SECT. 29.
Note.

nursery grounds, and the occupier of any land covered with water, or used as a canal or towing path for the same, or as a railway constructed under the powers of any Act of Parliament for public conveyance, shall, where a special assessment is made for the purpose of such rate, be assessed in respect of one-fourth part only of the rateable value thereof, or where no special assessment is made, shall pay in respect of the said property one-fourth part only of the rate in the pound payable

in respect of houses and other property:

Provided that where the amount required by any precept or precepts from a contributory place in respect of special expenses is less than ten pounds, or is so small that a rate less than one penny in the pound would be required to raise the same, the overseers shall not assess and levy any special rate for the same, but shall pay the amount as if it formed part of the contribution required from them in respect of general expenses.

"A separate rate under this section shall, as respects the power of the overseers in relation to making, assessing, and levying such rate, and as respects the appeal against such rate, and all other incidents thereof except the purposes to which it is applicable, and such exemption as aforesaid, and except the allowance of justices, which shall not be required, be subject to the same provisions as apply in law to a rate levied for the relief of the poor; and the overseers of a parish shall have the same powers of levying such separate rate in a contributory place or part of a contributory place forming part of their parish, as they would have if such contributory place or such part thereof formed the whole of their parish.

con

"Where a contribution for general expenses is required from a cor tributory place or part of a contributory place which is part of a parish, the overseers shall from time to time levy such increase of rate from the contributory place or such part thereof as may be sufficient to recoup the parish for the sum it has paid on account of the contributory place or such part thereof in respect of general expenses under this Act, and carry the same to the general account of the parish, and such increase of rate shall be raised in such contributory place or part of a contributory place by an addition to the poor rate or by a separate rate to be assessed, made, allowed, published, collected, and levied in the same manner as a poor rate. The officers ordinarily employed in the collection of the poor rate shall, if required by the overseers, collect any separate rate made under this section, and receive out of such separate rate such remuneration for the additional duty as the overseers, with the consent of the vestry, may determine."

The provisions of this section have been set out fully, for it is necessary to refer to them in order to appreciate the modifications introduced by the text.

HIGHWAY EXPENSES.-The first of these modifications relates to highway expenses. Hitherto in a highway parish, the highway rate has

been made by the surveyor of highways upon all property rated to the relief of the poor. This rate was an equal rate, that is to say, it was levied equally upon all kinds of property, but it must not have exceeded at any one time the sum of 10d. in the pound or the sum of 2s. 6d. in the pound in the whole in any one year without the consent of four-fifths of the inhabitants present at a meeting called specially for the purpose, Highway Act, 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4, c. 50), ss. 27-29. In highway districts, which are combinations of parishes made by the quarter sessions, the expenses of highways, have been, since 1878, borne by the common fund raised out of the several parishes according to the rateable value of each. 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77, s. 7. In such case the rates in each parish were equal rates. The first provision in the above section will, therefore, make no change in the incidence of rates for highway purposes. These will be borne equally by all kinds of rateable property.

(b.) When the Local Government Board determine

any expenses under this Act to be special ex-
penses and a separate charge on any contributory
place, and such expenses would if not separately
chargeable on a contributory place be raised as
general expenses, they may further direct that
such special expenses shall be raised in like
manner as general expenses, and not by such
separate rate for special expenses as is mentioned

SECT. 29.

Note.

in section two hundred and thirty of the Public 38 & 39 Vict. Health Act, 1875:

ORDER MAKING SPECIAL EXPENSES PAYABLE AS GENERAL EXPENSES.-The second modification is an important one. It has been noticed that under section 229 of the Public Health Act, the Local Government Board may order any expenses which would otherwise be payable as general expenses, to be defrayed as special expenses chargeable upon a particular contributory place. Hitherto, when such an order has been made, the expenses have had to be defrayed out of a special rate levied in manner provided by section 230, but such rate is not equal, for the properties enumerated in section 230 are rated only at one-fourth of their rateable value. Henceforth, when an order is made relating to expenses which would, if not separately chargeable on a contributory place, be raised as general expenses, the Local Government Board may direct that the special expenses shall be raised as general expenses, that is to say, out of an equal rate to which all properties will be rateable at their full value.

(c.) A district council shall have the same power of charging highway expenses under exceptional circumstances on a contributory place as a highway board has in respect of any area under

c. 55.

SECT. 29.

41 & 42 Vict. c. 77.

SECT. 30.

Guardians in

London and county boroughs.

SECT. 31.

section seven of the Highways and Locomotives

(Amendment) Act, 1878:

HIGHWAY EXPENSES IN PARTS OF DISTRICTS.-Section 7 of the Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act, 1878, after enacting that the expenses of a highway board shall be deemed to have been incurred for the common use or benefit of the several parishes within their district and shall be charged on the district fund, contains a proviso that "if a highway board think it just by reason of natural differences of soil or locality, or other exceptional circumstances, that any parish or parishes within their district should bear the expenses of maintaining its or their highways, they may, with the approval of the county authority or authorities of the county or counties within which their district or any part thereof is situate, divide their district into two or more parts and charge exclusively on each of such parts the expenses payable by such highway board in respect of maintaining and keeping in repair the highways situate in each such part; so, nevertheless, that each such part shall consist of one or more highway parish or highway parishes."

This power of dividing their district into parts for the purpose of charging the expenses of the highways in each part upon such part separately will be exercisable by a district council (where it has become the highway authority under section 25, ante), with the approval of the county council.

(d.) Where highway expenses would, if this Act had

not passed, have been in whole or in part defrayed in any parish or other area out of any property or funds other than rates, the district council shall make such provision as will give to that parish or area the benefit of such property or funds by way of reduction of the rates on the parish or area.

The fourth modification applies where any parish has property producing an income applicable in relief of highway rates. Such a parish will still be entitled to the benefit of that property. See section 8, subsection (2), and notes, ante, p. 54.

30. The provisions of this Part of this Act respecting guardians shall apply to the administrative county of London and to every county borough.

The provisions of this Part of this Act respecting guardians are contained in section 20, ante, p. 121.

31. (1.) The provisions of this Act with respect to the qualification of the electors of urban district councillors, as to London and of the persons to be elected, and with respect to the

Provisions

vestries and

*rict boards.

mode of conducting the election, shall apply as if members SECT. 31. of the local board of Woolwich and the vestries elected under the Metropolis Management Acts, 1855 to 1890, or any Act amending those Acts, and the auditors for parishes elected under those Acts, and so far as respects the qualification of persons to be elected as if members of the district boards under the said Acts, were urban district councillors, and no person shall, ex officio, be chairman of any of the said vestries. Provided that the Elections (Hours of Poll) Act, 1885, shall apply to 48 Vict. c. 10. elections to the said vestries.

LONDON VESTRIES AND DISTRICT BOARDS.-The qualification of electors of urban district councillors and of the persons to be elected is provided for by section 23; the disqualifications of persons to be elected are contained in section 46; the mode of conducting the election will be regulated by rules of the Local Government Board made under section 23, sub-section (5), subject to the special provisions contained in section 48, post.

These provisions are applied by the text to the election of members of the Woolwich Local Board and the metropolitan vestries.

WOOLWICH.-Woolwich was created a local board district by provisional order confirmed by 15 & 16 Vict. c. 69, ss. 1, 2, 4. By 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, s. 238, it was brought within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Board of Works for certain purposes, and for these purposes it is still part of the metropolis and subject to the London County Council. The Public Health Act, 1875, did not apply to the metropolis, which, as defined by section 4 of that Act, included Woolwich. Now, by section 102 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, the provisions of the Public Health Acts set out in the Second Schedule of that Act, except so far as they are superseded by that Act, apply to the parish and local board of Woolwich. The Woolwich Local Board will now be elected in like manner as an urban district council under this Act.

METROPOLITAN VESTRIES.-The metropolitan vestries have hitherto been elected in each of the parishes of the metropolis mentioned in the schedules to the Metropolis Management Act, 1855.

Members of these vestries have hitherto had to possess a rating qualification under section 6 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, and ss. 13-27 of the same Act regulated the mode of election. These sections are now repealed by this Act, and the members of these vestries will now be elected in the same manner as urban district councillors. No qualification will be necessary save as provided by section 23 (2), ante, p. 128. The electors will be the parochial electors (section 23, sub-section (3) ),

SECT. 31. who in the county of London are the persons who would be parochial electors if the parish were a rural one (section 75, sub-section (2)). See the notes to section 44, post.

Note.

Sub-sect. (2).

The parish auditors are to be elected in the same way. They are elected at the same time as the members of the vestry under 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, s. 11.

CHAIRMAN.-See the next sub-section.

No person is to be ex officio chairman of a vestry. But the text does not provide that there shall be no ex officio members of the vestry, and the incumbent and churchwardens, who are members of the vestry by 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, s. 2, will continue to be members, for section 23, sub-section (1), does not apply to London, and the provisions of this section applying to London certain provisions of the Act do not appear to apply section 23, sub-section (1).

MEMBERS OF DISTRICT BOARDS.-These will apparently be elected by the vestries as formerly, but the text alters the qualification of the persons to be elected; the qualification will now be that prescribed by section 23, sub-section (2), ante, p. 128.

ELECTIONS (HOURS OF POLL) ACT, 1885.-Under this Act the poll must be kept open from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. But this provision applies only to the election of members of vestries. At an election of guardians the rules prescribe the hours of polling. See sections 30 and 48, sub-section (2).

FIRST ELECTIONS.-These will take place on the day prescribed by the Local Government Board. See section 84, sub-section (1), post.

(2.) Each of the said vestries, except those electing district boards, and each of the said district boards and the local board of Woolwich, shall at their first meeting after the annual election of members elect a chairman for the year, and section forty-one of the Metropolis 18 & 19 Vict. Management Act, 1855, shall apply only in case of the absence of such chairman, and the provisions of this Act with respect to chairmen of urban district councils being justices shall apply as if the said vestries and boards were urban district councils.

c. 120.

CHAIRMAN.-No provision is made for the election of a chairman of a vestry which elects a district board, though the preceding section provides that there shall be no ex officio chairman.

The provisions of the Act with respect to chairmen being justices are contained in section 22, ante, p. 127. But the chairmen of vestries electing district boards will not apparently be justices.

Under section 41 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, a chairman must be elected