentakes Rapes Wards or other Divisions for or towards the Aid hereby granted to be equally assessed and taxed within every such Hundred Lath Wapentake Rape Ward or other Division and within every Parish and Place therein according to the best of their Judgments and Discretion and for that End and Purpose to direct their severall or joynt Precept or Precepts to such Inhabitants High Constables Petty Constables Bayliffs or other Officers or Ministers and such Number of them as they in their Discretions shall think most convenient to be Presentors and Assessors requiring them to appeare before the said Commissioners at such Place and Time not exceeding Tenn Daies as they shall appoint and at such their Appearances the said Commissioners or such of them that shall be then present shall openly declare the Effect of their Charge to them and how and in what manner they should and ought to make their Assessments and how they ought to proceed in the Execution of this Act according to the true Meaning of the same and if any such Constable Petty Constable Bayliffe Officer Minister or other Inhabitants to whom any Precept shall be directed shall absent themselves without lawfull Excuse to be made out by the Oaths of Two credible Witnesses which Oaths the said. Commissioners or any Two of them are hereby impowered to administer or if any Person appearing shall refuse to serve then every such Person so makeing Default or refuseing to serve shall for every such Default or Refusall forfeite and loose to His Majesty such Summs as the Commissioners or so many as shall be present or the major part of them being present shall think fitt not exceeding the Summ of Five Pounds And after such Charge given as aforesaid the said Commissioners shall take care that Warrants be issued forth and directed to Two at least of the most able and sufficient Inhabitants of each Parish Towneship or Place within the respective Divisions thereby appointing and requireing them to be Assessors of all and every the Rates and Summs of Money by this Act imposed And shall therein alsoe appoint and prefix a certaine Day and Place for the said Assessors to appeare before them and to bring in their Assessments in Writing which said Assessors are hereby strictly injoyned and required with all Care and Diligence to assesse the full Summ given them in Charge respectively upon all Ready Money Debts Personall Estates Offices Imployments Annuities and Pensions according to this Act and by an equall Pound Rate upon all Mannors Lands Tenements Rents Hereditaments and other the Premisses within the Limmitts Circuits and Bounds of the respective Parishes and Places for which they shall be soe appointed Assessors as aforesaid And shall bring with them at the Time and Place soe as aforesaid prefixed for their Appearance a Certificate in Writing of the said Assessment and shall then alsoe returne the Name of Two or more able and sufficient Persons liveing within the Limmitts and Bounds of those Parishes Towneshipps Constablewicks or Places where they shall be chargeable respectively to be Collectors of the Moneys to be paid to His Majesty by this Act for whose paying in to the Receiver Generall or his Deputy in manner hereafter mentioned such Moneys as they shall be charged withall the Parish or Place wherein they are soe employed shall be answerable And every Assessor appointed or to be appointed by virtue of this Act shall before he take upon him the Execution of the said Imployment take the Oaths mentioned and required to be taken by an Act made in the Parliament held in the First Yeare of the Reigne of King William and Queen Mary intituled An Act for the abrogating the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance and appointing other Oaths which Oaths any Two or more of the said Commissioners in the County City or Place where the said Assessment is to be made have hereby Power and are required to administer And for the compleating of the whole Summ charged as aforesaid and to the end the aforesaid Summs charged upon the severall and respective Counties Ridings Cities Boroughs Townes and Places may be duely collected and true Accounts thereof made the said Assessors are hereby required to deliver one Copy of their respective Assessments fairly written and subscribed by them unto the said Commissioners within the time to be prefixed as aforesaid And the said Commissioners or any Two or more of them are hereby ordered and required to signe and seale Two Duplicates of the said Assessments And the one of them to deliver or cause to be delivered to Two or more honest and responsible Persons to be Collector or Collectors which the said Commissioners are hereby authorized to nominate and appoint for each Parish or Place with Warrant to the said Collector or Collectors to collect the same Assessment payable as aforesaid soe as the said severall Summs may be paid into the said Receivers Generall at the respective times hereby limitted And the said Commissioners are hereby required to deliver or cause to be delivered a Schedule or Duplicate in Parchment under their Hands and Seales fairly written containing the whole Summ assessed upon each Parish or Place unto the Receiver Generall of each County Riding City Borough Towne or Place respectively or his Deputy And shall transmitt or cause to be transmitted a like Schedule or Duplicate into the Kings Remembrancers Office of the Exchequer And this the said Commissioners shall cause to be done upon or before the Seaventh Day of July One thousand six hundred ninety nine or within Twenty Daies after all Appeales to them made being first determined for which Duplicates the Remembrancer or his Deputy shall give to the Person that brings the same a Receipt in Writing gratis under the Penalty of Ten Pounds to be recovered to the Kings Use as other Penalties are by this Act recoverable