district surveyor, or assistant surveyor shall, within fourteen days after leaving his office, deliver such books and accounts verified as herein directed, together with all such sums of money as shall be due from him, and likewise all tools, materials, implements, and other things as aforesaid, to his successor in office, or retain the same in his hands and account for them in his next account if he shall be continued surveyor or district surveyor of such parish in the succeeding year; and in case such surveyor or district surveyor shall neglect to deliver within such time as aforesaid the said books, papers, writings, and accounts, and such tools, materials, implements, and other things, in manner aforesaid, he shall for every such offence forfeit any sum not exceeding five pounds; and in case he shall make default in the paying or accounting for the money so due from him within the time and according to the directions aforesaid, he shall forfeit double the money so due. Id. s. 42.

Penalty for neglect of duty.] If any surveyor or district surveyor or assistant surveyor shall neglect his duty in any thing required of him by this Act, for which no particular penalty is imposed, he shall forfeit for every such offence any sum not exceeding five pounds. Id. s. 20.

Duty of Collectors.

To receive and levy the rate.] The same powers, remedies and privileges for levying and enforcing the payment of the highway rate, are given to the collector, as to the surveyor, by sect. 36, ante, p. 476. And see sect. 34, post, p. 484.

To account.] Every such collector shall, when and in such manner as the surveyor may direct, deliver true accounts of all monies received by him. And also a list of the names of such persons as shall have neglected or refused to pay; and such collector shall pay all such monies as shall remain due from him to the said surveyor; and if any such collector shall refuse or neglect to make and render such account, or to produce and deliver up the list of persons neglecting and refusing to pay their rates as aforesaid, or to make payments as aforesaid, or shall refuse or wilfully neglect to deliver to the said surveyor, or to such person as he shall appoint to receive the same, within three days after being thereunto required by the said surveyor as aforesaid by notice in writing under his hand given to or left at the usual place of abode of such collector, all books, papers, and writings in his custody or power relating

to the execution of this Act, or to give satisfaction to the said surveyor respecting the same, then, upon complaint made by the said surveyor of any such refusal or wilful neglect to any justice of the peace, such justice shall issue a summons under his hand for the collector to appear before any two justices of the peace; and upon the said collector appearing, or having been so summoned and not appearing without some sufficient or reasonable excuse, or not being found, it shall be lawful for the said two justices to hear and determine the matter; and if, upon confession of the party, or by the testimony of any credible witness on oath, it shall appear to such justices that any monies remain due from such collector, such justices shall upon non-payment thereof, by warrant under their hands, cause such money to be levied by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such collector; and if no goods and chattels of such collector shall be found sufficient to answer and satisfy the said money, and the charges of distraining and selling the said goods and chattels, then in every such case such justices shall commit such offender to the common gaol or house of correction for the county, city, or place where such offender shall be or reside, there to be kept to hard labour for a period not exceeding six calendar months, or until he shall have paid such monies as aforesaid, or compounded with the surveyor as aforesaid for such money (which composition the said surveyor, with the consent of the inhabitants in vestry, or, in any parish where they do not meet in vestry, with the consent of the inhabitants contributing to the highway rate at a public meeting assembled, is hereby empowered to make and receive); or if it shall appear to such justices that such collector had refused or wilfully neglected to render and give such accounts, or to produce and deliver the list of persons neglecting and refusing to pay their rates as aforesaid, or that any books, papers, or writings relating to the execution of this Act remained in the hands or in the custody or power of such collector, and he refused or wilfully neglected to deliver or give satisfaction respecting the same as aforesaid, such collector shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit for such offence a sum not exceeding twenty pounds, and in default of payment thereof shall be committed to the common gaol or house of correction for the county, &c. where such offender shall be or reside, there to be kept to hard labour for a period not exceeding four calendar months, or until he shall have given a true and perfect account as aforesaid, and deliver such list as aforesaid, and deliver up such books, papers, and writings, or give satisfaction in respect thereof to the said surveyor: provided always, that no conviction or imprisonment of such collector as aforesaid shall exonerate or discharge any security taken from him on his appointment as aforesaid. Id. s. 38.

2. Special sessions for the highways.

When and where holden.] The justices of the peace within their respective divisions, or any two or more of them, shall hold not less than eight nor more than twelve special sessions in every year for executing the purposes of this Act, the days of the holding thereof to be appointed at a special sessions to be held within fourteen days after the twentieth day of March in every year: provided always, that it shall not be necessary to cause any notice to be given or sent to any justice, acting and residing within such limits, of the day or time of the holding thereof. Id. s. 45.

3. Highway rate.

all

By whom and how made.] And in order to raise money for carrying the several purposes of this Act into execution, a rate shall be made, assessed, and levied by the surveyor upon property now liable to be rated and assessed to the relief of the poor and upon such woods, mines, and quarries of stone, or other hereditaments, as have heretofore been usually rated to the highways; such rate to be signed by the said surveyor, and allowed by two justices of the peace, and published in the same way as poor rates are now allowed and published. Id. s. 27.

And for this purpose the surveyor may, at all reasonable times, inspect, or by writing signed by him grant authority to any person to inspect, the poor rates of the parish of which he is surveyor, or the books of assessments thereto, and make copies thereof, or extracts therefrom; and if any person in whose custody or power the said rates or books shall be, shall, when thereunto required, refuse or neglect to produce the same to the surveyor, or person so by him authorized as aforesaid, or to allow such copy or extract to be made, or taken, at all reasonable hours in the day-time, he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding five pounds. Id. s. 28.

Form and amount.] Every rate shall contain the names of the occupiers, the description of the property they occupy, and the full annual value thereof, and shall also specify the sum in the pound at which it is made; and no such rate shall exceed at any one time the sum of ten-pence in the pound, or the sum of two shillings and six-pence in the pound in the whole in any one year, unless with the consent of four-fifths of the rate payers assembled at a meeting specially called for that purpose. Id. s. 29.

Errors in it, how rectified.] If there be any omission or

error in rate, in the name of any person, tenement, &c., liable to be rated, the surveyor, with the approbation of the justices at a special sessions for the highways, may cause to be added or corrected in the said rate the name of the person omitted or erroneously stated, and a description of the property in respect of which he ought to be rated; which being signed by such justices, shall be as effectual as if the same had originally been part of the rate. Id. s. 31.

What persons excused.] The justices at a special sessions for the highways, on application made to them by any person rated to any rate under the authority of this Act to be discharged therefrom, may, on proof of his inability through poverty to pay such rate, (the surveyor having been first summoned to appear on the part of the parish,) order that such person shall be excused from the payment of such rate. Id. s. 32.

Property, which previous to the passing of this Act, has been legally exempt from the performance of statute duty, or from the payment of composition in lieu thereof, or of highway rate, shall be exempt from the payment of the rate hereby imposed. Id. s. 33.

Rates, how recovered.] And for levying and recovering the said rate, the surveyor shall have the same powers, remedies, and privileges, as the overseers of the poor in the parish have by law for the recovery of any rate made for the relief of the poor. Id. s. 34.

Composition for rates.] In parishes in which the overseers of the poor have power by local acts of parliament to compound with or require composition for poor rates from the landlords of certain tenements, &c., and, in case of refusal to compound, to rate such landlords as the occupiers, the surveyor shall have the same powers, remedies, and privileges as to the rates authorized to be made by this Act. Id. s. 30.

Appeal against a rate.] If any person shall think himself aggrieved by any rate made under or in pursuance of this Act, or by any order, conviction, judgment, or determination made, or by any matter or thing done, by any justice or other person, in pursuance of this Act, and for which no particular method of relief hath been already appointed, such person may appeal to the justices at the next general or quarter sessions of the peace to be held for the county, division, riding, or place wherein the cause of such complaint shall arise,-such appellant first giving to the surveyor, or to such justice or other person by whose act such person shall think himself aggrieved, notice in writing of his intention to bring such appeal, toge

ther with a statement in writing of the grounds of such appeal, within fourteen days after such rate shall be made, or cause of complaint shall arise,—and within four days after such notice entering into a recognizance before some justice, with two sufficient sureties, conditioned to try such appeal at, and abide the order of, and pay such costs as shall be awarded by the justices at such general or quarter sessions; and such justices, upon hearing and finally determining the matter of such appeal, may, according to their discretion, award such costs to the party appealing or appealed against, as they shall think proper: but in case there shall not be time to give such notice and enter into such recognizance before the next sessions, then such appeal may be made to the next following sessions, and shall be then heard and determined: provided also, that it shall not be lawful for the appellant to be heard in support of such appeal, unless such notice and statement shall have been so given as aforesaid, nor, on the hearing of such appeal, to go into evidence of any other grounds of appeal than those set forth in such statement. Id. s. 105.

And in all cases of appeal against the rate made in pursuance of this Act, the several provisions and enactments contained in stat. 41 Geo. 3, c. 23, relative to poor rates, shall be applicable thereto, as if the same had been repeated and reenacted in this Act. Id. s. 106.

But no rate, nor any proceeding to be had touching the conviction of any offender against this Act, or any order made, or any other matter or thing done or transacted in or relative to the execution of this Act, shall be vacated or quashed for want of form, or be removable (except as herein mentioned) by certiorari, or any other writ or process whatsoever, into any of His Majesty's courts of record at Westminster. Id. s. 107.

In any case of appeal, however, the court of quarter sessions may, if they think fit, state the facts specially for the determination of the Court of King's Bench thereon, in which case it shall be lawful to remove the proceedings, by writ of certiorari or otherwise, into the said court of King's Bench. Id. s. 108.

4. Repair of Highways.

Liability to Repair.

Liability of parishes.] A parish by common right, is bound to repair all public highways within it; even where a township, liable to repair a way by custom, was relieved of its liability by an act of Parliament, it was holden that the liability thereby necessarily fell upon the parish at large. R. v. Sheffield, 2 T. R. 106. & see R. v. St. George, Hanover-square, 3 Camp. 222. Anon. Lord Raym. 725. R. v. St. Giles, Cambridge,