Charles II, 1662: An Act for preventing the unnecessary charge of Sheriffes and for ease in passing theire Accompts.

Recital that by reason of Charges at Assises, &c. the Office of Sheriff hath of late become very burthensome.

Regulation respecting Tables to be kept by Sheriffs during the Assises.; Sheriffs not to make Presents to the Judges for their Provison, nor to their Servants. Number of Sheriff's Servants.Penalty £200.

WHEREAS the Office of Sheriff as well by reason of the great and unnecessary charges in the time of Assises and other publique meetings as by the tedious attendance and charge of Sheriffes in passing of theire accompts in the Exchequer hath of late yeares been very burthensom to the Gentry of this Your Realm who in the late times of Tyranny and Oppression have been great Sufferers and thereby much impoverished in theire Estates and Fortunes For remedy wherein Your Majesties most Loyal Subjects the Knights Citizens and Burgesses assembled in Parliament do most humbly beseech Your Most Excellent Majesty that it may be declared and enacted And be it declared and enacted by the Kings most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by the Authority of the same That no person or persons being duely sworne into the Office of Sheriff for any County or Shire within this Your Majesties Realm shall from and after the First day of February next ensuing in the time of the Assises held for the said County or Shire during his or theire Sherifalty keepe or maintaine or cause to be kept or maintained one or more Table or Tables for Receipt or Entertainment of any person or persons resorting to the said Assises other then those that shall bee of his owne Family or Retinue nor shall make or send in any Present to any Judge or Judges of Assise for his or theire provision nor give any gratuity to his or theire Officers or Servants or any of them. And alsoe that no Sheriffe shall after the [said (fn. 1) ] First day of February have more then Forty Men servants with Liveries attending upon him in the time of the said Assises nor under the number of Twenty Men servants in any County whatsoever within the Kingdom of England nor under the number of Twelve Men servants in any County within the Dominion of Wales upon pain that every Sheriffe offending in any of the p[re]misses contrary to the true meaning hereof shall forfeit for every default the su[m]m of two hundred pounds

II. Proviso for Sheriffs of London, Westmorland, and of Cities and Towns.

Provided that nothing before in this Act contained shall in any wise extend unto or any wayes concern the Sheriffs of the Citty of London and Middlesex and the Sheriff of Westmerland or either of them or any of the Sheriffs of or belonging to any Citty and County or Town and County within this Realm but that the same Sheriff or Sheriffs shall or may [doe (fn. 2) ] as heretofore hath been used or accustomed within the said County of Middlesex and Cities of London and Westminster and such other Cities and Counties or Towns and Counties aforesaid Any thing herein before contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding

III. Recital of Causes of Hardships on Sheriffs in passing their Accounts.

Seizures concerning Lands, &c. remaining charged in Foreign Accounts for the Year ending at Michaelmas 1660 charged in the great Roll in the Exchequer. Remembrancers to make Copies of other Seizures, to be delivered to the Engrosser of the great Roll. Seizures already returned to be delivered before 1st Feb. next; other Seizures before the 1st Day of the next Term after received by Remembrancer. Fee to Remembrancer, Deputy, and Clerks. No Sheriff to be charged forilleviable Seizure, &c.

And to the end that Sheriffs may for the time future be eased of the great charge and trouble which they heretofore have been put to in passing theire Accounts in the Exchequer occasioned partly in regard that divers su[m]ms of money have stood charged upon them in grosse without expressing from what persons for what cause or out of what lands or tenements the same are to be particularly levied or out of what particulars the said su[m]ms in grosse doe arise (whereby it cometh to passe that the said Sheriffs doe still stand charged in grosse with divers so[m]mes of money which were heretofore payable by Abbotts Priors persons attainted and such other persons whose Estates have since come to the Crowne or are otherwise discharged or illeviable) and partly by the Accompt of Seizures or Forreign Accompt and by the exaction of undue Fees of Sheriffs upon theire apposal concerning the same For the p[re]venting whereof and for the future ease of Sheriffs in passing theire Accompts Be it enacted and declared That from hence forth every Seizure for or concerning any Lands Tenements and Hereditaments now remaining charged in the forreign accompt of any Sheriff or Sheriffs within the Kingdome of England for the yeare ended att Michaelmas One thousand six hundred and sixty shall be from the said foreign accompt charged particularly in the Great Roll of the Exchequer And that the several Remembrancers of the said Court or theire respective Deputies doe in theire respective Offices forthwith and soe from time to time for the future write and make true and perfect Copies of all and every such other Seizure and Inquisic[i]on as already are or hereafter shall be certified into theire respective Offices without certifying the Copy of the Writ or Commission att large upon which such Seizure or Inquisition is or shall be so taken or returned mentioning only in breife the Date of the said Writt or Commission and shall deliver the same Copies well and truly examined and attested under his or theire Hands to the Engrosser of the said Great Roll And that all such of the said Seizures and Inquisitions as now are returned into any of theire respective Offices shall be delivered before the First day of February next coming And that all such other Seizures as shall hereafter be returned or certified into theire respective Offices shall be delivered so examined and attested as aforesaid to the said Engrosser before the first day of the next Terme after the said Remembrancers shall have received the same so as the same may be charged in the Great Roll to the end that the Processe of the Court may from thence issue for levying the Issues and Proffits thereof to the use of the Crowne unto which said Remembrancers or theire Deputies shall be from time to time paid for every Sheet which they or theire respective Clerks shall so write and deliver the su[m]m of eight pence the same to be paid unto them by the aforesaid respective Sheriffes who shall bee allowed the same by the Barons upon theire respective Accompts out of the Issues and Proffits arising out of the p[er]misses so seized and no Sheriff or Sheriffs for this present Yeare One thousand six hundred sixty and one nor any Sheriff or Sheriffs to be hereafter made or appointed within this Kingdome of England shall be charged in accompt to answeare any illeviable Seizure Farm Rent or Debt or other Seizure Farme Rent Debt Matter or Thing whatsoever which was not writ in Processe to him or them to be levied wherein the persons of whom or the Lands or Tenements out of which togeather with the cause for which the same shall be soe levied shall be plainly and particularly expressed but shall be thereof wholly discharged without Petic[i]on Plea or other trouble or charge whatsoever

IV. Seizures made before Jac. I. and Seizures pardoned discharged.

No Process to issue in respect thereof. All other dead Farms, &c. to be removed out of the annual into the exannual Roll.

And it is hereby further enacted and declared That all Seizures heretofore made before the First Yeare of the Reigne of the late King James of every blessed memory now remaining in the Accompts of Sheriffs and all Seizures and Debts which are pardoned shall be and are hereby fully discharged And that the same and every of them shall hereafter be left out of Sheriffs Accompts without further Order Plea Petic[i]on or other Charge to any Sheriff or Sheriffs whatsoever And that no Process shall from hence forth be written forth to any Sheriff for the levying of the same or any of them nor for any other Rent or Farm which cannot be explained by setting forth the particulars thereof or which hath been unanswered by the space of forty yeares last past And that all other dead Farmes and Seizures and all desperate illeviable and [un (fn. 2) ] intelligible Debts shall be removed out of the Annual Roll and Sheriffs charge into the Exanual Roll there to remaine untill by Commission they shall be revived and made answerable

V. Remembrancers to eurol and certify to the Engrosser of the Great Roll Debts charged on Sheriffs, Fines, &c.

Such as are now returned to be delivered before 1st Feb. next; those to be hereafter returned the first Day of the next Term after Return made.; Penalty £40.

And to the end that all new Debts arising and coming into the Exchequer for the future may be sent forth in Process within convenient time Be it alsoe enacted and declared That the aforesaid several Remembrancers do forthwith inroll and certifie to the said Ingrosser of the Great Roll all such Debts as any Sheriff or Sheriffs of this Realm are or hereafter shall be charged withall either by vertue of theire respective Returns made ʼno the Barons of the said Exchequer upon His Ma[jes]ties Writs of Fieri facias Levari facias Capias or other Processe and alsoe of all Fines and Amerciaments which are or shall be sett and imposed by the Court of Exchequer upon any Sheriff or Sheriffs for his or their - contempts or neglects (that is to say) That all and every such Debts Fines and Amerciaments as now are returned set or imposed in any of the said Offices shall be delivered as aforesaid before the First day of February next ensuing And all such Debts Fines and Amerciaments as shall hereafter be returned set or imposed in any of the respective Offices shall be alsoe delivered by the First day of the next Term after such Retorns made of such Fines or Amerciaments so set or imposed that so they may be all charged in the Sheriffs Accompts respectively and comprehended within his or theire Quietus est upon pain that every Officer or Officers in the said Exchequer who shall in any thing offend contrary to this p[re]sent Act shall forfeit the su[m]m of Forty pounds for every such offence whereof ( (fn. 3) ) one moyety shall be to the King His Heires and Successors and the other moyety to the party or parties who shall be thereby agreived to be recovered by Action of Debt Bill Plaint or Information in any of His Majesties Courts at Westminster wherein no Essoyne Protection Priviledge or Wager of Law shall be allowed or admitted

VI. Qualification of Sheriff.

And it is hereby further provided and ordained That no person shall be assigned to be Sheriff of any County within this Realm except such as have Lands within the same County sufficient to answer the King and his People

VII. 21 Jac. I. c. 5. § 1.

Recital that Sheriffs have been troubled after their Quietus est. Limitation of Time for calling on Sheriff after Quietus est. Officers suffering Process to the contrary. Penalty as by 21 Jac. I. c. 5.

And whereas by an Act made in the One and twentieth yeare of the Reigne of our late Soveraigne Lord King James over England it was provided that whensoever any Sheriff upon passing his Accompts should have his Quietus est that he should be thereby absolutely discharged of all su[m]ms of Money by him levied and received and pretended not to be accompted for within the said Accompt whereupon he had his Quietus est unlesse such Sheriff should be called in question for such su[m]ms of Money so p[re]tended to be levied and not accompted for within Four yeares after the time of such Accompt and Quietus est Which Act notwithstanding divers Sheriffs and theire Heires upon such p[re]tences have beene molested and troubled many yeares after theire Accompts and Quietus est and have had Process sent out against them contrary to the true intent and meaning of the said Act It is hereby further provided and enacted That when any Sheriff or Sheriffs within the Kingdom of England or Dominion of Wales upon passing their Accompts shall have theire Quietus est that then such Sheriff and Sheriffs their Heires Executors and Administrators Lands Tenements Goods and Chattells shall be thereby absolutely discharged of all manner of sum or su[m]ms of Money whatsoever by them levied and received notwithstanding any such pretence that the same were not accompted for or other pretence whatsoever unless such Sheriff or Sheriffs shall be called in question and that Judgment shall be given against him or them for the same within Four yeares next after such Accompt or Quietus est and that every Officer or Minister by whom or by whose default any Writt or Process contrary to this Act shall be sent out shall incur the like Forfeitures and Penalties to be recovered and inflicted by such persons and in such manner as by the aforesaid Act is provided

VIII. Proviso for Counties Palatine.

Provided alwaies That this Act or any thing therein contained shall not extend to the Counties of Chester Lancaster Durham or the Counties in Wales being County Palatines as to theire manner of accompting but that the Sheriffes therein shall accompt as formerly before the respective Auditors onely and not elsewhere

IX. Proviso as to what Inquisitions, Seizures, &c. are to be transcribed and delivered by Remembrancers to the Engrossers of the Great Roll; and for Process on Debtors to the Crown;

and for the Pleadings heretofore used in the said Office. Act not to stay, compound, &c. Process for Debts charged by the Great Roll, except by Order, &c. If Debt, &c. not levied upon Process of Summons of the Pipe, Clerk of the Pipe, &c. to certify into the Remembrancer's Office. Proviso for Remembrancer's Fees.

Provided That this Act or any thing therein contained shall not extend to enjoyn His Majesties Remembrancer or the Lord Treasurers Remembrancer to transcribe and deliver to the Ingrosser of the Great Roll any Inquisitions or Seisures but such as have beene formerly charged in the Foreign Accompts of the Sheriffs but for all Inquisitions upon Attainders or other Forfeitures to the Crown the same shall be put in charge as heretofore they have been according to the constant Usage and Decree of the Court of Exchequer nor shall this Act or any thing therein contained extend to exclude His Majesties said Remembrancer of or from the writing forth Processe for or upon any His Majesties Debts Duties Outlawries or other charge whatsoever or Process of Levari facias att the prosecution of any person or persons to levy the Issues or Proffits of any Lands or Tenements seised or to be seised into the Kings hands or Process of Venditioni exponas for Goods seised or to be seised upon any Debt to His Majesty His Heires or Successors or upon any Outlawry or to alter or change the Pleadings or other Proceedings heretofore used and accustomed in the said Office upon any Pleadings touching the said Debts Duties and Seizures or any of them whatsoever And that no Debt Duty Fine Amerciament or Seisure whatsoever which shall be charged in the said Great Roll of the Pipe upon any person whatsoever by or from any Record Process or Proceeding had made filed or recorded in the Office of His Majesties Remembrancer of His Exchequer nor any Process or Proceeding thereupon to be had or made by vertue of this Act shall be respited stayed mitigated extenuated compounded or otherwise discharged but by Order Warrant or Judgment made filed or entered in the said Office of His Majesties Remembrancer where the original of such Debt Duty or Charge as aforesaid is and remaineth And that in case any Processe of Summons of the Pipe have beene or shall be awarded for or upon any such Debt Duty Fine Amerciament or Seisure whatsoever and the same Debt Duty Fine Amerciament or Seisure shall not upon such Summons of the Pipe be levied or answered unto His Majesty that then the Clerke of the Pipe or Engrosser of the Great Roll shall the next Terme after the return of such Summons certifie the same in a Schedule into the Office of His Majesties Remembrancer aforesaid to the end that further Process may be from thence written forth for the levying and answering thereof And that this Act or any thing therein contained shall not extend unto nor be construed to be prejudicial to His Majesties Remembrancer in His Exchequer in any just ancient and lawfull Fees by him claimed or belonging or incident to his Office and usually had and received by him or his Predecessors Any thing in this Act contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding

X. Continuance of Act.

This Act to continue to the end of the first Session of the next Parliament and no longer.