Officers and their

salaries and

expenses.

Securities given to and property vested in secretary to vest in his successor.

commissioners, if signed by any person purporting to be the chairman, either of the meeting of the commissioners at which such proceedings took place, or of the next ensuing meeting of the commissioners, shall be receivable in evidence in all legal proceedings without further proof, and until the contrary is proved every meeting of the commissioners, in respect of the proceedings of which minutes have been so made, shall be deemed to have been duly convened and held, and all the members thereof to have been duly qualified to act; and

(5.) An act or proceeding of the commissioners shall not be questioned on account of any vacancy or vacancies in their body.

VI. The Loan Commissioners may from time to time appoint or employ a secretary, solicitor, civil engineer, surveyor, and such number of officers, clerks, messengers, and other persons as they may, with the consent of the Treasury, deem necessary, and may remove any person so appointed or employed.

The Loan Commissioners may from time to time assign to any person so appointed or employed by them such salary or remuneration as they may, with the sanction of the Treasury, think proper.

A person appointed or employed by the Loan Commissioners, in pursuance of this section, shall not receive any remuneration in respect of such appointment or employment or otherwise in respect of the execution of his duties under this Act, except such as may be assigned to him in pursuance of this section.

Every such salary or remuneration, and all expenses incurred by the Loan Commissioners in the execution of this Act, shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

VII. Where under this or any other Act or any conveyance, obligation, or security, any real or personal property, or any estate or interest therein, or any chose in action, has been or may be vested in, conveyed, made payable, or secured to the secretary of the Loan Commissioners for the time being as such secretary, and in respect of his office, all such real and personal property, estate and interest, and chose in action. whatsoever, upon the death, removal, or resignation of any such secretary from time to time, and as often as the same happens and the appointment of a successor takes place, shall (subject to the same trusts, and equities, if any, as the same were before respectively subject to) vest in such succeeding secretary, by force of this Act and without any act or deed whatever to be done by the secretary dying, resigning or removed, or by the heirs, executors, or administrators of such secretary, or by any person or persons claiming under him, them or any of them, and notwithstanding the same may have been expressed to be vested in, conveyed, made payable to or

secured to such secretary, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, or any of them; and shall be proceeded upon in the name of any succeeding secretary, by any action or suit in law or equity, or in any other manner as the same might have been proceeded upon by or in the name or names of such secretary dying, resigning, or removed.

Where the secretary of the Loan Commissioners is a party to any action, suit, or other legal proceeding, such secretary acting under the direction of the commissioners shall be deemed to represent the Crown, so far as regards the interest of the Crown in any loan granted under this Act or any money due under a security for any such loan, and it shall not be necessary to make the Crown or any other person on behalf of the Crown, a party to such action, suit, or proceeding, in respect of such interest as aforesaid.

conveyances,

behalf of

VIII. All conveyances, leases, mortgages, releases, arrange- Execution of ments, and things which the Loan Commissioners are autho- leases, &c., by rized by this Act to grant, execute, make, or concur in, and secretary on all powers, acts, and things which the Loan Commissioners commissioners. are authorized by this Act to exercise, do, or concur in, in relation to any mortgaged property or rate, may be granted, executed, made, concurred in, exercised, and done by their secretary for the time being under their direction, and when so granted, executed, made, concurred in, exercised, and done by such secretary, shall be deemed to have been granted, executed, made, concurred in, exercised, and done by him under the direction of the commissioners, unless the contrary is shown by some person interested in contesting the validity thereof.

Any property, chose in action, estate, interest, powers, authorities, and privileges vested in or exerciseable by the secretary of the commissioners in pursuance of this Act shall be dealt with and exercised by him under the direction of the commissioners and not otherwise.

Objects, Terms, and Duration of Loan.

IX. The Loan Commissioners may, if they think it expe- Loans for dient, from time to time, in manner mentioned in this Act, public works, make loans for the purpose of any of the works mentioned in the first schedule to this Act, to any person having power under an Act of Parliament or otherwise to borrow for such purpose.

The Loan Commissioners in considering the propriety of granting a loan shall have regard to the sufficiency of the security for its repayment, and, subject to the provisions of any special Act, shall determine whether the work for which the loan is asked would be such a benefit to the public as to justify a loan out of public money, having regard to the amount of money placed at their disposal by Parliament.

X. Every loan granted under this Act shall bear interest Interest 2 L 2

on loan.

Term of years for repy

ment of loan.

Security for leans.

at a rate not less than the rate authorized by a special Act relating to such loan, or if no rate be so authorized, not less than five per cent. per annum: provided that when the aggiegate amount of principal moneys due by any harbour authority to the commissioners under "The Harbours and Passing Tolls, &c., Act, 1861," exceeds one hundred thousand pounds, the rate of interest on such excess shall be three and a half per cent., or such higher rate, not exceeding five per cent., as may in the judgment of the Treasury be necessary to enable the loan to be made without loss to the Exchequer.

XI. Every loan granted under this Act shall be made repayable by instalments (in the form of an annuity or otherwise) within a period from the date of the actual advance of such loan, not exceeding the period authorized by a special Act relating to such loan, or if no period be so authorized not exceeding twenty years.

Where a loan has been granted repayable within a period less than the full period allowed by the foregoing provisions of this section, the Loan Commissioners, if the repayment of the loan with interest is in their opinion sufficiently secured by such security as is required by this Act, and if they think fit, may extend the period for the repayment of such loan to a period not exceeding the said full period from the date of the advance of such loan.

Where no period is authorized by a special Act relating to the loan, the Treasury, on the recommendation of the Loan Commissioners, stating special circumstances, may either before or after the grant of the loan, extend the period within which the loan is to be repaid to such period as may be recommended by the Loan Commissioners.

The Loan Commissioners in considering whether the period for the repayment of a loan should or should not be the said full period, and the Loan Commissioners and the Treasury in considering whether the period should be extended as aforesaid, shall have regard to the durability of the work for the purpose of which the loan is granted, and to the expediency of the cost of the work being paid by the generation of persons who will immediately benefit by such work.

The first instalment for the repayment of every loan shall be made payable within a period not exceeding five years from the date of the advance of such loan.

XII. The Loan Commissioners before advancing any money on account of a loan shall take security for the repayment of the loan with the interest, consisting of the security authorized by the special Act relating to the loan, or if none is so authorized, of a mortgage of property or of a rate, or of both property and a rate, and (save as hereinafter mentioned) of personal security.

The Loan Commissioners may, if they think fit, dispense with personal security in any case in which in their opinion. the mortgaged property or rate is sufficient security for the

payment of the principal and interest of the loan within the stipulated period.

Funds for Loans.

required.

XIII. For the purpose of passing an annual Act of Parlia- Annual estimate ment, granting money for the purpose of loans by the Loan of amounts Commissioners, every intending borrower shall send to the commissioners on or before the thirty-first day of December in every year a statement of the new loan or instalments of a loan already granted which the sender will probably apply to borrow during the ensuing financial year; and the commissioners shall as soon as practicable submit all such statements to the Treasury, with such observations thereon and information respecting the same as they may think expedient, and as may be necessary for enabling the Treasury to lay before the House of Commons an estimate of the amount required to be granted for the purpose of loans by the Loan Commissioners.

The Loan Commissioners shall not, except with the permission of the Treasury, grant any loan or advance any instalment of a loan which has not been included in such a statement as above mentioned.

The Treasury, if they think that after providing for the loans and instalments included in the said statements, or such of them as will actually be advanced, there will be a balar.co out of the sum granted by Parliament sufficient to meet any loan or instalment not included in the statements, may, if they think fit, grant such permission, and may grant it conditionally upon the said balance being in their opinion sufficient when the time for the actual payment arrives.

If the regulations under this Act require quarterly statements to be sent by borrowers of the amounts which will be required by such borrowers, the Treasury may, if they think fit, refuse to issue in any quarter of a financial year any larger sum than the total of the amounts named in the statements referring to such quarter.

of loans.

XIV. When any money has been granted by Parliament Issue of money for the purpose of loans by the Loan Commissioners, the for purpose Treasury may from time to time, as they think fit, issue out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, or the growing produce thereof, the required sums, not exceeding in the whole the amount so granted.

The said sums shall be issued in such manner as the Treasury may from time to time direct during the period authorized by the Act granting the same, or if no period is authorized, during the financial year for which such Act was passed, and not subsequently.

the purpose of raising money,

XV. If the Act granting money for the purpose of loans by Borrowing for the Loan Commissioners authorizes the Treasury to borrow such money, or any part thereof, the Treasury may raise any sums (not exceeding the amount authorized by the said Act to be borrowed, and not exceeding in any one financial year

Issue of money to the National Debt Commissioners.

Repayments to commissioners to go to Consolidated Fund.

the excess of the issues out of the Consolidated Fund under this Act during that year over the repayments to the Consolidated Fund during that year in respect of the principal of loans granted by the Loan Commissioners either before or after the commencement of this Act,) in such one or more of the following methods as may be directed by the Act authorizing the money to be borrowed, and subject to any such direction as may be deemed most convenient for the public service, namely, by the creation of three pounds per centum per annum permanent annuities, or of annuities for any term not exceeding thirty years, or by the issue of Exchequer bonds or Exchequer bills, or by otherwise borrowing the same (for a period not exceeding six months) on the credit of the charge created by this Act on the Consolidated Fund, or by all of such means; and the sums so raised shall be placed to the credit of the account of Her Majesty's Exchequer, and form part of the Consolidated Fund.

The annuities created in pursuance of this section, and the principal moneys borrowed in pursuance of this section (otherwise than by the issue of Exchequer bonds), and all interest from time to time due thereon, or on Exchequer bonds issued under this section (not exceeding the rate of five per cent. per annum) shall be charged upon and be payable out of the Consolidated Fund, or out of the growing produce thereof, at such times in each year as may be fixed by the Treasury.

The principal of any Exchequer bonds issued under this section shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

The annuities, whether terminable or perpetual, shall be created by warrant of the Treasury to the Bank of England, directing them to inscribe in their books the amount of such annuities in the names directed by the warrant.

The said annuities shall, in manner directed by the warrant, be consolidated in the said books, if terminable, with annuities payable at the same date, and, if permanent, with annuities at the same rate of interest, and payable at the same date, and shall be transferable in the said books in like manner as the annuities with which they are consolidated, and shall be subject to the enactments relating to those annuities so far as is consistent with the tenor of those enactments.

XVI. All money issued by the Treasury for the purposes of loans under this Act shall be issued to the National Debt Commissioners, and placed to such account as may be from time to time directed by the Treasury, and shall be held by the National Debt Commissioners in trust on the part of the public, but subject to the disposal of the Loan Commissioners for the purpose of loans by them under this Act.

XVII. All sums paid or applicable in or towards the discharge of the principal or interest of any loan granted by the Loan Commissioners, either before or after the passing of this Act, or of any other sum due in respect of such loan, shall be paid into the receipt of Her Majesty's Exchequer in such