TITLE I. OF THE RELIEF AND SUPPORT OF INDIGENT PERSONS. SEC. 1. Certain relatives of a pauper being able, bound to support him. 2. Upon their failure, overseers to apply to general sessions; previous notice, &c. 3. Court to determine which relatives shall support pauper, and the sum to be paid. 4. And how to contribute in proportion to ability. 5. Order may be for certain time, or indefinite, and may be varied. 6. Costs; payment of and obedience to order, how enforced. 7. Relatives disobeying order, liable to action by overseers. 8. Cases in which property of father, &c. absconding, may be seized. 9. Effect of warrant of seizure; overseers to return inventory, &c. 10. Powers of general sessions thereupon. 11. In what cases warrant may be discharged by two justices. 12. Powers and duties of overseers respecting property seized. 13. Authority of county superintendents, in counties where poor are county charge. 14. Who shall be relieved as poor persons. 15. County superintendents of the poor to be appointed; oath, compensation, &c. 16. To be a corporation; their powers and duties enumerated. 17. County poor-houses may be erected; expense limited; how collected. 18. Superintendents of county poor-houses, to be county superintendents of the poor. 19. In certain counties, excise money to be paid to county treasurers. 20. Also monies collected from relatives of paupers; penalties, &c. 21. When all paupers made a county charge, notice to be given, &c. 22. Application of excise money and penalties, in other counties. 23. In Warren, Washington, Saratoga and Genesee, poor to be a county charge. 24. In all other counties, supervisors may declare poor a county charge. 25. Copy of resolution to be served on clerks of cities, towns and villages. 26. In such case, excise money and penalties to be paid to county treasurer. 27., Payment enforced by suit by county treasurer. 28. In other counties than those before specified, poor how to be supported. 29. Settlements how gained. Minors how to gain settlement. 30. Certain residences not to give settlement. 31. Paupers not to be removed; how supported. 32 & 33. Proceedings to determine in what town pauper is settled; costs thereof. 34. Town chargeable with pauper, to support him; how compelled. 35. County paupers, proceedings to ascertain who are such. 36 & 37. Proceedings where there are no county poor-houses. 38. Decisions of superintendents, how to be entered and filed; their effect. 47. County treasurer to keep accounts with towns liable to support their poor. 48. Superintendents to state charges against such towns for the support of their poor. 49. Accounts to be laid before supervisors; balances against towns how collected. 50. Sums necessary to support county poor, how raised and kept. 51. Accounts to be kept by overseers of the poor in counties not having poor-houses. 52. When to be submitted to town auditors; how audited and settled. 53. Penalty for neglect to present books and render accounts. 54. Overseers' accounts and estimates to be exhibited at town-meeting. 55. Money for support of town poor, how ascertained, raised, and to whom to be paid. 56. Accounts in certain cities, to whom exhibited; monies how raised. 57. Accounts of overseers and justices, for services, how audited and paid. 58. Penalty for removing, &c. paupers, with intent to charge any city, town or county. 59. Pauper removed, how supported; notice of removal, &c. to be given. 60. Officers receiving notice, to take pauper, or deny their liability. 61. Consequence of neglect. 62. Upon denial being made, suit to be brought; consequence of neglect. 63. Penalty on superintendents for neglect to render accounts or pay over monies. 64. Penalty for bringing into this state paupers or lunatics, without a protector. 65. Penalties when collected, how to be applied; to whom to be paid. TITLE 1. TITLE . SEC. 66. Duty of overseers to prosecute for penalties directed to be collected by them. Paupers to be supported by relatives. How compel led. Powers of court. Tb. Proportions. 72. Poor-houses, &c. exempt from taxes; keepers exempt from militia service, &c. 73. Provision for support of idiots and lunatics out of county poor-house. 74. Application of poor monies of any town, that are invested. 75. County superintendents to report annually to secretary of state. 76. Supervisors of towns supporting their own poor, to report to clerk of supervisors. 78. Penalty for neglect to report, and for false report; how collected. SECTION 1. The father, mother, and children, who are of sufficient ability, of any poor person who is blind, old, lame, impotent or decrepit, so as to be unable by work to maintain himself, shall, at their own charge, relieve and maintain such poor person, in such manner as shall be approved by the overseers of the poor of the town where such poor person may be.1 $2. Upon any failure of any such relative so to relieve and maintain any such poor person, it shall be the duty of the overseers of the poor of the town where such poor person may be, to apply to the court of general sessions of the peace of the county where such relative may dwell, for an order to compel such relief; of which application, at least fourteen days' notice, in writing, shall be given, by serving the same personally, or by leaving the same at the last place of dwelling of the individual to whom the same may be directed, in case of his absence therefrom, with some person of mature age.' $ 3. The court to which the said application may be made, shall proceed in a summary way to hear the allegations and proofs of the parties, and shall order such of the relatives aforesaid of such poor person as appear to be of sufficient ability, to relieve and maintain such person, and shall therein specify the sum which will be suffi cient for the support of such poor person, to be paid weekly. And the said court shall therein direct the relative or relatives, who shall perform that duty, in the following order: The father shall be first required to maintain such poor person; if there be none, or he be not of sufficient ability, then the children of such poor person: if there be none, or they be not of sufficient ability, then the mother.1 $ 4. If it shall appear that any such relative is unable wholly to maintain such poor person, but is able to contribute towards his support, the court may, in its discretion, direct two or more relatives, of different degrees, to maintain such poor person, and shall prescribe the proportion which each shall contribute for that purpose; and if it shall appear that the relatives liable as aforesaid, are not of sufficient ability wholly to maintain such poor person, but are able to contribute something, the court shall direct the sum, in proportion to their ability, which such relatives shall pay weekly for that purpose. (1) 1 R. L. 288, § 21; Laws of 1821, p. 114, § 4. Order of $5. Such order may specify the time during which the relatives TITLE 1. aforesaid shall maintain such poor person, or during which any of the said sums so directed by the court shall be paid, or it may be indefi- court. nite, and until the further order of the court. The court may from time to time, vary such order, whenever circumstances shall require it, on the application, either of any relative affected thereby, or of any overseers of the poor of the town, upon fourteen days' notice being given. cod; costs. $6. The costs and expenses of such application, shall be ascertain- How enfor ed by the court, and paid by the relatives against whom any order may be made; and the payment thereof, and obedience to the order of maintenance, and to any order for the payment of money, may be enforced by process of attachment. S7. If any relative who shall have been required, by such order, Suits by to relieve or maintain any poor person, shall neglect to do so, in such manner as shall be approved by the overseers of the poor of the town where such poor person may be, and shall neglect to pay to such overseers weekly the sum prescribed by the court for the support of such poor person, the said overseers may maintain an action, as for monies had and received, against such relative, and shall recover therein the sum so prescribed by the said court for every week the said order shall have been disobeyed, up to the time of such recovery, with costs of suit, for the use of the poor.* absconding. S8. Whenever the father, or mother being a widow or living Father, &c. separate from her husband, shall abscond from their children, or a husband from his wife, leaving any of them chargeable or likely to become chargeable upon the public for their support, the overseers of the poor of the town where such wife or children may be, may apply to any two justices of the peace of any county in which any estate, real or personal, of the said father, mother, or husband, may be situated, for a warrant to seize the same. Upon due proof of the facts aforesaid, the said justices shall issue their warrant, authorising the said overseers to take and seize the goods, chattels, effects, things in action, and the lands and tenements of the person so absconding. Effect of war rant. S9. By virtue of such warrant, the said overseers may seize and take the said property, wherever the same may be found, in the same county; and shall be vested with all the right and title to the said property, which the person so absconding had, at the time of his or her departure. All sales and transfers of any personal property left in the county from which such person absconded, made by him, after the issuing of such warrant, whether in payment of an antecedent debt, or for a new consideration, shall be absolutely void. The overseers shall immediately make an inventory of the property so seized Dety of overby them, and return the same, together with their proceedings, to the (2) 1 R. L. 288, § 21; Laws of 1821, p. 114, § 4. (3) 1 R. L. 238, § 22. scers. TITLE 1. next court of general sessions of the peace of the county where such overseers reside, there to be filed.1 Proceedings, by general sessions. Warrant, when justice may dis charge. Powers and duties of overseers. Ib. of county superintendents. relieved. $10. The said court, upon inquiring into the facts and circumstances of the case, may confirm the said warrant and seizure, or may discharge the same; and if the same be confirmed, shall, from time to time, direct what part of the personal property shall be sold, and how much of the proceeds of such sale, and of the rents and profits of the real estate, if any, shall be applied towards the maintenance of the children or wife of the person so absconding. 11. If the party against whom such warrant shall issue, return and support the wife or children so abandoned, or give security satisfactory to any two justices of the town, to the overseers of the poor of the town, that the wife or children so abandoned shall not become, or thereafter be, chargeable to the town or county, then such warrant shall be discharged, by an order of such justices, and the property taken by virtue thereof, shall be restored to such party. $12. The overseers shall sell at public vendue, the property so ordered to be sold, and shall receive the rents and profits of the real estate of the person so absconding, and in those towns which are required to support their own poor, the overseers shall apply the same to the maintaining, bringing up and providing for the wife, child, or children so left and abandoned, and for that purpose shall draw on the county treasurer for the said proceeds, as herein after directed. They shall account to the court of general sessions of the peace, for all monies so received by them, and for the application thereof, from time to time, and may be compelled, by the said court, to render such account at any time.4 $13. In those counties where all the poor are a charge upon the county, the superintendents of the poor shall be vested with the same powers, rights and authority, as are herein before given to the overseers of the poor of any town, in respect to compelling relatives to maintain paupers, and in respect to the seizure of the property of any parent absconding and abandoning his or her family, and shall be entitled to the like actions and remedies in their names, and shall perform the duties herein before required of overseers, and subject to the same obligations and control. Paupers to be $14. Every poor person who is blind, lame, old, sick, impotent, or decrepit, or in any other way disabled, or enfeebled, so as to be unable by his work to maintain himself, shall be maintained by the county or town in which he may be, according to the following provisions. S 15. It shall be the duty of the boards of supervisors within the to be appoint- several counties of this state, except the county of New-York, within one year after this Title becomes a law, to appoint not less than County superintendents ed. (4) I R. L. 288, § 22. three, or more than five, discreet freeholders of their respective coun- TITLE 1. ties, to be superintendents of the poor within such county, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until others shall be appointed in their places, and who shall take the oath prescribed in the constitution. A majority of the persons so appointed shall be at all times competent to transact business, and to execute any powers vested in the board of superintendents. They shall be allowed such sum for their actual attendance and services, as the board of supervisors of their county shall deem reasonable.5 poration: duties. S 16. They shall be a corporation by the name of the Superinten- To be a cordents of the Poor of the county for which they shall be appointed, and powers and shall possess the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes: they shall meet as often as the supervisors of the county shall direct, at the county poor-house, if there be one, or at the place of holding courts in their county, or at one of the places of holding courts, if there be more than one, and at such other times and places as they shall think expedient: they shall have a general superintendence and care of the county poor who may be in their respective counties; and shall have power, and it shall be their duty, places, &c. 1. To provide suitable places for the keeping of such poor, when To provide so directed by the supervisors of any county, where houses for that purpose have not been erected by the county; and for that purpose, to rent a tenement or tenements, and land not exceeding fifty acres, and to cause the poor of the county to be maintained in such places: rules, &c. 2. To establish and ordain prudential rules, regulations and by- To make laws, for the government and good order of such places so provided, and of the county poor-houses, and for the employment, relief, management and government of the persons therein placed; but such rules and regulations shall not be valid, until sanctioned by a majority of the judges of the county courts of such county, in writing: keepers, &c. 3. To employ suitable persons to be keepers of such houses or To employ places, and all necessary officers and servants, and to vest such powers in them for the government of such houses as shall be necessary, reserving to the paupers who may be placed under the care of such keepers, the right of appeal to the superintendents: materials, &c. 4. In the counties where a poor-house is erected, or other place To purchase provided for the poor, to purchase the furniture, implements, and materials that shall be necessary from time to time for the maintenance of the poor therein, and their employment in labor or manufactures, and to sell and dispose of the proceeds of such labor as they shall deem expedient: for bringing 5. To prescribe the rate of allowance to be made to any persons Allowance for bringing paupers to the county poor-house or place provided for paupers, &c. |