Poor Relief - Law Commission

(h) provision to ensure that no Director has a personal interest in any contract
or transaction arising under this Act; the Directors authorised to borrow up
to £6000, assigning the Corporation’s assets and the poor rates as
security; form of assignments; power to grant annuities; form of such
grant; annuities to be secured by the poor rates; receipts; transfer and
records of securities (sections 53 to 59)
(i) Directors authorised to assess the money needed to meet the amounts
required to cover their obligations under this Act to provide relief for the
poor and to service borrowings, by means of levying rates on the
inhabitants of the various parishes; rates to be collected by the
churchwardens and overseers who must account for the same to the
treasurer and provide written accounts; amount of rates for each parish to
be fixed by reference to the average poor relief expenditure by that parish
over the previous ten years; special provision for the parish of St Michael;
provision for making further assessments (sections 60 to 64)
(j) churchwardens and overseers required to produce books and accounts of
poor law receipts and expenses over the ten years up to Easter 1789;
persons who were churchwardens or overseers in that ten year period
required to produce books and accounts; provision for assessment of
rates in the absence of such books and accounts; all parish officers
required to assist the Directors in the execution of this Act; penalty for
defaulting parish officers (sections 65 to 68)
(k) certain parish income (including charity money) to be included in the
calculation of rates assessments; this Act not to affect the management of
charitable funds in the hands of the Corporation of the City of Lincoln;
application of future gifts made for the poor of Lincoln; parish officers’
other powers to raise money to provide poor relief; parish officers allowed
to retain money to provide poor relief for one-off purposes; provisions for
repayment of debts; all goods and chattels used for the poor to vest in the
Directors; penalty for stealing, damaging or receiving such property; form
of conviction (sections 69 to 84)
(l) parish officers to deliver residence certificates to the clerk; Directors
empowered to make bye-laws for giving effect to the purposes of this Act;
procedure for amending bye-laws; rewards for industrious workhouse
inmates; all contracts and proceedings to be recorded in writing;
inspection of books and papers; Guardians authorised to examine the
management of the workhouse; Directors authorised to contract for the
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