This act is perhaps best remembered for its expansion of the requirement that welfare recipients be marked to indicate their status, in this case by wearing a prominent badge.

[2] In her Curious Punishments of Bygone Days, Alice Morse Earle noted that this practice was also seen in Colonial America, though the badge format might be different.

c. 11), required the overseers of the poor to record the names of all those receiving welfare in their parishes.

One report ordered by the House of Commons of England suggested that temporarily restoring the badge would serve to dissuade such individuals from seeking out relief.

The report further argued that "the Poor ought to know and feel that the eye of the public is upon them ready to check fraud and restrain importunity", and that the badge was one such means.

The Court held that despite being discharged before the end of the contract, she had served for one full year and was entitled to settle in the parish.

It was possible for the circumstances, such as the contract of hiring, the master, or even the location to change to some degree without resetting the one year requirement.

The court held that the two periods of service could be connected, and the servant was entitled settlement rights under the Poor Law.