Sect. 72.

c. 50, as to

72. After the appointed day the Local Government Board shall exercise, as regards any county borough, or other borough, the Adaptation of Part V. of powers conferred by Part V. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 45 & 46 Vict. 1882, relating to corporate property and liabilities, as respects the approval of loans and of the alienation of property and other property and matters therein mentioned, and that part shall, as respects any transactions commenced after the appointed day, be construed as if "Local Government Board" were throughout that part substituted for "Treasury."

corporate

liabilities.

Fixing of local financial year and

This is an amendment of Part V. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. That part is not (save as to one section) incorporated with this Act, and the provision in the text has no real connection with the purposes of this Act.

Local Financial Year and Annual Budget.

73.-(1.) After the appointed day, not being more than three years after the passing of this Act, the local financial year shall consequent be the twelve months ending the thirty-first day of March, and adjustments. the accounts of the receipts and expenditure of every county

Annual budget of county councils.

council shall be made up for that year, but until the appointed day the local financial year shall be the twelve months ending the twenty-fifth day of March, and the said accounts shall be made up for that year.

As to the "appointed day," see s. 109, post.

Before this section came into operation the local financial year ended on March 25th.

As to making up of the accounts of county councils, see s. 71, ante.

(2.) All enactments relating to accounts of local authorities or the audit thereof, or to returns touching their receipts and expenditure, or to meetings, or other matters, shall be modified so far as is necessary for adapting them to the provisions of this section, and the Local Government Board shall from time to time give such orders and make such arrangements as appear to the Board to be necessary or proper for effecting such adaptation, and giving effect to the provisions of this section.

74.—(1.) At the beginning of every local financial year, every county council shall cause to be submitted to them an estimate of the receipts and expenses of such council during that financial year, whether on account of property, contributions, rates, loans, or otherwise.

(2.) The council shall estimate the amount which will require to be raised in the first six months and in the second six months of the said financial year by means of contributions.

This sub-section contemplates the making of two county rates, one at the beginning of each half-year.

(3.) If at the expiration of the first six months of such financial Sect. 74 (3). year it appears to the council that the amount of the contribution or rate estimated at the commencement of the year will be larger than is necessary, or will be insufficient, the council may revise the estimate and alter accordingly the amount of the contribution or

rate.

PART V.

SUPPLEMENTAL.

Application of Acts.

45 & 46 Vict

councils and

75. For the purpose of the provisions of this Act with respect to Applicacounty councils, and to the chairmen, members, committees, and tion of officers of such councils, and otherwise for the purpose of carrying c. 50, to this Act into effect, the following portions of the Municipal county Corporations Act, 1882, namely, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four this Act. (as amended by the Municipal Elections (Corrupt Practices) Act, 47 & 48 Vict. 1884), section one hundred and twenty-four, in Part Five, Part c. 70. Twelve, Part Thirteen, the Second Schedule, Part Two, and Part Three of the Third Schedule, and Part One of the Eighth Schedule shall, so far as the same are unrepealed and are consistent with the provisions of this Act, apply as if they were herein re-enacted with the enactments amending the same, in such terms and with such modifications as are necessary to make them applicable to the said councils, and their chairmen, members, committees, and officers, and to the other provisions of this Act.

The provisions of these incorporated Acts are set out post, and in the notes to each section it has been attempted to indicate its application to county councils as modified by the provisions of this Act.

As to the effect of this section in incorporating the provisions of the Municipal Elections (Corrupt Practices) Act, 1884, see Ex parte Walker, 22 Q. B. D. 384; 58 L. J. Q. B. 190; 60 L. T. (N.s.) 581; 37 W. R. 293; 53 J. P. 260; 5 T. L. R. 217.

This whole section has been materially altered by the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. 68), post.

This sub-section, which provided for the election of county councillors (in years in which they are elected) and borough councillors being conducted together, was repealed by the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. 68). Under that Act the elections of county councillors are held in March; the ordinary day of election of councillors of a borough is November 1st: Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 52, post.

(2.) Such person as the county council may appoint shall be
the returning officer for the election of county

Sect. 75 (2).

councillors of the county council, in substitution for the mayor, and for the aldermen assigned for that purpose by the council.

The returning officer will be returning officer for the entire administrative county. The council will not appoint a returning officer for each division corresponding to the alderman appointed for each ward of a borough.

(3.) The returning officer, without prejudice to any other power, may by writing under his hand appoint a fit person to be his deputy for all or any of the purposes relating to the election of any such councillor, and may by himself or such deputy exercise any powers and do any things which a returning officer is authorized or required to exercise or do in relation to such election, and shall, for the purposes of the election, have all the powers of the sheriff.

Under this sub-section a deputy may be appointed for a division or group of divisions. Divisions may be grouped so as to have only one place for nominations, etc. See sub-s. (7), post. It is difficult to understand the reference to the sheriff. The election of county councillors resembles a municipal election, with which the sheriff as such has nothing to do. The sheriff was, however, the returning officer at the first election, and this may afford the explanation of this reference. See s. 103, post.

(4.) A reference in this Act, or in the enactments applied by this Act, to the returning officer or to the mayor or to the alderman shall, so far as relates to the election of any such councillor, be construed to refer to the returning officer, and any such deputy as above mentioned.

These references have been noticed under the several sections.

(5.) A reference in the said enactments to the town clerk, so far as respects the election of any such councillor, shall be construed to refer to the returning officer or his deputy, and as respects matters subsequent to the election, shall be construed to refer to the clerk of the county council.

These references have been noticed under the several sections. Nothing in this clause substituting the returning officer or his deputy for the town clerk is to extend to any election of county councillors for an electoral division coextensive with or wholly comprised in a municipal borough; at such an election the town clerk will perform all the duties imposed upon the town clerk by the enactments referred to in the text. See the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891, s. 3, post. After the election the duties of the town clerk are to be performed by the clerk of the county council. Thus in a division not comprised

within a borough the returning officer must provide nomination papers under Sect. 75 (5). the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, Sched. 3, Part II., rule 6; but a copy of an election petition must be sent to the clerk of the council under s. 88 of that Act.

As to the clerk of county council, see s. 83, 106, post.

(6.)

This clause related to the person to act as returning officer at an election of county councillors in an electoral division of a county co-extensive with or wholly comprised in a borough. It is now repealed by the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891, which provides by s. 3 for the person to act as returning officer in such a case. See that Act, post.

(7.) Some place fixed by the returning officer shall, except
where the election is in a borough, be substituted for
the town clerk's office, and, as respects the hearing of
objections to nomination papers, for the town hall, but
such place shall, if the electoral division is the whole
or part of an urban district, be in that district, and in
any other case shall be in the electoral division or in
an adjoining electoral division.

In a borough nomination papers will be delivered to the town clerk, at his office, as at an election of town councillors.

In a division of a county not wholly within a borough, the nomination papers will be delivered to the returning officer (see sub-s. (5), supra), at some place fixed by him.

As to the application of s. 232 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, which deals with the fixing of notices on the town hall, see the note to that section, post.

If any part of the division is within an urban district the place for receiving nomination papers and for hearing objections must be within that district. But if it is wholly rural, the place may be in an adjoining division. It is therefore possible to group several rural divisions adjoining an urban division so that the same place may be fixed for all, and so as to enable one person to perform the duties of returning officer for all. But see the note to sub-s. (3),

ante.

(8.) The returning officer shall forthwith, after the election of
county councillors for the county, return the names of
the persons elected to the clerk of the county council.

(9.)

This clause is repealed by the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891.

(10.) An outgoing alderman shall not, as alderman, vote in
the election of a chairman.

This is an amendment of s. 60 (3) of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. The meaning of the words as alderman" are obscure. Perhaps they are intended to meet a case where an outgoing alderman has in the meantime been

NOTE.

Sect. 75 (10). elected a councillor, and therefore votes as councillor. Compare the provisions of s. 2 (2) (c), ante, p. 2.

NOTE.

48 & 49 Vict. c. 10.

(11.) The hours of the poll shall be those fixed by the Elections (Hours of Poll) Act, 1885.

The hours fixed by the Act are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. See the note to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 58, post.

(12.) Section eleven of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, with respect to the qualification of a county councillor by reason of his being entered in the separate nonresident list, shall include, for the purposes of this Act, all persons entered in such separate list in any municipal borough by reason of occupation of property in the borough, and all persons entered in such separate list for any part of a county not in a municipal borough by reason of the occupation of property in that part.

See the section referred to, post.

By the provision in the text a person will be entitled to be elected a councillor if he is entered in the county separate non-resident list, or in the corresponding list for any borough under s. 49 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.

(13.)

This clause was repealed by the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891, which provides (s. 1) that the ordinary day of election of the chairman and county aldermen, etc., shall be the 16th day of March or such other day within ten days after the ordinary day of retirement of county councillors as the county council may from time to time fix.

(14.) Ten days shall be substituted for five days in section. thirty-four of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, as the time within which a person elected to a corporate office is to accept that office, and twelve months. shall be substituted for six months in section thirty-nine of the said Act, as the period of absence which disqualifies an alderman or councillor.

See the sections referred to, post. The period of ten days above mentioned has been extended to three months after notice of election by the County Councils (Elections) Act, 1891, s. 5, post. Absence will not disqualify the chairman or deputy chairman. See sub-s. (16) (c), post.

(15.) The quorum of the council shall be one-fourth of the whole number of the council, and one-fourth shall, for the purposes of this section, be substituted for onethird in paragraph ten of the second schedule to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.

See the paragraph referred to, post.