294 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



desirable practice, as giving to 

 such a part of the vestry as may 

 bear some analogy to the heritors 

 and kirk session of Scotland, a 

 practical and efficient discriminat- 

 ing power in granting relief, still 

 leaving an appeal to the |)etty 

 sessions oi>en, if the judgment of 

 such a body should be thought 

 erroneous. The heritors and kirk 

 session continue to perform the 

 duty of adjusting the list of the 

 poor ; and though, by 3 and 4 

 W. III. c. 11, the same duty has 

 been enjoined upon the parish- 

 ioners generally, and none but 

 those in such list are permitted 

 to a share of the assessment, ex- 

 cept by order of a ju-tice, your 

 committee believe that this pro- 

 vision has been so gei er.iUy neg- 

 lected, as to be almost forgotten. 



One of the cases in which such 

 a discriminating power may be 

 exercised with the greatest justice, 

 occurs not unfrequently where the 

 party is in present want, from 

 having squandered away eainings 

 that would nave afforded ample 

 means for the support of a family j 

 in such instances, in conformity 

 with this prii ciple, it might be 

 expedient that there shoidd be a 

 power to advance such sums as 

 may be necessary for the imme- 

 diate support of the family, by 

 way of loan only, to be repaid by 

 instalments, according to the dis- 

 cretion of the select vestry or mn- 

 gistnites ; such a piactice would 

 at least he attended with the ad- 

 vantage of securing inquiry and 

 discriminati(m. The application 

 of the same princijile to the wants 

 of persons who are in the receipt 

 of allowances from Chelsea and 

 Greenwich hospitals, leads the 

 committee to think it expedient to 



recommend, that, where any per* 

 son entitled to a pension or other 

 allowance from Chelsea or Green- 

 wich hospital, shall apply for 

 parish relief, the parish officers 

 may require, and any magistrate 

 may authorise and direct the as- 

 signment of such pension or al- 

 lowance for the reimbursement of 

 the paiish, su(;h assignment to be 

 made in a shoit fojni to be pre- 

 scribed, to be of one or more 

 quarterly payments, as the magis- 

 trate may think fit, regard being 

 had to the amoimt of the relief 

 ordered . The parish officers should 

 be required to give immediate 

 notice to the revenue officer of 

 the district who is authorised to 

 pav such pensions, and the parish 

 officers, or their successors, should 

 be authorised to receive the pay- 

 ments when due, according ti> the 

 tenor of the assignments, subject 

 to account with the pauper before 

 a magistrate. 



And as it might contribute ma- 

 terially to the comfort of the 

 persons entitled to such allow- 

 ances, and tend to prevent the 

 necessity for such applications on 

 their part for relief, if they were 

 enabled to receive tlie sums due 

 to them weekly inste.id of quar- 

 terly, it is recommended that 

 authority should be given by law 

 to any person ent'tled to a pension 

 or other pi-ovision fnmi Chelsea 

 or Greenwich hospital, to assign 

 such pension to the overseer of 

 the parish in which he may re ide, 

 and to provide that upon such as- 

 signment being made with the 

 approbation of a magistrate, and 

 registeied at Greenwicti or Chel- 

 sea, it shall be lawful for the 

 overseer to pay to such person out 

 of the poor rates a weekly allow- 

 ance 



