Rates may be mortgaged. No priority amongst mortgagees. Mortgage of Rates. [CVII. ** And be it enacted (r), that the local board of health may, for the purpose of defraying any costs, charges, and expenses incurred or to be incurred by them in the execution of this Act, borrow and take up at interest, on the credit of the rates authorized to be made or collected under this Act, any sums of money necessary for defraying any such costs, charges, and expenses; and for the purpose of securing the repayment of any sums so borrowed, together with such interest as aforesaid, the said local board may mortgage and assign over to the persons by or on behalf of whom such sums are advanced the respective rates upon the credit of which the sums are borrowed; And the respective mortgagees shall be entitled to a proportion of the rates comprised in their respective mortgages mentioned to have been advanced (8); And each mortgagee shall be repaid the sums so advanced, with interest, without any preference over the others of them by reason of any priority of advance or the date of his mortgage: Provided always, that the money borrowed under the authority of this Act shall be borrowed only for works of a permanent nature, and shall not at any time exceed in the whole the assessable value for one year of the premises assessable under this Act within the district or part of the district for or in respect of which such money shall be borrowed, and shall (as far as practicable) be borrowed upon the credit of the respective rates applicable to the works, matters, or things in respect of which the money is required; And the money borrowed for the purpose of defraying any costs, charges, or expenses incurred or to be incurred in respect of part of a district only shall be charged (as far as practicable) upon the credit of any separate rates made or to be made for the purposes of such part; And in case any such cost, charges, or expenses shall apply to or be incurred in respect of two or more of such parts, the money borrowed in respect of the same shall be equitably apportioned by the local board upon any rates made or to be made for the purposes of such parts respectively (t). **] (r) Repealed by 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 57, for the future, though the provision is re-enacted with a few slight alterations. Mortgages made under this Act will, however, continue in force. See ss. 9 and 54 of the later Act. (s) See the form of security in the schedule (B.), post. These provisions in reference to the repayment and the absence of priority of charges have not been re-enacted in the later Act. See, however, note on the next section. (t) See sect. 89, ante, sioners of may makе under 5 & 6 CVIII. And be it enacted, that the commissioners acting Commisin the execution of an Act passed in the second session of public works the fifth year of Her Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act to advances to authorize the Advance of Money out of the Consolidated local boards Fund to a limited Amount for carrying on Public Works Vict. c. 9. and Fisheries and Employment of the Poor, and to amend the Acts authorizing the issue of Exchequer Bills for the like Purposes," and in the execution of any of the Acts recited in that Act, or of any Act or Acts for amending or continuing the same Acts or any of them, may, if they shall think fit, make advances to the local board of health of any district, for the purposes of this Act, upon the security of the rates to be levied by such board under this Act, and without requiring any further or other security than a mortgage of such rates (a). borrowed at of interest, securities bearing a rate. CIX. And be it enacted, that if the local board of health Money to be can at any time borrow at a lower rate of interest than that lower rates secured by any mortgage previously made by them, and to pay off then outstanding and in force, they may, if they shall think fit, so borrow accordingly, in order, with the consent of the higher mortgagee, to pay off and discharge any of the securities. bearing a higher rate of interest, and may charge the rates which they may be authorized to mortgage under this Act with payment of the sum so borrowed, together with the interest thereon, in such manner and subject to such regulations as are herein contained with respect to other monies borrowed upon mortgage. borrow mo CX. And be it enacted, that if at the time appointed by Power to any mortgage deed for payment of the principal money ney to pay secured thereby the local board of health are unable to pay mortgages. off the same, they may, if they shall think fit, borrow such (a) The 16 & 17 Vict. c. 40, s. 2, provides that loans by the above commissioners to any Local Board shall be taken to be made under the Acts authorizing them to grant loans, and the securities shall be taken to be made, and to have such priorities, and be subject to such powers and remedies as loans made under those Acts. I off former Form of Register of sum of CXI. And be it enacted, that every mortgage authorized to be made under this Act shall be by deed (b), truly stating the date, consideration, and the time and place of payment (c), and shall (in the case of a non-corporate district) be sealed with the seal of the local board of health by or on the part of whom the same is executed, and be signed by five or more members thereof (d), or (in the case of a corporate district) be sealed with the common seal, and may be made according to the form contained in the schedule (B.) to this Act annexed, or to the like effect (e); And there shall be kept at the office of the local board of mortgages. health a register of the mortgages upon each rate, and within fourteen days after the date of any mortgage an entry shall be made in the register of the number and date thereof, and (a) This clause favours the propensity of all public boards to keep in debt. It will require very great forbearance to enable a public board to pass by this tempting authority. (b) Which is exempt from stamp duty; see sect. 151, post. Though, as appears from the next section, the transfer of the mortgage will not be exempt, such transfer being of no benefit to the local board who represent the public. (c) The repayment is not, as in the case of loans authorized by the Poor Law Act, required to be made by instalments, but power is now given by 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 57, to make it so in respect of loans effected subsequent to it. Sect. 113, post, provided for the redemption of the debt by the means of a sinking fund, and this is preserved in the later Act. (d) Although all local boards are now incorporated, the distinction provided in this Act between corporate and non-corporate districts has not been taken away in terms, and it seems to be still necessary that the mortgage deed should be signed by the five members of the board. (e) The schedule, form (B.), to 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, contains a form of rentcharge to be granted by the local board. of the names and description of the parties thereto, as stated in the deed (f): And every such register shall be open to public inspection during office hours at the said office, without fee or reward; And any clerk or other person having the custody of the same, refusing to allow such inspection, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds (g). mortgages. transfers. CXII. And be it enacted, that any mortgagee or other per- Transfer of son entitled to any such mortgage may transfer his estate and interest therein to any other person by deed duly stamped, truly stating its date and the consideration for the transfer; And such transfers may be according to the form contained in the schedule (C.) to this Act annexed, or to the like effect; And there shall be kept at the office of the local board of Register of health a register of the transfers of mortgage charged upon each kind of rate, and within thirty days after the date of such deed of transfer, if executed within the United Kingdom, or within thirty days after its arrival in the United Kingdom, if executed elsewhere, the same shall (h) be produced to the clerk, who shall, upon payment of the sum of five shillings, cause an entry to be made in such register of its date, and of the names and description of the parties thereto, as stated in the transfer; And upon any transfer being so registered the transferee, his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall be entitled to the full benefit of the original mortgage, and the principal and interest secured thereby; And every such transferee may in like manner transfer his estate and interest in any such mortgage; (f) The total omission to register, or any delay in the registration, will not invalidate the creditor's claim, though until he had registered or tendered his deed for registration, probably he would not be able to compel payment of principal or interest. (g) See sect. 129, post, as to the recovery of this penalty. (h) This clause does not prohibit the registration after this period, nor invalidate the transfer if not registered within the time, though previous to the registration the local board are not bound to recognize the transfer. Interest to be paid half yearly. Mortgage debts to be paid off by means of sinking fund. Receiver pointed in certain And no person, except the person to whom the same shall have been last transferred, his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall be entitled to release or discharge any such mortgage or any money secured thereby (y). [CXIII. ** And be it enacted (z), that the interest secured by any mortgage authorized to be made under this Act shall, unless otherwise provided, be paid half-yearly; And in order to pay off any monies borrowed and secured by any such mortgage the local board of health shall in every year, until the same be paid off, appropriate and set apart, as a sinking fund, such sum as, together with the interest from time to time to accrue thereon, will in the period of thirty years amount to a sum sufficient to repay the monies borrowed and secured by any such mortgage, and shall from time to time cause such sinking fund and the interest thereon, to be invested in the purchase of exchequer bills or other government securities, and to be increased by accumulation in the way of compound interest or otherwise; And whenever the said local board are enabled to pay off one or more of the mortgages charged upon the same property or rate, and are not able to pay off the whole of the mortgages so charged, they shall, in default of arrangement between the local board of health and the mortgagees, decide by lot the order in which the same shall be paid off. **] CXIV. And be it enacted, that if at the expiration of may be ap- six months from the time when any principal money or interest has become due upon any mortgage of rates made under this Act, and after demand in writing, the same be not paid, the mortgagee or other person entitled thereto cases. (y) These securities become of the nature of negotiable instruments and cannot be impeached in the hands of bonâ fide holders, though the local board may have issued them improperly. A board of commissioners empowered by their private Act to borrow money and issue debentures chargeable on their local rates, contracted with one of themselves that he should supply bricks for their works, and he having done so, they gave him debentures purporting to be for money advanced, and such debentures were duly transferred by him to bona fide holders for value. The supply of the bricks by him was contrary to the provisions of the Act. It was held that whatever might be the case as between him and the commissioners, they were estopped by the debentures from settling up the illegality as an answer to the demands of the transferee. Webb and others v. Commissioners of Herne Bay, 22 L. T. (n. s.) 745 ; Law R. 5 Q. B. 642. (z) Repealed by 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 57, though the portion relating to the sinking fund is re-enacted. |