Sums to be paid by the Duke of

Bedford to

parties

making up

roads and footways on Bedford

estate, in the

parish of St. Paneras, to

be added to

debt on that

part of the parish.

or rates (a) upon the occupiers (b) of the houses (c) in the road, street, or part abutting on or next to the footway which shall have been so flagged, either in one sum or by equal instalments spread over a period not exceeding twenty years, as the said vestry or board may see fit; and the said vestry or board shall thenceforth keep the said flagging in good and sufficient repair.

LXXIX. And whereas at the time of the coming into operation of the firstly-recited Act (d) certain houses were in course of erection or about to be erected by private parties on certain lands, parts of the estate belonging to his Grace the Duke of Bedford, in the parish of Saint Pancras, and the roads and footways in front of the said houses and land were partly paved by and at the expense of the said parties before the coming into operation of the firstly-recited Act: And whereas the commissioners acting under the local and personal Act of the session holden in the thirty-ninth and fortieth years of King George the Third, chapter forty-nine, relating to the paving of the said estate, and whose powers were determined by the firstly-recited Act, ought, under the power vested in them by the said Act of the

(a) What is here called a rate would be a rateable proportion of the expenses of flagging distributed among the occupiers according to some criterion to be fixed by the vestry, probably the frontage of the premises abutting on the footpath. The word apparently has no reference to the rateable value of the property, as in the case of other rates under the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120.

(b) The cost is here thrown upon the "occupiers," and not upon the "owners," like the expenses falling under the preceding section. There seems no reason for the distinction, as both classes of works are of a permanent character, and more especially benefit the owner. This provision would operate with great hardship on a tenant from year to year, or for a short term.

(c) This does not, as under the 77th section, include the owners of land abutting on the footpath.

(d) Viz., on the 1st January, 1856. This clause was introduced in consequence of the failure of an indictment against the vestry of St. Pancras for the non-repair of one of these roads, tried in the Court of Queen's Bench at Westminster, 26th November, 1859.

thirty-ninth and fortieth years of King George the Third, to have executed the said works of paving, or to have defrayed the cost thereof, and payment for the same would, if the powers of the said commissioners had not been determined, have been made out of the money arising from rates or assessments to be made under the said Act of King George the Third, or money borrowed on the security thereof; but the arrangements respecting the said works were not such as to be binding on the vestry of the said parish under the transfer made to such vestry by the said firstly-recited Act (e) of the debts and liabilities legally charged upon or payable out of rates or assessments authorized to be made under the said Act of King George the Third: And whereas certain of the said parties are willing to complete the said roads and footways in consideration of the payment to them of certain sums of money, such sums to be received in satisfaction as well of past as of future expenses incurred by them in the making or paving of the said roads or footways: And whereas his Grace the Duke of Bedford is willing to advance such sums of money, and it is expedient to authorize the addition of such sums to the said debt on the completion as aforesaid of the said roads and footways and payment of the said sums to the said parties respectively: Be it therefore enacted, that upon the completion of the said roads and footways to the satisfaction of the said vestry, and the production to them of the receipts in writing of the said parties respectively for the said sums from his Grace the Duke of Bedford or his agent, such sums shall respectively become debts to the said duke, and be added to and form part of the debt which at the time of the coming into operation of the firstly-recited Act was legally charged upon the said rates or assessments, and shall carry interest at the rate of 47. per centum per annum, payable half-yearly on the 1st day of January and the 1st day of July in every year from the time of the receipt of such sums by the said parties or the completion

(e) That is, by the 180th section of the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120.

Proviso to sect.106 of 18

& 19 Vict. c. 120, repealed.

Notice of

repair street

not being a highway.

of the said roads and footways as aforesaid, which shall last happen; and section one hundred and eighty of the firstly-recited Act shall be applicable accordingly in respect of such sums and the interest thereof in like manner as in respect of such debt as last aforesaid.

LXXX. The proviso of the one hundred and sixth section of the firstly-recited Act is hereby repealed; and in lieu thereof be it enacted, that no street not being a highway (ƒ) shall be repaired as in the said section mentioned, unless notice be given to the owners (g) and rated occupiers of the houses in such street respectively; and intention to service of any such notice may be effected by leaving the same at the several houses in such street, or where any of the said houses shall be unoccupied, by affixing the same upon the outer door or some conspicuous part of such houses; and provided further, that no such street shall be repaired as in the said section mentioned if within one month after notice has been given as aforesaid written notice of objection to such repair, signed by at least two-thirds of the owners or rated occupiers of houses in the said street, shall be given to the vestry or district board.

Where owners of

and pave,

LXXXI. In any case of default by the owner of any courts, &c., court, passage, or public place, not being a thoroughfare, omit to drain to comply with the requisition of any vestry or district vestry or dis- board to perform works of paving or draining of the may perform nature described in the one hundredth section of the the works, firstly-recited Act, it shall be lawful for the vestry or board, should they see fit, in lieu of enforcing the pe

trict board

charging

expenses to

owner.

(f) The term highway may include streets other than those repairable by the parish. See R. v. Dayman, 26 L. J. (N.S.) M. C. 128.

(g) Instead of the provision in the repealed section requiring notice to all "persons interested," notice is to be given to owners and rated occupiers, and a special mode of service is prescribed. The objection must now proceed from two-thirds of the owners or rated occupiers instead of from a single person interested, as under the repealed section. The word "owner" is for this purpose by sect. 250 of 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, defined to mean the person receiving the rackrent of the premises.

nalty (h) therein mentioned, to execute and perform such works, and recover the expenses thereof from the owner either by action at law or in a summary manner before a justice, at the option of the vestry or board.

ment of

works of

LXXXII. In every case in which any company or Reinstateperson shall be liable under the firstly-recited Act to re- pavement instate the pavement, surface, or soil of any street under broken up by the control of any vestry or district board which may companies, &c. (i) have been broken up or opened, or to repay to such vestry or board the expenses of reinstating the pavement, surface, or soil of any street, every such company or person shall be liable to reinstate the pavement, surface, or soil, or to pay the expenses of reinstating the pavement, surface, or soil of such parts of the street as shall have been so broken up or opened, as well as of the part or parts contiguous thereto which may be affected by the works of such company or person, to the reasonable satisfaction of the surveyor for the time being of the vestry or district having control over the pavements in such parish or district.

board may

guidance of

LXXXIII. The metropolitan board of works may, in Metropolitan order to secure the efficient maintenance of the main make byeand general sewerage of the metropolis, from time to laws for time make, alter, and repeal byelaws for the guidance, vestries, &c., direction, and control of the vestries of parishes in struction of schedule (A.) to the firstly-recited Act, district boards, and sewers (k). all other persons, in relation to the levels, dimensions,

(h) The penalty given by the section referred to, viz., 5l., was insufficient to prevent a breach of the enactment.

(i) The provisions in the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, as to the breaking up and reinstatement of pavements disturbed by companies, are the 109th and following to the 115th inclusive. The direction in the 110th section is, "to make good the pavement, or surface, or soil, broken up or injured." The obligation of companies is now extended so as to comprise not only the parts actually broken up or opened, but such parts contiguous thereto as may be affected by the works of the company. This provision is founded upon the 23rd section of the 57 Geo. 3, c. 29 (Metropolitan General Paving Act).

(k) The power of making byelaws given by the 202nd sect. of the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120, does not extend to regulations

in con

Vestries, &c., may stop up

works.

construction, maintenance, ventilation, and cleansing of sewers in their respective parishes, districts, or parts, and for the other objects enumerated in the one hundred and thirty-eighth section of the firstly-recited Act, subject in all respects (c) to the several provisions relating to byelaws contained in the two hundred and second section of the said Act; but this provision shall only extend to the city of London (d) and the liberties thereof, so far as regards the main drainage of the metropolis.

LXXXIV. It shall be lawful for any vestry or district streets during board, with the previous sanction of the metropolitan execution of board of works, to close or stop up any street (e) within their parish or district, during the execution of any paving, sewerage, or other works by such vestry or board in such street, and to keep the same closed and stopped up for such time as shall be necessary in that behalf, and allowed by the metropolitan board.

Height of

LXXXV. No building, except a church or chapel, buildings in shall be erected on the side of any new street of a less

respecting sewers, but is limited to those relating to pipes, drains, and other means of communication with sewers. This section authorizes the making of byelaws for the purposes mentioned in the 13th section of that Act, and is a more effectual mode of securing compliance with the directions of the board than is contained in the section referred to, which gives no summary mode of enforcing the general and special orders mentioned in it.

(c) This includes the power of imposing penalties, subject to the approval of the byelaws by the secretary of state.

(d) This saving has no meaning and is simply nugatory. The enactment is intended to give the metropolitan board the control in the matters specified over the mode in which local bodies execute works of local sewerage, and these words which limit the application of the provision to main drainage works which are not executed by the commissioners of sewers for the city at all, but by the metropolitan board, are wholly inoperative.

(e) The power to stop up the way through or along streets is given by the 52nd section of 57 Geo. 3, c. 29 (General Paving Act), for the purposes there specified. The necessity of the consent of the metropolitan board seems to be a restriction on that power.