Page:The histories of Launceston and Dunheved, in the county of Cornwall.djvu/193

COLLECTORSHIPS. 173 io ths , w*yn the pish of lawhitton, but to suffer allways the sayyd lands to be cessed and taxed w*yn the aforeseid burgh of Doune- hevett, as of old tyme hyt hathe be used and costomyd : And, for costs and charge expendyd of and abowt the prmses, euy ptie to ber their awn pte, accept a cow w 4 a calf of John Roch y l dyed in y e pownde. In wittenes wherof we the seid arbitrators to this pset endentur of our agrement and abitrement have putte our sealls the day and yer a bove wten. The following is added to this draft in a different hand : All so we awarde, by the assent off the hys and burgysys off Doune- heved, y l from hensforthe all suche landys off y e for sayd bouro. lying w*yn y e prshe off Lawhytton, to be chargyd to y e reperacon of y e chorche off Lawhytton, as far forthe as adjustement ground ys chargyd w*yn ye prysh for sayyd : All so all matters brought w f yn cort of Lawytton to be dyschargyd by y e Inhab fs of Lawhitton, And, yn leke wyes, att lonston, odrways callyd Downehevyd, to be discharged by the Inhab ts off the same town. A practice had arisen at Dunheved of appointing four- teen or sixteen persons of the poor commoners to collect the borough rents, and it appears that some of these collectors occasionally " went away with the money." For reformation of this evil it was therefore ordained, in the mayoralty of William Rawland {circa 15 18), that such rents should thenceforth be levied by "four collectors, having a reasonable fee for their labour." In the nth Henry VIII. (1520) this ordinance was confirmed by "John Perys, Mayor, and his brethren, the twenty-four, with the assent of the whole Commons." And it was enacted that the four collectors were to be inhabitants of the burgh, alway to be chosen by the Mayor for the time being, of such persons as had been, or then were, sergeants, or freemen, or of any other inhabitant who had not pre- viously gathered the rent. Each collector was to receive 6s. 8d. yearly for his labour, and was to continue in office for two years. If the person chosen a collector refused to act, he was to forfeit 10s. At the end of each year the