in the London Gazette (i); and the parish shall, after such publication, be deemed to be divided into such wards so determined and set out, and such division shall continue and be in force until the same be altered as herein provided; and the number of vestrymen assigned to each ward shall be the number to be elected for such ward until altered as aforesaid: Provided always, that if Her Majesty, by advice of her privy council, do not approve such division and apportionment, such publication as a foresaid shall nevertheless be made, and such division and apportionment be in force for the purpose of any election under the provisions of this Act, until such time as Her Majesty, by advice of her privy council, upon further information and report from any such person or persons, definitively approve the division of such parish into wards, and of the number of vestrymen assigned to each ward, in manner hereinbefore mentioned: Provided also, that where any parish is already divided into wards under any local Act such parish shall be deemed to be divided into such wards for the purposes of this Act, without any division of such parish into wards being made as hereinbefore provided, but the number of vestrymen to be elected for such parish shall be apportioned as aforesaid among the wards of such parish by such person or persons as may be appointed for that purpose as herein provided.

(i) The supplement to the London Gazette of 19th Oct., 1855, contains the orders in council approving the division and apportionment made pursuant to this provision.

5

state to ap

to set out the

IV. One of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of Power to state shall, as soon as conveniently may be after the secretary of passing of this Act, appoint not more than four fit per- point persons sons, the names of such persons to be published in the wards, and London Gazette, to set out the wards into which the said apportion parishes are by this Act directed to be divided, and to vestrymen to apportion the number of vestrymen to be elected for such parishes respectively among such wards, and also to apportion the number of vestrymen to be elected for any

number of

be elected.

parish already divided into wards as aforesaid among such wards; and any one or more of such persons may be appointed to act as aforesaid separately from any other or others of them as such secretary of state may see fit; and such secretary of state shall, in case circumstances appear to him so to require, appoint any other fit person or persons in the place of or in addition to any such person or persons originally appointed under this provision; and every person appointed to set out such wards shall be paid at a rate not exceeding the sum of 51. 5s. for every day that he is employed by virtue of such appointment, and the amount payable to him in respect of such employment in each parish shall be determined and certified by the commissioners of Her Majesty's treasury, and the amount so certified shall be paid out of the poor rates of the parish.

If relative amounts of

V. When at any time upon any account taken of the population of population by the authority of parliament, the relative wards vary numbers of the inhabited houses in the several wards of in any future census, the any parish divided into wards as aforesaid are found to numbers of have varied from those shown by the last previous vestrymen may be census, it shall be lawful for the metropolitan board of works, upon the application of the vestry or any ratepayers of such parish, to alter the number of vestrymen assigned to such wards or any of them, but so that the number of vestrymen assigned to each ward shall be a number divisible by three.

altered (a).

Qualification of vestry

men.

VI. The vestry elected under this Act in any parish shall consist of persons rated or assessed (b) to the relief of the poor upon a rental (c) of not less than 401. per

(a) As to future division of parishes into wards see note (h), ante.

(b) Where A. occupied jointly with B., the latter alone being assessed, and A. bona fide paid the rate, but without being called upon to do so, he was held not to be rated within 2 Will. 4, c. 45, s. 27; Moss v. Overseers of Lichfield, 7 M. & Gr. 72; and see R. v. Hulme, 4 Q. B. 538.

(c) The 19 & 20 Vict. c. 112, s. 8, post, declares that the amount specified in that column in the schedule to the Parochial Assessment Act, 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 96, which is headed

annum; and no person shall be capable of acting or being elected as one of such vestry for any parish unless he be the occupier of a house, lands, tenements, or hereditaments in such parish, and be rated or assessed as aforesaid upon such rental as aforesaid within such parish: Provided always, that in any parish in which the number of poor rate assessments at 40%. or upwards does not exceed one-sixth of the whole number of such assessments (d) it shall not be necessary, in order to qualify a person to be a vestryman, that the amount of rental upon which he is rated or assessed as aforesaid exceed 251.: Provided also, that the joint occupation of any such premises as aforesaid, and a joint rating in respect thereof, shall be sufficient to qualify each joint occupier in case the amount of rental on which all such occupiers are jointly rated will, when divided by the number of occupiers, give for each such occupier a sum not less than the amount hereinbefore required.

of vestrymen

Act.

VII. The first election of vestrymen under this Act As to the in every parish shall be holden in the month of November first clection next after the passing of this Act, and between the fifth ander this and twenty-first days of that month, and the day on which such election shall commence shall be appointed by the churchwardens of the parish, and twenty-one days previously to the day of election notice of such election shall be given in manner hereinafter directed (e) concerning notice of election of vestrymen and auditors, and the next such election shall take place on such day

"Rateable Value," shall be deemed the rental for the purposes of this Act. See this question raised, before the passing of the amending Act, in R. v. Churchwardens of St. Mary, Lambeth, 20 J. P. 276. To render a party eligible under 8. 20 of Hobhouse's Act, 1 & 2 Will. 4, c. 60, it was he'd not to be necessary that he should be rated in respect of property in his own possession, but that the rental might be made up of tenements separately held and not in his occupation; R. v. St. Pancras, 1 A. & Ell. 80.

(d) It would seem that where a number of distinct tenements are in the rate book included in the same assessment, that constitutes one assessment for the purposes of this computation. (e) See sect. 26, as to the publication of notices and lists.

in the month of May in the year 1857 as the vestry shall appoint, and every subsequent election shall take place annually in the month of May in every year as the vestry appoint.

The full

number of

VIII. At the first such election of vestrymen as aforesaid for any parish, the full number of elective vestryto be chosen men of which such vestry is to consist, as hereinbefore

vestrymen

at first

existing vestries superseded.

election, and mentioned, shall be elected, and such vestrymen, with such other persons as hereinbefore mentioned, shall forthwith be deemed to constitute the vestry of such parish, and shall supersede any existing vestry therein, and exercise the powers and privileges held by such existing vestry (f), save as in this Act otherwise provided (g); and the authority of such vestry may be pleaded before any justice or justices of the peace, or in any court of law in regard to all parochial property or monies due, or holdings or contracts, or other documents of the like nature, under the control or in the keeping of such existing vestry; and all parish officers or boards shall account to them in like manner as they are by law liable to account to such existing vestry.

As to the term of office of vestrymen

IX. One-third of the vestrymen first elected under this Act in any parish, or, where such parish is divided into wards under this Act, in each ward of such parish,

(f) Where by a local Act making the hamlet of Spitalfields a distinct parish, the rector, churchwardens, and others, were constituted the vestrymen of the parish, and by another local Act they were empowered to make poor rates, it was held that the power of making poor rates possessed by the old vestry was transferred to the new vestry, and that the rates made by the latter were valid, the overseers not being entitled to vote; Vaughan v. Imray, 28 L. J. (N. S.) M. C. 78. See Reg. v. Rendle, note to sect. 3 of 19 & 20 Vict. c. 112, post.

(g) This provision transfers to the vestries constituted by this Act all the powers of existing vestries, subject to the restrictions in sects. 90, 91, and to the other provisions of the Act. See now the amending Act, the 19 & 20 Vict. c. 112, s. 3, post, as to the duties, powers, and privileges declared to have become transferred to vestries and district boards under this Act.

first elec

to future

shall go out of office at the time appointed for the elec- elected at tion of vestrymen in the year 1857, one other third of tion, and as them at the time appointed for such election in the year elections. 1858, and the remaining third at the time appointed for such election in the year 1859; and the vestry shall, at some meeting before the time of the election in 1857, determine by lot which of the members first elected shall constitute the one-third to go out of office in the years 1857 and 1858 respectively; and all members from time to time elected at the annual elections after the first election, shall go out of office at the time appointed for the annual election in the third following year, except such members as are elected to supply vacancies occasioned otherwise than by effluxion of time; and such last-mentioned members shall go out of office at the respective times when the terms of office of the members in whose places they are respectively elected would have expired by effluxion of time.

be filled up

elections.

X. At every election of vestrymen under this Act, Vacancies to except the first, for any parish or any ward of any parish, at annual the parishioners of such parish entitled to vote in such election (h) shall elect as many vestrymen as there are vacancies in the vestry, or among the vestrymen elected for such ward, whether such vacancies be occasioned by the expiration of the term of office, or by death or otherwise (i).

ment of

parishes in

XI. For every parish mentioned in either of the sche- Appointdules (A.) and (B.) to this Act, there shall be elected auditors of such number as hereinafter mentioned of the ratepayers accounts for of the parish who have signified in writing their assent schedules (A.) aud (B.) to serve to be auditors of accounts, which auditors shall be so elected at the same times and in the same manner as members of the vestry; and the number of ratepayers so to be elected auditors in any parish not divided into

(h) See sect. 16.

(i) See as to disqualification of vestrymen, and penalties, sect. 54; and as to the resignation of office and notification thereof, sect. 55.