A digest of legislative enactments, relating to the Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, in England;

Davis Joseph Conveyancer

Sujets

• Religious Society of Friends
• Great Britain

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• Publié par: les_archives_du_savoir
• Nombre de lectures: 5
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

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1®nitjer^ttj)Columbia
LIBRARYDIGEST
OF
ENACTMENTS,LEGISLATIVE
TO THERELATING
OF FRIENDS,SOCIETY
QUAKERS,COMMONLY CALLED
IN ENGLAND;
WITH OeCASIONAL OBSERVATIONS AND NOTES.
Conveyancer.JOSEPH DAVIS,
^econU dPtrition.
LONDON:
HOUNDSDITCH.EDAVARD MARSH, 8 4,
1849.:
^
LONDON
BARRETT, I'RINTER.RICHARD
LANE.MARKPREFACE.
the first Edition of theSince the publication of
" has elapsed,twenty-eight yearsDigest," a period of
have beenduring which so many important changes
of the laws moremade by the legislature in some
of Friends, particu-especially affecting the Society
larly those relative to the Commutation of Tithes
demandsinto Rent-charges, the mode of recovering
theof an Ecclesiastical nature, the extension of
of theoperation of the Affirmation Act, the repeal
Acts, the consequentTest . and Corporation and
to well as thoseadmission of Friends Offices, as
relating to Marriage, of Births,and the Registration
Marriages, and Deaths, Editionas to render a new
needful, and which has undertaken by thebeen
Editor at the request of the "Meeting for Sufferings,"
a meeting which acts as a standing Committee of
the Yearly Meeting for the general concerns of the
Society of Friends, and is in fact the executive body
of the Society, and the manuscript has been inspected
by a committee of that meeting appointed for the
purpose, to whom the Editor acknowledges himself
indebted for some derivedimprovements from their
suggestions.IV PREFACE.
The sufferings of the people called Quakers, on
account of their peculiar religious testimonies, were
in the early times of the Society, frequent and severe,
not only in the ofloss property, but in long pro-
tracted imprisonment terminating, in many instances,
only writh life. Several laws, enacted in the reign of
Charles II. against nonconformists, one of which at
was peculiarlyleast and 14 Charles II. c.(13 1,)
were made the means ofdirected against this people,
and persecuted, and theytheir being long harassed
even that were passed againstsuffered by acts
" Popish Recusants." At the Revolution of 1688,
these oppressive proceedings were suspended, prin-
cipally the Act of Toleration, 1 W. andby means of
M. c. and the act 52 Geo. III. c. 155, several18, by
of the statutes alluded to were entirely abrogated
;
remainedbut even then the members of this Society
liable to prosecution the Exchequer and Eccle-in
siastical Courts, when upon a demand being made on
them for tithes or other Ecclesiastical payments, and
refused, either a disposition inconsistent with the
spirit of Toleration, or the want of proper informa-
tion, led the claimant into the erroneous choice of
adopting the more vexatious and expensive, instead
of the milder and less chargeable mode of recovery
;
for the legislature had made ample provision, in
general, for proceedings in these cases, both less