Hist. The obligation or impost of having to provide free board and lodging for troops; also, of the troops, the right to be billeted in free quarters, or else the necessity of having to find them for themselves. To live at free-quarter: to be maintained without expense to the government.
1648. Petit. Eastern Ass., 17. Have not inforced Assessements, and free-quarter grated them as small?
1648. Cromwell, Lett., 15 Nov., in Carlyle. The Country is exceedingly impoverished; not able to bear free-quarter; nor well able to furnish provisions if we had moneys. Ibid. (1655), Sp., 22 Jan. ibid. These took advantage from delay of the Settlement, and the practices before mentioned, and the stopping of the pay of the Army, to run us into Free-quarter.
a. 1680. Butler, Rem. (1759), I. 63.
| Make Law and Equity as dear, | |
| As Plunder and Free-quarter were. |
1818. Cobbett, Pol. Reg., XXXIII. 524. An army must be sent into Yorkshire; but, they must live at free-quarter, then; for whence would come the gold to pay them with?
Hence † Free-quarter v., to live at free-quarter; † Free-quarterer, one billeted in free quarters.
1648. Prynne, Plea for Lords, C ij. To take from them their victuals, and pay for them little or nothing, at their pleasure (as our free-quarterers doe now).
1654. R. Whitlock, Ζωοτομια, 16. As for evill Things, look on them but as Lodgers, (though as unwelcome as Free-quarterers).
1659. To free-quarter [see FREEBOOTER v.].
