1862. CARR V. ROYAL EXCHANGE Assurance Company. Bovill (with him Watkin Williams) shewed cause.—In the many actions which have been brought against this Company since the passing of stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97., this is the first occasion on which the right to plead this plea, under stat. 11 G. 1. c. 30. s. 43., has been disputed. First. Stat. 11 G. 1. c. 30. is not a local and personal Act, nor an Act of a local and personal nature, within stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. The preamble of stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. is: "Whereas divers Acts of Parliament, public, local, and personal, contain enactments or provisions relating to the recovery of double, treble, or other costs in certain cases, and to the pleading of the general issue, and the giving any special matter in evidence at any trial to be had for any matter done in pursuance of or under the authority of the said Acts, and to the giving of notice of action before any action shall be commenced: And whereas it is expedient that the law should be altered in such respects." That Act was passed with reference to railway and canal Acts, and other special Acts of Parliament, which gave to Companies the powers of pleading the general issue, so that until the trial it was not known what defence would be relied on. But the present case is not contemplated by that statute, nor within its language. The defendants are one of the two corporations for assurance of ships created by Royal Charter in pursuance of stat. 6 G. 1. c. 18.; and, in consideration of 300,000l. paid to the Crown, certain privileges were conferred upon them for public purposes, and for the benefit of the commercial part of the community. Section 4 enabled persons having just demands upon policies of assurance effected with the Company to declare in a general form "that the same corporation is indebted to him, or them, the money so demanded, and have not paid the same ac cording to this Act." And stat. 11 G. 1. c. 30. s. 43., after reciting stat. 6 G. 1. c. 18., gives to these corporations the privilege of pleading in actions of debt "that they owe nothing to the plaintiff," and in actions of covenant "that they have not broke the covenants in such policy contained, or any of them." The effect is to provide a simple form of pleading as between these corporations and persons effecting policies with them. [Cockburn C. J. The preamble of stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. speaks of “any trial to be had for any matter done in pursuance of or under the authority of the said Acts:" this is not an action for anything done in pursuance of the Act under which the defendants are incorporated.] He was then stopped. Dudley Campbell, in support of the rule.—The preamble of stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. cannot restrain the words of the enacting part, which are very large. Sect. 9 enacts, "That so much of any clause or provision in any Act or Acts commonly called public local and personal, or local and personal, or in any Act or Acts of a local and personal nature, whereby any party or parties are entitled or permitted to plead the general issue only and to give any special matter in evidence without specially pleading the same, shall be and the same is hereby repealed." [Cockburn C. J. The question is, whether the preamble does not shew that the Legislature intended the statute to apply to clauses by which the privileges therein mentioned were given by special Acts to companies in actions against them for something done under those Acts. Stat. 11 G. 1. c. 30. s. 43. does not give the defendants any power or authority until the 1862. CARR V. ROYAL EXCHANGE Assurance Company. 1862. CARR V. ROYAL EXCHANGE Assurance Company. : pleading begins. Crompton J. If the defence in this action arose under the special Acts, the plaintiff would have some ground for his application. Wightman J. The preamble of stat: 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. is the key to the intention of the Legislature. The defence does not arise from anything done by the defendants in pursuance of their Acts.] There is no decision on this point the cases cited being on the question whether a statute is of a local and personal nature within stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. [Crompton J. Those cases are distinguishable; but in each of them the action was for something done in pursuance of the special Act. Cockburn C. J. I incline to think that 11 G. 1. c. 30. is not such a local and personal Act as stat. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 97. contemplated; but, assuming that it is, the latter statute does not apply to this case.] The authority to insure is under stat. 11 G. 1. c. 30. [Cockburn C. J. The Company could have granted a policy before that statute and without it.] Per CURIAM. (COCKBURN C. J., WIGHTMAN, CROMPTON and MELLOR JJ.) Rule discharged. 1962. The QUEEN against The Overseers of the Town- Friday, ship of HUDDERSFIELD. January 31st. 15 & 16 Vict. c. 81. ss. 32. 34, 35. County rate. Parish partly within Stat. 15 & 16 Vict. c. 81. ss. 32. 34 and 35, which provides for the collection of the county rate in parishes situate partly within boroughs and partly without, applies only to boroughs "not subject to contribute to the county rate;" and therefore, where a parish is situate partly within a borough which contributes to the county rate, a separate rate towards borough. the expence of the county police cannot be made upon the part without Police. the borough, though the part within it is governed by a local Act, under which police constables are appointed and paid. WELSBY had obtained a rule, on behalf of the Huddersfield Improvement Commissioners in the West Riding of Yorkshire, calling upon the overseers of the poor of the township of Huddersfield to shew cause why a mandamus should not issue commanding them to make and levy a special rate upon that part of the township which is not within the limits of The Huddersfield Improvement Act, 1848, in order to reimburse themselves the sum of 12l. 16s. 7d. collected by them within that part of the township which is within the limits of the said Act, towards the district police rate for the said West Riding, in pursuance of a call made by the guardians of the Huddersfield Poor Law Union on the 29th September, 1861. The borough or town of Huddersfield is co-extensive with the township. The Huddersfield Improvement Act, 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. cxl.), only extends to the town properly so called, being about three-fourths of the township, the limits of the Act being confined (by section 13) within a radius of 1200 yards from the market place. By that Act and The Town Police Clauses 3 s B. & S. VOL. I. 1862. The QUEEN V. Overseers of Act, 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. 89.), incorporated (by section 10) with it, certain Commissioners are empowered to appoint a superintendent and other police constables who act within the limits of the local Act, and to pay them out of the improvement rate, which is to be made and levied for that and other purposes in that part of the township within the limits of the Act. Accordingly, since the passing of the Act, the Commissioners have appointed such constables. The township of Huddersfield separately maintains its own poor, and is within the Huddersfield Poor Law Union; and since 1847, when county police constables were appointed, the guardians of the union, on the receipt of a precept from the West Riding Quarter Sessions to levy a county rate, including the district police rate, have made calls upon the overseers of the township of Huddersfield for the whole amount to be levied on the township; and the overseers have paid the calls out of the poor rates collected by them from the whole township. The overseers refused to levy a special rate upon that portion of the township which is without the limits of the local Act, on the ground that they had no power by law to do so; and, consequently, the persons residing within the limits of the local Act pay, not only their own constables, but also contribute towards the payment of the county constables who do not act within the limits of the borough. The following sections of stat. 15 & 16 Vict. c. 81. are material. Sect. 32. "That where any parish or place separately maintaining its own poor shall be divided, so that a part is comprised in a borough not subject to contribute to the county rate, while the part out of the borough is |