Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1834 c. 76 |
| Year | 1834 |
(4 & 5 Will. 4) C A P. LXXVI.
[14th August 1834]
'WHEREAS it is expedient to alter and amend the Laws relating to the Relief of poor Persons inEngland and Wales: ' Be it therefore enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliamentassembled, and by the Authority of the same, That it shall be lawful for His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, by Warrant under the Royal Sign Manual, to appoint Three fit Persons to be Commissioners to carry this Act into execution, and also from Time to Time, at pleasure, to remove any of the Commissioners for the Time being, and upon every or any Vacancy in the said Number of Commissioners, either by Removal or by Death or otherwise, to appoint some other fit Person to the said Office; and until such Appointment it shall be lawful for the surviving or continuing Commissioners or Commissioner to act as if no such Vacancy had occurred.
II Style of Commissioners;
II. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall be styled ‘The Poor Law Commissioners forEngland and Wales;’ and the said Commissioners, or any Two of them, may sit, from Time to Time as they deem expedient, as a Board of Commissioners for carrying this Actinto execution; and the said Commissioners acting as such Board shall be and are hereby empowered, by Summons under their Hands and Seal, to require the Attendance of all such Persons as they may think fit to call before them upon any Question or Matter connected with or relating to the Administration of the Laws for the Relief of the Poor, and also to make any Inquiries and require any Answer or Returns as to any such Question or Matter, and also to administer Oaths, and examine all such Persons upon Oath, and to require and enforce the Production upon Oath of Books, Contracts, Agreements, Accounts, and Writings, or Copies thereof respectively, in anywise relating to any such Question or Matter; or, in lieu of requiring such Oath as aforesaid, the said Commissioners may, if they think fit, require any such Person to make and subscribe a Declaration of the Truth of the Matters respecting which he shall have been or shall be so examined: Provided always, that no such Person shall be required, in obedience to any such Summons, to go or travel more than Ten Miles from the Place of his Abode: Providedalso, that nothing herein contained shall extend or be deemed to extend to authorize or empower the said Commissioners to act as a Court of Record, or to require the Production of the Title, or of any Papers or Writings relating to the Title of any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments not being the Property of any Parish or Union.
III To have a Common Seal, and Rules, &c. purporting to be sealed to be received as Evidence.
III. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall cause to be made a Seal of the said Board, and shall cause to be sealed or stamped therewith all Rules, Orders, and Regulations made by the said Commissioners in pursuance of this Act; and all such Rules, Orders, and Regulations, or Copies thereof, purporting to be sealed or stamped with the Seal of the said Board, shall be received as Evidence of the same respectively, without any further Proof thereof; and no such Rule, Order, or Regulation, or Copy thereof, shall be valid, or have any Force or Effect, unless the same shall be so sealed or stamped as aforesaid.
IV Commissioners to record their Proceedings.
IV. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall make a Record of their Proceedings, in which shall be entered in Writing a Reference to every Letter received, from whence, its Date, the Date of its Reception, and the Subject to which it relates, and a Minute of every Letter written or Order given by the said Commissioners, whether in answer to such Letters received or otherwise, with the Date of the same, and a Minute of the Opinion of each of the Members of the Board of Commissioners, in case they should finally differ in Opinion upon any Order to be given or other Proceeding of the Board; and such Record shall be submitted to One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State once in every Year, or as often as he shall require the same.
V Commissioners to make a general Report to the Secretary of State yearly;
V. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall, once in every Year, submit to One of the Principal Secretaries of State a general Report of their Proceedings; and every such general Report shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within Six Weeks after the Receipt of the same by such Principal Secretary of State, if Parliament be then sitting, or if Parliament be not sitting then within Six Weeks after the next Meeting thereof.
VI and to report to Secretary of State when required.
VI. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall from Time to Time, at such Times as any One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State shall direct, give to the Principal Secretary of State requiring the same such Information respecting their Proceedings, or any Part thereof, as the said Principal Secretary of State shall require.
VII Power to appoint Assistant Commissioners; and to remove same.
VII. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall and they are hereby empowered from Time to Time to appoint such Persons as they may think fit to be Assistant Commissioners for carrying this Act into execution, at such Places and in such Manner as the said Commissioners may direct, and to remove such Assistant Commissioners, or any of them, at their Discretion, and on every or any Vacancy in the said Office of Assistant Commissioner, by Removal or by Death or otherwise, to appoint, if they see fit, some other Person to the said Office: Providedalways, that it shall not be lawful for the said Commissioners to appoint more than Nine such Assistant Commissioners to act at any one Time, unless the Lord High Treasurer, or the Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury for the Time being, or any Three or more of them, shall consent to the Appointment of a greater Number.
VIII Commissioners not to sit in Parliament.
VIII. And be it further enacted, That no Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner appointed as aforesaid shall during his Continuance in such Appointment be capable of being elected or sitting as a Member of the House of Commons.
IX Commissioners to appoint Secretary, Assistant Secretary or Secretaries, Clerks, and other Officers.
IX. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners may and they are hereby empowered from Time to Time to appoint a Secretary, Assistant Secretary or Secretaries, and all such Clerks, Messengers, and Officers as they shall deem necessary, and from Time to Time, at the Discretion of the said Commissioners, to remove such Secretary, Assistant Secretary or Secretaries, Clerks, Messengers, and Officers, or any of them, and to appoint others in their Stead: Provided always, that the Amount of the Salaries of such Secretary, Assistant Secretary or Secretaries, Clerks, Messengers, and Officers shall from Time to Time be regulated by the Lord High Treasurer, or the Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, or any Three or more of them.
X Appointment of Commissioners, &c. limited to Five Years.
X. And be it further enacted, That no Commissioner to be appointed by His Majesty, nor any Assistant Commissioner, Secretary, or other Officer or Person to be appointed by the said Commissioners, under and by virtue of the Provisions of this Act, shall continue to hold his respective Office or exercise any of the Powers given by this Act for a longer Period than Five Years next after the Day of the passing of this Act, and thenceforth until the End of the then next Session of Parliament; and from and after the Expiration of the said Period of Five Years, and of the then next Session of Parliament, so much of this Act as enables His Majesty to appoint any Commissioner or Commissioners shall cease to operate or have any Effect whatever.
XI Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners to take Oath.
XI. And be it further enacted, That every Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner to be appointed from Time to Time as aforesaid shall, before he shall enter upon the Execution of his Office, take the following Oath before One of the Judges of His Majesty's Courts of King's Bench or Common Pleas, or One of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer; (that is to say,)
'IA.B. do swear, That I will faithfully, impartially, and honestly, according to the best of my Skill and Judgment, execute and fulfil all the Powers and Duties of a Commissioner [or Assistant Commissioner, as the Case may be ,] under an Act passed in the Fifth Year of the Reign of King William the Fourth, intituled [here set forth the Title of this Act ].'
And the Appointment of every such Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner, together with the Time when and the Judge or Baron before whom he shall have taken the Oath aforesaid, shall be forthwith published in theLondon Gazette; and a Notification of such Appointment and of the taking of such Oath shall from Time to Time...
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