CIRCULAR, Local Government Board, Whitehall, S. W. 30th August, 1901. SIR, Section 1o of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 86) provided that the Poor Law Commissioners should form into temporary districts all parishes, townships, and places, in or for which a board of guardians had not been established under the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) and that the Registrar General should appoint Superintendent Registrars for such districts. The object of the new Act is to place those poor law unions, which at present form or are included in temporary districts, in the same position as all other poor law unions, and thus to give the appointment of Superintendent Registrars in those unions to the guardians in place of the Registrar General. This is effected by section 1 (1) of the Act which provides that section 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1836, shall apply to every poor law union however constituted and to the guardians thereof. Nothing in the Act will, however, affect the tenure of office of any person who is a registrar or superintendent registrar at the passing of the Act. Sub-section (2) of the section makes a verbal amendment in section 7 of the Act of 1836, and by sub-section (3) and the schedule provision is made for the repeal of certain enactments which are no longer operative or have been rendered unnecessary by the new Act. L.G.B. Circular, 30th Aug., 1901. I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, S. B. PROVIS, The Clerk to the Guardians. Secretary. EDUCATION ACT, 1901. [I EDW. 7, CH. II.] An Act for enabling local authorities to empower School Boards temporarily to carry on certain schools; and for sanctioning certain School Board expenses. [9th August, 1901.] BE it enacted by the King'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: Sect. I. (1.) Where a school board has at any time during the twelve months immediately preceding the thirty-first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and one, maintained out of the school fund any school or class to the maintenance of * This circular letter was sent only to the boards of guardians affected by the Act. 1 Edw. 7, C II, S. I. Short title. which the school fund is not lawfully applicable, the council of the county or county borough within which the school or class is held, or, with the sanction of the Board of Education, any other local authority under the Technical Instruction Acts, 1889 and 1891, for the district within which the school or class is held, may empower the school board to carry on for the period of one year from that day the work of the school or class to such extent and on such terms as may be agreed on between such council or local authority and the school board, and to apply to the maintenance of the school or class such sum out of the school fund as the council or local authority may sanction. (2.) Where any expenses incurred by a school board in respect of any such school or class before the said day are sanctioned by the Local Government Board the legality of those expenses shall not be questioned in any court. Note-The object of this Act is to make temporary provision for carrying on such of the work which has been undertaken by some school boards as the judgment in Rex v. Cockerton ([1901] 1 Q. B. 726; 70 L. J. K. B. 441; 84 L. T. 488; 49 W. R. 433; 65 J. P. 435) shows they could not lawfully undertake at the expense of the rates. In that case it was held that a school board is not empowered to spend any money out of a local rate for any purpose other than elementary education, and that the expense of providing science and art schools and classes in connexion with government grants for science and art instruction is not a lawful charge upon the school fund. For expenses incurred before the 31st July, 1901, the sanction of the Local Government Board will prevent the legality of these expenses being questioned in any Court. It will also have the effect under the Local Authorities (Expenses) Act, 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 72) of preventing a disallowance of the expenses being made by the district auditor. The sanction of the Local Government Board should be applied for at the time of audit, and it should be stated whether the school board have been empowered to carry on the work for a year as provided by the new Act. To legalize the carrying on during the year ending 31st July, 1902, of a school or class to the maintenance of which the school fund is not otherwise lawfully applicable, the school board must be empowered to do so by the council of the county or county borough within which the school or class is held or any other local authority under the Technical Instruction Acts, 1889 and 1891, for the district within which the school or class is held. These other local authorities are the councils of non-county boroughs and of other urban districts, and in their case the sanction of the Board of Education is required before they can empower a school board to proceed under the present Act. Sect. 2. CIRCULAR. This Act may be cited as the Education Act, 1901. COUNTY COUNCILS. SIR, Board of Education, I am directed to enclose for your information a copy of a Bill which the Government have introduced in the House of Commons for enabling county councils to authorise school boards to carry on for a year schools or classes, which it would otherwise be illegal for them to maintain, to such extent and on such terms as may be agreed on. The Bill also makes provision, where requisite, for the exercise of this power by the borough and urban district councils; but where the Board of Education are informed that the county council is prepared to act under the powers conferred upon them by the Bill, they will only sanction application being made to these authorities after consultation with the county council. [I am to express a hope that your council will make such arrangements as will enable it to consider applications by school boards in time for suitable provision to to be made']: and I am to ask you to be good enough to inform the Board of Education as early as possible of the determination of your council as to the action they propose to take. LG.B. Circular. 3rd July, 1901. To the Clerk of the County Council. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, G. W. KEKEWICH. EXPIRING LAWS CONTINUANCE ACT, 1901. [I EDW. 7, CH. 33.] An Act to continue various Expiring Laws. [17th August, 1901.] WHEREAS the Acts mentioned in Part I. of the Schedule to this Act are, in so far as they are in force and are temporary in their duration, limited to expire on the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and one: And whereas it is expedient to provide for the continuance as in this Act mentioned of those Acts, and of the enactments amending or affecting the same: Be it therefore enacted by the King'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: Acts in schedule Sect. I. (1.) The Acts mentioned in the Schedule to this Continuance of Act shall, to the extent specified in column three of that Schedule, be continued until the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and two, and shall then expire, unless further continued. (2.) Any unrepealed enactments amending or affecting the 1 An intimation to this effect was also given to town clerks in a circular of same date. 1 Edw. 7, C. 33, s. Ì. Short title. enactments continued by this Act shall, in so far as they are temporary in their duration, be continued in like manner, whether they are mentioned in the Schedule to this Act or not. Sect. 2. This Act may be cited as the Expiring Laws Continuance Act, 1901. Note. The profits of stock-in-trade are exempted from poor rate by this Act. 45 & 46 Vict. Note. This and the two following Acts relate to elections of local authorities. |