trade not to

"lages, as such inhabitants, are liable, in respect of "their ability derived from the profits of stock in "trade and of other property, to be taxed for and "towards the relief of the poor; and it is expedient "to repeal the liability of inhabitants, as such, to "be so taxed:" Be it therefore enacted, that from Stock in and after the passing of this Act it shall not be be rated. lawful for the overseers of any parish, township, or village, to tax any inhabitant thereof, as such inhabitant, in respect of his ability derived from the profits of stock in trade or any other property, for or towards the relief of the poor:

"Provided always, That nothing in this Act contained shall in anywise affect the liability of any parson or vicar, or of any occupier of lands, houses, tithes impropriate, propriations of tithes, coal mines, or saleable underwoods, to be taxed under the provisions of the said Acts for or towards the relief of

the poor.

Act.

2. "And be it enacted, That this Act shall be in Duration of force till the 31st day of December, in the year of our Lord, 1841, and that from the said 31st day of December this Act, and all the provisions hereinbefore contained, shall absolutely cease and be of no effect."

the important

As to property not

No observations need be made upon questions as to the assessment of property applied to rateable. purposes not producing a beneficial occupation, nor to that which is exempt from rateability by reason of some statutory provision, because the Parochial Assessment Act applies only to property which is rateable. But it is right to state that some statutes

have created a partial exemption only, as by providing that lands taken for certain purposes, and afterwards built upon or applied to purposes of a public character, shall only continue rateable according to the state of the land when so appropriated, in like proportion as agricultural land in the neighbourhood may continue to be valued at. Many of the cases, where particular works have been so exempted, depend upon the particular wording of the local Acts by which they were established, and the cases cannot here be introduced. But the Lunatic Asylums Act, 16 & 17 Vict. c. 97, s. 35, contains such an exemption in respect of land taken for the sites of asylums. The 18 & 19 Vict. c. 128, s. 15, as already noticed, contains a similar one in respect of a burial ground, provided in a parish for the use and benefit of another parish.

The duty of justices to allow the

rate is still ministerial only.

COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND SECTION.

It was considered, that after prescribing the precise mode in which the estimate of the rateable value should be made, and the form in which the assessment should be made out, the legislature intended that no rate should be valid which deviated from that form, and that therefore the justices, who are required to allow poor-rates, would not be justified in allowing any rate which deviated from the form so prescribed. But the court of Queen's Bench have decided that such is not the effect of the statute; that if indeed the parish officers do not sign the declaration which is at the foot of the rate, by which they vouch to the correctness of the rate, according to their knowledge, the rate is void,

and the justices may refuse to allow it; but that if there be merely some defect of form, or if it be in the opinion of the justices inaccurate in respect to the valuation of the property, they nevertheless have no discretion, and cannot refuse to allow it. Q. v. Earl of Yarborough, 12 A. & E. 416.

It makes no difference that a valuation of the parish has been made under the power given by the next clause of this Act, and that the overseers have departed from that valuation. The justices cannot on this ground refuse to allow the rate.

Ibid.

The declaration prescribed by this section must be made, otherwise the rate will not be valid, but the declaration need not be in the precise words set out in the schedule. Paynter v. Reg., 10 Q. B. 908.

the proviso

tion.

The proviso to this clause appears to have been Meaning of misplaced; it should have formed a separate clause, to this secor have been appended to the first clause. It leaves untouched the compositions for assessments, which exist under the 59 Geo. 3, c. 12, s. 19, and under many local Acts, but requires the gross estimated rental to be entered in the proper column; though, as already observed, it is nowhere explained what that rental signifies. According to the interpretation given by the Poor Law Commissioners above expressed, it means generally the actual rent paid to the landlord by the occupiers of the compounded

tenements.

The Poor Law Board, as will be seen hereafter,

Provisions of

have substituted a new form of rate, in which they have provided for the composition paid by the owners.

The general provision contained in the 59 Geo. 3, the 59 G. 3, c. 12, as to c. 12, s. 19, as to compounding for rates, is confined compositions by landlords. to cases where the tenements are let at between £6 and £20, and for less terms than a year. But in many parishes there are local Acts which extend the amount of the rent at which compositions may be made, and which omit the low limit; and the statute 13 & 14 Vict. c. 99, has since introduced a mode by which any parish can rate the owners of property not exceeding the yearly rateable value of £6, instead of the occupiers. The statute, and the amending Act, are printed in the Appendix.

Overseers could not previously

cause a

parish to be valued.

COMMENTARY ON THE THIRD SECTION.

Previous to the passing of this Act, it does not appear that the overseers could have put the parish to the expense of a map or valuation of the rateable property therein. The inhabitants might, indeed, have appointed a person under the 59 Geo. 3, c. 12, s. 7, as an assistant overseer, and assigned to him the duty of valuing the parish and making the assessment. This, however, was an artificial process, which was probably never adopted previous to this Act.

A mode often adopted formerly, and still sometimes resorted to, is for the vestry to appoint certain members to form a committee to revise the rate and the valuation upon which it is formed, and to report.

the result to the vestry. Their report is required to be adopted by the overseers, though the law does not allow the power given to them by the statute of Elizabeth to make the assessment to be taken away from them by any such proceeding of the vestry. This proceeding was considered favourably by the Poor Law Commissioners in their letter of 19th Sept., 1837, 4th An. Rep., p. 164. But experience has shown that such a committee seldom produces a satisfactory result to the parish. It is difficult to ensure strict impartiality in its proceedings, or at least to secure perfect confidence therein, and the Poor Law Board have long since discouraged such course of action. They cannot prevent the formation of the committee, but such committee has no authority to charge the poor-rate with any expenses, and the Board can render no assistance to enable such expenses to be so paid.

now to be

the order of

The present section gives a mode of proceeding so valuation as to secure a correct valuation of any parish, and, obtained by where necessary, an accurate map. But it can only the Poor Law be carried into effect by an order of the Poor Law Board. Board, and as their order must direct the guardians to appoint the valuer, it is manifest that the clause can only operate where a parish is in a union, or is. under the management of a Board of Guardians. It will appear, hereafter, that the union here mentioned is not confined to those formed under the Poor Law Amendment Act.

It is right to observe that some doubt has been expressed as to the real meaning of the statute in this clause. It has been intimated by the court of