POOR LAWS. The fundamental rule as to the relief of the poor was, that each parish iu England and Wales is hound to maintain its own poor. For the pur pose of providing the requisite machinery, overseers are required to be appointed in each parish every year on Mar. 25, or within a fortnight following; and these, along with the churchwardens, who are ex officio overseers, have the duty of providing the requisite funds. See OVERSEERS. This is done by means of a poor-rate, which the church wardens and overseers may levy on all the occupiers of land in the parish, after such rate has been confirmed by the justices. The rate specifies a certain sum in the pound which is to be levied, and the annual value of the various lauds is then specified, and the amount is thus easily computed. The rate is thus a local tax on the occupier of the land, and not on the owner, unless he himself is also occupier. In all cases, the duty of raising the funds attaches to the overseers; but the actual distribution and application of them are not always in their immediate control. Owing to the mischiefs arising from the officials of each parish distributing the funds at their discretion, without uniform ity of plan, a central controlling power was created in 1834, in the shape of the poor law board; and authority was given to combine various parishes into one poor-law union, for the purpose of greater uniformity as well as economy. When a union is formed, the control of the expenditure is chiefly vested in the guardians of this union, who are elected by each parish, and who supervise the management of the union work house. They order the overseers of each parish to raise their due proportion of funds, by a contribution order issued to such overseers, who are thereon bound to levy the amount by including it in the next poor-rate. The guardians are hound to contract for the provisions, clothing, fuel, etc., supplied to the work-house, by means of sealed tenders, unless the quantity is less than a stated amount. All the controlling powers formerly vested in the poor-law board are now transferred to the local government board. The principle on which relief is administered to the poor is, that the condition of the pauper should not be so comfortable as that of the lowest independent laborer; otherwise, idle ness and imposture would be encouraged to an indefinite extent. The guardians pro , fess only to relieve destitution already existing, and not to enable persons to keep off impending deslikution. Hence they only supply the bare necessaries of life. They can not, for example, advance or lend money to set up a poor person in trade. Minute regula tions are contained in the consolidated poor-law orders of the board as to the classification of paupers in the work-house, mode of admission, diet, discipline, and out-door relief. With regard to out-door relief and able-bodied paupers, it is provided that every able bodied person requiring relief from any parish shall be relieved wholly in the work-house, together with his wife and family, if any, and if not otherwise employed. But the relief may be given out of doors in cases of sudden and urgent necessity, of sickness, accident, and a few other cases. In general, relief is confined to persons actually resid ing in some place within the union, except in case of casual destitution, or sickness and accident. Whenever out-door relief is given to an able-bodied person, half of it is to be in the form of articles of food or fuel. Relief is given only weekly, where the pauper is not required to be received into the work-house. No relief is to be given to able-bodied persons while they are employed for wages or hire by any person; and every able-bodied male person, if relieved out of the work-house, shall be set to work by the guardians, and kept so employed while he continues to receive such relief. The law with regard to the relief of the poor is so far qualified, that wherever a person applies for parochial relief, if he or she has a father or grandfather, mother or grandmother, or child, who is able to maintain such pauper, then the parish officers can obtain an order from justices compel such relative to contribute a sum toward such maintenance. So husbands or fathers of paupers are bound to contribute to such maintenance. In all cases, the pauper is relieved either in the work-house or out of the work-house, according to the regulations of the poor-law orders. In some cases, the guardians or overseers may employ the poor in public works; but this is seldom done, except on occasions like the Lancashire distress. The law as to the settlement of the poor is somewhat intricate, and gives rise to much litigation. There are various grounds on which this settlement is acquired. Thus, every person has, prima fade, a settlement in the parish where he was
born, until some other is proved; and there are so many qualifications, that it is seldom a birth-settlement is resorted to. By marriage, a woman immediately acquires the settlement of her husband, if he has one, whether the husband be an Englishman or a foreigner. If the husband has no settlement, then the wife is thrown back on her maiden settlement. Formerly, a person acquired a settlement in a parish by hiring and service, and by residence for 40 days under such hiring; but since 1834, no such settle ment can be acquired. If any person shall be bound an apprentice by indenture, and reside 40 days under such apprenticeship, he or she acquires a settlement thereby. So whoever shall rent a tenement in a parish, and actually occupy the same, and be rated' to the poor for one whole year, the rent being not less than £10, and paid by the person so actually occupying the tenement, shall acquire a settlement. So a person acquires a settlement by acquiring an estate in land, however small in value, and residing 40 days. in the parish. So, if a person buy an estate, and the consideration amount to £30 at Mast, he shall thereby acquire a settlement. Formerly, a settlement was acquired by serving a public annual (Alice, such as that of constable, overseer, etc. ; but no settlement is now acquired on that ground. Unless a pauper has acquired a settlement on one or other of the grounds before mentioned in the parish or union where he receives relief, be is liable to be removed compulsorily to the parish where lie last acquired a settle ment. Certain persons, however, cannot be removed, and these are called irremovable paupers. Such are those paupers who have resided for one whole year in the parish or union in which they became destitute. The mode of computing this one year is, how ever, somewhat difficult in certain cases. The expense of maintaining the poor gener ally is paid out of the common fund, and not by each parish in the union. When a pauper is sought to be removed, it is necessary to take him before two justices of the peace for examination; and on proper evidence of his settlement, the justices will make the order of removal, which is an authority to the overseers.to take or scud the pauper to the overseers of the parish of settlement. If, however, the pauper is too ill at the time to admit of removal without danger, the justices may suspend the order of removal till he is recovered. Whenever a pauper is to be removed, the removing union is bound to give notice to the union of settlement; and it is on these occasions that so many obstinate and costly litigations take place as to which is the union of settlement. Much litigation was avoided by substituting a union for a parish as the test. The union also may appeal to the court of quarter-sessions against the removal order; and the quarter sessions may state a case for the opinion of the court of queen's bench, if any nice point of law should arise, as frequently happens.
In Scotland, there was no systematic provision for the relief of the poor until 1845, when the statute of 8th and 9th Vict. c. 83 was passed. By this statute, a central board (called the board of supervision) was established, which controls the parochial board of each parish or union of parishes in a manner similar to the poor-law board in England. A settlement can be acquired in Scotland by residence of five years. Chil dren follow the settlement of their parents, and wives that of their husbands; and if no other settlement be proved, then the settlement of birth is liable. In Scotland, the mode of assessment differs from that in England, where only the annual value of lands and tenements can be rated in the bands of the occupier. The parochial board had the option of three modes of assessment : 1. One half to be paid by owners, and one half by the occupiers; 2. One half to be paid by owners of lands, and the other half to be paid by all the inhabitants, according to means and substance other than lands; 3. Assessing owners of lands and other inhabitants ratably according to their means and substance. But by a later act of 24th and 25th Vict. c. 37. the mode of assessing means and substance is abolished. It will thus be seen that in Scotland the poor-rate can never be imposed wholly on the occupier as it always is in England.
In Ireland, a poor-law act was also, in 1838, passed, and numerous amending statutes have followed, the code of laws being substantially founded on the English acts.
There are special acts of parliament regulating the conditions on which paupers are removable between England, Scotland, and Ireland respectively.