Poor Act 1712
The Poor Act 1712 was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that made perpetual, revived and continued various older acts.
Section 2 of the act was significant in that it ensured that hired servants and apprentices living under a certificate could not gain legal settlement through their service, thereby protecting parishes from additional poor relief obligations.
Background
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Many acts of parliament, however, contained time-limited sunset clauses, requiring legislation to revive enactments that had expired or to continue enactments that would otherwise expire.Provisions
Revived and continued enactments
Section 1 of the act made the Poor Relief Act 1662 perpetual, as continued by section 2 of the Administration of Intestates' Estate Act 1685, as revived by section 1 of the Poor Relief Act 1691, as continued by section 10 of the Estreats Act 1692, as continued by section 1 of the Exportation Act 1698 and as continued by section 1 of the Continuance of Laws Act 1706, except "what related to the Corporations therein mentioned and thereby constituted".Section 2 of the act extended section 1 of the Relief of the Poor Act 1696, providing that persons who had moved to parishes under settlement certificates could not establish derivative settlements for their apprentices or servants, clarifying that after 24 June 1713, no apprentice bound by indenture or hired servant who came into a parish through someone else's settlement certificate would gain settlement rights in that parish through their apprenticeship or service, preventing certificate holders from creating additional settlement burdens on parishes.
Section 3 of the act made the Importation Act 1707 perpetual.
Section 4 of the act revived and continued section 9 of the Trade with Africa Act 1697 until the end of the next session of parliament after 14 years from the expiration of that enactments.
Section 5 of the act provided that drawback on copper would be allowed on imports from the East Indies and the coast of Barbary.
Cases under the act
The act was interpreted in R. v. Soverby, where the courts addressed questions of whether family members of certificated individuals could continue residing in the parish under the same settlement rights.Subsequent developments
Section 5 of the act was continued until the end of the next session of parliament after 14 years from the expiration of that enactment by section 1 of the Continuance of Laws, etc. Act 1726.Section 5 of the act was continued until the end of the next session of parliament after 14 years from the expiration of that enactment by section 4 of the Making of Sail Cloth, etc. Act 1741.
Section 5 of the act was continued from the expiration of that enactment until the end of the next session of parliament after 24 June 1758 by section 2 of the Continuance of Laws, etc. Act 1753.
Section 5 of the act was continued from the expiration of that enactment until the end of the next session of parliament after 24 June 1766 by section 1 of the Continuance of Laws Act 1758.
Section 5 of the act was continued from the expiration of that enactment until the end of the next session of parliament after 24 June 1774 by section 1 of the Continuance of Laws Act 1766.
Section 5 of the act was continued from the expiration of that enactment until the end of the next session of parliament after 24 June 1781 by section 1 of the Continuance of Laws, etc. Act 1774.
The Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring, appointed in 1796, inspected and considered all temporary laws, observing irregularities in the construction of expiring laws continuance acts, making recommendations and emphasising the importance of the Committee for Expired and Expiring Laws.
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1867.