except those transferred to the parishes, which are thenceforth to undertake the repairing, watering, watching and lighting them, the expense thereof to be defrayed out of the parish rates.

PRISON MINISTERS.

[26 and 27 Victoriæ, cap. 79.-July 28, 1863.]

An Act for the Amendment of the Law relating to the Religious Instruction of Prisoners in County and Borough Prisons in England and Scotland.

By § 1 this Act may be cited for all purposes as The Prison Ministers Act, 1863; and is to apply (§ 2) to all jails, houses of correction, or prisons maintained at the expense of any county or division of a county, city, or borough, and to all local prisons, in England or Scotland. The authorities having power to appoint a prison chaplain, may (§ 3), if the number of prisoners differing from the established religion be so great as in their opinion to require it, appoint a minister to attend the prisoners of his own sect, and award him a reasonable sum as a recompense of his services; and they may, without a special request, but not against the will, of any prisoner of a church differing from that of the established church, permit a minister of his sect to visit such prisoner at proper and reasonable times; taking precautions against the admission of improper persons and to prevent improper communications; but any prisoner at his request is to be allowed, subject to the rules of the jail, to attend the chapel or be visited by the chaplain of the jail; every minister so appointed is to hold his appointment at the pleasure of the authorities who appointed him, and none such shall be made where there is not a chaplain of the established church. Every keeper of a prison (§ 4) on receiving a prisoner into custody, is to enter his name in a book to be provided for the purpose, with the addition of the church or religious persuasion to which he shall declare himself to belong, and is to give the appointed minister a list of the prisoners belonging to the church or sect of such minister. By § 5 so much of § 30 of the 4 Geo. IV. is repealed as requires the chaplain to visit every room and cell in the prison occupied by prisoners, as it is not to apply to prisoners visited by any other minister.

MARRIAGES REGISTRATION, IRELAND.

[26 and 27 Victoriæ, cap. 90.-July 28, 1863.]

An Act to provide for the Registration of Marriages in Ireland. This Act, which (§ 1) may be cited as The Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act, 1863, is to take effect (§ 2) from and after January 1, 1864. The words (§ 3) Lord Lieutenant are to mean the chief governor of Ireland; General Search, a search during any number of days not exceeding six, and Particular Search, a search over any period not exceeding five years for any given register of marriage, and (§ 4) is to extend to Ireland only. The Registrar-General (§ 5) is to furnish, before December 31, 1863, the Guardians of each Union with printed notices, specifying the several acts required to be done for the purpose of registering any marriage under the provisions of this Act, which the Guardians shall cause to be placed on the outside of the several church and chapel doors, or other public and conspicuous buildings within their

respective Unions, on or before the said December 31, 1863. Register Books (§ 6) properly prepared, are to be furnished by the RegistrarGeneral. The Superintendent Registrars, and Registrars' Districts (§ 7), under the Registration of Births and Deaths, Ireland, Act, are to be the same for this Act; but (§ 8) the Lord Lieutenant, or the Registrar-General with his approbation, may alter the boundaries of, or form new, districts, and for new districts may appoint fit persons to be Registrars; every such Registrar to hold his office during the pleasure of the Registrar-General. The Registrar (§ 9) with the approval of the Registrar-General, may appoint by writing a deputy to act for him in case of illness or absence, such deputy, while so acting, to have all the powers and duties, and be liable to the provisions and penalties, provided by this Act, and in case of the death of the Registrar he is to act as Registrar till another be appointed; and every Registrar is to be civilly responsible for the acts and omissions of his deputy. If the Registrars and Superintendent Registrars (§ 10) refuse to act for the purposes of this Act the Guardians may appoint others, with such qualifications as the Registrar-General may declare to be necessary, as Registrars of Marriage for their respective districts. "In all cases of marriage (§ 11) which may be legally solemnized in Ireland, and which do not come within the provisions of the 7 and 8 Victoriæ, cap. 81, or any Act amending the same, the parties about to contract any such marriage shall produce to the clergyman celebrating such marriage a certificate according to the form A in the schedule annexed [it is a certificate of a marriage in a Roman Catholic chapel], which certificate shall be procured by the parties contracting the marriage, previous to its solemnization, from the Registrar of the District appointed under this Act within which such marriage is intended to be solemnized, who shall be bound, as far as possible, without fee or reward, to fill up the said schedule, and it shall be signed by the parties contracting the marriage and by the witnesses present thereat, not being less than two, and also by the said clergyman, and the parties contracting the marriage shall within three days thereafter either deliver or send by post such certificate to the Registrar of Marriages appointed under this Act for the district wherein the marriage was solemnized; and the husband shall in case of failure so to deliver or send such certificate be liable in a penalty not exceeding 10l." In case of inability to write (§ 12) a cross or mark may be made in presence of the clergyman or two witnesses who shall attest the same. The particulars (§ 13) of the certificates are to be entered in the Register Books, in which errors may be corrected before a justice in specified forms. Certified copies (§ 14) of entries of marriages are to be sent quarterly on appointed days to the Superintendent Registrar, to whom are also to be delivered the Register Books when filled; and the Superintendent Registrar is to send certified copies quarterly (§ 15) to the Registrar-General, to be kept in his office, so that they may be seen and examined. The Registrar-General (§ 16) is every year to transmit an abstract of the number of marriages registered during the foregoing year to the Lord Lieutenant, in such form and at such date as he may require, and such abstract is to be annually laid before parliament. Indexes (§ 17) are to be kept at the Registrar-General's office; and every person be entitled to search the same between ten in the morning and four in the afternoon of every day except Sunday, Christmas Day, and Good Friday, and to have a certified copy of any entry; for every general search there is to be paid 208. and for every particular search 1s. and for every certified copy 2s. 6d. with the addition of the penny stamp. Indexes are also to be kept in the Superintendent Registrar's office

(§ 18), for a general search in which 58. is to be paid, and for a particular search 18., and for a certified copy the same as above; and the Register Books (§ 19) which may not have been returned to the Superintendent Registrar on payment of 6d. for the search, and for a certified copy of the entry as above. The Superintendent Registrar (§ 20) is to be paid quarterly for the certified copies sent to the General Register office at the rate of 2d. for each entry, to be paid by the Registrar-General; and the Registrars at the rate of 6d. for every entry of marriage, to be paid quarterly by the Guardians, and charged to the general account of the Union. Persons making false statements (§ 22) for entry on the register are made subject to the penalties for perjury; and (§ 23) the §§ 36 and 37 of the 24 and 25 Vict., cap. 98, providing for the punishment of forgery are incorporated with this Act. Any Registrar (§ 24) refusing or without reasonable cause omitting to fill up the certificate of marriage, or to register any marriage of which he shall have received the certificate; and any person having the custody of any Register Book who shall carelessly lose or injure the same, or carelessly allow the same to be injured while in his keeping, is to forfeit a sum not exceeding 10l.; and the like penalty (§ 25) is imposed on every one, who by this Act is required to deliver the registers or copies of such registers to any Superintendent Registrar or the Registrar-General, omitting or refusing for one calendar month to do so. Penalties (§ 26) are recoverable by summary process; and (§ 27) nothing in this Act is to affect the law of marriage in Ireland.

STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES.

[26 and 27 Victoriæ, cap. 97.-July 28, 1863.]

An Act to enable Cities, Towns and Boroughs of 25,000 Inhabitants and upwards to appoint Stipendiary Magistrates.

After stating in the preamble that increasing populations, " and the difficult and important legal questions that arise under various public and local Acts, creating unreasonable demands on the time of justices," this Act declares it desirable that the services of stipendiary magistrates should be secured. It therefore empowers the Local Board of any city or place to make a bye-law, with the assent of a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Board, for the appointment of such magistrate, for whom a fixed salary is to be assigned by a similar majority; these byelaws are to be transmitted to the Secretary of State. If approved by him, a barrister of not less than five years' standing is to be appointed by the crown, whose salary as agreed upon is to be paid quarterly out of the Local Improvement rates. In case of a vacancy, no new appointment is to be made until after a fresh application from the Local Board. A suitable police-office is to be provided by the Local Board. The magistrate to be appointed need not be qualified by estate as other justices of the county, but shall sit and act as justice of the peace of the city or place wherein his jurisdiction is situate on all matters where one or more justices are by law now required, either alone or together with any other justice or justices of the peace; his summonses and warrants are to be obeyed and executed; but he is not to sit in courts of jail delivery, in general or quarter-sessions, or in making a county rate. The magistrate so appointed is required to appoint a fit and proper person, an attorney-at-law in actual practice, as a clerk, removeable at pleasure; such clerk to attend at all official meetings and perform the usual duties of justices' clerks, with such yearly salary as

the Local Board shall appoint, subject to an appeal to the Secretary of State. Such clerk is disqualified, either by himself or partner, from acting as attorney in any matter before the said magistrate, or arising out of or consequent thereon. A list of the fees is to be affixed in the public office, and the magistrate may, on reasonable cause, remit fees and award costs. The clerk is to keep an account of all fees received, and pay them over quarterly to the treasurer of the Local Board, to be carried by him to the credit of the Local Improvement rate; if necessary, the Local Board may make an assessment, not exceeding a penny in the pound on all property rateable to the Improvement rate; for the salaries of the magistrate and clerk, and the expenses of the office.

, INJURIES TO SHEEP AND CATTLE, SCOTLAND. [26 and 27 Victoriæ, cap. 100.-July 28, 1863.]

An Act to render owners of Dogs in Scotland liable in certain Cases for Injuries done by their Dogs to Sheep and Cattle.

The Act extends to Scotland only, and provides that, in any action against the owner of a dog for damages, it shall not be necessary for the pursuer to prove a previous propensity in the dog to injure sheep or cattle; and the occupier of any house or place in which such dog has been usually kept or permitted to remain, is declared liable as the owner, unless he can prove that he was not the owner, and that the dog was kept or permitted to remain in his house or place without his sanction or knowledge.

RUM DUTY.

[26 and 27 Victoriæ, cap. 102.-July 28, 1863.]

An Act to reduce the Duty on Rum in certain Cases.

Spirits of Wine having been allowed to be methylated duty-free, the present Act is merely to admit rum to a similar privilege. Foreign and colonial rum may now be methylated in the customs warehouses, by any person licensed to make or mix methylated spirits, under such conditions as the Commissioners of Customs may direct. The rum is to be of not less than 20 per cent. over proof, in quantities of not less than the whole cask in which imported, and to be mixed with not less than one-ninth in bulk of wood naphtha or methylic alcohol, or such other article or substance as the previous Act has prescribed. No rum to be mixed till payment be made of the difference between the customs duty on rum and the excise duty on British spirits. The wood naphtha, methylic alcohol, or other such article or substance, is to be furnished by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue at the expense of the person proposing to make the mixture; such mixture to be denominated methylated spirit; and be removed under the certificate of the proper officer of customs to some approved store belonging to a rectifier of spirits or to a licensed maker of methylated spirit. Methylated spirit may be exported under such regulations as the Commissioners of Customs and Inland Revenue may make. The provisions as to fines, forfeitures, &c., for fraud or infringement of the regulations, are to be those of the 18 and 19 Vict. cap. 38, and the 25 Vict. cap. 91.

MISAPPROPRIATION BY SERVANTS.

[26 and 27 Victoria, cap. 103.-July 28, 1863.] An Act to amend the Law in certain Cases of Misappropriation by Servants of the Property of their Masters.

Servants taking their master's corn (§'1) without authority, for the purpose of giving the same to their master's horses or other animals, are not in future to be deemed guilty of felony; but on conviction before two justices of the peace, may either be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding three months, or else forfeit and pay such sum as they may deem meet not exceeding 51.; but the justices have the power to dismiss the case altogether if deemed too trifling, or if the circumstances render it inexpedient to inflict any punishment; and if upon the trial of any servant for feloniously taking his master's corn or other food for cattle, he satisfy the jury that it was only an offence under this Act, the jury may return a verdict accordingly, and the punishment to be awarded shall be such as the provisions of this Act prescribe. Power is given (§ 2) of appeal to the next quarter-sessions within twelve days after conviction; and no conviction or adjudication on appeal (§ 3) is to be quashed for want of form, and no warrant of commitment to be deemed void by reason of any defect therein, provided it be alleged that the person has been convicted and there be a good and valid conviction to sustain the same. Summary proceedings are to be taken (§ 4) under the 11 and 12 Vict. cap. 43, except in London and the Metropolitan District. The Act (85) extends to England only; and commenced (§ 6) on September 1, 1863.

PROMISSORY NOTES AND BILLS OF EXCHANGE.

[26 and 27 Victoriæ, cap. 105.—July 28, 1863.]

An Act to remove certain Restrictions on the Negotiation of Promissory Notes and Bills of Exchange under a limited Sum.

From and after the passing of this Act, the Act passed in the 17 Geo. III. cap. 30, and so much and such part and parts of any other Act or Acts as continue or revive the said Act, or as prohibit or restrain, or impose any penalty for or on account of the publishing, uttering, or negotiating in England of any promissory or other note, not being a note payable to bearer on demand, bill of exchange, draft, or undertaking in writing, being negotiable or transferable, for the payment of 20s., or above that sum and less than 57., or on which 20s., or above that sum and less than 57., shall remain undischarged, made, drawn, or endorsed in any other manner than as directed by the said Act of the 17 Geo. III. aforesaid, and also § 17 and schedules (C.) and (D.) of an Act passed in the 8 and 9 Vict. cap. 38, requiring or directing that all such notes, bills, drafts, or undertakings as aforesaid which shall be issued in Scotland shall be made, drawn, or endorsed according to the forms contained in the said schedules respectively, shall be and the same is and are hereby repealed. This Act is to continue in force for three years, and until the end of the then next ensuing session of Parlia ment."