The Modern Parish Officer; Or the Parish Officer's Complete Duty...
A Check on the Authority of Parish Officers Gentleman of Lincoln's Inn. The Modern Parish Officer; Or the Parish Officer's Complete Duty. Brought Down to the Present Period. Containing all the Statute-Laws Now in Force, Together With the Adjudged Cases Relating to Every Kind of Parish Business, Placed in Alphabetical Order. A Work Essentially Necessary for Constables, Church-Wardens, Overseers of the Poor, Surveyors of the Highways, Justices of the Peace, Attornies, Headboroughs, Tithingmen, Sidesmen, Vestrymen, Scavengers, &c. Who Would Wish to Execute Their Respective Offices with Safety and Satisfaction. It is Also a Necessary Companion for Every Inhabitant of a Parish, Who May Not be a Parish Officer; As it Will Enable Him to Judge Whether the Parish Duties are Properly Executed by Others, And to Defend Himself Against the Ignorance of Those Who are Unacquainted with Their Duty, As Well as the Arbitrary Measures of Those, Who too Frequently Want to Exercise an Authority Which They are Not Warranted to do by Law. London: Printed by W. Strahan, And M. Woodfall, 1774. 4, 343, [1] pp. 12mo (6-3/4" x 4"). Contemporary calf, rebacked in period style, upper corners mended, raised bands, blind tooling to board edges, lettering piece, blind fillets and gilt publication date to spine, endpapers renewed. Light rubbing and minor nicks to boards, moderate rubbing to board edges, corners lightly bumped. Moderate toning to interior, offsetting to margins of preliminaries and final few leaves. A handsome copy. $450. * First edition. As indicated in its title, this guide to local officials had a secondary aim: to educate laypeople about the limits of their powers in order to prevent the "arbitrary measures of those, who too frequently want to exercise an authority which they are not warranted to do by law." A second edition was published later in 1774. This is a scarce title. Counting both editions, OCLC locates 6 copies in North America, 5 in law libraries (Duke, Harvard, University of Memphis, UC-Davis, University of Georgia). Another copy located at Osgoode Hall, York University. English Short-Title Catalogue N5044.
Price: $450.00
Book number 75107