(1896), 2 Ch. 348; Keighley v. Durant (1901), A.C. 240; La Banque Jacques-Cartier v. La Banque de Montreal, 13 A.C. 111).

Where a person commissions another to commit a tort, that is to say, an actionable wrong arising independently of contract both he who commissions or procures the wrongful act and the agent are liable.

If an officer of a local authority commits a tort (e.g. is negligent in the course of his duty, thus causing damage to a third party) and his act is within the scope and in the course of his employment, the local authority are liable.

Further, a principal is liable for the fraud of his agent acting within the scope of his authority whether the wrong is committed for the benefit of the principal or of the agent (Lloyd v. Grace, Smith & Co., 1912, A.C. 716; Barwick v. English Joint Stock Bank, 1876, L.R. 2, Ex. 259).

Superannuation of Officers.

The Local Government and other Officers Superannuation Act, 1922, will now receive attention.

ADOPTION OF ACT. This Act does not apply to a local authority until a resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the local authority, present and voting at a meeting called for the purpose, of which one month's previous notice shall be given to each member together with an estimate certified by a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of the cost to the local authority of adopting the Act, such resolution being confirmed not less than one month later, and thereafter approved by the Minister of Health (Section 2).

WHO MAY ADOPT THE ACT. The Act applies to officers and servants in the permanent service of a local authority in England and in Scotland occupying a post designated as an established post for the purposes of the Act by a resolution of the local authority, and whether in receipt of salary or wages (including war bonus). 'Local

Authority" means the Council of any county, county borough, municipal borough, metropolitan borough, urban district or rural district having not less than fifty officers or servants occupying posts designated as established posts (Section 3). With the consent of the Minister of Health, the local authority may establish separate superannuation funds for officers and servants respectively (Section 4 (2)).

BOTH AUTHORITY AND STAFF TO CONTRIBUTE-NO STATE CONTRIBUTION. An amount equal to 5 per cent of the salary or wages of an officer or servant is to be deducted from his salary or wages and paid into a superannuation fund (Section 15 (1)). The local authority are to carry to and credit the fund each year with the said deductions from salaries and wages, and also a sum equal in amount to the contributions of the officers and servants. In addition, the authority are to pay such amount as may be certified by an actuary, as soon as possible after the Act is operative, to be necessary to secure the solvency of the fund, but calculated so as to cast upon the authority, so far as may be, an equal annual charge for a period not exceeding forty years (Section 18). Except in the case of officers or servants transferred from one authority who have not adopted the Act to another who have done so, contributions are not to be made for service before the Act is adopted (Section 15 (2)), and officers and servants 55 years of age and over are not called upon to make any contribution to the fund unless they are appointed after the Act becomes operative locally and their service with any other authority is reckoned as non-contributing service (Section 15 (3)).

SCALE OF SUPERANNUATION ALLOWANCES. (a) After ten years' service, ten-sixtieths of the average amount of the officer's or servant's salary or wages (including war bonus) during the five years which immediately precede the day on which the officer or servant ceases to hold his

office or employment, or attains the age of 65 years, whichever be the earlier; (b) after eleven years' service, elevensixtieths of such average amount; (c) and so on up to a maximum after forty or more years' service of fortysixtieths of such average amount :

Provided that any part of a superannuation allowance which is calculated by reference to a war bonus or other similar allowance shall be calculated and liable to variation in accordance with the rules for the time being in force with respect to superannuation allowances of members of His Majesty's Civil Service:

Provided also that, for the purpose of calculating the superannuation allowance of a full-time officer who has formerly served as a part-time officer, the period of part-time service shall be treated as though it were whole-time service for a proportionately reduced period (Section 7). WHEN ENTITLED TO SUPERANNUATION. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every officer and servant—

(a) who shall have completed ten years' service and shall become incapable of discharging the duties of his office or employment with efficiency by reason of permanent ill-health or infirmity of mind or body; or (b) who shall have attained the age of 60 years and have completed forty years' service; or

(c) who shall have attained the age of 65 years; shall be entitled on resigning or otherwise ceasing to hold his office or employment to receive during life a superannuation allowance according to the scale by this Act provided.

(2) Save as is otherwise by this Act provided (see Sections 16 and 23), every such superannuation allowance shall be paid out of the superannuation fund.

(3) Where an officer or servant has attained the age of 65 years, he shall cease to hold his office or employment: Provided that the local authority may, with the consent of the officer or servant, by resolution extend the period of

service or employment of any such officer or servant for one year or any less period, and so from time to time as they may deem expedient:

Provided also that no contribution shall be made by the local authority or by any officer or servant to the superannuation fund in respect of any such extended period, and any such extended period shall be disregarded in calculating any superannuation allowance out of the superannuation fund (Section 6).

The Act contains miscellaneous provisions for exceptional cases outside those mentioned, including provisions for adjustments where officers transfer from the service of an authority working a superannuation scheme to one where no such scheme is in force, and vice versa (Section 8), the return of contributions on resignation from the service (Section 11), the calculation of part-time service, the granting of gratuities, and the amount of the allowances for each year of what is known as non-contributing service (Section 16) ranging from one onehundred-and-twentieth to one-sixtieth of salary reckoned on the average of the last five years before acceptance of superannuation for service rendered to any local authority before the date the Act becomes operative locally.

SECTION III

CHAPTER V

Powers and Duties of Local Authorities

It is now proposed to deal with some of the principal powers and duties of local authorities, leaving those appertaining to the Metropolis for separate treatment in a later chapter. For the sake of brevity the Public Health Act, 1875, will be referred to as the 1875 Act," the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890, as the 1890 Act," and the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1907, as "the 1907 Act," and where only the sections are given they refer to the 1875 Act. Throughout it must be borne in mind that the two last mentioned Acts only apply if and so far as they have been adopted by the local authority.

Probably few statutes of recent years are more likely to operate for the betterment of conditions of town life than the Housing and Town Planning Acts and the Small Holdings and Allotments Acts, and these will be considered separately (see Chapter VI).

Taking the 1875 Act as the starting point, we find that Scotland and Ireland and the Metropolis are excluded. The Public Health (London) Act, 1891, applies to the Metropolis. The following definitions of the terms used in the 1875 Act should be noted and borne in mind when applying the Act, viz.—

"Local Authority" means Urban Sanitary Authority and Rural Sanitary Authority.

"" Person" includes any body of persons whether corporate or unincorporate.

"Lands" and "Premises " include messuages, buildings, lands, easements, and hereditaments of any tenure.

"Owner" means the person for the time being receiving