group. The Parish Meeting of any parish forming part of a group of Dissolution of parishes, may apply to the County Council to make an order dissolving the group (s. 38). 1 A group may be dissolved under this provision without establishing a Parish Council in any of the parishes forming part of the group. The following powers are conferred by section 19 of the Act on the Parish Meeting of a parish not having a separate Parish Council. These powers are, where the parish is grouped with some neighbouring parish or parishes under a common Parish Council, subject to the provisions of the order constituting the group (1.) All powers, duties, and liabilities of the vestry, except so far Powers of vestry. as they relate to the affairs of the church or to ecclesiastical charities, or are transferred by the Act to any other authority. Under this provision the Parish Meeting would exercise any power that the Vestry might have had of appointing trustees or beneficiaries of non-ecclesiastical charities. In a parish with a Parish Council the power is transferred to that Council, see page 75. (2.) Powers of a Parish Council with respect to the stopping or diversion of a public right of way, or the declaring of a highway to be unnecessary and not repairable at the public expense, and with respect to a complaint to a County Council of a default by a District Council.* 3 Stopping of Defaults of district counc highways. assistant Charities. (3.) The power of appointing the overseers, and the duty of Appointment of notifying the appointment, and the power of appointing and overseers and revoking the appointment of an assistant overseer, and overseers. the power given to a Parish Council of appointing trustees of a charity in the place of overseers or churchwardens." No such powers of the overseers or of the churchwardens as are transferred to the Parish Council' are transferred to the Parish meeting. The Overseers will in a parish without a Parish Council accordingly retain all their existing powers, and the Churchwardens will retain such civil powers and duties as are not powers and duties of overseers. The Parish Meeting will not possess the power conferred on the Parish Council (see page 75) of appointing additional trustees in the case of certain non-ecclesiastical charities, except where the management of a charity is vested in a sole trustee; but the annual accounts and any draft-scheme relating to non-ecclesiastical charities, are required to be laid before the Parish Meeting (see page 77). 1 See page 36. "Similar powers are conferred on the Parish Council in a parish with a council, see page 47. 3 See page 65. 4 See page 66. See the similar powers conferred in Parish Councils, page 39. 6 See page 75. 7 See pages 49 and 50. Incorporation of chairman and overseers. Transfer of property. Powers of Parish Mode of evidencing acts of Parish Meeting. Committees. Limit of rate. The chairman of the Parish Meeting and the Overseers of the Parish will be a body corporate by the name of the Chairman and Overseers of the Parish. They will have perpetual succession, and may hold land for the purposes of the parish without licence in mortmain; but they must in all respects act in manner directed by the Parish Meeting, and any act of such body corporate must be executed under the hands, or, if an instrument under seal is required, under the hands and seals of the chairman and overseers.1 The legal interest in all property which under the Act would, if there were a Parish Council, be vested on the appointed day in the Parish Council is to vest in the Chairman and Overseers of the Parish, subject to all trusts and liabilities affecting the same, and all persons concerned must make or concur in making such transfers (if any) as are requisite to give effect to the enactment. The Parish Meeting will become the legal owners of parochial property, but they will not possess the full powers of disposition conferred on the Parish Council. The power to sell or otherwise dispose of the property will remain in the hands of the Guardians, see page 55. On the application of the Parish Meeting, the County Council may confer on that Meeting any of the powers conferred on a Parish Council by the Act. 3 3 Under this important provision, a Parish without a separate Parish Council may exercise by means of the parish meeting any of the powers of a Parish Council, without incurring the burden of the establishment of a council. Any act of the Parish Meeting may be signified by an instrument executed at the meeting under the hands, or, if an instrument under seal is required, under the hands and seals of the chairman presiding at the meeting and two other parochial electors present at the mecting.* The Parish Meeting may appoint a committee of their own number for any purposes which, in the opinion of the Parish Meeting, would be better regulated and managed by means of a committee. All the acts of the committee must be submitted to the Parish Meeting for their approval. A rate levied for defraying the expenses of the Parish Meeting (when added to expenses under any of the adoptive Acts) must not exceed 1 The Parish Council are similarly incorporated, see page 34. 2 See page 53, as to the provision transferring parish property to the Parish Council where there is a Parish Council. 3 See Chapter IV. 4 See similar provision as to Parish Councils and observations thereon, page 34. sixpence in the pound in any local financial year (s. 19); but where, Limit of rate. after the appointed day, the parish continues for a time to maintain its own highways' the highway expenses are not to be taken into account for the purpose of the limitation of the rate (s. 82 (2)). 2 Grouping order. A grouping order might affect the above powers, by conferring Effect of them on the common Parish Council established for the group of parishes, or otherwise modify these powers of the Parish Meeting. local inquiry. The Parish Meeting will have the right to appear at any inquiry Appearance at held by the County Council with reference to an order of the Council3, for the alteration of the boundary of, or division of the parish or union of, or of part of, the parish with another parish, and will be at liberty to petition the Local Government Board against the confirmation of the order (s. 36 (7)). See page 192. 2 See page 35. 1 See page 147. Population of 300. Population of less than 300. CHAPTER III. Parish Councils-Establishment of-Constitution of- ESTABLISHMENT OF PARISH COUNCILS. FOR every rural parish, which, according to the census of 1891 has a population of 300 or upwards,' there will be a Parish Council; but in a parish of a population under 300 an order of the County Council will be necessary to provide for the establishing of a Parish Council. It will be obligatory upon the County Council to provide for establishing a Parish Council if the Parish Meeting of a parish with a population of 100 or upwards so resolve. In the case of a parish with a population of less than 100, the County Council may, with the consent of the Parish Meeting provide for establishing a Parish Council (s. 1 (1)). It will not be obligatory on the County Council to do so. To supplement the provisions in section 1 (1), it is provided by section 38 (4) that the Parish Meeting of a parish with a less population than 200 may apply to the County Council for a Parish Council, and the County Council are to forthwith take the application into consideration. This supplementary provision is now defective in form, for it makes no provision for the case of a parish with a population between 200 and 300. When the House of Lords raised the limit of population prescribed by clause I (1) for the purpose of the compulsory establishment of Parish Councils from 200 to 300 no consequential amendments were made in subsequent clauses of the Bill. But in every case where a Parish Meeting of a parish with a population less than 300, but not less than 100, resolve to have a Parish Council, it will be obligatory on the County County by section I (1) to provide for establishing that Council, The supplementary provision in section 38 (4) is not actually required. Every parish with a population of 300 and upwards will by the operation of the Act have a Parish Council, but parishes with a 1 A Return to an order of the House of Commons of the number of poor law parishes and parts of parishes in England and Wales, according to the 1891 census, shows that out of a total number of 13,235 parishes and parts of parishes in rural sanitary districts (that is parishes which are "rural parishes" within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 1894), 6,879 parishes and parts of parishes had a population of 300 and upwards. (Parliamentary Paper No. 315, H. C. Session, 1893). less than 300. population of less than 300 will at the appointed day have a Parish Population of Meeting only, as no Parish Council can be established in such parishes, or for a group of such parishes, without the initiative or consent of the Parish Meeting, and that Meeting will not come into existence until the appointed day. Any establishment of Parish Councils for such parishes cannot take place before the appointed day. An order of a County Council establishing a Parish Council does not require confirmation by the Local Government Board (s. 40). case. The provisions for the compulsory establishment of a Parish Exceptional Council, in some parishes determined by the population being sufficiently large of itself, and in other parishes determined by the amount of population and by a resolution of the Parish Meeting, are subject to an exception in one special case where the effect of establishing a Parish Council would be to have both a Parish and Rural District Council exercising jurisdiction in the same area of one parish. To meet this exceptional case, the Act provides that where a Rural Parish is co-extensive with a Rural Sanitary District, then, until the district is united to some other district or districts, and unless the County Council otherwise direct, a separate election of a Parish Council shall not be held for the parish, but the District Council shall, in addition to their own powers, have the powers of, and be deemed to be, the Parish Council (s. 36 (4)). CONSTITUTION OF PARISH COUNCIL. members. councillors. A Parish Council will consist of a chairman, and such a number of Number of councillors, not being less than five nor more than fifteen, as may be fixed from time to time by the County Council. The councillors will Qualification of be elected from among the parochial electors of the parish, or persons who have during the whole of the twelve months preceding the nomination (s. 75 (2)) of parish councillors resided in or within three miles of the parish (s. 3 (1)), and both single and married women will be eligible for election 2 (s. 3 (2)). The chairman may be elected either from within or without the council Chairman. (s. 3 (8)). If he is elected from within he will be both chairman and a councillor. If he is elected from without he will be a member of the council although not a councillor. The office of councillor and chairman are quite compatible and can be held by the same person. "residence." In connection with qualifications for the municipal and parlia- What constitutes mentary franchise, the question of what is to be considered "resi 1 See page 6, as to "the appointed day." As to the disqualifications for the office of parish councillor, see page 217. |