Anno Regni GULIELMI III. REGIS Angliae, Scotiae, Franciae & Hiberniae, Septimo & Octavo.  
At the Parliament begun at Westminster the Two and twentieth Day of November, Anno Dom. 1695. In the Seventh Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord WILLIAM the Third, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.  
W R  HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE DIEV ET MON DOIT  royal blazon or coat of arms 
LONDON, Printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb deceased, Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. M DC XCVI.   

Anno Septimo & Octavo Gulielmi III. Regis.  
An Act for Erecting of Hospitals and Work-houses within the City of Bristol, for the better Employing and Maintaining the Poor thereof.  
WHereas it is found by Experience, That the Poor in the City of Bristol do daily multiply, and Idleness and Debauchery amongst the meaner Sort doth greatly Increase, for want of Work-houses to set them to Work, and a sufficient Authority to Compel them thereto, as well to the Charge of the Inhabitants and Grief of the Charitable and Honest Citizens of the said City, as the great Distress of the Poor themselves; for which sufficient Redress hath not yet been Provided: For Remedy whereof, Be it Enacted by the Kings most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in Parliament Assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the Twelfth Day of May, which shall be in the Year of our Lord, One thousand six hundred ninety and six, there be, and shall be a Corporation to continue for ever, within the said City of Bristol, and the County thereof, consisting of the several Persons herein after mentioned (that is to say) of the Mayor and Aldermen for the time being, and of Eight and forty other Persons, to be Chosen out of the Honestest and Discreétest Inhabitants of the said City and County, by the Eleven Wards in the said City, and the Castle Precincts there, which to all Intents and Purposes, shall be from henceforth for ever a Ward within the said City (that is to say) Four out of each Ward, and of such other Charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted Guardiaus of the Poor of the said City, in manner as is herein after Expressed: And the said First Eight and forty Persons shall be Elected at a Court for that Purpose to be held within each Ward, by the Alderman of the same, or his Deputy, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, Paying One Peny per Weék, or more, in his own Right, for and towards the Relief of the Poor of the said City, or of the major Part of them then present.  
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Eight and forty Persons shall be chosen in manner, as aforesaid, the said Twelfth day of May next following, and shall continue in their Office until others shall be Elected in their Rooms, according to the direction herein after mentioned; And in case any of the said Persons so Elected, or any other Person Elected in their Room, shall, after their respective Elections, happen to die, That then it shall and may be Lawful, 〈◊〉, and for the Alderman of the Ward, for which such Person so Dying was Elected, or his Deputy, at a Court to be held within the said Ward for that purpose, within the space of Ten days next after the Death of such Persons, to Elect others in their place, in manner, as aforesaid; which Court and Election, such Alderman or his Deputy is, and are hereby required to Hold and Make: Which said Mayor and Aldermen, and Forty eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons so Elected and Constituted for the time being, shall be called Guardians of the Poor of the City of Bristol.  
And to the intent that the said Guardians so Elected out of the said Wards, may have perpetual Succession, Be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said respective Aldermen for the time being, or their respective Deputies, shall and may, and are hereby required, on the First Thursday in April, in every Second Year, from henceforth, to hold a Court in their respective Wards, and then and there, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, so qualified, as aforesaid, or of the Majority of them then present, to Elect and Choose Two of the Honestest and Discreétest Persons out of the said Inhabitants of the said City, to be Guardians of the Poor of the said City for the said Ward; which said Two Persons, so Elected, shall be Guardians, and shall Succeéd the Two Persous before that time first Elected, and then being Guardians for the said Ward; and the said Two Persons so first Elected, shall immediately, upon such Election, and Notice thereof given to them cease to be Guardians.  
And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Mayor, aldermans, Eight and forty Persons, and such other Charitable Persons Elected and Constituted, as is herein mentioned and expressed, for the time being, shall for ever hereafter in Name and Fact, be One Body Politic and Corporate in Law, to all Intents and Purposes, and shall have a perpetual Succession, and be called by the Name of the Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants and Guardians of the Poor in the said City of Bristol; And that they shall be Enabled to Plead and Sue, and to be Sued and Impleaded by that Name, in all Courts and Places of judicature within this Kingdom; and by that Name shall and may, without Licence in Mortmain, Purchase, Take, or Receive any Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, of the Gift, Alienation or Demise, of any Person or Persons, who are hereby, without further Licence, Enabled to Transfer the same, and any Goods and Chattels whatsoever, for the Use and Benefit of the Corporation aforesaid. And for the better Governing of the said Corporation, the said Mayor, aldermans, and Eight and forty Persons, or the Majority of them, shall have, and hereby have Authority, to meet on the Nineteenth Day of May next following, in St. George's Chapel in the said City, or in some other convenient Place there, and shall on that Day, or any other Day or Time, that to them shall seem convenient, Elect and Constitute out of, and from amongst themselves, the several Officers following (that is to say) One Governor, One Deputy Governor, One Treasurer, and Twelve Assistants, to continue in the said Office for One Year, and no longer; And from thenceforth the said Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants, Treasurer, and other Officers, shall yearly, and every Year, by the said Mayor, aldermans, Forty eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted, as is herein mentioned and expressed, or the Majority of them, be Elected and Constituted out of, and from amongst themselves, on the Second Thursday in the Month of April, or any other Day or Time, as they shall think convenient to continue in their respective Offices, for One Year, and no longer; And the said Mayor, aldermans, and Forty eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons that shall be Elected and Constituted, as is herein mentioned and expressed, for the time being, or the Majority of them▪ shall have Power, in case of the Death of any such Officer so Elected and Constituted, before their said Year expired, to Elect and Constitute others in their Room, to hold the said Office for the Remainder of the said Year, and shall have Power and Authority at any time or times, for just Cause, to remove, displace and put out any such Officer out of his said Office, and to Elect and Constitute another in his room.  
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Governor, or in his Default, the said Deputy Governor, or in both their Defaults, Six of the said Assistants for the time being, shall have, and hereby have Power and Authority, and are hereby Enjoined and Required from time to time, upon the Second Thursday in every Second Month in every Year, accounting January for the First Mouth, to hold and keép a Court or Assembly of the said Corporation within the said City of Bristol of One and twenty of the said Guardians at least, on the days and time, and in manner, and for the ends in this Act mentioned; (that is to say) The said Governor shall hold the said Court or Assembly betweéns the hours of One and Two in the Afternoon; and in his Default, the said Deputy Governor, or any Six of the said Assistants, shall, after the hour of Two, hold the same; And also, the said Governor for the time being, shall have, and hereby hath Power and Authority, at any such other time or times as to him shall seém meet, to Summon, Assemble and Hold a Court or Assembly of the said Corporation upon Two days Notice or Warning at the least to be given of such Court or Asiembly to be held; And in case any Twenty of the said Guardians upon any Emergeney, signifying it under their Hands to the Goveruour for the time being, That it is their Desire that an Extraordinary Court or Assembly of the said Corporation may he Called and Held, the said Governor shall be Bound, and is hereby Enjoined and Required to Call and Hold such Court or Assembly at such time as the said Twenty Guardians shall so desire; and on his Refusal, the said Deputy Governor for the time being on such signification, shall be Bound, and is hereby likewise Enjoined and Required to Call and Hold the said Court or Assembly, and on his Refusal, any Six of the said Assistants shall have, and hereby have Authority to Call and Hold the said Court or Assembly; at all which Courts or Assemblies all and every Member and Members of the said Corporation for the time being, are hereby Enjoined to appear and be present, and not to departed from the same without the Licence of the said Court or Assembly, on pain to Forfeit such reasonable Sum and Sums of Money, not exceeding Five Shillings, to the Use of the said Corporation, as by the said Court or Assembly, or any succeéding Court or Assembly shall be Assessed upon them, unless they can show some reasonable Excuse to be allowed of by the said Court or Assembly; And the said Court or Assembly are hereby Impowered to Summon to appear before them any of the Inhabitants of the said City to answer to Matters relating to the said Corporation, who are hereby Required to appear upon such Summons, and answer such Questions, on Forfeiture, to the Use of the said Corporation, of a Sum not exceeding Two shillings and Six pence for every Default, to be Levied as is herein after Directed.  
And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Corporation, at the said Court or Assembly, shall have, and hereby have Power and Authority from time to time to make and appoint a Common Seal or Seals for the Use of the said Corporation, and to Make and Ordain By-Laws, Rules and Ordinances for and concerning the better Governing the said Corporation, and the Poor of the said City, and shall have, and have hereby Power to Purchase, Buy or Exect an Hospital or Hospitals, Work house or Work houses, House or Houses of Correction, and to provide what other Necessaries they shall think convenient for the Seeting to Work the Poor of the said City, of what Sex or Age soever they be, and shall have, and hereby have Power and Authority to Compel such Idle or Poor People begging or seéking Relief, who do not betake themselves to some lawful Employments, and such other Poor who do or shall hereafter Receive Alms of the respective Parishes or Places where they Inhabit or Seék the same, or by any of the Laws now in Force ought to be Maintained or Provided for by any Parish or Place within the said City, to Dwell and Inhabit in such Hospital or Hospitals, Work house or Work houses, and to do such Work as they shall think them Able and Fit for; and to detain and keép in the Service of the said Corporation, until the Age of Sixteéns Years, any Poor Child or Children of the said City, left to be Maintained by the said City, or any Parish or Place in the same, or begging or seéking Relief, or which by any of the Laws now in Force ought to be Maintained and Provided for by any Parish or Place within the said City, or the Child or Children of any other Person or Persons that are or shall be willing or desirous to place or put their Child or Children in such Hospital or Hospitals, until their said Age of Sixteéns Years; and after they shall have attained their said Age of Sixteéns Years or sooner, the said Corporation, by Indenture, shall have Power to Bind and put Forth such Child or Children Apprentices, to any Honest Person or Persons within the Kingdom of England for any Number of Years, not exceeding Seven Years, as they shall think convenient; which Indenture shall be binding to such Child or Children.  
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Court or Assembly so Constituted, as aforesaid, shall have, and hereby have power to inflict such reasonable Correction and Punishment, on any Poor Person or Persons within the said Hospital or Hospitals, Work house or Work houses, House or Houses of Correction, that shall not conform to such Rules, Orders and Ordinances so made, as aforesaid, or misbehave themselves in the same; And that the said Court or Assembly so Constituted, as aforesaid, shall have, and hereby have Power to appoint a Committee to consist of One and twenty of the Guardians at the least, who, or any five of them▪ of which Two shall be Assistants, shall from time to time, or at any time until the next Court, have Power to inflict such reasonable Correction and Punishment, as aforesaid, on any such Poor Person or Persons offencing, as aforesaid.  
And for the better Carrying on so Pious and Charitable a Week, Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be Lawful for the said Corporation, in their said Courts or Assemblies, from time to time, to set down and ascertain what Sum or Sums of Money shall be neédful for the Building and Erecting of such Hospitals, Work houses, or Houses of Correction, so that the same do not exceéd the Sum of Five thousand Pounds, to be raised within the space of Threé Years, or any longer time, as to them shall seém meét, by such Quarterly or other Payments, as they in their discretion shall think fit; And also from time to time, to Set down and Ascertain what Weékly, Monthly, or other Sums, shall be neédful for the maintenance of the Poor in the said Hospital or Hospitals, Workhouse or Work-houses, House or Houses of Correction, or within the Care of the said Corporation, so that the same do not exceéd what hath been Paid in the said City towards the maintenance of the Poor thereof, in any one of the Threé last Years; And shall and may under their Common Seal, certify the same unto the Mayor and Aldermen of the said City for the time being; which said Mayor and any Two of the Aldermen, or any Five of the said Aldermen without the Mayor, may, and are hereby Required from time to time, to cause the same to be Raised and Levied by Taxation of every Inhabitant, and of all Lands, Houses, Tithes impropriate, Appropriation of Tithes, and all Stocks and Estates in the said City and County of the same, in equal proportion, according to their respective Worth and Values: And in order thereunto, the said Mayor and any Two of the said Aldermen, or any Five of the said Aldermen without the Mayor, shall have Power, and are hereby Required indifferently, to proportion out the said Sum and Sums upon each Parish and Precinct within the said City, and by their Warrants under their Hands and Seals, to Authorise and Require the Churchwardens and Overseérs of the Poor of each respective Parish and Precinct, to Assess the same respectively; And after such Assessment made, by like Warrant under their Hands and Seals, to Authorise the said respective Churchwardens and Overseérs, to Demand, Gather and Receive the same, and for Nonpayment thereof (being Lawfully Demanded) to Levy the same by Distress and Sale of the Goods of the Offender, restoring the Surplusage to the Party so Distrained; And if no Distress can be found, than it shall and may be Lawful, to, and for the said Mayor and any Two of the Aldermen, or any Five of the said Aldermen without the Mayor, to commit such Offender to Prison, there to remain without Bail or Mainprize, till the same shall be Paid: And after the same shall be Received, to Pay the same unto the Treasurer of the said Corporation for the time being. Provided always, That if any Person or Persons, Parish or Precinct, find him or themselves to be unequally Taxed or Assessed, he or they may Appeal to the justices of the Peace of the said City and County, at their next General Quarter Sessions after such Assessment made and demanded, who shall and hereby have full Power and Authority, to take and make a final Order therein.  
And for the Encouragement of such as shall be Benefactors to so good a Design, Be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Man Charitably Disposed, shall give One hundred Pounds, or more, towards carrying on the said Work, It shall and may be Lawful for the said Corporation, at a Court, where there shall be present Three and thirty of the said Guardians at the least, to Elect and Constitute such Charitable Person to be a Guardian of the Poor of the said City, and to continue in the said Office, as long as to the said Corporation shall seém meét.  
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Corporation shall have the Care of, and Provide for the Maintenance of all the Poor of the said City, of what Age or Kind soever they be, except such as shall be otherwise sufficiently Provided for, by the Charitable Gifts of other Persons, or in Hospitals or Almshouses within the said City already Erected; And in order thereunto shall have full Power to Examine, Search and See what Poor Persons there are come into, Inhabiting or Residing within the said City, or any Part thereof; And shall have Power to Apprehend, or cause to be Apprehended, any Rogues, Vagrants, Sturdy Beggars, or Idle or Disorderly Persons within the said City and the County thereof, and to cause them to be kept and set to Work in the said Work-houses, Hospitals or Houses of Correction, for the Space of Three Years.  
Provided always, and be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That this Act, or any thing herein contained, shall not any ways extend to give the said Corporation any Power or Authority over any Almshouse, or Hospital, or any other Charitable Gift or Use, within the said City already Given, Settled or Erected, but that the same shall be wholly exempted therefrom, any thing herein to the contrary notwithstanding.  
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Corporation in their said Court or Assembly, shall have hereby Power to Choose and Entertain all such other Officers as shall be neédful to be Employed in and about the Premises, and them, or any of them, from time to time, to remove, as they shall see Cause; and upon the Death or Removal of them, or any of them, to choose others in their place, and to make and give such reasonable Allowances to them, or any of them, out of the Stock or Revenue belonging to the said Corporation or Hospitals, as they shall think fit.  
Provided always, and be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That no Officer or Officers, who shall be Elected, Chosen, Appointed or Employed, in the Execution of, or by Virtue of this Act, or any of the Powers or Authorities thereby given, shall be liable for, or by reason of such Office or Execution, to any of the Penalties mentioned in an Act made the Five and twentieth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, for the preventing the Dangers which may happen from Popish Recusants.  
And it is further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Treasurer for the time being, and all other Officers belonging to the said Corporation, Hospitals, Work-houses, or Houses of Correction, shall from time to time, before such Person or Persons as the said Corporation shall thereto appoint, Account for such Moneys, Stock, and other Things belonging to the said Corporation, Hospitals, Work-houses, or Houses of Correction, as shall come to their respective Hands, or be under their respective Care, upon every reasonable warning and notice thereof, by the said Corporation to them respectively given; And on their Neglect or Refusal to Account, as aforesaid, shall or may be by the said Mayor, or any Two of the said Aldermen, Committed to the County Goal for the said City and County of Bristol, there to Remain without Bail or Mainprize, until they shall become Conformable, and account, as aforesaid; And if upon such Account there shall appear any thing to be in their Hands belonging to the said Corporation, Hospitals, Work houses, or Houses of Correction, they shall Pay and Deliver the same, as the said Corporation shall Direct, or Give such Security for the same, as the said Corporation shall approve of, on pain to Forfeit Double the Value thereof, to be Recovered by the said Corporation by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in which no Protection, Essoign or Wager of Law, or any more than One Imparlance shall be admitted or allowed.  
And it is further Enacted, That all other Pains, Penalties and Forfeitures by this Act appointed, shall be Levied by Distress and Sale of the Offenders Goods, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of the said Treasurer for the time being, Restoring to the Offender the Overplus.  
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall be Sued for any Matter or Thing which he shall do in Execution of this Act, he may Plead the General Issue, and give the Special Matter in Evidence; And if the Verdict shall Pass for the Defendant, or the Plaintiff shall be Nousuited or Discontinue his Suit, the Defendant shall Recover his Treble Costs. And this Act shall be Taken and be Allowed in all Courts within this Kingdom as a Public Act; And all judges and justices are hereby Required, as such, to take notice thereof, without specially Pleading the same; And all Mayors, justices, Sheriffs, Bailiffs, Constables, and all other Officers and Ministers of justice, are hereby Required to be Aiding and Assisting to the said Corporation, and to all such Officers as shall be Employed by them, or any of them, in the Execution of this Act, or any of the Powers or Authorities hereby given.  
FINIS.