January 1650: An Act for the better Ordering and Managing the Estates of Papists and Delinquents.

January, 1650

[25 January, 1649/50].

From 20 Dec., 1649, Papists' and delinquents' estates to be managed by Committee for Compounding with Delinquents, which is to have all powers formerly granted to Sequestration Committees.; Lists of all persons and estates, both sequestered and discharged from sequestration, to be sent to Commissioners for Compounding and of Sequestration.; From 1649–50, Jan. 25, all Sequestration Committees and persons employed by them to cease from office.; And management of sequestered estates to be in hands of Commissioners for Compounding.; Present sequestrators, &c., to; pay in all moneys in hand to Treasurers at Goldsmiths' Hall by 1 April, 1650,; and to allow those appointed by Commissioners for Compounding to read their books and papers.; Commissioners for Compounding to name Commissioners for Sequestrations and other officers.; Instructions to Sequestration Commissioners and officers.; Improvement of estates.; Power to let.; Manor Courts to be held.; Sequestration Commissioners to observe instructions of Commissioners for Compounding.; Their salary.; Other officers' salaries.; Commissioners' further powers and duties.; One-fifth of sequestered estates to wives and children of delinquents.; Names of all that have appealed against sequestrations or with appeals yet undecided to be sent to Commissioners.; Former Committees, etc., to account to Compounding Commissioners for moneys in hand; these to be paid in; to Treasurers at Goldsmiths' Hall.; Composition with certain delinquents.; Settlement of rectories on ministers, etc., to be effectual.; Papists sequestered estates and third parts discharged from fines, etc;

The Parliament of England now assembled, being desirous to improve the Sequestrations, and the Profits arising thereupon, to the use of the Commonwealth, in order to some abatement of the Assessments, Do Enact, and be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the Twentieth day of December, One thousand six hundred forty and nine, the ordering, managing, letting, setting and disposing of the Estates of Papists and Delinquents, shall be, and is hereby setled in the Commissioners for Compounding with Delinquents, in such sort as is hereafter expressed; and that the said Commissioners for Compounding, shall have and exercise all such power and authority, in and about Sequestring, ordering and disposing of such Estates as have been formerly granted by any Ordinance or Act of Parliament for Sequestrations, to any Committee for Sequestrations; and that the whole Rents Revenues and Profits of the said Sequestrations and Sequestred Estates, shall be paid into the Treasury at Goldsmiths-hall, for the onely use, intent and purpose as is above said. And be it further Enacted, That the Committees for Sequestrations, Solicitors, Treasurers, Sequestrators, Agents, Collectors, and all others herein concerned, in the several Counties and places within this Commonwealth, shall within six weeks after notice from the said Commissioners for Compounding, certifie by Duplicate one part unto the said Commissioners for Compounding, and the other to the said Commissioners to be appointed for Sequestrations in the said several Counties and places, the names of all and every person, as well Papists as Delinquents, who are or have been sequestred, and what Estate hath been so sequestred and seized, and when; and for such as have been since discharged from Sequestration, or the Sequestrations taken off or suspended, either by the Committees of the respective Counties or otherwise, to certifie when, how, and by what means the same were discharged, taken off or suspended; and for such as do still remain under Sequestration, to certifie what Estates they have, and in what Towns and Parishes, and what Leases have been made of the said Estates, and to whom, and for what time, and under what Rent, and what Charges and Incumbrances do lie upon the said Estates, and what allowances and defalkations have been made out of any such Estates, and to whom, and by what Order or Warrant, and what Rents, and arrerages of Rent, and other profits of the Lands or Estates of the said Papists or Delinquents, do remain in the hands of any the Sequestrators, or any of their Officers or Agents, and what Rents and profits thereof remain in the hands of any of the Tenants of the said Lands; which particulars shall be returned and certified in such maner and form as shall be from time to time directed by the said Commissioners for Compounding. And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the Five and twentieth day of January, One thousand six hundred forty nine, All Committees for Sequestrations, Treasurers and Solicitors for Sequestrations, and all and every person and persons imployed by them, or any of them, in and about the said Sequestrations, or Sequestred Estates, shall cease and forbear to act in and about the said Sequestrations, by vertue or colour of any the Orders and Ordinances of Sequestrations heretofore made; and shall not from henceforth let, set, sequester, seize or dispose of the said sequestered Estates, or any part thereof; nor shall receive any Rents, or other profits of the said sequestered Estates, or any part thereof; nor shall make any wood-sales, or fell any woods, or under-woods, Timber or Trees, in or upon the same Estates, nor shall make payment or allowance of any Rents or charges imposed or lying upon the said sequestered Estates, but that the managing, letting, setting, disposing and ordering of the said Estates, shall be in the Commissioners for Compounding, and in such persons as shall be by them from time to time nominated and appointed: And that the said Sequestrators, Treasurers and Solicitors for Sequestrations, and all other persons imployed by them; and all and every the farmers and tenants of the said sequestred Estates, and all other persons that have any part of the Rents, or other profits of the said sequestered Estates in their hands, shall forthwith pay the same to the Treasurers of the said Treasury at Goldsmiths-hall; whose Acquittance shall be a sufficient discharge to the said parties so paying in the same, for so much as shall be so paid in by them as aforesaid; and if they or any of them shall make default, or neglect to pay the same as aforesaid, before the first day of April, One thousand six hundred and fifty, That they and every of them so making default, shall forfeit unto the Commonwealth, so much more as the said Commissioners for Compounding shall think fit, not exceeding the moyety of such Moneys as shall be discovered to be remaining in any of their hands, or due from them on Accompt, to be levyed upon their Lands, Goods and Chattels, by order of the said Commissioners for Compounding: And all Committees, Solicitors, Sequestrators and others appointed by any former Ordinance or Act of Parliament, are hereby required to suffer such persons as shall be appointed Commissioners for Sequestrations by the said Commissioners for Compounding, to persue their Books and Papers, that so they may be the better enabled to carry on the work of Sequestration against Delinquents: And if the said Committees, Solicitors, Sequestrators, or others imployed by them, refuse to yield obedience to this, or any other matter or thing in this Act required, Then the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, are hereby enabled and required to send for such persons, or otherwise to cause them to be kept in safe custody, until such time as they shall conform themselves in the premises, and shall pay such Fine as shall be imposed on them by the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, so as the said Fine exceed not the sum of Forty pounds for any one offence. And it is further Enacted, That the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, shall nominate, substitute and appoint, under their or any seven of their Hands and Seals, such and so many fit and able persons in every county, city and place within this Commonwealth, being Inhabitants there, as have adhered to the Parliament from the beginning of the late Wars unto this day, to be Commissioners for Sequestrations within the said several and respective counties, cities and other places beforementioned, as they shall see fit, And also such other Officers and Agents, as shall be necessary for the carrying on of this service, and to remove any of them as they shall see cause; which said persons so nominated substituted and appointed to be Commissioners for Sequestrations as aforesaid, or so many of them as the Commissioners for Compounding shall appoint, shall according to such Instructions and Orders, in pursuance of any Acts or Ordinances of Parliament, as they shall from time to time receive from the said Commissioners for Compounding, in pursuance of the said Acts and Ordinances, Sequester into the hands of the Commonwealth, the Estates of all Papists in Arms, and other Delinquents, and two parts in three parts to be divided, of the Estates of all other Papists as are already adjudged to be Delinquents or Papists respectively, or shall by the said Commissioners for Compounding be adjudged to be such; and to enter into and survey the same Estates, and consider how the same Estates may be improved, to the best advantage of the Commonwealth, and what profits may conveniently be raised by Wood sales, or otherwise out of the said sequestered Estates, and shall certifie the same to the said Commissioners for Compounding; by and according to whose Order and Direction, grounded upon such survey and certificate as aforesaid, The said Commissioners for Sequestrations, or so many of them as the Commissioners for Compounding shall appoint as aforesaid, shall or may contract for the same sequestered Estates of Delinquents and Papists in Arms, or any part thereof, to be letten to such fit and able person or persons as will give the best Rent for the same, for any term not exceeding the number of Seven years in possession, for such yearly Rent as shall be agreed upon, if the Estate of such Delinquents or Papists in Arms shall so long continue, the said Rent to be paid according to the usual days of payment, to the said Treasurers at Goldsmiths-hall: and the said Leases either to be made under the hands and seals of the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, or under the hands and seals of the said Commissioners for Sequestrations, as shall be appointed by Order of the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them; and that the said Commissioners for Sequestrations, or so many of them as the said Commissioners for Compounding shall appoint, shall keep or cause to be kept Courts within the several sequestred Manors, and grant Copyhold Estates, according to the customs of the said Manors, and assess and receive Fines for the same Estates to be so granted, according to the Customs, or to the Rules to be therein prescribed by the said Commissioners for Compounding or any seven of them; which said Copyhold Estates so granted, shall be good and effectual to the Tenant so admitted, against the party sequestred, and against all claiming by, from or under him or his Estate: And that the said Commissioners for Sequestrations shall further act in and about the premises, according to such further Instructions and Directions as shall be given unto them, in pursuance of this Act, by the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, as any occasion or exigent shall require. And that the said Commissioners for Sequestrations shall have and retain to their own use for their Salary, Twelve pence in the pound for all such Moneys as shall be paid by them into the Treasury at Goldsmiths-hall, out of the profits of the said sequestred Estates in the respective counties and places; and that the other Officers that shall be named by the said Commissioners for Compounding, shall have such Salary and Allowance as the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them shall think fit. And be it further Enacted by the Authority of this present Parliament, That the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, shall have full power to receive from any person or persons, who shall present the same unto them, All and every Act, Ordinance or Orders of Parliament, whereby any charge is laid upon the Sequestrations, or sequestred Estate of any such Papist or Delinquent, and to examine the grounds and natures of them, and to state the cause, and make special Report thereof to the Parliament for their Allowance or Discharge, or for their further Order and Directions therein, as the Parliament shall see cause; And shall also examine all Rents, Quitrents, Outrents and Issues that shall be pretended to be due and payable out of any such estate, and the nature of them; as also all Conveyances and Assurances of, and all other Charges, Incumbrances, or Engagements upon the said Estates, or any part thereof, and to give allowance thereof, if it shall appear that the same were bona-fide made or charged before the cause of such Sequestration committed. And it is further Enacted, That the said Commissioners for Compounding, or any seven of them, shall have power to allow unto the Wives and Children of such Papists in arms, and other Delinquents whose Estates shall remain under Sequestration by vertue of this Act, one Fifth part of their said sequestered Estates for their subsistence. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the Clerk of the late Committee of the Lords and Commons for Sequestrations, shall forthwith certifie unto the said Commissioners for Compounding, the names of all such persons whose Estates or any part thereof, having been sequestred, either for Delinquency or Recusancy, have upon their Appeals had the Sequestrations of their Estates suspended or taken off, either by the said Committees of Lords and Commons, or by the Barons of the Exchequer; and the names of all such persons as have upon their Appeals been voted to be Delinquents, and to certifie the places of their abodes; and the names of all such persons as now remain before the Barons of the Exchequer, upon their Appeals not yet determined, and the time when the said parties appealing did present their several Petitions and Appeals unto the Barons of the Exchequer; And the said Barons are hereby required to take care that Certificate be made accordingly before the Five and twentieth day of February, One thousand six hundred forty and nine; and that all such whose Estates have upon their Appeals, been suspended from Sequestration by any Order from the late Committee of Lords and Commons for Sequestrations, or otherwise, whose Cases shall not be determined before the First day of March, One thousand six hundred forty and nine, The said suspension shall be void, and the Sequestration again laid upon their Estates. And it is hereby further Enacted, That the Rents, Issues, and Profits of all Sequestred Estates remaining in the hands of any Committees, Treasurers, Sequestrators, Solicitors, Tenants, or other persons whatsoever, shall be accompted for, and answered unto the said Commissioners for Compounding, and shall be satisfied and paid unto the said Treasurers at Goldsmiths-Hall, and not unto any other person or persons whatsoever, Any other Act, Ordinance, or Provision to the contrary notwithstanding. And be it further Enacted, That all such persons who have been sequestred since the first day of August, One thousand six hundred forty and nine, or hereafter shall be sequestered for any Delinquency committed before the making of this Act; and all other persons who upon the prosecution of their Appeals, have been or shall be adjudged Delinquents within the times herein before limited, shall upon their Petitions be admitted to Composition respectively, according to the late Votes of Parliament of the Fourteenth and One and twentieth of March, One thousand six hundred forty and eight, so as they do prosecute their Compositions with effect, within six weeks after the publishing of this Act, or within six weeks after they shall be adjudged Delinquents as aforesaid. And it is further Enacted and Ordained, That the Right, Title and Interest of all such Rectories, Tythes, Portions of Tythes, and other Profits and advantages as have been, or hereafter shall, upon the Composition of any Delinquent or Delinquents, be setled to or for the benefit of any Minister or Church, by the Committee or Commissioners for Compounding, shall be good and effectual to all intents and purposes, and shall be enjoyed against such Delinquent and Delinquents, and all claiming by, from or under him or them, or by from or under any person or persons in trust for him or them, or to his or their use, benefit or behoof, since the cause of sequestration; and also against all and every other person and persons claiming any estate therein, who shall not make such his Estate and claim appear unto the said Commissioners for Compounding, within the time of one year after his Right or Title shall accrew and grow due, or before the first day of June, One thousand six hundred fifty five. And be it further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all the Lands of Papists that are under Sequestration for Delinquency or Recusancy, as also the third part that remains to the Recusant, shall be, and hereby are discharged of and from all former Fines and Compositions for Recusancy, and of and from all the Arrears due upon the same, since the said Lands have been under Sequestration: And the Barons of the Exchequer, and all others whom it may concern are to take notice hereof.

Saving for Committee for advance of money, at Haber-dashers' Hall.

Provided always, and be it Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That this Act, nor any thing therein contained, doth or shall extend to the taking away of all or any the powers heretofore granted to the Committee for advance of Money, commonly called, The Committee of Haberdashers-Hall. Provided, That this Act or anything therein contained, shall not extend, or be construed to extend to enable the said Commissioners or any imployed or to be imployed by them, to sequester the chief Mansion House of any Recusant or Recusants, having not been in Arms; or to debar the Lord of any Manor or Manors for the time being to enter into, or upon any Copyhold Estate of any Recusant or Recusants sequestred, or lyable to Sequestration as aforesaid; or to enable the said Commissioners or any to be imployed by them as aforesaid, to make sale of, or cut down any Timber or Timber-Trees, growing or standing upon any part of the two parts of any Recusant or Recusants Lands or Estates sequestered, or lyable to Sequestration as aforesaid.

Saving for Committees for sequestring scandalous and delinquent ministers and school masters.; Continuance of Act.

Provided, That this Act shall not extend to the taking away of any power given unto any Committee by any Order, Ordinance or Act of Parliament, for the sequestring and removing scandalous and Delinquent Ministers and School-masters, but that they shall and may execute all power and authority given unto them by such Order, Ordinances or Acts of Parliament in relation to the said service. Anything in this Act to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. Provided, That this Act continue in force for the space of Two years from the Three and twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord, One thousand six hundred forty and nine, and no longer.