County of Northampton to wit.

At a Petty Session holden at Kettering in and for the division of Kettering in the County of Northampton on the seventh day of December One Thousand Eight Hundred and forty by Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace in and for the County of Northampton acting in and for the said Division of Kettering within which Division the Union of Kettering herein-after mentioned is situated.

Whereas upon the Information and Application now made to us, Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace aforesaid, assembled at the said Session, by the Guardians of the Poor of the said Union, concerning a female Bastard Child, begotten on the body of Elizabeth Yeomans single-woman, and chargeable to the Parish of Desborough in the said County and Union it appeareth to us, the said Justices, as well upon that Information and Application, as upon the Oath of the said Elizabeth Yeomans now made before us, that on the twenty seventh day of August One Thousand Eight Hundred and forty and since the passing of an Act, passed in the Fifth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, intitled "An Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to the Relief of the Poor," she the said Elizabeth Yeomans was delivered of a female Bastard Child, named, Mary, baptized - - - and that with respect to such Bastard Child no application has been made to any Court of General Quarter Sessions under the provisions of the said Act, and that the said Bastard Child by reason of the inability of its mother, to provide for its maintenance, became on the twenty-fifth day of September One Thousand Eight Hundred and forty, and has since continued and now is chargeable to the said Parish, and is likely so to continue : And that the said Guardians have made diligent inquiry as to the Father of such Bastard Child, and have charged and do now charge John Coe of Desborough aforesaid Weaver with being the putative Father thereof.

And whereas, it also appeareth, and is duly proved upon oath unto us the said justices, that on the twenty eighth day of November One Thousand Eight Hundred and forty, notice was given under the hands of "John B Gotch" the Chairman of the Board of Guardians of the said Union and "Willm Roberts" - "Geo Isitt" - "James Biggs" - and "John Lambert" the major part of the Guardians present at a Meeting of the Board on the 28th day of the said month of November to the said putative father so charged as aforesaid, of their then intended application for an order upon him, to reimburse the said Parish for the maintenance and support of the said Bastard Child, and that seven days have elapsed since the giving of such notice.

And whereas, the said putative father hath this day appeared before us the said Justices at this said session to answer the said charge ; but hath not shown any sufficient cause why he the said putative father should not be adjudged to be really and in truth the father of the said Bastard Child.

Whereupon we the said Justices proceeded to examine into the cause and circumstances of the premises and to hear evidence thereon, and after hearing the same as well upon oath of the said mother, corroborated in material particulars, by other testimony, that is to say, by the testimony of John Carpenter of Rowell in the said County Surgeon as well as by the confession of the truth of the said Charge by the said John Coe to the satisfaction of us the said Justices as otherwise, we the said Justices are satisfied, and do Order and Adjudge that the said John Coe is really and in truth the father of the said female Bastard Child : And we are also satisfied, and do find that by reason of the inability of its said mother to provide for its maintenance, the said Bastard Child became chargeable to the said parish on the twenty fifth day of September last and from that time hitherto has been and still is chargeable to the said parish, and is likely so to continue, and that no Application has been made with respect to the said Bastard Child to any Court of General Quarter Sessions under the provisions of the said Act, And we the said Justices do hereupon further Order and adjudge, that the said father do forthwith pay, or cause to be paid to the said Guardians, or some, or one of them the sum of Two Pounds one shilling and ninepence being the amount of the actual expense by them incurred for the maintenance and support of the said Bastard Child calculated from the said twenty fifth day of September last when the Bastard Child first became chargeable as aforesaid, to the present day, which expense hath been duly ascertained as well upon the Oath of John Flecknoe as otherwise, by us the said Justices. And we do hereby further Order and Adjudge that the said father do pay, or cause to be paid to the Guardians of the poor of the said Union for the time being, or some or one of them weekly and every week from henceforth, until the said Bastard Child shall attain the age of seven years (if the Bastard Child shall so long live and continue to be chargeable to the said Parish) such sum or sums of money as shall be expended by or on behalf of the said Parish for the maintenance and support of the said Bastard child during the term last aforesaid not exceeding the sum of One shilling and sixpence in each and every week.

Given under our Hands and Seals in Petty Session assembled as aforesaid.