confirmed by two of his Maties. Justices of the peace
for this County, which method of a pound rate is
an Unusuall way & contrary to the method &
custome used & practiced in the said parish time
out of mind, & very unequall & oppressive to &
Upon the Inhitants there in the said parish In
regard the Inhitants of the sd. parish & occupiers
of Lands & tenemts. therein are not rated according
to their abilitys but unequally & disproportionably
and the rich are therein favoured & the poor appressed,
and many other persons pretended to be taxed &
rated in this rate at two shillings in the pound
according to the rent of their houses, are over rated
in pporcon to such their rents and that many
persons inhabiting in houses of fourty shillings three
pounds & four pounds P ann are now rated & taxed
which were never rated & taxed before by
reason of their poverty & to prevent their gaining
settlemts. & becomeing chargeable to the sd parish,
the rateing of which poor persons may bring a very
great charge upon the said parish and that many
Inhabitants of great substance live in houses of
small rents (very few houses in the sd parish
being above twenty pounds p and) are not
charged according to their abilitys, and divers
of the Appellants & other [..] Inhabitants there who
are poor Tradesmen & have large familys &
forced to live in large houses to mannage & carry
on their trades, are in & by this rate very much
over rated & oppressed and that the former method
used of makeing a discretionary rate upon all the
Inhitants of the said parish according to the antient
usage & custome there, will be much more equall
than a pound rate, And that the petrs. therefore
finding themselves aggreived by the sd rate
appealed against the same, And the petrs. praying
that the rate for the reasons aforesaid may be
quashed & Vacated, and that a more equall &
just rate may be made Upon all & every the
Inhabitants of the said parish for the releife of the
poor of the said parish according to the antient
Usage & custome there & according to the ability
of the Inhitants of the said parish, and thatthe petrs.
in the [..] time they have liberty to pouse & inspect
the said rate,and that the same [..] might be produced
at the hearing of the said appeale, And that the
petrs might be otherwise releived therein as to this
Court should seem meet, It was ordered by this
Court that the said william Collier< no role > Joseph Birch< no role >
Thomas Gibson< no role > & John pyther< no role > should attend this
Court with the poors rate above menconed to shew
cause why the same should not be quashed &
Vacated, and why a more equall & just rate
should not be made Upon all & every the
Inhitants of the sd parish for the releife of the
poor thereof, and why the petrs. should not be
releived in the premisses, And that the sd william Collier< no role >
Joseph Birch< no role > Thomas Gilson< no role > & John pyther< no role >
or some or one of them (if requested)
should in the mean time permitt the petrs: or some
or one of them to peruse & inspect the sd poors rate
and to take abstracts or coppys of such parts
thereof as they should think fitNow upon bearing
the matter of the said appeale & what was insisted on by Councell for the sd Appeatants and alsoe by
[..]
[..] Councell for the overseers