An Act to relieve certain Occupiers of Dwelling-houses in Scotland from being disqualified from the right of voting in the Election of Members to serve in Parliament by reason of their under-letting such Dwelling-houses for short terms. (18th March 1878.)

WHEREAS questions have arisen upon the occupation required by the third section of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868:

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and

consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. This Act shall be cited for all purposes as the House Occupiers Disqualification Removal (Scotland) Act, 1878.

2. From and after the passing of this Act every man shall be entitled to be registered and to vote under the provisions of the said section notwithstanding that during a part of the qualifying period not exceeding four months in the whole he shall by letting or otherwise have permitted the qualifying premises to be occupied as a furnished house by some other person.

An Act to amend the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1875. (18th March 1878.)

WHEREAS by the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1875, it is provided that loans may not be made under the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Act, 1870, and the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1871, after the thirty-first day of August in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, and it is expedient that the time during which loans under the said Acts may be made should be extended for a further limited period:

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal,

and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same:

1. This Act may be cited as the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1878, and this Act, and the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Acts, 1870 to 1875, may be cited together as the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Acts.

2. So much of the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1875, as limits to the thirtyfirst day of August in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight the time during which loans may be made under the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Act, 1870, and the Glebe Loan (Ireland) Amendment Act, 1871, is hereby repealed, and loans may be made under the said Acts until, but not after, the thirty-first day of August which will be in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty.

An Act to raise the sum of One million Pounds by Exchequer Bonds, for the service of the year ending on the thirty-first day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight. (18th March 1878.)

Most Gracious Sovereign, WE, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, towards raising the supply which we have cheerfully granted to Your Majesty in this session of Parliament, have resolved to grant unto Your Majesty the sum herein-after mentioned; and do therefore most humbly beseech Your Majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. Towards raising the supply granted to Her Majesty for the service of the year ending on the thirty-first day of March one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, at any time or times not later than the said thirtyfirst day of March, to raise any sum or sums, not exceeding in the whole one million pounds, by the issue of Exchequer bonds, in manner provided by the Exchequer Bills and Bonds Act, 1866, so,

2. This Act shall apply only to Scotland, and the local authority shall be the local authority of any burgh under the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1867.

Public Parks, Pleasure Grounds, &c.

3. From and after the passing of this Act any local authority may purchase or take on lease, lay out, plant, improve, and maintain lands for the purpose of being used as parks, public walks, or pleasure grounds, and may support or contribute to the support of parks, public walks, or pleasure grounds provided by any person whom

soever.

4. Any local authority may make byelaws for the regulation of any such parks, public walks, or pleasure grounds, and may by such byelaws provide for the removal from such parks, public walks, or pleasure grounds of any person infringing any such byelaw by any officer of the local authority or constable.

Purchase of Lands.

5. Any local authority may, for the purposes and subject to the provisions of this Act, purchase or take on lease, sell, or exchange any lands, whether situated within or without their district.

Any lands acquired by a local authority in pursuance of any powers in this Act contained, and not required for the purpose for which they were acquired, shall (unless the Secretary of State otherwise direct, and subject to the provision herein-after contained in the case of lands taken compulsorily,) be sold at the best price that can be gotten for the same, and the proceeds of such sale shall be applied towards discharge, by means of a sinking fund or otherwise, of any principal moneys which have been borrowed by such authority on the security or rate applicable by them for the general purposes of this Act, or if no such principal moneys are outstanding shall be carried to the account of any fund or rate of such local authority.

Provided that where any lands acquired compulsorily under the powers of this Act are not required for the purpose for which they were acquired, it shall not be lawful for the local authority to sell them or any portion thereof in terms of this section, or to let them or any portion thereof for building purposes, until they shall first have offered to sell them or such portion thereof to the person or persons then entitled to the lands from which they were originally severed; and if any person entitled to such preemption, shall within six weeks after an offer has been made to him in terms of this section intimate his desire to purchase any such lands, and such person and the local authority do not agree as to the price thereof, then such price shall be ascertained by arbitration in manner

provided by the Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Acts.

6. With respect to the purchase of lands by a local authority for the purposes of this Act the following regulations shall be observed; (that is to say,)

(1.) The Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Acts, to the extent herein-after mentioned, shall be incorporated with this Act:

(2.) The local authority, before putting in force any of the powers of the said Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts with respect to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement, shall publish once at the least in each of three consecutive weeks in the month of October, in some local newspaper circulated in their district, an advertisement describing shortly the nature of the undertaking in respect of which the lands are proposed to be taken, naming a place where a plan of the proposed undertaking may be seen at all reasonable hours, and stating the quantity of lands that they require; and shall further serve a notice in the month of November on every owner or reputed owner, lessee or reputed lessee, and occupier of such lands, defining in each case the particular lands intended to be taken, and requiring an answer stating whether the person so served assents, dissents, or is neuter in respect of taking such lands:

(3.) On compliance with the provisions of this section with respect to advertisements and notices, the local authority may, if they think fit, present a petition to the Secretary of State. The petition shall state the lands intended to be taken, and the purposes for which they are required, and the names of the owners, lessees, and occupiers of lands who have assented, dissented, or are neuter in respect of the taking such lands, or who have returned no answer to the notice; it shall pray that the local authority may, with reference to such lands, be allowed to put in force the powers of the said Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Acts with respect to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement, and such prayer shall be supported by such evidence as the Secretary of State may require :

(4.) On the receipt of such petition and on due proof of the proper advertisements having been published and notices

served, the Secretary of State shall take such petition into consideration, and may either dismiss the same or direct a local inquiry as to the propriety of assenting to the prayer of such petition; but until such inquiry has been made no provisional order shall be made affecting any lands without the consent of the owners, lessees, and occupiers thereof: (5.) After the completion of such inquiry, the Secretary of State may, by provisional order, empower the local authority to put in force, with reference to the lands referred to in such order, the powers of the said Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Acts with respect to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement, or any of them, and either absolutely or with such conditions and modifications as he may think fit, and it shall be the duty of the local authority to serve a copy of any order so made in the manner and on the person in which and on whom notices in respect of such lands are required to be served.

Provided that the notices by this section required to be given in the months of October and November may be given in the months of September and October; and any notices or orders by this section required to be served on a number of persons having any right in, over, or on lands in common may be served on any three or more of such persons on behalf of all such persons.

7. Any local authority may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, let for any term any lands which they may possess as and when they can conveniently spare the same.

Provisional Orders by Secretary of State.

8. With respect to provisional orders authorised to be made by the Secretary of State under this Act the following enactments shall be made : (1.) The Secretary of State shall not make any

provisional order under this Act unless public notice of the purport of the proposed order has been previously given by advertisement in two successive weeks in some local newspaper circulating in the district to which such provisional order relates:

(2.) Before making any such provisional order

the Secretary of State shall consider any objections which may be made thereto by any persons affected thereby, and in cases where the subject-matter is one to which a local inquiry is applicable, shall cause to be made a local inquiry of which public notice shall be

given in manner aforesaid, and at which all persons interested shall be permitted to attend and make objections: (3.) The Secretary of State may submit to Parliament for confirmation any provisional order made by him in pursuance of this Act, but any such order shall be of no force whatever unless and until it is confirmed by Parliament: (4.) If while the Bill confirming any such order is pending in either House of Parliament a petition is presented against any order comprised therein, the Bill, so far as it relates to such order, may be referred to a Select Committee, and the petitioner shall be allowed to appear and oppose as in the case of private Bills:

(5.) The Secretary of State may revoke, either wholly or partially, any provisional order made by him before the same is confirmed by Parliament, but such revocation shall not be made whilst the Bill confirming the order is pending in either House of Parliament:

(6.) The making of a provisional order shall be primâ facie evidence that all the requirements of this Act in respect of proceedings required to be taken previously to the making of such provisional order have been complied with: (7.) Every Act confirming any such provisional order shall be deemed to be a Public General Act.

9. Where any Bill for confirming a provisional order under this Act is referred to a committee of either House of Parliament upon the petition of any person opposing such Bill, the Committee shall take into consideration the circumstances under which such opposition is made to the Bill, and whether such opposition was or was not justified by such circumstances, and shall award costs accordingly to be paid by the promoters or the opponents of the Bill, as the Committee may think just.

Any costs under this section may be taxed and recovered in the manner in which costs may be taxed and recovered under the Act of the session of the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter twenty

seven.

The decision of the majority of the members of the Committee for the time being present and voting on any question under this section shall be deemed to be the decision of the Committee.

10. The reasonable costs of any local authority in respect of provisional orders made in pursuance of this Act, and of the inquiry preliminary thereto, as sanctioned by the Secretary of