Part 5
XXV. And be it further enacted, That if at any Time or Times during the Continuance of any Lease or Leases of the inclosed Area of the said Square, any Person or Persons shall, without the Consent in Writing of the said Trustees, make or cause to be made, or shall sell or cause to be sold, or shall offer for Sale any Key or Keys for unlocking or opening the Gates of the inclosed Area of the said Square, or any of them, or if any Person or Persons shall knowingly purchase or use any Key or Keys so unlawfully made or sold, every such Person shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay a Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds, and it shall be lawful for the said Trustees or any of them, or any Person or Persons in their Service or Employ, or acting under their Authority, to seize and to detain and keep or to destroy every such Key.
XXVI. And be it further enacted, That to enable the said Trustees to carry this Act into Execution it shall be lawful for them from Time to Time to make such Rates as they shall deem needful upon the Tenants and Occupiers of all Lands, Houses, Shops, Coach-houses, Stables, Erections, Buildings, and other Tenements whatsoever within the Jurisdiction of this Act, in such Sums of Money as the said Trustees shall think proper, so that such Rates shall be just and equal Pound Rates, according to the annual Rent or Value of the Premises thereby assessed, and so that the Costs and Expences of and incident to the enclosed Area of the said Square shall be wholly borne by the Tenants and Occupiers of Houses in the said Square, and so that in every such Rate it shall distinctly appear what Part thereof shall be raised in respect of the said last-mentioned Costs and Expences, and so that the said Rates shall not in any One Year exceed the Sum of Two Shillings in the Pound of the annual Rent or Value of the Property rated, except as to Houses in the said Square, after such Lease of the enclosed Area of the said Square shall be obtained as aforesaid, and during the Continuance of every such Lease, and so that in the last-mentioned Cases the Rates in respect of the Houses in the said Square shall not in any One Year exceed the Sum of Two Shillings and Sixpence in the Pound of the Rent or annual Value thereof; and in making the said Rates, all Stables, Coach-houses, and other Buildings which shall belong to or be held and occupied with any of the Houses in the said Square, and within the Jurisdiction of this Act, shall be respectively rated with such Houses, and not as separate Buildings; and to facilitate the making of the said Rates, it shall be lawful for the said Trustees, or any Person or Persons appointed by them, at all seasonable Times to examine the Books of Assessment to any Public, Parliamentary. Parochial, or Local Tax charged upon or affecting the Houses, Buildings, or Tenements within the Jurisdiction of this Act, or any of them.
XXVII. And be it further enacted, That in every Rate to be made as aforesaid, the Landlord or Proprietor of every House or Tenement within the Jurisdiction of this Act, which shall be occupied by any Ambassador, Foreign Minister, or other Person not compellable by Law to pay such Rate, shall be deemed to be and shall be rated as the Occupier thereof respectively.
XXVIII. And be it further enacted, That whenever any House within the Jurisdiction of this Act shall be let out ready furnished, or shall be let out, furnished or unfurnished, in separate Tenements, or wholly or in part to a Lodger or Lodgers, the Landlord or Owner, being the Person or Persons claiming or receiving the Rent payable by the Occupier or Occupiers of every such furnished House, Tenement, or furnished Lodging respectively, shall be deemed to be and shall be rated as the Occupier thereof: Provided always, that the Goods and Chattels of every Occupier of any such ready-furnished House or separate Tenement or Lodging, shall (without Prejudice to the Liability of the Person or Persons so rated) be liable to be distrained for raising such Rates, and all Arrears thereof, so that in no Case any greater Sum shall be levied by Distress of the Goods and Chattels of any such Occupier than shall at the Time of making such Distress be actually due from such Occupier for the Rent of the Premises in which such Distress shall be made: Provided also, that every such Occupier who shall pay any such Rate or Rates, or upon whose Goods and Chattels the same shall be levied, shall and may deduct the Amount of the Sum or Sums which shall be so paid or levied out of any Rent payable by such Occupier to the Person or Persons rated; and such Payment shall be a sufficient Discharge to every such Occupier for so much of such Rent accordingly.
XXIX. And be it further enacted, That every Rate which shall be made for the Purposes of this Act may from Time to Time be altered and amended by the said Trustees at any Meeting pursuant to this Act, either by inserting the Name or Names of any Person or Persons who ought to have been rated or who shall have come into the Possession of any rated or rateable House, Building, or Tenement during the Time for which any Rate may be payable, or by striking out the Name or Names of any Person or Persons who ought not to have been rated, or by raising or lowering the Sum or Sums charged upon any Person or Persons, or by apportioning between any outgoing and incoming Tenant any Sum or Sums which shall be charged upon either in such Rate or otherwise as the said Trustees shall think necessary for making such Rate a just and equal Rate; and the Monies charged to any Person or Persons in consequence of any such Alteration or Amendment may be recovered and levied in the same Manner as if such Alteration or Amendment had been an original Insertion.
XXX. And be it further enacted, That the first Rate which shall be made by virtue of this Act shall be for Two Quarters ending at _Christmas Day_ next after the passing of this Act, and that every subsequent Rate shall be for One whole Year, commencing from the Expiration of the Term for which the preceding Rate shall have been made; and that all the said Rates shall become due and be payable immediately upon the making thereof, but may be collected in one or several Payments, or yearly, half-yearly, or quarterly, as the said Trustees shall from Time to Time direct; and that such Rates and all other Monies which shall become due or be payable to the said Trustees in pursuance of the Provisions in this Act contained shall be and are hereby vested in the said Trustees, and shall be paid to such Person or Persons as the said Trustees shall from Time to Time appoint to collect and receive the same, and shall be applied and disposed of by the said Trustees in defraying the Expences of and incident to the Execution of this Act, and otherwise as in or by this Act is directed or authorized.
XXXI. And be it further enacted, That if any Person or Persons liable to pay any Rate or Rates which shall be made in pursuance of this Act, or any Part or Parts of any such Rate or Rates, shall refuse or neglect to pay the same, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace for the County of _Middlesex_, and every such Justice is hereby authorized and empowered (such Defaulter having been first duly summoned to appear before such Justice or Justices to shew Cause for such Refusal or Neglect, and not having appeared upon such Summons, or having appeared and not shewn good and sufficient Cause to such Justice that he, she, or they, is or are not chargeable with such Rate or Rates) to grant a Warrant under his Hand and Seal, authorizing the Person appointed to collect the same Rates as aforesaid, or any other Person or Persons, to levy such Rate or Rates, and all Arrears thereof, together with all incidental Coats and Expences, by Distress of the Goods and Chattels of the Person or Persons so neglecting or refusing; and if the said Rate or Rates, and all Arrears thereof, together with all such Costs as aforesaid, and also all Costs of and incident to the taking and detaining the Distress, shall not be paid within Five Days next after the Distress shall be taken, the Person appointed to collect the said Rates, or other Person authorized by the said Warrant, shall cause the Goods and Chattels distrained to be appraised and sold, or such Part thereof as shall be sufficient to pay the said Rate or Rates, and all Arrears thereof, and all such Costs and Expences as aforesaid, and the Costs and Expences of keeping, appraising, and selling the Distress, and after full Payment of the same, shall return the Overplus (if any) to the Owner or Owners of such Goods and Chattels respectively, on Demand made thereof by such Owner or Owners; and in default of such Distress it shall be lawful for any such Justice to commit the Person or Persons so neglecting or refusing to pay such Rate or Rates, and all Arrears thereof, and all attendant and incidental Costs and Expences as aforesaid, to the Common Gaol or House of Correction, there to remain without Bail or Mainprize for any Time not exceeding Six Calendar Months, unless Payment shall be sooner made of such Rate or Rates, and all Arrears thereof as aforesaid, together with all Costs and Expences attendant upon and incident to the Recovery thereof (such Costs and Expences to be ascertained and determined by such Justice); and subject and without Prejudice to the Powers and Remedies herein before provided for the Recovery of the said Rates, the said Trustees may sue for and recover the same, with full Costs of Suit, in any Court of Request, or by Action of Debt in any of His Majesty’s Courts of Record; and in every such Action it shall be sufficient to declare that the Defendant is indebted to the Plaintiff in the Sum sought to be recovered by virtue of a Rate (or of several Rates, as the Case may require) made in pursuance of this Act.
XXXII. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said Trustees to borrow at Interest, or to raise by the Sale of One or more Annuity or Annuities for a Life or Lives (subject to the Restrictions herein-after contained), any Sum or Sums of Money which the said Trustees shall from Time to Time require, in or about the Execution of this Act; and the said Trustees shall make and deliver to the Person or Persons from whom any Money shall be so borrowed One or more Promissory Note or Notes in the Form or to the Effect following, to the Amount of the Money so borrowed; namely,
‘THE Trustees for regulating and improving _Brompton Square_ and certain adjacent Places, acting in the Execution of an Act of the Fifth Year of King _George_ the Fourth, intituled [_here insert the Title of this Act_], hereby promise to pay to — —, — — Executors or Administrators, or — — or their Order, by Indorsement hereon, out of the Rates to be made in pursuance of the said Act, the Sum of — Pounds on the — Day of — [_here name a Day for the Payment of the Money_, _not being less than Five Years nor more than Fifteen Years from the Date of the Note_], and also Interest for the same from the Date hereof, at the Rate of — _per Centum per Annum_, by half-yearly Payments, on every — Day of — and — Day — in the meantime. In witness whereof Three of the said Trustees have hereunto subscribed their Names, the — Day of —.’
And the said Trustees shall also make and deliver to the Purchaser or Purchasers of every such Annuity, a Grant thereof in the Form or to the Effect following:
‘THE Trustees for regulating and improving _Brompton Square_ and certain adjacent Places, acting in the Execution of an Act of the Fifth Year of King _George_ the Fourth, intituled [_here insert the Title of this Act_] in consideration of the Sum of — paid to them by — of — do hereby grant to — an Annuity of — a Year during —, and to be paid half-yearly on the — Day of — and the — Day of — out of the Rates to be made in pursuance of the said Act. In witness whereof Three of the said Trustees have hereunto set and affixed their Hands and Seals, the Day — of —.’
And the Money expressed to be made payable in every such Promissory Note as aforesaid, and the Interest thereof, and also every Annuity which shall be granted as aforesaid, shall be and are hereby respectively charged upon and made payable out of the Rates to be made by virtue of this Act, and shall be paid accordingly; and every such Promissory Note shall be transferable by Indorsement and Delivery, in the same Manner as any other Promissory Note is by Law transferable; and every such Annuity shall be and be deemed Personal Estate; but no such Annuity shall be granted for the Lives of more than Two Persons, or be made to depend on the Life or Lives of any Person on Persons who at the Time of granting such Annuity shall be under the Age of Thirty-five Years, nor shall any such Annuity be granted so as to produce to the Purchaser an Income exceeding by more than One-fifth the Income which a Sum equal in Amount to the Purchase Money for the same would produce if then invested in the Purchase of a similar Annuity, according to the Rate prescribed by Two several Acts, one made in the Forty-eighth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King _George_ the Third, intituled _An Act to enable the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to grant Life Annuities_, and the other made in the Fifty-second Year of the Reign of His said late Majesty, intituled _An Act for amending Two Acts passed in the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Years of His present Majesty_, _for enabling the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to grant Life Annuities_; and none of the said Trustees shall be personally liable for the Payment of any Promissory Note or Annuity to be issued or granted in pursuance of this Act.
XXXIII. And be it further enacted, That the Names of the Trustees present at each Meeting in pursuance of this Act, and also all their Orders and Proceedings at each such Meeting, shall be entered in a Book or Books to be kept for that Purpose; and the Entry of the Proceedings at each Meeting shall be signed by the Chairman at the next Meeting, and such Entries being so signed shall be deemed Originals, and may be read in evidence in all Courts whatsoever.
XXXIV. And be it further enacted, That if any Person or Persons shall beat or dust, or cause to be beat or dusted, any Carpet or Carpets, or shall slack, sift, or screen, or cause to be slacked, sifted, or screened, any Lime or Rubbish, or shall mix any Mortar, or shall make or assist in making any Bonfire, or shall discharge any Fireworks, or play at Football, or any other Game in the said Square, or any Part thereof; or if any Person or Persons shall set or place or cause to be set or placed any Timber, Bricks, Stone, Lime, Mortar, or other Building Materials, or any Stall, Stallboard, or Basket, or any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize whatsoever, or any Mud, Dirt, Sand, Rubbish, Filth, Dung, Ashes, or Dust, upon any Footway or Carriageway within the Jurisdiction of this Act; or if any Person or Persons shall run, drive, or place, or cause to be run, driven, or placed, any Coach, Chaise, Waggon, Cart, Truck, Wheelbarrow, or other Carriage whatsoever, upon any Footway within the Jurisdiction of this Act; or if any Person or Persons shall cause or wilfully permit or suffer any Horse or other Beast or Cattle, which such Person or Persons may be riding, driving, or leading, to go upon any such Footway, or shall tie or fasten any Horse or other Beast or Cattle to any House, Wall, Fence, Post, Rail, or other Thing whatsoever, across any Footway or Carriageway within the Jurisdiction of this Act; or if any Person or Persons shall place or put out, or cause or permit to be placed or put out upon or before any House or Building next or towards any Footway within the Jurisdiction of this Act, any Garden or other Pot or Tub (except such Pot or Tub shall by Iron Rails or Bars be perfectly secured from falling); or if any Person or Persons shall lead or drive any Horse or other Beast in any Part of the said Square, either with or without any Carriage, for the Purpose of breaking, exercising, trying, or offering for Sale any such Horse or other Beast; or if any Person or Persons shall empty or begin to empty any Boghouse, or to take away any Night Soil from any House or Place within the Jurisdiction of this Act, or shall come with Carts or Carriages for that Purpose (except between the Hours of Twelve of the Clock at Night and Five of the Clock in the Morning); or if any Person or Persons shall occasion any other Kind of Obstruction or Annoyance whatsoever, in or upon any of the Footways or Carriageways within the Jurisdiction of this Act, or shall obstruct or incommode, hinder or prevent, the free Passage of any such Footway or Carriageway, or prejudice or annoy in any Manner whatsoever any Person or Persons travelling, passing, or going thereon; or if any Person or Persons shall breed, feed, or keep any Kind or Species of Swine in any House or Building within the Jurisdiction of this Act, or within any Yard, Garden, or other Tenement held with any such House or Building; every such Person shall forfeit and pay a Sum not exceeding Five Pounds for every such Offence.
XXXV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That no Person shall be subject to any Penalty on account of any Rubbish, Building Materials, or Scaffolding, being necessarily deposited or fixed in or upon any Footway or Carriageway, before any House or Building which shall be pulling down, rebuilding, or under Repair, so that the same be properly enclosed, and convenient Space left for Carriages to pass and repass with ease and Safety, and so that a sufficient Light be kept up and maintained there from Sun-set to Sun-rise, to prevent Accidents, and so that all such Rubbish, Building Materials, Enclosures, and Scaffolding respectively, be removed within a reasonable Time after such pulling down, rebuilding, or repairing shall be finished, or upon Notice signed by the Clerk to the said Trustees, and given to the Owner or Occupier of the House or Building which shall be so pulling down, rebuilding, or under Repair, or affixed upon some conspicuous Part of such House, Building, Enclosure, or Scaffolding: Provided also, that in case any Person or Persons so depositing or affixing or causing to be deposited or affixed any such Rubbish, Building Materials, or Scaffolding as aforesaid, in or upon any of the said Footways or Carriageways as aforesaid, shall not properly enclose the same, and leave convenient Space for Carriages to pass and repass with Ease and Safety as aforesaid, and also keep up a good and sufficient Light there from Sun-set to Sun-rise, so as to prevent Accidents, or shall not remove any such Rubbish, Building Materials, or Scaffolding upon such Notice as aforesaid, every Person making default in any of the Cases aforesaid shall forfeit and pay a Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds.
XXXVI. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any Officer or Person employed in the Execution of this Act, without any other Warrantor Authority than this Act, to seize and detain, and for any other Person or Persons to assist in seizing and detaining any unknown Person or Persons who shall commit any Offence punishable under this Act, and to take such Offender or Offenders before a Justice of the Peace, in order to his or her Conviction for such Offence.
XXXVII. And be it further enacted, that if any Person or Persons shall obstruct, hinder, or molest the said Trustees or any of them, or any Officer or other Person whomsoever, who shall be employed or acting in the Execution of this Act, in the Performance of any Act, Matter, or Thing to be done by virtue of or under the Authority of this Act, or if any Person or Persons who shall be summoned to give Evidence before any Justice of the Peace touching or concerning any Offence or Matter punishable under this Act, shall not attend pursuant to such Summons, nor produce a sufficient Excuse to the Satisfaction of such Justice for his Non-attendance, every Person or Persons so offending shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay a Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds.
XXXVIII. And be it further enacted, That all Penalties and Forfeitures which shall be incurred under the Provisions herein-before contained, the Manner of levying or recovering whereof is not herein-before particularly directed, shall be recoverable before any Justice of the Peace for the County of _Middlesex_, upon Complaint made to any such Justice within Six Calendar Months next after the Offences respectively shall be committed; and it shall be lawful for every such Justice to whom such Complaint shall be made, to summon the Party or Parties complained against before him, and on such Summons to hear and determine the Matter of such Complaint, and on Proof of the Offence or Offences respectively, either by the Confession of the Offender or Offenders, or by the Oath of any credible Witness or Witnesses, to convict such Offender or Offenders, and to adjudge him or them to pay the Penalty or Forfeiture incurred, although no Information in Writing shall be exhibited before such Justice; and in every Case where any such Penalty or Forfeiture, together with all Costs of and incident to the Complaint, Summons, Hearing, and Conviction, shall not be forthwith paid by the Offender or Offenders at the Time of Conviction, such Penalty and also such Costs as aforesaid shall be levied by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of the Offender or Offenders, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of such Justice, (and which Warrant such Justice is hereby empowered and required to grant); and in every such Case it shall be lawful for such Justice to order the Offender or Offenders so convicted to be detained and kept in safe Custody until Return can conveniently be made to such Warrant of Distress, unless the Offender or Offenders shall give sufficient Security, to the Satisfaction of such Justice, for his or their Appearance before such Justice on such Day or Days as shall be appointed for the Return of such Warrant of Distress (not being more than Seven Days from the Time of taking such Security), and which Security the said Justice is hereby empowered to take by way of Recognizance or otherwise; and if upon the Return of such such Warrant it shall appear that no sufficient Distress can be had thereupon, or in case it shall appear to the Satisfaction of such Justice, either by the Confession of the Offender or Offenders or otherwise, that such Offender or Offenders hath or have not sufficient Goods and Chattels whereon such Penalties or Forfeitures with all Costs as aforesaid can be levied, if a Warrant of Distress were issued (in which Case it shall not be necessary to issue any Warrant of Distress), then and in every such Case it shall be lawful for such Justice to cause such Offender or Offenders to be committed to the Common Gaol or House of Correction, there to remain without Bail or Mainprize for any Term not exceeding Six Calendar Months, unless such Penalties and Forfeitures, and all attendant and incidental Costs, shall be sooner paid; and the Monies arising by such Penalties and Forfeitures respectively shall from Time to Time, in every Case where the Appropriation thereof is not herein-before otherwise directed, be paid to the Treasurer to the said Trustees, and (subject to the Power hereby given to the said Trustees to dispose of any Part or Parts thereof, not exceeding One Half, in rewarding the Informer or Informers, or any other Person or Persons who shall have aided in detecting or convicting the Offender or Offenders respectively) shall be applied and disposed of for the Purposes of this Act.