(3.) Where a parliamentary county extends into more county quarter sessional areas than one, the clerk of the peace of each county quarter sessional area shall, in respect of each parish in such parliamentary county which is within his jurisdiction, act as and be deemed to be the clerk of the peace of the county within the meaning of the Parliamentary Registration Acts and this Act, until the lists of voters for such parish have been revised; but the revising barrister shall transmit the revised lists of voters for such parish to the clerk of the peace of the county quarter sessional area which comprises the largest part in extent of the said parliamentary county, and save as aforesaid, such last-mentioned clerk shall, as respects the said parliamentary county, act as, and be deemed to be sole clerk of the peace of the county for the purposes of the Parliamentary Registration Acts and this Act.

(1.) Precepts to Overseers.] The Act passed on the 21st May, 1885, so that the last day for sending the precepts in the year 1885 was the 2nd of June. The last day for sending precepts under the Act of 1843 was, by ss. 3 and 10, the 10th of June, both for counties and boroughs.

For forms of precept, which by this Act are quite new and much more elaborate, see for Counties, Form No. 1 of Schedule 2, p. 180, and for Boroughs, see Form in Schedule 3, p. 208.

As to sending supplemental precepts in 1885, and as to validity of things done in anticipation of that Act, see s. 19 of Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, p. 239.

(3.) County Quarter Sessional Area.] For definition of "county quarter sessional area," see s. 19.

8. Whereas by section thirty-one of the Representation of the People Act, 1867, it was provided that the word "expenses in sections fifty-four and fifty-five of the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843,* should include and apply to all proper and reasonable fees and charges of any clerk of the peace of any county, or of any town clerk of any city or borough to be thereafter made or charged by him in any year for his trouble, care, and attention in the performance of the services and duties imposed on him by the above-mentioned Acts:

And whereas doubts may arise as to whether the said section would extend to services and duties imposed upon him by the Representation of the People Act 1884, or this Act, and it is expedent to remove such doubts: Be it therefore enacted as follows:

Section thirty-one of the Representation of the People Act, 1867, with respect to the remuneration of clerks of the peace and town clerks, shall extend to their duties under the Representation of the People Act, 1884, and this Act.

9. Where a parish is situated partly within and partly without the boundary of a parliamentary county, or of a parliamentary borough, or of a municipal borough, the burgesses of which are enrolled in accordance with the Parliamentary and Municipal Registration Act, 1878,§ the Parliamentary Registration Acts and this Act shall apply as if the several parts of the

s. 9.

parish divided by such boundaries were respectively separate 48 Vict. c. 15, parishes, and the overseers of the whole undivided parish were also the overseers of each such separate parish.

This section has merely the effect of doubling the duties of overseers of divided parishes, which overseers in which divided parishes will have to make out separate lists of voters for each division.

10. Any person deemed to be an inhabitant occupier under section three of the Representation of the People Act, 1884,* shall be qualified to be registered as if the provisions of that Act had been in force throughout the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, and had been duly carried into effect.

The Act of 1884, p. 59, ante, was passed on the 6th December, 1884. The third section of that Act establishes what is commonly called the "service franchise" by the enactment that a person inhabiting a house by reason of an office or service shall be deemed to occupy the house as a tenant, but contains no express words qualifying him to be registered. This section expressly qualifies such a person for registration, and makes the period of qualification which actually began on the 6th December, 1884, and would not therefore but for this section be sufficient, constructively to begin on the 1st January, 1884.

11. A man entitled to be registered as a fifty pounds rental voter shall be registered as an occupation voter and not as an ownership voter, and shall be included in the expression "occupation voter" in this Act, and it shall be the duty of the overseers to insert the name of every fifty pounds rental voter in the list of occupation voters, and to add "objected" before the name of such voter in the portion of the register relating to ownership voters.

As to fifty pounds rental voters, see s. 19 of this Act, post.

12. Whereas by section seven of the Parliamentary and Municipal Registration Act, 1878, it is provided that every period of qualification for parliamentary voters in parliamentary boroughs which was then computed by reference to the last day of July should be computed by reference to the 15th day of July, and the said enactment extends to occupation voters in parliamentary counties, and it is expedient to extend the same enactment to all other voters in parliamentary counties: Be it therefore enacted as follows:

Every period of qualification as defined by the said Act for any voter in a parliamentary county which is now computed by reference to the last day of July shall, instead of being so computed, be computed by reference to the fifteenth day of July.

The 7th section of the Act of 1878, p. 141, extends to occupation voters in counties by virtue of s. 1, subs. 1, of this Act, ante. The present section extend it to ownership voters, and at the time repeats the extension of s. 1, subs. (1), to occupation voters.

Special provi

sions as to voters in 1885. * p. 60.

Voters in respect of £50

rental.

Period of qua

lification by reference to

15th July.

13.-(1.) Where a parliamentary county is co-extensive with Constitution of or is comprised within one county quarter sessional area, the polling discourt of county quarter sessions having jurisdiction in that area shall be the local authority having power to divide such parlia

tricts.

48 Vict. c. 15, mentary county into polling districts within the meaning of the enactments relating to polling districts.

s. 13.

Polling Districts.

As to expenses in case of

divided county jurisdiction.

(2.) Where a parliamentary county extends into more county quarter sessional areas than one, the court of county quarter sessions for the area which comprises the largest part in extent of such parliamentary county, shall be the local authority having power to divide such parliamentary county into polling districts.

(3.) Where a parliamentary county extends into more county quarter sessional areas than one, the local authority having power to divide the said county into polling districts shall have power to agree with any other court of quarter sessions having jurisdiction in that area for the constitution of a joint committee to take into consideration the division of such county into polling districts and assigning of polling places to such districts, and shall, after receiving the report of the said committee, make such order thereon as they may think fit.

(4.) The local authority having power to divide any parliamentary county or parliamentary borough into polling districts shall, not later than one month after the passing of this Act, take into consideration the division of such county or borough into polling districts, and, if necessary, in order to make the districts conform with the enactments relating to the division of counties and boroughs into polling districts, shall divide such county and borough, or any division of such borough anew into polling districts, and (in a county) assign polling places to such districts, in such manner as shall make the districts so conform with the said enactments, measuring the distance theireîn mentioned along the nearest road, so as to meet the convenience of electors in recording their votes.

(5.) A court of general sessions shall, where necessary for the purposes of this section, be assembled forthwith after the passing

of this Act.

(1.) County Quarter Sessional Area.] For definition of this term, see s. 19. Enactments relating to Polling Districts.] These enactments are: Representation of the People Act, 1867, s. 34, p. 129; Ballot Act, 1872, s. 5, p. 434; Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883, s. 47, p. 494.

14.-(1.) Where any expenses have been incurred, either by the court of county quarter sessions of any county quarter sessional area in dividing a parliamentary county into polling districts, or by the clerk of the peace of any county quarter sessional area under the Parliamentary Registration Acts, or this Act, and such expenses were incurred partly in respect of a locality which does, and partly in respect of a locality (whether a division, liberty, county of a town, or other locality) which does not, contribute to the county rate levied by the court of county quarter sessions of such county quarter sessional area, that court shall apportion the expenses between the localities in the ratio, so nearly as may be, which the number of regis

s. 14.

tered voters in each locality for the time being bear to each 48 Vict. c. 15, other, and the amount apportioned to any such non-contributing locality shall be defrayed out of the county rate or rate in the nature of a county rate levied in such locality; and an order of the said court of county quarter sessions, made on the treasurer or other officer receiving such rate, shall be obeyed by and may be enforced against such treasurer, as if he were the treasurer of the court of county quarter sessions making the order.

(2.) Where a parliamentary borough is situate within the jurisdiction of more than one court of county quarter sessions, and by reason of there being no town council in such borough, the expenses of the town clerk under the Parliamentary Registration Acts and this Act are required to be allowed by the quarter sessions for the county in which such parliamentary borough is situate, such expenses shall be allowed by the court of county quarter sessions within the jurisdiction of which the larger portion of such parliamentary borough in area is situate.

(3.) The receipts of any clerk of the peace under the Parliamentary Registration Acts shall be applied in aid of the rate which bears the expenses of such clerk, and if there is more than one such rate, then of each rate in the proportion in which the expenses are borne by such rates.

15. From and after the passing of this Act section seventy- Universities of eight of the Act of Parliament passed in the second and third Oxford and years of the reign of his Majesty King William the Fourth, Cambridge. chapter forty-five, shall be and the same is hereby repealed.

Provided that no person shall be prevented by any other Act from being registered as a parliamentary voter in respect of his occupation of any chambers or premises in any of the colleges or halls of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge.

See this section and note, ante, p. 71.

parochial relief.

16. Any person registered as a parliamentary voter in the Informations register of voters for a parish may, by notice in writing as to persons delivered or sent to the clerk of the guardians for such parish, disqualified by or for the union containing such parish, require such clerk to send to him a list giving the names and addresses, as appearing in the books of the guardians and their officers, either of all men of full age, or of all persons who have, during the period specified in the notice, received out of the rates administered by such guardians, either parochial relief or outdoor parochial relief, and at the time of receiving such relief were recorded as resident in the said parish or union, and the clerk of the guardians, on payment of fees after the rate allowed by the Parliamentary and Municipal Registration Act, 1878, for * returns by registrars of births and deaths, shall send the list with such of the said particulars as are specified in the notice, and the relieving officers of the guardians shall give the clerk

P. 144.

s. 16.

48 Vict. c. 15, the information he requires for that purpose, and shall receive from the clerk a reasonable remuneration for so doing, and if any clerk or relieving officer refuses or fails to comply with this section he shall be deemed guilty of a wilful act of commission or omission within the meaning of section ninety-seven of the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843.

Parochial
Relief.

p. 111.

Repeal.

Substituted forms, &c.

As to disqualification by parochial relief, see further s. 36 of the Act of 1832, and note, p. 25, applied to counties by s. 40 of the Act of 1867, p. 43, by which section overseers are directed, both in counties and boroughs, to omit disqualified persons from the lists of voters.

17. The Acts mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act shall to the extent in the third column of that Schedule mentioned be repealed without prejudice to anything done in pursuance thereof before the passing of this Act.

In addition to the enactments expressly repealed by this section, s. 8 of the Act of 1878, p. 142, and the Schedule of Forms thereby enacted, appears to be impliedly repealed by s. 18 of this Act, infra.

18. The forms and instructions contained in the Second and Third Schedules to this Act shall be used and observed in all cases to which they apply, and shall be substituted in all such cases for the forms, instructions, and directions contained in the schedules to the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843, the [See p 164.] County Voters Registration Act, 1865, the Representation of the People Act, 1867, the Parliamentary and Municipal Registration Act, 1878, and the Representation of the People Act, 1884, but a disregard of any form or instruction shall not of itself invalidate any list, notice, or other thing.

Separate forms for counties and boroughs were prescribed by various sections of the Act of 1843.

The Act of 1865, by s. 2, prescribed a new form of precept for counties, and by s. 6 a new form of objection for counties.

The Act of 1867, by s. 28, prescribed a form of Notice of Rates in Arrear to be given by overseers to voters, and by s. 30 forms of claim by lodgers, and of list of lodger claimants.

The Act of 1878 provided a new set of forms for boroughs, except in respect of freemen and of voters for the City of London.

The Act of 1884, by s. 9, subs. 3, provided a form of requisition for name of occupiers to be sent by overseers to occupiers.

The present section prescribes a new set (except as to freemen and voters in the City of London) of forms for use in counties (Schedule 2) and in boroughs (Schedule 3). The words "but a disregard of any form or instruction shall not of itself invalidate any list, notice, or other thing," when compared with the direction of s. 8 of the Act of 1878 that "the schedule of Forms A. shall be construed and have effect as if enacted in the body of this Act," may perhaps have the effect of somewhat weakening the authority of forms.

Material differences in the new from the old forms, and cases upon the old forms so far as applicable are stated in an " Editors' Note" to each new form. As to obligation to deliver "supplemental precepts" under Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, see s. 19, subs. 4, of that Act, p. 239.

As to the effect of imperfect publication of a list and of non-publication of a list, see ss. 26 and 27 of the Act of 1843, p. 86, and as to effect of misnomer, see s. 101 of that Act, p. 113.