to be elected under the provisions of the said first-recited Act contains more than twenty thousand persons, according to the enumeration of the population then last published by authority of parliament, it shall be lawful for the said commissioners, by order under their hands and seal, for the purpose of conducting the election of guardians, to divide such parish into such and so many wards as they may deem expedient, so that no such ward shall contain a number of rated houses less than four hundred, and to determine the number of guardians to be elected for every such ward, having due regard to the value of the rateable property therein and each such ward shall, for the purpose of every election of guardians, so far as the said commissioners may direct, be considered as a separate parish. 7 & 8 Vict. c. 101, s. 19.

The guardians of wards shall have the same qualification as guardians of parishes; but no person shall be elected for more wards than one, or if he be nominated for more, he shall elect for which he will stand. Id. s. 20. Votes must be in respect of property in the ward; and a party having property in more than one ward, may, by notice, elect in which ward he will vote, and in default of such notice he shall vote only in that ward in which he resides. Id. s. 21.

The duties and functions of a board of guardians established for a single parish, are precisely similar to those of boards of guardians for unions of parishes, and therefore need not be repeated at this place.

3. GUARDIANS UNDER LOCAL ACTS, &C.

By stat. 7 & 8 Vict. c. 101, s. 64, the guardians of every parish or union acting under any local Act for the relief of the poor, shall hold their meetings once in every fortnight, or oftener, and in all matters concerning the relief of the poor shall act as a board at a meeting, and not individually; and whenever under any such local Act there is no person particularly designated or authorized to act as chairman, such guardian shall elect and appoint annually, and from time to time, as vacancies may occur, a chairman and vice-chairman of such board, and shall at any meeting at which no chairman or vice-chairman is present elect a temporary chairman to preside at that meeting: provided always, that when the relief of the poor has been hitherto administered in any parish by guardians appointed under a local Act, and not by overseers of the poor, if such parish, according to the last enumeration of the population published by authority of parliament, contain more than twenty thousand persons, it shall not be lawful for the said commissioners, after the passing of this Act, without the consent in writing of two-thirds at least of such guardians, to declare such parish to be united with any other parish for

the administration of the laws for the relief of the poor, any thing in the said first-recited Act to the contrary notwithstanding.

By stat. 11 & 12 Vict. c. 91, s. 12, after reciting that in certain parishes and unions wherein the relief of the poor is administered by guardians or other competent authorities under the provisions of particular statutes or local Acts applicable thereto, doubts have been entertained whether any poor person can be relieved by such guardians or other authorities out of the workhouses belonging to such parishes and unions respectively, and it is expedient to remove such doubts, and to give authority for such relief out of the workhouses:-it is enacted, that in all cases where the relief of the poor is administered in any parish or union under the provisions of any local Act, it shall be lawful for the guardians or other competent authority, administering the relief to the poor in any such parish or union if they think fit, to administer such relief in all respects in like manner and with the like powers and authorities as any board of guardians of a union formed under the provisions of stat. 4 & 5 W. 4, c. 76, is now or shall hereafter be authorized to do: provided always, that the cost of all such relief so given or to be given shall be charged among the parishes in the same union in like manner and in like proportion as the relief heretofore or hereafter to be given in the workhouse of such parish or union is now or shall hereafter be chargeable.

The provisions of the 22 Geo. 3, c. 83 (Gilbert's Act), being now for the most part obsolete, and as regards the administration of relief, as well as otherwise, impracticable, are omitted from this work. At the present time (1854), there are only a very few parishes which remain subject to the provisions of Gilbert's Act.

HIGHWAYS.

1. Highway Rate, p. 209.
2. Surveyors of the Highways, p. 212.

1. HIGHWAY RATE.

By whom and how made, 209.
Form and amount, 209.
Errors in it, how rectified,
210.

What persons excused, 210.
Rates, how recovered, 210.
Composition for rates, 210.
Appeal against a rate, 210.

By whom and how made.] In order to raise money for carrying the several purposes of this Act into execution, a rate shall be made, assessed, and levied by the surveyor upon all property now liable to be rated and assessed to the relief of the poor; and upon such woods, mines, and quarries of stone, or other hereditaments, as have heretofore been usually rated to the highways; such rate to be signed by the said surveyor and allowed by two justices of the peace, and published in the same way as poor rates are now allowed and published. 5 & 6 W. 4, c. 50, s. 27.

The words "usually rated" here mean merely such woods, &c., as have usually been actually rated in the particular parish; and therefore, upon an appeal against a highway rate, it was holden that the sessions were right in inquiring whether certain woods were usually rated, in point of fact, at the time of the passing of the statute, and not whether such woods were rateable, or whether they were usually rated in other parishes. R. v. Rose, 13 Law J. 155, m.; 6 Q. B. 153.

And for this purpose the surveyor may, at all reasonable times, inspect, or by writing signed by him grant authority to any person to inspect, the poor rates of the parish of which he is surveyor, or the books of assessments thereto, and make copies thereof, or extracts therefrom; and if any person in whose custody or power the said rates or books shall be, shall when thereunto required, refuse or neglect to produce the same to the surveyor, or person so by him authorized as aforesaid, or to allow such copy or extract to be made, or taken, at all reasonable hours in the day-time, he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding five pounds. 5 & 6 W. 4, c. 50, s. 28.

Form and amount.] Every rate shall contain the names of the occupiers, the description of the property they occupy,

and the full annual value thereof, and shall also specify the sum in the pound at which it is made; and no such rate shall exceed at any one time the sum of tenpence in the pound, or the sum of two shillings and sixpence in the pound in the whole in any one year, unless with the consent of four-fifths of the rate-payers assembled at a meeting specially called for that purpose. Id. s. 29.

Errors in it, how rectified.] If there be any omission or error in the rate, in the name of any person, tenement, &c., liable to be rated, the surveyor, with the approbation of the justices at a special sessions for the highways, may cause to be added or corrected in the said rate the name of the person omitted or erroneously stated, and a description of the property in respect of which he ought to be rated; which, being signed by such justices, shall be as effectual as if the same had originally been part of the rate. Id. s. 31.

What persons excused.] The justices at a special sessions for the highways, on application made to them by any person rated to any rate under the authority of this Act to be discharged therefrom, may, on proof of his inability through poverty to pay such rate (the surveyor having been first summoned to appear on the part of the parish), order that such person shall be excused from the payment of such rate. Id. s. 32.

Property, which previous to the passing of this Act, has been legally exempt from the performance of statute duty, or from the payment of composition in lieu thereof, or of highway rate, shall be exempt from the payment of the rate hereby imposed. Id. s. 33.

Rates, how recovered.] And for levying and recovering the said rate, the surveyor shall have the same powers, remedies, and privileges, as the overseers of the poor in the parish have by law for the recovery of any rate made for the relief of the poor. Id. s. 34. See Morrell v. Martin, 11 Law J. 22, m. Charrinton v. Johnson, 14 Law J. 299. See post, tit. “Overseers of the Poor."

Composition for rates.] In parishes in which the overseers of the poor have power, by local Acts of parliament, to compound with or require composition for poor rates from the landlords of certain tenements, &c., and, in case of refusal to compound, to rate such landlords as the occupiers, the surveyor shall have the same powers, remedies, and privileges as to the rates authorized to be made by this Act. Id. s. 30.

Appeal against a rate.] If any person shall think himself aggrieved by any rate made under or in pursuance of this Act,

or by any order, conviction, judgment, or determination made, or by any matter or thing done, by any justice or other person, in pursuance of this Act, and for which no particular method of relief hath been already appointed, such person may appeal to the justices at the next general or quarter sessions of the peace to be held for the county, division, riding, or place wherein the cause of such complaint shall arise,--such appellant first giving to the surveyor, or to such justice or other person by whose act such person shall find himself aggrieved, notice in writing of his intention to bring such appeal, together with a statement in writing of the grounds of such appeal, within fourteen days after such rate shall be made, or cause of complaint shall arise, and within four days after such notice, entering into a recognizance before some justice, with two sufficient sureties, conditioned to try such appeal at and abide the order of, and pay such costs as shall be awarded by the justices at such general or quarter sessions; and such justices upon hearing and finally determining the matter of such appeal, may, according to their discretion, award such costs to the party appealing or appealed against, as they shall think proper but in case there shall not be time to give such notice and enter into such recognizance before the next sessions, then such appeal may be made to the next following sessions, and shall be then heard and determined: provided, also, that it shall not be lawful for the appellant to be heard in support of such appeal, unless such notice and statement shall have been so given as aforesaid, nor, on the hearing of such appeal, to go into evidence of any other grounds of appeal than those set forth in such statement. 5 & 6 W. 4, c. 50, s. 105.

And in all cases of appeal against the rate made in pursuance of this Act, the several provisions and enactments contained in stat. 41 Geo. 3, c. 23, relative to poor rates, shall be applicable thereto, as if the same had been repealed and re-enacted in this Act. Id. s. 106.

But no rate, nor any proceeding to be had touching the conviction of any offender against this Act, or any order made, or any other matter or thing done or transacted in or relative to the execution of this Act, shall be vacated or quashed for want of form, or be removable (except as herein mentioned) by certiorari, or any other writ or process whatsoever, into any of His Majesty's courts of record at Westminster. Id. 8. 107.

In any case of appeal, however, the court of quarter sessions may, if they think fit, state the facts specially for the determination of the court of King's Bench thereon, in which case it shall be lawful to remove the proceedings, by writ of certiorari or otherwise, into the said court of King's Bench. Id. s. 108.