# Taxation (No. 8) Act 1640, Section XVIII: Assessors, Attornies, Factors, &c. after being charged with Receipt of Assessment, dying, or removing or concealing their Goods; or when Monies comprized in Estreat cannot be levied by Distress;


or where Distress cannot be sold; collector, &c. discharged, and Process out of the Exchequer, and the Commissioners may direct Precepts to Officer to levy such Money.; Who may distrain.; Distress kept, appraised and sold.; If Distress taken out of Limits assigned, Allowance.; Persons charged discharged by Distress.; Persons distrained having no Lands, &c.; Proceedings.; Imprisonment until Sums due, and also Fee for Arrest, paid.; Officer not executing Process,; Penalty 20s.; Gaoler suffering Escape,; Penalty 40s. and double Value of Rate and Fees.; Like Process for Subsidies due by any Persons charged for another unpaid.; In Default of Payment,; Imprisonment.; Certificate by Commissioners.; collectors, &c. disobeying Commissioners,; and Persons suspected to be not indifferently taxed, refusing to appear or be examined, or resisting, &c.; Penalty 40s. or under, at Discretion of Commissioners. ; Commissioners may punish by Imprisonment.
And be it alsoe by the said authority enacted that if any inhabitants or officers or whatsoever other person or persons charged to and for the collection and Receipt of any part or portion of the said payments by any manner of meanes according to this act or any person or persons for themselves or as Keeper Guardian Deputy Factor or Attorney of or for any other person or persons for any goods or chattels of the Owner thereof at the time of the said assessing to be paid being out of this Realme or in any other parts not knowne or of or for the goods and chattels of any other person or persons of any corporation fraternity mystery or other whatsoever communalty being corporate or not corporate and all persons having in theire rule governance and custody any goods or chattels at the time of the said assessing to be made or which for any cause for or by collection or for himselfe or for any other or by reason he hath any rule governance and custody of any goods or chattels of any other person or persons corporation communalty fraternity guild or mystery or any such other like or as Factor Deputy or Attorney of or for any person shall be taxed valued rated and set to any su[m]m or su[m]ms by reason of this act And if after the taxation and assessing upon any such person or persons as shall be charged with the Receipt of the same happen to dye or depart from the place where he was so taxed and set or his goods or chattels to be so eloyned or in such privy or covert manner kept as the same person or persons charged with the same by Estreats or other Writings from the said Commissioners or as many of them as shall be thereunto appointed by the said Commission as is aforesaid can ne may leavy the same su[m]m and su[m]ms comprised within the same Estreats by distresse within the limits of their collection as is aforesaid or cannot sell such distresse or distresses as be taken for any the said payments before the time limited to the high collector for his payment to be made as is afores[aid] then upon relac[i]on thereof with due examination by the oath or examinac[i]on of such person or persons as shall be charged with or for the receipt and collection of the same before the said Commissioners or as many of them as by the same Commission shall be thereunto appointed where such person or persons or other as is aforesaid theire goods and chattels were set and taxed and upon plain certificate thereof made by the said Commissioners as well of the dwelling place names and su[m]ms of the said persons of whom the said su[m]ms cannot be leavied and had as is aforesaid then as well the Constables and other Inhabitants appointed for the same particular collection against the High collector as the high collector upon his Accompt and Oath in the said Exchequer to be discharged thereof and processe to be made in the Kings Majestie name out of the same Exchequer by the direction of the Barons of the same Exchequer against such person his heires or executors so being behind with his payment And over that the same Commissioners to whom any such declaration of the premisses shall be made in form aforesaid from time to time shall have full power and authority to direct theire precept or precepts to the said person or persons charged with any su[m]m of for and upon any such person or persons or other as is aforesaid or to any Sheriffe Steward Bailiffe or other whatsoever Officer Minister person or persons of such place or places where any such person or persons so owing any such su[m]m or su[m]ms shall have Lands and Tenements and other Hereditaments or reall possessions goods and chattels whereby any such person or persons so indebted his heires executors or assignes or other having the custody governance or disposition of any goods or chattels lands tenements or other hereditaments which ought or may by this act be lawfully distreined or taken for the same hath and shall have Goods Chattels Lands Tenements or other possessions whereof such sum and su[m]ms which by any such person or persons may or ought to be leavyed be it within the limits of such Commission where such person or persons was or were taxed or without in any place within this realm of England Wales or other the Kings Majesties Dominions Marches or Territories by which Precept as well such person or persons shall be charged to leavie such Money as the Officer of the place or places where such distresse may be taken shall have full power and authority to distrein every such person indebted charged or chargeable by this act or his executors or administrators of his goods and chattels his guardians Factors deputies lessees farmours and assignes and all other persons by whose hands or out of whose Lands any such persons should have fee rent annuity or other profit or which at the time of the said assessing shall have goods or chattels or any other thing moveable of any such person or persons being indebted or owing such su[m]m and the distresses so taken cause to be kept appraised and sold in like manner and forme as is aforesaid for the distresse to be taken upon such persons to be taxed to the said Payments and being sufficient to distrein within the limits of the collectors Inhabitants or other Officers charged with or for the said su[m]ms so upon them to be taxed And if any such distresse for non payment happen to be taken out of the limit of the said persons charged and assigned to leavy the said sums as aforesaid the said persons so charged for the leavying of any such su[m]ms by distresse shall perceive and take of the same distresse for the labour of every person going for the execuc[i]on thereof for every mile that every person so laboureth for the same two pence And every farmour Guardian Tenant factour or other whatsoever person being distreined or other person charged for payment of any such su[m]m or su[m]ms or any other su[m]m by reason of this act shall be of such su[m]ms of him or them so leavied and taken discharged and acquitted at his next day of payment for the same or at the delivery of such goods and chattels as he that is so distreined had in his custody or governance against him or them that shall be so taxed and set (any grant or writing obligatory or other whatsoever matter to the contrary made heretofore notwithstanding) And if any such person that should be so distreined have no lands or tenements sufficient whereby he and his tenants and farmours may be distreined or have aliened or eloyned his goods and chattels whereby he should or might be distreined in such manner that such goods or chattels cannot be knowne or found so that the su[m]m by him to be paid in the said forme shall not neither can be conveniently leavied then upon relac[i]on thereof to the Commissioners or to as many of them as by the said Commission shall be thereunto appointed where such person or persons was taxed and set by the Oathes of him or them that shall be charged with the leavying and payment of that sum or Sums the same Commissioners shall make a precept in such manner as is aforesaid for to attach take and arrest the body of such person or persons that ought to pay the said su[m]ms and by this act shall be charged with and for the said su[m]m and su[m]ms and them so taken safely to keepe in prison within the shire or other place where any such person or persons shall be taken and attached there to remaine without bail or mainprise untill he have paid the said su[m]m or su[m]ms that such persons for himselfe or for any other by this act shall be chargeable or ought to be charged withall and alsoe for the Fees of every such arrest to him or them that shall execute such precept twentie pence And that every Officer unto whom such precept shall be directed do his true diligence and execute the same upon every person so being indebted upon pain to forfeit to the Kings Majestie for every default in that behalfe twenty shillings And that no Keeper of any Goal from his Goal suffer any person to go at large by letting to bail or otherwise to depart out of his prison before he hath paid the said debt and the said twentie pence for his arrest upon pain to forfeite to the Kings Majestie fourtie shillings And the said Gaoler to pay to the Kings Majestie the double value aswell of the rate which the said person so imprisoned was taxed at as of the said twenty pence for the fees and like Processe & remedy in like manner and forme shall be granted by the said Commissioners or as many of them as by the said Commission shall be thereunto appointed at like informac[i]on of every person or persons being charged with any su[m]m of money for any other person or persons by reason of the said payments and not thereof paid but wilfully withdrawne nor the same leavied within the limits where such persons were thereunto taxed And if the su[m]m or su[m]ms being behind & unpaid by any person or persons as is aforesaid be leavied & gathered by force of the said processe to be made by the said Commissioners or if in default or for lack of payment thereof the person or persons so owing the said su[m]m and su[m]ms of Money by processe of the same Commissioners to be made as is aforesaid be committed to prison in form abovesaid that then the said Commissioners which shall award such processe shall make Certificate of that shall be done in the premisses after such sum or sums of money so being behind shall be leavied and gathered of such person or persons for non payment of the same committed to prison And if it happen any of the said collectors to be assigned or any Maiors Sheriffs Stewards Constables Headboroughs Bursholders Bailiffes or any other Officer or Minister or other whatsoever person or persons to disobey the said Co[m]missioners or any of them in the reasonable request to them made by the said Commissioners for the execution of the said Commission or if any of the Officers or other Persons doe refuse that to them shall appertain and belong to do by reason of any Precept to him or them to be directted or any reasonable commandment instance or request touching the premisses or other default in any appearance or collection to make or if any person being suspected not to be indifferently taxed as is aforesaid do refuse to be examined according to the tenour of this act before the said Commissioners or as many of them as shall be thereunto assigned as is aforesaid or will not appeare before the same Commissioners upon warning to him made or else make resistance or rescues upon any distresse upon him to be taken for any parcell of the said su[m]ms or payments or commit any misdemeanour in any manner of wise contrary to this act or commit any wilfull omission or other whatsoever wilfull doeing or misdoing contrary to the tenour of this act or Grant the same Commissioners and every number of them above remembred or three of them at the least upon certaine knowledge of any such misdemeanour had by information or examination shall and may set upon every such offender for every such offence in the name of a fine by the same offender to be forfeited fourtie shillings or under by discretion of the same Commissioners And further the said Commissioners and every number of them or three of them at the least shall have authoritie by this present act to punish every such offender by imprisonment there to remaine and to be delivered by theire discretions as shall seeme to them convenient the said Fines (if any such bee) to be certified by the said Commissioners that so assessed the same into the Kings Majesties Exchequer to be leavied and paid by the collectors of that part for the said payments returned into the said Exchequer to be therewith charged with the payment of the same in such manner as if the said Fines had beene set and taxed upon the said Offenders for the said payments

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Cha1/16/32/section/XVIII (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/taxation-no-8-act-1640/section-XVIII
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.