WHereas by a late Act of Parlament, En­tituled, An Act for the Relief of Creditors and Poor Prisoners, Henry Proby, Peter Elliston, and others in the said Act named, or any three or more of them were thereby, as to all persons that stood committed on the fift of October, one thousand [Page 374] six hundred fifty three, or which should be com­mitted before the twentieth day of the said Moneth of October, to the Upper-Bench Prison, or to the Prison of the Fleet, Gatehouse in West­minster, Counter in Surrey, or Prison in White-Chappel, in any Civil cause, and not from thence lawfully discharged, made Iudges to hear and determine the Causes of such persons im­prisonment, and of the escape of such Priso­ners in a summary way, and to do as by the said Act is further directed. The execution of which Act and of the Powers & Authorities given by the same by Ordinance, of His High­ness the Lord Protector and his Council, for weighty Causes, was suspended until the one and thirtieth day of May, one thousand six hun­dred fifty four. And forasmuch as upon sun­dry Complaints already made to his Highness the Lord Protector and His Council, and due consideration had that the Lands, Heredita­ments, Goods and Chactles of divers other persons then the said Prisoners, whereof such persons were lawfully seized and possest at the time of the making the said Act, may by con­struction of several Clauses, therein be sold, leased, granted, or otherwise disposed by the Iudges in the said Act appointed for satisfac­tion of the Creditors of such Prisoners as a­foresaid, as for the said Prisoners debts not­withstanding that such other persons so seized and possessed, had at the time of making the said Act as sufficient an Estate in, and right to, such Lands, Goods, and Hereditaments according to the Law to all intents, as any other person had or hath in any his Lands, Goods, or Hereditaments whatsoever.

[Page 375] Be it therefore Ordained by his Highness the Lord Protector by the advice of his Coun­cil, That Nathaniel Bacon, Francis Bacon, Ar­thur Barnardiston, Peter Elliston, John Parker, Hen­ry Pitt, Edmund Giles, Robert Aldworth, John VVilsby, Peter Breereton, Clement Ireton, and Ro­bert Warcupp, Esqs or any five or more of them, and no other person, shall be, and hereby are made Iudges to hear and determine from the eight day of June instant, the causes of impri­sonment of any such Prisoners, counted as a­foresaid to any the Prisons before mentioned, and to do and execute in persuance of the said Act for the relief of Creditors and poor Prison­ers, according to the explanations and alterati­ons thereof, made by this present Ordinance, and not otherwise: That is to say, that all the Estate Real or Personal, of any such Prisoner, or other person, for whose debt the said Priso­ner is imprisoned, whereof he was seized or possessed to his own use in possession, reversion, or remainder the said fifth day of October one thousand six hundred fifty three, or sithence, or whereof he shall be seized or possessed before the fifth day of October one thousand six hundred fifty four, or which any person or persons was or were the said fifth day of October one thou­sand six hundred fifty three, or sithence, or at any time before the said fifth day of October next, shall become seized or possessed of in trust for any such Prisoner, or other person, for whose debt the said Prisoner was imprisoned, and which such Prisoner or Prisoners or other Person, the said fifth day of October, or any time sithence might, or hereafter may, before the said fifth of October next, lawfully convey or [Page 376] dispose for payment of his or their Debts by Law or Equity, shall and may by the said Iud­ges or any five or more of them, be leased, gran­ted, charged, sold, or any otherwise disposed, for payment of such Prisoners or other per­sons Debts.

Provided alwaies that upon any sale or o­ther disposing of such estate as aforesaid, all debts due to the Common wealth, Debts se­cured or due by Statutes, Iudgements, or Recognizances shall be first paid, to wit, the principal Debt, Interest and Charges and no more, in such Order as by Law they ought to have been before the making of the said Act for relief of Creditors and poor Prisoners, and if any the said Prisoners, or other persons for whose debt any such Prisoner was imprisoned, have heretofore made any conveyance or settle­ment of any Lands, Tenements or Heredita­ments, Goods or Chattles to any person or persons, with power of revocation in such Prisoner or Prisoners, or other such person, which power of revocation might have been by such Prisoner or Prisoners, or other per­sous, executed the said fifth of October one thousand six hundred fifty three, or since, or may be executed before the fifth of October one thousand six hundred fifty four, all such Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, Goods and Chattles, shall be sold, leased or disposed by the Iudges hereby appointed, or any three or more of them, as fully to all intents, for pay­ment of such Prisoners or other persons debts, as if the said revocation had been actually made by such Prisoner or person according to the true intent and meaning of the said pow­er [Page 377] of revocation. And the said Iudges, or any five or more of them, shall have power to examine any Mortgage formerly made of any Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments, or any Lease or Leases upon condition, by any such Prisoner or other person, or any his An­cestors, granted for security of money lent, and where any such Prisoner, or other person, hath lawful and equitable right of Entry, or any condition broken or right of Redemption in Law or Equity upon any Mortgage so made and not forfeited by the space of seven years last past, the said Iudges, first satisfi­ing the principal money for which such Lands or Hereditaments, Goods or Chattles were mortgaged, & all interest & other charges grown due, may sell or otherwise dispose of all such Lands and Hereditaments, Goods and Chat­tles, Leased or Mortgaged, as aforesaid, for payment of such Prisoners, or other persons debts, and the said Iudges or any five or more of them, are hereby further authorised to examine all fraudulent Grants, Leases and Conveyances whatsoever made by any such Prisoners, or other person for whose debt any such prisoner was imprisoned as a­foresaid of any their Lands, Heredita­ments, goods or Chattles, and all Iudgements, Statutes, Recognisances, or Bonds by them entered into, and any other Act or Acts done, with intent to defraud Creditors, which by any Law or Statute now in force (other then by the said Act for relief of Creditors and poor prisoners) are declared to be void against Creditors, and upon due proof made unto a Iury of any such fraudulent Grant, Act or [Page 378] conveyance, or of any wilfull concealing such fraud, the said Iudges may sell and dispose for payment of such Debts as are before men­tioned, all such Lands, Hereditaments, Goods, and Chattles so granted, conveyed, extended or to be extended, had or to be had in execution, in such manner as is before mentioned touching other the Lands, Goods or Hereditaments, of any such Prisoner or other persons, and punish any such concealment of fraud as by a­ny Law or Statute in force (other then the said Act for relief of Creditors and poor Pri­soners) is appointed and Ordained, and in case any such prisoner hath escaped out of any the said prisons since the fifth day of October one thousand six hundred fifty three, or hereafter shall escape before the fifth day of October one thousand six hundred fifty four, upon du proof made or to be made of such escape, the estate and trusts of estate reall and personal of such prisoner escaped, shall be sold and disposed by the said Iudges for satisfaction of the Credi­tors, at whose suit such prisoner was impri­soned, in like manner (and no otherwise) as they might have sold or disposed the Estate reall and personal, if such prisoner had still remained in custody.

Provided alwaies, That upon any Sale, Lease, or other disposition to be made as a­foresaid of any prisoner, or other persons real or personal Estate, the said Iudges shall o­penly put a value upon the estate declared to be Sold, Leased, or Disposed, and before the Sale or Disposition thereof, the said prisoner or other person, concerned, his heir, execu­tor or administrator, as the case requireth, [Page 379] shall have notice thereof, and if such Prisoner or other person concerned, his Heir, Executor, or Administrator shall within six weeks pay in ready money, as much as the said Estate, to be sold or otherwise disposed, was valued at as aforesaid, or otherwise give security to the Cre­ditors for the said sum to their liking, the said Iudges shall forbear to make sale of such Estate; but in default of such payment, or security given, they shall proceed to sale, or other disposition thereof at the highest rate they can sell the same at, provided it be not less than the value of them formerly set as aforesaid. And all and every sale or other dis­position of any Prisoner or other persons Estate made as aforesaid, shall be good and effectual in Law against such Prisoner and such other persons, their Trustees and all and every their Heirs general or special claiming by discent to all intents and purposes, saving always to all persons, other than such whose Estates may be sold as aforesaid, their re­spective right to any Lands, Hereditaments, Goods or Chattels, that shall happen to be sold or disposed as aforesaid; as if the said Act for Relief of Creditors and poor Pri­soners, and this present Ordinance, had not been made.

And it is hereby further Ordained, That no Estate real or personal of any Prisoner or other person shall be taken to be any Estate to be sold, discharged or disposed within the meaning of the said former Act entituled An Act for Relief of Creditors and poor Prisoners, other than such Estates as are by this pre­sent Ordinance declared to be Sold and Dis­posed [Page 380] for payment of Debts, in manner be­fore expressed. And that no Prisoner shall be accounted a Prisoner whose Estate is to be Sold or Disposed within the meaning of the said Act, but such as were actually Prisoners the fifth day of October, One thou­sand six hundred fifty three, or before the twentieth of October then next following, or who being Prisoners as aforesaid, are since dead, or shall dy before the fifth of October next, leaving their Debts undischar­ged.

Provided also, That the said Iudges shall not intermeddle in the Sale or Disposing of any Land Ordered or Decreed to be sold for payment of Debts by the High Court of Chan­cery, but that the same be left to be wholly Disposed as the said Court of Chancery shall Order and Provide.

And it is further Ordained, That all Per­sons, by the said Act for relief of Creditors and poor Prisoners, made Iudges, as to all Prisons and Persons, committed to other Prisons than as before mentioned, within the respective Counties, Cities, and Towns Corporate, within this Common-wealth, shall from and after the eighth day of June, One thousand six hundred fifty four, proceed in the Excecution of the said Act, as to the re­lease of any Prisoners, in every respect accor­ding to the meaning of the Act, Entituled, An Act for Relief of Creditors and poor Prisoners, but not as to the Sale or Disposition of any Lands or Goods but according to the Ex­planations and Alterations thereof made by this present Ordinance, and not otherwise.

[Page 381] Provided also, That no Creditor shall have advantage or benefit of any Sale, as a­foresaid, made for or towards satisfaction of the Debt, unless he give a legal Discharge of the whole or part of his said Debt, as the Case requires, to be Ordered by the said Iudges.

And be it further Ordained by Authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawfull for the several Iudges Authorized by this Ordinance, upon Good and Sufficient Secu­rity taken of all such of the said Prisoners, as they think fit, to permit the said Prisoners to go out of Prison for some convenient time, the better to enable such Prisoners to assist in Sale of their Estates, or take other Course for payment of their said Debts, and that such permission of such Prisoners to go out of Prison upon Bail for the Cause aforesaid, shall not be adjudged to be any Escape.

And it is lastly hereby Ordained, That the said Act for relief of Creditors and poor Pri­soners, and this present Ordinance for Expla­nation thereof, shall continue in force until the fifth day of October, One thousand six hundred fifty four, and no longer.

Provided alwaies, That neither the said Act, Entituled, An Act for relief of Creditors and poor Prisoners, nor this present Ordinance, nor any thing therein contained, shall extend, nor be construed to extend to impower the Iudges aforesaid to examine, impeach, or a­void any Execution, Iudgement or Decree, had and obtained against such Prisoner or o­ther person herein intended, save only so far [Page 382] as to examine what is due thereupon.

Provided also, That this Ordinance or a­ny thing therein contained, shall not extend or be construed to extend to impower the Iud­ges aforesaid to make Sale of any the Lands formerly by the said Act, Entituled, An Act for Relief of Creditors and poor Prisoners, exem­pted from Sale.