What a man customarily gave, or what he had promised to give,
or, again, what the parish thought he ought to give, that the ordinary
might compel him to give.[202] From an offering or a voluntary
assessment to a rate is often but a short step, and the two former
shade off into the latter almost imperceptibly. The justices of the
peace and the ecclesiastical authorities usually cast lump sums upon
the parishes, leaving ways and means to the parishioners themselves.
But it was, of course, optional with the justices to rate each
individual separately when it seemed good to them, and for this they
had the Queen's subsidy books to guide them. Here, however, we are
chiefly concerned with the raising of money amongst the parishioners
themselves. How manifold, how ingenious were the parochial devices for
creating resources, it is the purpose of this chapter to set forth.
But before proceeding to the parish expedients, properly so called,
for raising money, it will be well to say something of parish
endowments, whether in lands, houses or funds. According as the
revenue from these was available for general, or at least for various
purposes, or, on the other hand, was impressed with a trust for some
specific object, these endowments may be divided into general and
special.
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