share-brokers: when the purchase-money | distress for rent, for the performance of 10 0 per cent. There is besides a stamp-duty payable on transfers of railway-shares and shares in joint-stock companies generally. The stamp-duty is 10s. when the purchasemoney of the share is under 201.; above 201. and under 50l. it is 17.; and rises by a graduated scale according to the amount of purchase-money. which functions they must provide themselves with a licence, and they come under the regulations of an act of parliament (57 Geo. III. c. 93). [APPRAISER.] Custom-house brokers, or, as they are more commonly termed, agents, are licensed by the commissioners of Customs, and no person without such licence can transact business at the Custom-house or in the port of London relative to the entrance or clearance of ships, &c. The business of a pawnbroker is altogether different from that of the commercial brokers here described. [PAWNBROKER.] BROTHEL. [PROSTITUTION.] BUDGET. The annual financial statement which the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or sometimes the First Lord of the Treasury, makes in the House of Commons, in a committee of ways and On completing a transaction in railway or other shares of a joint-stock company, the brokers give a "contract note" to their employers as evidence of the nature of the business done on their account. By 7 & 8 Vict. c. 110, the sale and transfer of railway shares before the "complete registration" of the Railway Company is placed on the same footing as "time bar-means, is familiarly termed "the Budget." gains" on the Stock Exchange, and cannot be enforced in a court of law. § 26 enacts, "with regard to subscribers and every person entitled or claiming to be entitled to any share in any Joint-Stock Company," formed after 1st November, 1844, that "until such Company shall have obtained a certificate of complete registration,' and until such subscriber or person shall have been duly registered as a shareholder" in the office of the London Register, "it shall not be lawful for such person to dispose by sale or mortgage of such share, or of any interest therein," and all contracts to this effect shall be void, and "every person" entering into such contracts shall forfeit not less than 107. All Companies begun after the 5th of September, 1844 (the date when the act was passed), are subject to this enactment (§ 60). It is usual to apply the name of broker to persons who buy and sell second-hand household furniture, although such an occupation does not bear any analogy to brokerage as here described: furniture dealers buy and sell generally on their own account, and not as agents for others. These persons do indeed sometimes superadd to their business the appraising of goods and the sale of them by public auction under warrants of The minister, whichever of them it is, gives a view of the general financial policy of the government, and shows the condition of the country in respect to its industrial interests. This is of course the time to present an estimate of the probable income and expenditure for the twelve months ending the 5th of April in the following year; and to state what taxes it is intended to reduce or abolish, or what new ones to impose; and this is accompanied by the reasons for adopting the course which the government proposes. The speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in bringing forward the budget is naturally looked forward to with great interest by different classes: if the revenue be in a flourishing condition and a surplus exists, all parties are anxious to learn how far their interests will be affected by a reduction of taxes; and if the state of the national finances render it necessary to impose additional taxes, this interest is equally great. The Chancellor of the Exchequer concludes by proposing resolutions for the adoption of the committee. These resolutions, "when afterwards reported to the House, form the groundwork of bills for accomplishing the financial objects proposed by the minister." (May's Parliament, p. 331.) BUILDING, ACTS FOR REGÚ LATING. Provisions for regulating | the construction of buildings are generally introduced into acts for the improvement of towns. To permit houses of wood or thatched roofs in confined and crowded streets, would be to sacrifice the public welfare to the caprice or convenience of individuals. There is no general measure ensuring uniformity of regulations for buildings throughout the country. In the session of 1841 the Marquis of Normanby, then a member of the government, brought in a bill " for the better Drainage and Improvement of Buildings in large Towns and Villages," but it did not pass; and a bill of a similar nature was unsuccessful in the session of the fol cution of the law; and it did nothing to discourage the erection of imperfect buildings in districts which have become a part of the metropolis since it was passed. Whether the new act (7 & 8 Vict. c. 84) contains regulations equally impracticable remains to be seen. Some of them probably are of this nature, as may be expected in attempts to legislate on technical matters of detail; but the object of the act is excellent, and any defects in carrying it out may be corrected without much difficulty. The removal of sources of danger and disease in crowded neighbourhoods, by enforcing ventilation and drainage, and by other means, is in itself both wise and benevolent. The window tax will prove, in several respects, a great impediment to theact being fully carried out. lowing year. In the session of 1844, however, an act was passed (7 & 8 Vict. c. 84) entitled 'An Act for Regulating the Construction and the Use of BuildThe objects of the Metropolitan Buildings in the Metropolis and its Neighbour-ings Act may be gathered from the prehood;' and this measure, though applicable at present only to London, promises to be an important step towards improv-| ing the condition of large towns, and with certain modifications it will probably be extended to other places. The act came into operation on the 1st of January, 1845. London has had Building Acts ever since the reign of Queen Anne; but their object was chiefly to enforce regulations calculated to check the spread of fire. The last Building Act, commonly called Sir Robert Taylor's Act (14 Geo. III. c. 78), was passed in 1774, "for the further and better regulation of buildings and party walls, and for the more effectually preventing mischiefs by fire." It extended to the cities of London and Westminster, and their liberties and other places within the bills of mortality, and to the parishes of St. Marylebone, Paddington, St. Pancras, and St. Luke's, Chelsea. The administration of the act was confided to district surveyors, each of whom had independent authority within his own district; but the magistrate at the nearest police-office might enforce or not, at his own discretion, the decisions of the surveyor. The technical regulations of this act were many of them, generally speaking, of so impracticable a nature that their evasion was connived at by the officers appointed to superintend the exe amble, which is as follows:-" Whereas by the several acts mentioned in schedule (A.)* to this Act annexed provisions are made for regulating the construction of buildings in the metropolis, and the neighbourhood thereof, within certain limits therein set forth; but forasmuch as buildings have since been extended in nearly continuous lines or streets far beyond such limits, so that they do not now include all the places to which the provisions of such acts, according to the purposes thereof, ought to apply, and moreover such provisions require alteration and amendment, it is expedient to extend such limits, and otherwise to amend such acts: and forasmuch as in many parts of the metropolis and the neighbourhood thereof, the drainage of the houses is so imperfect as to endanger the health of the inhabitants, it is expedient to make provision for facilitating and promoting the improvement of such drainage; and forasmuch as by reason of the narrowness of streets, lanes, and alleys, and the want of a thoroughfare in many places, the due ventilation of crowded neighbourhoods is often impeded, and the health of the inhabitants thereby endangered, and These acts are 14 Geo. III c. 78, partly repealed; 50 Geo. III. c. 75, wholly repealed; and 3 & 4 Vict. c. 85, repealed so far as it relates to flues and chimneys. from the close contiguity of the opposite houses the risk of accident by fire is extended, it is expedient to make provision with regard to the streets and other ways of the metropolis for securing a sufficient width thereof: and forasmuch as many buildings and parts of buildings unfit for dwellings are used for that purpose, whereby disease is engendered, fostered, and propagated, it is expedient to discourage and prohibit such use thereof: and forasmuch as by the carrying on in populous neighbourhoods of certain works, in which materials of an explosive or inflammable kind are used, the risk of accidents arising from such works is much increased, it is expedient to regulate not only the construction of the buildings in which such dangerous works are carried on, but also to provide for the same being carried on in buildings at safe distances from other buildings which are used either for habitation or for trade in populous neighbourhoods: and forasmuch as by the carrying on of certain works of a noisome kind, or in which deleterious materials are used, or deleterious products are created, the health and comfort of the inhabitants are extensively impaired and endangered, it is expedient to make provision for the adoption of all such expedients as either have been or shall be devised for carrying on such businesses, so as to render them as little noisome or deleterious as possible to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood; and if there be no such expedients, or if such expedients be not available in a sufficient degree, then for the carrying on of such noisome and unwholesome businesses at safer distances from other buildings used for habitation: and forasmuch as great diversity of practice has obtained among the officers appointed in pursuance of the said acts to superintend the execution thereof in the several districts to which such acts apply, and the means at present provided for determining the numerous matters in question which constantly arise tend to promote such diversity, to increase the expense, and to retard the operations of persons engaged in building, it is expedient to make further provision for regulating the office of surveyor of such several districts, and to provide for the appointment of officers to superintend the execution of this Act throughout all the districts to which it is to apply, and also to determine sundry matters in question incident thereto, as well as to exercise in certain cases, and under certain checks and control, a discretion in the relaxation of the fixed rules, where the strict observance thereof is impracticable, or would defeat the object of this Act, or would needlessly affect with injury the course and operation of this branch of business: now for all the several purposes above mentioned, and for the purpose of consolidating the provisions of the law relating to the construction and the use of buildings in the metropolis and its neighbourhood, be it enacted," &c. The principal officers appointed to carry the act into effect are two Official Referees, a Registrar of Metropolitan Buildings, and Surveyors. The immediate superintendence of buildings is confided by the act to the surveyors, who are appointed for each district by the court of aldermen in the city, and by the justices at quartersessions for other parts of the district. In all cases of dispute or difficulty the official referees appointed by the Secretary of State and the Commissioners of Woods and Forests will determine the matter, instead of the appeal being to the police magistrates, as was formerly the case. The official referees are also empowered to modify technical rules. The registrar, who is appointed by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, is required to keep a record of all matters referred to the offcial referees and to preserve all documents connected with their proceedings. The third section of the act defines the limits to which the act shall extend, which are as follows:-" To all such places lying on the north side or left bank of the river Thames as are within the exterior boundaries of the parishes of Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington, Paddington, Hampstead, Hornsey, Tottenham, St. Pancras, Islington, Stoke Newington, Hackney. Stratford-le-Bow, Bromley, Poplar, and Shadwell; and to such part of the parish of Chelsea as lies north of the said parish of Kensington; and to all such parts and places lying on the south side or right bank of the said river, as are within the exterior boundaries of the parishes of Woolwich, Charlton, Greenwich, Deptford, Lea, Lewisham, Camberwell, Lambeth, Streathamn, Tooting, and Wandsworth; and to all places lying within two hundred yards from the exterior boundary of the district hereby defined, except the eastern part of the said boundary which is bounded by the river Lea." By § 4 power is given to the queen in council to extend the above limits to any limits within twelve miles of Charing Cross, notice of such extension being published in the London Gazette' one month previously. of falling, the occupier, or if not the occupier the owner, may be required to take down or secure the same within thirty-six hours; and a penalty of five pounds is incurred for every day during which the projection complained of is allowed to remain unrepaired or in a dangerous state. The subject of party walls, party fences, and intermixed buildings is regulated by §§ 20 to 39, and the following provisions are made as to their reparation, pulling down, or raising. If the consent of the adjoining owner is not obtained, notice must be given him three months before the work is commenced, and the adjoining owner may obtain an order on application to the official referees for such a modification of the work as will render it suitable to his premises. If the consent of the adjoining owner cannot be obtained, the matter is to be referred to the surveyor, and the official referees may reject or confirm his certificate, and award the proportion of expenses, &c. The decision of the official referees is to be final and conclusive. The surveyor and overseers of the place in which buildings in a ruinous state may be situated, are required to apply to the official referees to authorize a survey to be made thereof. A copy of the surveyor's certificate is to be forwarded to the overseers (or to the lord mayor and aldermen, if within the City of London), and they are required to cause such ruinous building to be securely shored or a sufficient hoard to be put up for the safety The 51st clause provides for a proper of all passengers; and they are also to drainage. Before the walls of any buildgive notice to the owner to repair or ing shall have been built to the height of pull down the whole or part of the build- ten feet, drains must have been properly ing within fourteen days. An appeal lies built and made good leading into the to the official referees, and if the owner re- common sewer, or if there be no sewer fuses to repair or pull down premises cer- within one hundred feet, then to the tified to be in a ruinous state, this may be nearest practicable outlet. If there be a done by the overseers, or in the City by common sewer within fifty feet of a new order of the lord mayor and aldermen; and building, a cesspool must not be made the materials may be disposed of to pay without a good and sufficient drain leading the costs of every description which may to it. A cesspool under a house or other have been incurred; and if any surplus building must be made air-tight. Privies remains, it is to be paid to the owner. built in the yard or area of any building But if the proceeds from this sale of ma- must have a door and be otherwise proterials are not sufficient to cover the ex-perly inclosed, screened, and fenced from penses, the deficiency is to be made up by public view. the owner of the property, and may be levied under warrant of distress; and if there are no goods or chattels to levy, the occupier of the premises may be required to pay, and he can deduct the amount from his rent. The same course which the act directs as to buildings in a ruinous state may also be followed in reference to chimneys, roofs, and projections, so far as relates to repairing or making them secure. If the projection be from the front walls of any building and be in danger The act also fixes the width of new streets and alleys. Every street must be of the width of forty feet at the least; and if the buildings be more than forty feet high from the level of the street, the street must be at least equal in width to the height of the houses or buildings. Every alley and every mews must be at least twenty feet in width, and if the buildings are higher, the width must be increased in proportion, so as to be at least equal to the height. The 53rd clause is of great importance in reference to the sanitary condition of the poor. It provides that from and after July 1, 1846, it shall not be lawful to let separately to hire as a dwelling any room or cellar not constructed according to the rules specified in schedule K, nor to occupy or suffer it to be occupied as such, nor to let, hire, occupy, or suffer to be occupied any such room or cellar, built under ground for any purpose, except for a warehouse or storeroom. The official referees and the registrar of metropolitan buildings soon after the passing of the act issued forms to the overseers of the poor within their district, in order to assist the parochial authorities in making a return, which must be ready by January 1, 1845, of all rooms which under the act are deemed unfit for dwellings, but which are now occupied as such. The building regula- | tions contained in schedule K are as follows:-"With regard to back yards or open spaces attached to dwelling-houses, every house hereafter built or rebuilt must have an enclosed back yard or open space of at the least one square [a square is defined by the act to be 100 square feet], exclusive of any building thereon, unless all the rooms of such house can be lighted and ventilated from the street, or from an area of the extent of at the least three-quarters of a square above the level of the second story, into which the owner of the house to be rebuilt is entitled to open windows for every room adjoining thereto. And if any house already built be hereafter rebuilt, then, unless all the rooms of such house can be lighted and ventilated from the street, or from an area of the extent of at the least threequarters of a square, into which the owner of the house to be rebuilt is entitled to open windows for every room adjoining thereto, there must be above the level of the floor of the third story an open space of at the least three-quarters of a square. And to every building of the first class must be built some roadway, either to it or to the enclosure about it, of such width as will admit to one of its fronts of the access of a scavenger's cart. With regard to the lowermost rooms of houses, being coms of which the surface of the floer is more than three feet below the surface of the footway, and to cellars of buildings hereafter to be built or rebuilt, if any such room or cellar be used as a separate dwelling, then the floor thereof must not be below the surface or level of the ground immediately adjoining thereto, unless it have an area, fireplace, and window, and unless it be properly drained. And to every such lowermost room or cellar there must be an area not less than three feet wide in every part, from six inches below the floor of such room or cellar to the surface or level of the ground adjoining to the front, back, or external side thereof, and extending the full length of such side; such area, to the extent of at least five feet long and two feet six inches wide, must be in front of the window, and must be open, or covered only with open iron gratings. And for every such room or cellar there must be an open fireplace, with proper flue therefrom, with a window-opening of at the least nine superficial feet in area, which window-opening must be fitted with glazed sashes, of which at the least four and a half superficial feet mast be made to open for ventilation. With regard to rooms in the roof of any building hereafter built or rebuilt, there must not be more than one floor of such rooms, and such rooms must not be of a less height than seven feet, except the sloping part, if any, of such roof, which sloping part must not begin at less than three feet six inches above the floor, nor extend more than three feet six inches on the ceiling of such room. With regard to rooms in other parts of the building, every room used as a separate dwel must be of at the least the height of seven feet from the floor to the ceiling. §§ 54 and 55 provide for the restraint and eventual removal from populous neighbourhoods of trades which are dangerous, noxious, or offensive. Businesses dangerous as to fire must not be nearer than fifty feet to other buildings; and new businesses of this character must be forty feet from public ways. Persons are not in future to establish or newly carry on any such businesses within fifty feet of other buildings or forty feet from public ways; and all such businesses now |