Part 2

XII. And be it further enacted, That the respective Occupiers of Houses and other Buildings within the several Streets, and other publick Passages and Places aforesaid, shall, at their own Costs and Charges, within such Time and in such Manner as the said Commissioners shall from Time to Time (by Notice in Writing under their Hands, to be delivered to such respective Occupiers, or left at their respective Dwelling Houses) order and direct, cause all Signs belonging to, and which shall not be fixed or placed flat upon such respective Houses or other Buildings, to be taken down, and fixed or placed flat on the Fronts thereof; and all Sign Irons, Sign Posts, and other Posts, Penthouses, Spouts, Steps, Shop Windows and Cellar Windows, and other Incroachments, Obstructions, Projections, and Annoyances, which now or hereafter shall belong to such respective Houses or other Buildings, and which are or shall be incommodious to Foot Passengers, to be removed, altered, or reformed, and also to cause the Water to be conveyed from the Roofs, Cornices, and Penthouses of or belonging to such respective Houses or other Buildings, by proper and sufficient Pipes or Trunks, to be affixed to the Sides of such Houses and other Buildings respectively, and from thence by proper Drains into the common Drains or Sewers; and in case any such Occupier shall neglect or refuse so to do, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners to cause the same to be done, and to cause all the Costs and Charges attending the same to be levied by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of such Occupier, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Justice of the Peace for the County of _Middlesex_ (which Warrant such Justice is hereby required and authorized to grant), rendering the Overplus (if any) when demanded to the Person whose Goods and Chattels shall be so distrained and sold; and it the Tenant in Possession of any such House or other Building shall remove, alter, or reform any such Incroachments, Obstructions, Projections, or Annoyances as aforesaid, according to the Directions of the said Commissioners (except such as shall be put up or occasioned by such Tenant), it shall be lawful for every such Tenant to deduct and retain the Charges and Expences thereof out of his or her Rent, and the Landlord of every such House or other Building is hereby required to allow the same accordingly: Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to authorize the said Commissioners to stop up any Cellar Window, where there shall be no other Way from the Street or other publick Passage or Place into such Cellar, unless the said Commissioners shall make or provide some other commodious and sufficient Way into such Cellar.

Penalty on occasioning Nuisances.

XIII. And be it further enacted, That if any Person shall run or drive any Wheel, Sledge, Wheelbarrow, or any Carriage whatsoever, upon any of the said Foot Pavements; or shall wilfully ride, drive, or lead any Horse, or other Beast or Cattle, along or upon any of the said Foot Pavements; or shall within any Street, or other publick Passage or Place within the Limits of this Act, slaughter, dress, or cut up any Swine, or other Beast, or hoop, cleanse, or scald any Cask, or hew or saw any Stone, Wood, or Timber, or sift, skreen, or slack any Lime, or bind or make the Wheel of any Carriage, or shoe, bleed, dress, or farry, or turn or drive loose any Horse, or set, place, or expose to Sale any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize, either on the Foot Ways or Carriage Ways of any of the said Streets, or other publick Passages or Places, so as to obstruct or incommode the Passage of any such Foot Way or Carriage Way, every Person offending, in any of the Cases aforesaid, shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Shillings.

Penalty on leaving Carriages, &c. in the Streets.

XIV. And be it further enacted, That if any Waggon, Cart, or other Carriage, shall be left to stand or remain in any of the Streets, or other publick Passages or Places, within the Limits of this Act, with or without Horses or other Cattle, for any longer Time than shall be necessary for the loading or unloading thereof; or if any Stage Coach, Post Chaise, or other Carriage let to hire, shall be left to stand or remain in any such Street, Passage, or Place, with or without Horses, for any longer Time than shall be reasonable and necessary for taking up or setting down the Passengers, or for loading or unloading their Baggage (except in such Places as the said Commissioners shall appoint for the Handing of Coaches, Chaises, or other Carriages, which the said Commissioners are hereby authorized to do if they think proper); or if any Horse or other Cattle shall be suffered to stand at the Door or House of any Person so as to obstruct or incommode the Passage of any of the said Footways; or if any Timber, Bricks, Stones, Dung, Wood, Goods or other Things shall be said or placed and left to remain in any of the said Streets, or other publick Passages or Places, for any longer Time than shall be necessary for removing or housing the same; or if any Ashes, Rubbish, Dust, Dirt, or other Nuisance or Annoyance, shall be thrown, cast, or laid in any of the said Streets, or other publick Passages or Places, and suffered to remain for any longer Time than shall be necessary for removing the same; then and in every such Case the Owner or Driver of every such Carriage, and the Owner of such Timber or other Things aforesaid, and the Person who shall throw, cast, or lay any Dung, Ashes, Rubbish, Dust, Dirt, or other Nuisance or Annoyance at aforesaid, shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay the Sum of Five Shillings; and if any such Timber or other Things, or such Dung, Ashes, Rubbish, Dust, Dirt, or other Nuisance or Annoyance, shall be suffered to remain in any of the said Streets or other publick Passages or Places, longer than shall be necessary as aforesaid, the Surveyor to the said Commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered to cause the same to be removed to such Place as he shall think proper, and the Expence thereof shall be paid by the Person liable to the Payment of the said Penalty, and shall and may, in case of Nonpayment on Demand, be recovered in like Manner as any Penalty is herein-after authorized or directed to be recovered.

Hoards, &c. may be erected.

XV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That nothing herein-before contained shall hinder or prevent any Person from erecting or building any Hoard, or other Thing by way of Inclosure, for the Purpose of making Mortar, or depositing Bricks, or Stone, or working any Lime, Sand, or other Materials used in Building, or to subject him to any Penalty on account thereof, provided such Person shall have a Licence for that Purpose, under the Hand of the Surveyor to the said Commissioners (which Licence such Surveyor is hereby required forthwith to grant to any Person applying for the same, and for which he shall receive the Sum of One Shilling, and no more): Provided nevertheless, that if any Person shall erect any such Hoard or Inclosure of greater Dimensions, or shall suffer any Hoard or Inclosure to remain for any longer Time than shall be allowed in and by such Licence, every Person so offending shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay any Sum not exceeding Five Shillings for every Day such Hoard or Inclosure, or any Part thereof, shall be continued after Notice given by the Surveyor to take down and remove the same.

Watchman to be appointed.

XVI. And be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners may, and are hereby authorized and empowered, from Time to Time, to appoint such Number of Watchmen, to be employed within the Limits of this Act, for so long Time in the Night, under such Regulations, and for such Wages, as they shall think proper, and to provide proper Boxes or Places for their Reception, and also proper Arms and Weapons for the Discharge of their Duty; and if any Watchman appointed as aforesaid shall refuse or neglect to perform his Duty, or shall in anywise misbehave himself in the Execution of his Office, he shall forfeit and pay, for every such Offence, any Sum not exceeding Ten Shillings.

Duty of Watchmen.

XVII. And be it further enacted, That the Watchmen to be appointed and employed as aforesaid shall, during the Time of their being upon Duty, use their utmost Endeavours to prevent any Mischief by Fire, and also any Burglaries, Robberies, Affrays, and other Outrages and Disorders, within the Limits of this Act; and it shall be lawful for the said Watchmen, or any of them, and they are hereby respectively authorized and required, during the Time they are on Duty, to apprehend and secure all Malefactors, Rogues, Vagabonds, and other disorderly Persons, within the Limits of this Act, who shall disturb the publick Peace, or whom they shall have Cause to suspect of any evil Design, and to secure and keep in safe Custody every such Person, in order that he or she may be conveyed, as soon as conveniently may be, before some Justice of the Peace for the County of _Middlesex_, to be examined and dealt with according to Law; and if any Person or Persons shall assault or resist, or shall promote or encourage the assaulting or resisting, any of the said Watchmen in the Execution of their Duty, every such Person shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds; and if any Victualler or Keeper of any Publick House shall knowingly harbour or entertain any Watchman employed within the Limits of this Act, or permit or suffer any such Watchman to be and remain in his House during any Part of the Time appointed for his being on Duty, every Victualler or Keeper of such Publick House shall, for every such Offence, forfeit and pay any Sum not exceeding Twenty Shillings.

Power to water the Streets.

XVIII. And, in order that the said Streets, and other publick Passages and Places, may be properly watered, be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall have full Power and Authority to cause such Number of Wells and Pumps to be dug, sunk, and made, in any of the said Streets, or other publick Passages or Places, as they shall think proper, and from Time to Time to alter the same as they shall see Occasion; provided that no such Well or Pump shall be sunk or made so as to injure any House or other Building, or any Vault or Cellar under any of the said Streets, or other publick Passages or Places: And it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners, if they think proper, to agree with the Owner of any private Ground, either within the Limits of this Act or elsewhere, or with any Water Company, for supplying Water, or for sinking or making any Wells or Pumps for the Purposes of this Act, at or for such Sum of Money or annual Rent, as the said Commissioners shall judge reasonable.

Annual Sum to be paid to the Surveyors of the Highways for the Parish, in lieu of the Highway Rate.

XIX. And whereas, previous to the erecting any Buildings upon the Ground within the Limits of this Act, the same was rated and assessed to the Repairs of the Highways, within the said Parish of _Saint Luke Chelsea_, at or about the annual Sum of Four Pounds, be it therefore further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall, and are hereby authorized and required, out of the Money arising by virtue of this Act, to pay to the Surveyors of the Highways for the said Parish of _Saint Luke Chelsea_, or any of them, the Sum of Four Pounds upon the Twenty-ninth Day of _September_ in every Year, the First Payment thereof to be made upon the Twenty-ninth Day of _September_ One thousand seven hundred and ninety; which annual Payment shall be in lieu and in full Satisfaction and Discharge of and for all Statute Duty and Composition, or other Payment, Charge, or Expence upon, for, or towards the repairing, or on Account of any Defect in the Repairs of the Highways within any Part of the said Parish of _Saint Luke Chelsea_, not being within the Limits of this Act; and in case such annual Sum shall at any Time be in Arrear for the Space of Thirty Days after the same shall become due and be demanded, the same shall and may be recovered from the Treasurer to the said Commissioners, in like Manner as any Penalty is herein-after authorized or directed to be recovered.

The Streets and Highways within the Limits of the act to be repaired distinct from the other Parts of the Parish.

XX. And be it further enacted, That none of the Inhabitants of any Streets, or other publick Passages or Places within the Limits of this Act, shall be subject or liable to the Performance of any Statue Work, or to the Payment of any Rate, Assessment, or Sum of Money, other than the said annual Sum of Four Pounds, for or towards repairing, or on account of any Defect in the Repairs of the Highways within any Part of the said Parish of _Saint Luke_ (not being within the Limits of this Act); and that it shall not be lawful for any Surveyor of the Highways within the said Parish to use or exercise any Power, Jurisdiction, or Authority whatsoever, within the Limits of this Act; and that none of the Inhabitants of any other Part of the said Parish of _Saint Luke_ shall be subject to the Performance of any Statute Duty, or to any Composition in lieu thereof, or to any other Charge or Expence, for or towards the repairing or amending, or on at count of any Street or Highway within the Limits of this Act; any Law, Statute, or Custom to the contrary hereof notwithstanding.

Money to be raised by a Rate.

XXI. And, for raising Money to enable the said Commissioners to carry the several Purposes of this Act into Execution, be it further enacted, That the said Commissioners shall, and are hereby authorized and empowered, Once in every Year, between _Lady Day_ and _Midsummer Day_, to rate and assess such Sums of Money as they shall from Time to Time judge necessary, upon the respective Occupiers of the several Houses, and other Buildings, Lands, and Grounds, within the Limits of this Act, not exceeding Two Shillings and Sixpence in the Pound of the annual Value of such respective Houses and other Buildings, with the Gardens and Yards hereunto belonging or held therewith, and not exceeding One Shilling in the Pound of the annual Value of the other Lands or Grounds within the said Limits; such respective annual Values to be ascertained by the respective Sums the same shall be rated to the Relief of the Poor, or in such other Manner as the said Commissioners shall think proper; and the Full Year for which such Rates or Assessments shall be made shall commence upon the Twenty-fourth Day of _June_ One thousand seven hundred and ninety; and the Money so rated and assessed shall from Time to Time be paid to the Collectors to be appointed as aforesaid, at such Time or Times in every Year, and in such Manner, as the said Commissioners shall order and direct, and shall be paid over by such Collectors into the Hands of the Treasurer to the said Commissioners.

Empty Houses to be charged with Half Rates.

XXII. Provided always, That where any of the said Houses or other Buildings, after the same shall have been Once inhabited or occupied, shall at the Time of making any of the said Rates or Assessments be empty or unoccupied, then and in every such Case it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners to rate and assess such Premises respectively at One Half of such Rates or Assessments, and no more, during the Time only such Premises shall be empty or unoccupied; and also in case any such Premises, after the making of any such Rate or Assessment, shall become empty or unoccupied, One Half only of such Rate or Assessment shall be charged on such Premises respectively, for and during so long Time as the same shall continue empty or unoccupied; and than and in every such Case the said Rate or Assessment, and all Arrears due thereon, shall be paid by the Person or Persons for the Time being entitled to such Premises, or by the First or any other Tenant or Occupier thereof, and every such Tenant or Occupier shall and may and is hereby authorized to deduct and retain the same out of his or her Rent, and the Person or Persons for the Time being entitled to such Premises is and are hereby required to allow such Deduction; and that where any House, Building, Tenement, or Hereditament, in respect whereof any Rate or Assessment shall be made as aforesaid, shall be let to more than One Tenant, any One or more of such Tenants shall be deemed the Occupier or Occupiers thereof for the Purposes of this Act.

Proportion of Rates to be paid by Persons removing.

XXIII. Provided also, That in all Cases where any Person shall remove from or quit any House, Building, Tenement, or Hereditament, which shall be rated or assessed by virtue of this Act, such Person shall be liable to such Rate or Assessment in Proportion to the Time that he or she occupied the same; and in all Cases where any Person shall come into or occupy any House, Building, Tenement, or Hereditament, rated or assessed as aforesaid, out of or from which any other Person, who shall have been rated or assessed for the same, shall be removed, or which at the Time of making any Rate or Assessment was empty or unoccupied, the Person coming into or occupying the same shall be liable to pay such Rate or Assessment in respect thereof in Proportion to the Time that he or she occupied the same; which said respective Proportions, in case of Dispute, shall be settled and ascertained by the said Commissioners.

Recovery of Rates.

XXIV. And be it further enacted, That in case any Person who shall be rated or assessed, or subject or liable to the Payment of any Rate or Assessment by virtue of this Act, shall refuse or neglect to pay any such Rate or Assessment to any Collector to be appointed as aforesaid, for the Space of Ten Days after personal Demand thereof made, or Demand in Writing left at the usual or last Place of Abode of such Person, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace for the County of _Middlesex_, upon Proof made upon Oath of such Demand and Nonpayment, by Warrant under his Hand and Seal, to authorize and direct the said Collector to levy such Rate or Money so in Arrear, together with the Costs and Charges attending the same, to be ascertained by such Justice, by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of the Person so refusing or neglecting to pay as aforesaid, rendering the Overplus (if any) to the Owner of such Goods and Chattels, on Demand.

Landlords to bear so much of the Rate as shall exceed 2_s._

XXV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That whenever the said Rates or Assessments shall in any Year exceed Two Shillings in the Pound of the annual Value of the said Houses and other Buildings, and the Gardens and Yards thereunto belonging, or held therewith as aforesaid, so much of the said Rates or Assessments as shall exceed Two Shillings in the Pound of the annual Value of such of the said Houses and other Buildings, Gardens, and Yards, as shall be occupied by Tenants at Rack Rent, or at the full improved annual Value, shall be borne by their respective Landlords, and such respective Tenants shall and may, and are hereby authorized to deduct and retain the same out of their respective Rents, and their Landlords are hereby required to allow such Deduction.

Commissioners may borrow Money, and assign the Rates as a Security.

XXVI. And, for the more speedy raising Money for the Purposes of this Act, be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners, and they are hereby empowered from Time to Time to borrow and take up at Interest any Sum or Sums of Money upon the Credit of the Rates or Assessments herein before granted, and by Writing under their Hands and Seals to mortgage or assign over the said Rates or Assessments, to the Person or Persons who shall advance or lend such Money, or his or their Trustee or Trustees, as a Security for the Money so to be borrowed, together with the Interest for the same; and every such Assignment shall be in the Words or to the Effect following, (_videlicet_).

Form of Assignment.

BY virtue of an Act of Parliament, made in the Thirtieth Year of the Reign of King _George_ the Third, intituled [_set forth the Title of the Act_], we . . . . . . of the Commissioners appointed by virtue of the said Act, in consideration of the Sum of . . . . . . advanced and lent by _A. B._ to _C. D._ the Treasurer appointed in pursuance of the said Act, upon the Credit, and for the Purposes of the said Act, do grant and assign unto the said _A. B._ his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, such Proportion of the Rates or Assessments arising by virtue of the said Act, at the said Sum of . . . . . . doth or shall bear to the whole Sum which is or shall be borrowed upon the Credit of the said Act, to be had and holden from this . . . . . . Day of . . . . . . until the said Sum of . . . . . . with Interest, at . . . . . . _per Centum per Annum_ for the same, to be paid half-yearly, shall be repaid and satisfied. In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our Hands and Seals, this . . . . . . Day of . . . . . .

And every such Assignment shall be good, valid, and effectual in the Law.

Money may be raised by Annuities.

XXVII. Provided always, That in case the said Commissioners shall think it advisable to raise all or any Part of the Money necessary for the Purposes of this Act by the granting of Annuities for Lives, then it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, by Writing under their Hands and Seals, to grant Annuities to any Person or Persons who shall contribute, advance, and pay into the Hands of the Treasurer to the said Commissioners any Sum or Sums of Money for the absolute Purchase of any Annuity, to be paid and payable during the natural Life of every such Contributor, or the natural Life of such Person as shall be nominated by or on the Behalf of such Contributor at the Time of the Payment of his or her Contribution or Purchase Money, and either with or without Benefit of Survivorship, as the said Commissioners shall think proper, so that no such Annuity do exceed the Rate of Ten Pounds for One hundred Pounds for a Year; and the Grant of every such Annuity shall be in the Words or to the Effect following; _videlicet_,

Form of Grant.

WE . . . . . . of the Commissioners appointed by or in pursuance of an Act of Parliament, made in the Thirtieth Year of the Reign of King _George_ the Third, intituled, [_set forth the Title of the Act_], in Consideration of the Sum of . . . . . . paid by _A. B._ to the Treasurer appointed in pursuance of the said Act, do hereby grant unto the said _A. B._ his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, an Annuity or yearly Sum of . . . . . . out of the Rates or Assessments arising by virtue of the said Act; which Annuity or yearly Sum of shall be paid to the said _A. B._ his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, at . . . . . . upon the . . . . . . in every Year during . . . . . . and the First Payment thereof shall be made upon the . . . . . . Day of . . . . . . next ensuing the Date of these Presents. In Witness whereof we have hereunto for our Hands and Seals, the . . . . . . Day of . . . . . . in the Year of our Lord . . . . . .