limits of a borongh, the justices may by their provisional and final orders include in a highway district the outlying part of such parish or place; and where the outlying part of a parish or place so situate has been, or may be hereafter, included in a highway district, each part of such parish or place shall for all the purposes of the Highway Acts be deemed to be a place separately maintaining its own highways; and a waywarden or waywardens shall be elected by the ratepayers in each such part at such time and in such manner as may be provided by the justices. (a) Legal Objections to Formation of District. No objection shall be made at any trial or in any legal proceeding to the validity of any orders or proceedings relating to the formation of a highway district, after the expiration of three calendar months from the date of the publication in the Gazette of the order under which the district is formed; and the production of a copy of the London Gazette, containing a copy of the order of justices forming the district, shall be receivable in all courts of justice, and in all legal proceedings, as evidence of the formation of the district and of the matters in the order mentioned. (b) But see 27 & 28 Vict. c 101, s. 12, ante, pp. 3, 4. Validity of Order of Justices. No order of justices forming a highway district shall be void by reason that it includes in the district a place which the justices are not entitled to include in the district; and any order containing such prohibited place shall be construed and take effect as if that place had not been mentioned therein. All expenses properly incurred by the justices of any county in maintaining the validity of any provisional or final order made by them shall be payable out of the county rate of that county. (c) (a) 27 & 28 Vict. c. 101, s. 8. 2. CONSEQUENCES OF FORMATION OF HIGHWAY DISTRICT. Transfer of Property, Powers, &c. At and after the first meeting of the Highway Board the following consequences shall ensue :— All such property, real and personal, including all interests, easements, and rights in, to, and out of property, real and personal, and including things inaction, as belong to or are vested in, or would but for the Act of 1862 have belonged to or been vested in, any surveyor or surveyors of any parish forming part of the district, shall pass to and vest in the Highway Board of the district for all the estate and interest of such surveyor or surveyors, but subject to all debts and liabilities affecting the same: All debts and liabilities incurred in respect of any property transferred to the Highway Board may be enforced against the Board to the extent of the property transferred: All such powers, rights, duties, liabilities, capacities, and incapacities (except the power of making, assessing, and levying highway rates), as are vested in or attached to, or would but for the Act have become vested in or attached to, any surveyor or surveyors of any parish forming part of the district, shall vest in and attach to the Highway Board: All property by the Act transferred to the Board shall be held by them upon trust for the several parishes or places maintaining their own highways within their district to which such property belongs, or for the benefit of which it was held previously to the formation of the district. (d) A similar transfer of property, powers, &c., to the rural sanitary authority of the district takes place from and after the commencement of an order of the county authority declaring the rural sanitary authority entitled to exercise the powers of a Highway Board within their district. (e) (d) 25 & 26 Vict. c. 61, s. 11. (e) 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77. s. 5 (1). 3. THE HIGHWAY BOARD. Constitution of Highway Board. The Highway Board shall consist of the waywardens elected in the several places within the district, in manner hereafter mentioned, and of the justices acting for the county and residing within the district. (f) A justice of the peace acting for the county in which a highway district is situate, if he is resident in any place which is prohibited either altogether or without the consent of the local authority from being included in a highway district by the seventh section of the "Highway Act of 1862," and which is surrounded by or adjoins in any part such highway district, shall, by virtue of his office, be a member of the Highway Board of such district, subject to this qualification, that if any justice of the peace would be so entitled to be a member of two or more Highway Boards in the same county, he shall, by letter under his hand, addressed to the Clerk of the Highway Board for which he elects to act, and by him to be transmitted to the Clerk of the Peace of the county, declare of which of the Highway Boards be elects to be a member, and having made that election he shall be bound thereby, and shall not be entitled by virtue of his office of justice to be a member of any other of the said Boards. (g) The Board shall be a body corporate, by the name of the Highway Board of the district to which it belongs, having a perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire and hold lands for the purposes of the Highway Acts, without any licence in morṭmain. (h) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be questioned on account of any vacancy or vacancies in their body; and no defect in the qualification or election of any person or persons acting as member or members of the Board or Committee of a Board shall vitiate any proceedings of the Board in which he or they have taken part, in cases where the majority of members parties to the proceedings are duly entitled to act. (i) (f) 25 & 26 Vict. c. 61, s. 9. (h) 25 & 26 Vict. c. 61, s. 9. (g) 27 & 28 Vict. c. 101, s. 29. Rural Sanitary Authority of District coincident with Highway District may become Highway Board. Where a highway district is or becomes coincident in area with a rural sanitary district, the rural sanitary authority of such district may apply to the county authority, stating that they are desirous to exercise the powers of a Highway Board under the Highway Acts within their district. And on such application the county authority may, if they see fit, by order declare that from and after a day to be named in the order (called the commencement of the order) such rural sanitary authority shall exercise all the powers of a Highway Board under the Highway Acts; and as from the commencement of the order the existing Highway Board (if any) for the district shall be dissolved, and waywardens or surveyors shall not hold office or be elected for any parish in the district. The order may be amended, altered, or rescinded by a subsequent order of the county authority. Where a highway district, being coincident in area with a rural sanitary district, is situate in more than one county, the order may be made by the county authority of any county in which any part of such district is situate, but such order, and any order amending, altering, or rescinding the same, shall not be of any force or effect until it has been approved by the county authority or authorities of the other county or counties in which any part of such district is situate. (j) Consequences of Rural Sanitary Authority becoming From and after the commencement of the order declaring a rural sanitary authority entitled to exercise the powers of a Highway Board within their district, the following consequences shall ensue : All such property, real or personal, including all interests easements and rights in to and out of property real and personal and including things in action, (j) 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77, s. 4. as belongs to or is vested in or would but for such order have belonged to or been vested in the Highway Board, or any surveyor or surveyors of any parish forming part of the district, shall pass to and vest in the rural sanitary authority for all the estate and interest of the Highway Board, or of such surveyor or surveyors, but subject to all debts and liabilities affecting the same : All debts and liabilities incurred in respect of any property transferred to the rural sanitary authority may be enforced against that authority to the extent of the property transferred: All such powers, rights, duties, liabilities, capacities and incapacities (except the power of obtaining payment of their expenses by the issue of precepts in manner provided by the Highway Acts, or the power of making, assessing, and levying highway rates) as are vested in or attached to or would but for such order have become vested in or attached to the Highway Board, or any surveyor or surveyors of any parish forming part of the district, shall vest in and attach to the rural sanitary authority: All property so transferred to the rural sanitary authority shall be held by them on trust for the several parishes for the benefit of which it was held previously to such transfer. (k) Liability of Members of Board. No member of a Board, by being party to, or executing in his capacity of member, any contract or other instrument on behalf of the Board, or otherwise lawfully exercising any of the powers given to the Board, shall be subject to be tried or prosecuted, either individually or with others, by any person whomsoever; and the bodies or goods or lands of the members shall not be liable to execution of any legal process by reason of any contract or other instrument so entered into, tried, or executed by them, or by reason of any other lawful act done by them (k) 41 & 42 Vict. c. 77, s. 5 (1). |