seal.

to provide that the Parish Council shall not have a common seal. As No common in law, any mark, or indication of a mark serves for a seal, the execution of an instrument under seal to signify an act of the Parish Council will not be burdened with any formalities.

Appearance in

legal proceedings

Every cheque or other order for payment of money by a Parish Cheques, Council must be signed by two members of the Council (Schedule 1, Part 2, r. 14). The cheque or order will be made on their treasurer. The Parish Council may appear before any court or in any legal proceeding by their clerk or by any officer or member authorised generally, or in respect of any special proceeding, by resolution of the council, and their clerk or any member or officer will, if so authorised, be at liberty to institute and carry on any proceeding which the Parish Council are authorised to institute and carry on1 (r. 16).

GROUPING OF PARISHES UNDER COMMON PARISH COUNCIL.

Council.

The County Council may, subject to the right of the Parish Order of County Meeting of a parish with a population of 100 and upwards require the County Council to establish a Parish Council in the parish," provide for grouping a parish with some neighbouring parish or

1 The provisions of the Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893 (56 & 57 Vict., c. 61), which applies generally to persons acting in the execution of statutory and other public duties, are applicable to proceedings against members of the Parish Council and their officers. Section 1 of the Act provides that "Where after the commencement of this Act any action, prosecution, or other proceeding is commenced in the United Kingdom against any person for any act done in pursuance, or execution, or intended execution of any Act of Parliament, or of any public duty or authority, or in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the execution of any such Act, duty, or authority, the following provisions shall have effect: (a) The action, prosecution, or proceeding shall not lie or be instituted unless it is commenced within six months next after the act, neglect, or default complained of, or, in case of a continuance of injury or damage, within six months next after the ceasing thereof:

(b) Wherever in any such action a judgment is obtained by the defendant, it shall carry costs to be taxed as between solicitor and client :

(c) Where the procceding is an action for damages, tender of amends before the action was commenced may, in lieu of or in addition to any other plea, be plealed. If the action was commenced after the tender, or is proceeded with after payment into court of any money in satisfaction of the plaintiff's claim, and the plaintiff does not recover more than the sum tendered or paid, he shall not recover any costs incurred after the tender or payment, and the defendant shall be entitled to costs, to be taxed as between solicitor and client, as from the time of the tender or payment; but this provision shall not affect costs on any injunction in the action:

(d) If, in the opinion of the court, the plaintiff has not given the defendant a sufficient opportunity of tendering amends before the commencement of the proceeding, the court may award to the defendant costs to be taxed as between solicitor and client.

This section shall not affect any proceedings by any department of the Govern. ment against any local authority or officer of a local authority."

2 See page 28.

Public Autho

rities Protection

Act, 1893.

Grouped parishes.

Application of parish meeting for grouping order.

Group to be in one Local

Government area

Provisions of order.

Order dissolving group.

parishes under a common Parish Council. There will be a separate Parish Meeting for every parish so grouped, and no parish can be grouped without the consent of its Parish Meeting (s. 1 (1)).

The Parish Meeting of any parish may apply to the County Council for a grouping order, and any such application is required to be forthwith taken into consideration by the County Council (s. 38 (4)).

In terms, these provisions with respect to grouping apply to any parish irrespective of its population, but they must be read with that provision of section 1 (1) which directs that there shall be a Parish Council for every rural parish which has a population of 300 or upwards.

That provision establishes in parishes with a population of 300 and upwards, a Parish Council which comes into office on the appointed day, and in those parishes the Parish Meeting will, except for the purpose of elections, have no prior existence (s. 84 (4)). A grouping order cannot be made before the appointed day, as the consent of the Parish Meeting is necessary to the grouping of a parish (s. 1 (1)). But although Parish Councils will have been established in every parish with a population of not less than 300, a grouping order may, after the appointed day, be made for any such parish with the consent of its Parish Meeting. A grouping order may make any adaptations of the Act to the group of parishes. (s. 38 (1)).

Where parishes are grouped the whole area under each Parish Council must, unless the County Council for special reasons otherwise direct, be within the same Administrative County and County District.

A grouping order must make the necessary provisions for the name of the group, for the Parish Meetings in each of the grouped parishes and for the election of separate representatives of each parish on the Parish Council, and for the application of the provisions of the Act with respect to the appointment of trustees and beneficiaries of a charity, and the custody of documents, so as to preserve the separate rights of each parish.

The order may provide for the consent of the Parish Meeting of a parish to any particular act of the Parish Council, and for any other adaptations of the Act to the group of parishes, or to the Parish Meetings in the group.

The County Council may, on the application of the Council for any group of Parishes or of the Parish Meeting for any parish included in a group of parishes, make an order dissolving the group. The

group.

order is to make such provision as appears necessary for the election Order dissolving of Parish Councils of the parishes in the group and for the adjustment of property rights and liabilities as between separate parishes and the group (s. 38).

A grouping order and an order dissolving a group of parishes are by section 36 (10) to be deemed to be orders under section 57 of the Local Government Act, 1888,' but they do not require confirmation by the Local Government Board (s. 40).

PROVISIONS FOR CHANGE IN POPULATION.

Petition for

Where the population increases so as to justify the election of a Parish Council. separate Parish Council, the Parish Meeting may petition the County Council, and the County Council, if they think proper, may order the election of a Parish Council in that parish. The order must make such provision as appears necessary for separating the parish from any group of parishes in which it is included, and for the alteration of the Parish Council of the group and for the adjustment of property, rights, and liabilities as between the group and the parish with a separate Parish Council (s. 39) 1).

The petition under this provision may be made by a Parish Meeting whether the parish does or does not form part of a group.

In the case of a parish which was grouped when its population was under 100, an increase of its population to 100 or upwards might justify the election of a Parish Council. But where the Parish Meeting had consented to the grouping of the parish whilst its population was over 100, some material increase in the population of the parish might be necessary to justify the re-arrangement of the group formed with the consent of its Parish Meeting. An increase of population to 300, the limit under the Act for the compulsory establishment in the first instance of a Parish Council would seem in most cases to justify the election of a separate Parish Council. But in any case the initiative of the Parish Meeting is necessary as the County Council can issue an order only on the petition of that meeting. It must be remembered that the general provisions of section 1 as to the establishment of Parish Councils have reference to populations determined by the Census of 1891, and that in a parish with a population of 300 according to that census there must be a Parish Council, but in a parish with a less population there will be no Parish Council without the consent of the Parish Meeting. Should the population at a subsequent census be found to have increased to 300 or upwards, it will still rest with the Parish Meeting whether they take any steps for the establishment of a Parish Council. If they do not petition

Petition to

dissolve Parish Council.

Order requires no confirmation,

the County Council, a Parish Council cannot be established, no matter to what figure the population increases.

The County Council, if they think proper, may, upon the petition of the Parish Meeting of a parish, the population of which according to the last published census is less than 200, order the dissolution of the Parish Council, and from and after the date of the order the Act will apply to that parish as to a parish not having a Parish Council. The order is to make such provision as appears necessary for carrying. it into effect, and for the disposal and adjustment of the property, rights, and liabilities of the Parish Council. Where a petition for such an order is rejected, another petition for the same purpose may not be presented within two years from the presentation of the previous petition (s. 39 (2)). The Parish Council can only be dissolved if the Parish Meeting petition the County Council; but it will be optional with the County Council to dissolve a Parish Council.

Owing to the changes in the Bill consequent on the raising of the limit of population in section I from 200 to 300 by the House of Lords not having been made, there is no provision in the Act for dissolving a Parish Council where the population is between 200 and 300.

An order establishing or dissolving a Parish Council is by section 36(10) to be deemed to be an order under section 57 of the Local Government Act 1888. The order does not require the confirmation of the Local Government Board (s. 40).

1 See page 192.

CHAPTER IV.

Powers of Parish Council-Appointment of Overseers and Assistant Overseers-Other Parish Officers— Transfer of Powers of Vestry, Churchwardens, and Overseers-Parish Property--Additional Powers of Parish Council-Borrowing Powers-Expenses -Custody of Parish Books and DocumentsParochial Charities-Place of Meeting for Parochial Purposes.

powers.

THE Local Government Act, 1894, transfers from the Justices, Vestry, Transfer of Overseers, and Churchwardens and Overseers to the Parish Council, and in some cases to the Parish Meeting of a parish without a separate Parish Council,1 certain powers, and confers on the Parish Council many additional powers.

enactments.

All enactments in any Act, whether general, or local and personal, Construction of relating to any powers, duties, or liabilities so transferred, are, subject to the provisions of the Act, and, so far as circumstances admit, to be construed as if any reference therein to Justices or to the Vestry, or to the Overseers, or to the Churchwardens and Overseers, referred to the Parish Council or Parish Meeting as the case requires, and such enactments are to be construed with such modifications as may be necessary for carrying the Act into effect (s. 52 (5)).

PARISH OFFICERS.

seers.

The power and duty of appointing overseers of the poor, and the Overseers and power of appointing and revoking the appointment of an assistant assistant overoverseer for every rural parish having a Parish Council, is transferred to and vested in the Parish Council (s. 5 (1)), and for every rural parish not having a separate Parish Council (subject to the provisions of any grouping order) to the Parish Meeting.' (s. 19 (5)). The Parish Council are required to appoint the overseers at their Appointment of annual meeting after the chairman has been elected (Sched. 1, Part 2, r. 3.) But a valid appointment of overseers, subject to the power given to the guardians to make the appointment, if no notice has been received by them within three weeks after the 15th of April in each year of the appointment by the Parish Council, might, no doubt be made at a subsequent meeting of the Parish Council, as the enactment

2

Overseers.