WHereas the County of Essex in obedience to an Ordinance of Parliament, intituled an Ordinance for putting the Assotiated Counties into a posture of Defence, hath raysed a conside­rable number of Horse, Foot, and Dra­goones, and must bee at great charges in [Page 2]maintaining of adjute Officers, to order and exercise the said Forces, and other trained Regiments, and in providing other things requisite for the defence and safety of the said County, And without the rai­sing of Moneys to defray the said charge, the County cannot bee put into such a Po­sture as is necessary.

It is therefore Ordained by the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled, and by Authority of the same, that for the intents and purposes aforesaid, there shall be monethly charged, rated, taxed, and lea­vied upon the said County from the first of February 1644. the summe of three hundred pounds a moneth, untill the first day of December next, if this unnaturall warre shall so long continue.

And be it further Ordained, that every person or persons, that were or are to bee assessed or taxed by vertue of an Ordinance intituled, An Ordinance for raising and maintaining of Forces for the defence of the Kingdome, under the Command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, shall bee assessed and [Page 3]taxed by this Ordinance, in the same man­ner as they are or may be assessed, and tax­ed by vertue of the said retired Ordinance, and shall be lyable to as gr [...]at forf [...]ures, and penalties, for not paying the surance or summes to be assessed, as they should or might have been, if the same had been ass [...]s­sed by the said recited Ordinance, and the Committees named and trusted in the said last recited Ordinance, to take care for the assessing, collecting or L [...]avying of [...]ny mo­nyes in the said County, are named and trusted in this Ordinance, and have as full power and authority given them by this Ordinance to nominate and appoint Col­lectors and assessors, and to leavy, distraine, fine, imprison, or sequester, as they or any of them have by vertue of the said last re­cited Ordinance.

And the said Collectors shall pay the se­verall sums by them collected, to the high Constables of the severall hundreds, and the Mayors or other head Officers of Corpo­rations respectively, within the said Coun­ty, who shall pay over the said monyes to [Page 4]such Treasurers, as shall be apointed by the Lord Leivtenant, Deputy Lievtenants of the said County, or any three or more of them, who are to issue forth the same, for the use and service of the said County, by the vote of the Major part of the said Depu­ty Lievtenants present, or any three of them present, & by their order in pursuance there­of under their hands, and not otherwise.

And it is further Ordayned that three pence in the pound shall be allowed for every summe of money which shall be col­lected and payd, whereof one penny shall be for the Collectors, one penny for the high Constables and Mayors or other head Officers of Corporations, and one penny for the Treasurers.

And the Treasurers shall keepe a Regi­ster booke of the severall summes received and payed by them, and the said Commit­tees or any three of them, have hereby pow­er given them, to call all Treasurers, May­ors and other head Officers of Corporati­tions, high Constables, collectors and o­thers, that have or at any time shall be [Page 5]thought to have any of the said monyes in their hands, or any other monyes due upon the Ordinance, for the new po­sture, to an accompt, and if any of them shall refuse to accompt or to pay in their moneys wherewith they are charged, then the said Committees or any three of them, shall fine them double the sum char­ged upon them, which if it be not payd within six dayes after the sum is set, & no­tice thereof left, at his or their dwelling house, It shall be lawful to destraine for the same, and if there be not sufficient distresse wherewith to satisfy, then the said Com­mittees may imprison the offender herein, and sequester his estate untill the money charged and the fine sett, be leavied and payd.

And in case the said Treasurers; Mayors and other head Officers of Corporations, high Constables, or collectors to be nomi­nated as aforesaid, shall refuse or neglect to leavy or receive the summes of money to be assessed, and sett by virtue of this Ordi­nance, or the Ordinance for the new [Page 6]posture, It shall be lawfull for the said Committees or any three of them, to fine the said Treasurers, Mayors and other head Officers of Corporations, high Cunstables or Collectors not, exceeding the summe of ten pounds, and to leavy the same by way of distresse and the sale of their goods or by imprisonment as they shall thinke fit.

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