expedient for enforcing payment. The town clerk was directed to prepare a bond of indemnity for the overseers under counsel's advice. The bond was prepared and objected to by the overseers. The town clerk went to London and attended conferences between counsel for the overseers, and for the corporation, with a view to an arrangement. The form of the rate was altered, proceedings were taken on behalf of the council to enforce payment, and the rate was levied. The town clerk delivered to the corporation a bill of costs including charges for instructing and conferring with counsel upon the bond of indemnity and form of rate, correspondence and conference with the solicitor of the overseers as to the rate, expenses and loss of time in proceeding to London for the purpose of conferences, in advising on several occasions with counsel, and in journeys to Wakefield and Manchester for the purpose of conferring with the town clerks and clerks of the peace upon the proper form of rates. The services were performed under the direction of the finance committee. It was held that the charges, so far as they regarded business done in the direct course of settling the dispute, might properly be allowed by the corporation as not covered by the salary given for the performance of the ordinary duties of town clerk. Lord Campbell, C. J.: Suppose that there had been an action; at what point would the town clerk have been entitled to commence his charges? When a lis mota began? Everything that was then done with a view to the action or to the preventing of it, would have been within the excepting clause. In the present case if the proceedings threatened had resulted in a mandamus, the town clerk would clearly have been entitled to the usual professional charges : if so, he is entitled to them here, for having prevented such litigation by his laudable exertions, made under the sanction of the town council.

Accountability of Officers.

21. (1.) Every officer appointed by the council shall at such times during the continuance of his office, or within three months after his ceasing to hold it, and in such manner as the council direct, deliver to the council, or as they direct, a true account in writing of all matters committed to his charge, and of his receipts and payments, with vouchers, and a list of persons from whom money is due for purposes of this Act in connexion with his office, showing the amount due from each.

(2.) Every such officer shall pay all money due from him to the treasurer, or as the council direct.

(3.) If any such officer

(a.) Refuses or wilfully neglects to deliver any account or list which he ought to deliver, or any voucher relating thereto, or to make any payment which he ought to make; or

(b.) After three days notice in writing, signed by the town clerk or by three members of the council, given or left at his usual or last known place of abode, refuses or wilfully neglects to deliver to the council, or as they direct, any book or document

which he ought so to deliver, or to give satisfaction respecting it to the council or as they direct; a court of summary jurisdiction having jurisdiction where the officer is or resides may, by summary order, require him to make such delivery or payment, or to give such satisfaction.

(4.) But nothing in this section shall affect any remedy by action against any such officer or his surety, except that the officer shall not be both sued by action and proceeded against summarily for the same cause.

MEETINGS AND PROCEEDINGS OF COUNCIL;
COMMITTEES.

Quarterly and other Meetings of Council; Appointment of Committees, Minutes, &c.

22.—(1.) The rules in the second schedule shall be observed.1

(2.) The council may from time to time appoint out of their own body such and so many committees, either of a general or special nature, and consisting of such number of persons, as they think fit, for any purposes which, in the opinion of the council, would be better regulated and managed by means of such committees; but the acts of every such committee shall be submitted to the council for their approval.2

(3.) A member of the council shall not vote or take part in the discussion of any matter before the council, or a committee, in which he has, directly or indirectly, by himself or by his partner, any pecuniary interest.3

(4.) No act or proceeding of the council, or of a committee, shall be questioned on account of any vacancy in their body.

(5.) A minute of proceedings at a meeting of the council, or of a committee, signed at the same or the next ensuing meeting, by the mayor, or by a member of the council, or of the committee, describing himself as, or appearing to be, chairman of the meeting at which the minute is signed, shall be received in evidence without further proof.5

(6.) Until the contrary is proved, every meeting of the council, or of a committee, in respect of the proceedings whereof a minute has been so made, shall be deemed to

have been duly convened and held, and all the members of the meeting shall be deemed to have been duly qualified; and where the proceedings are proceedings of a committee the committee shall be deemed to have been duly constituted, and to have had power to deal with the matters referred to in the minutes.

1The schedule referred to, it will be observed, contains rules as to the four quarterly meetings of the council, the calling of meetings of the council, the notice to be given of meetings and of the business to be transacted thereat, the mode in which members of the council are to be summoned to attend meetings, the chairman of the meetings and his casting vote, the votes by which acts are to be done and questions decided, and the minutes of the proceedings at meetings. Subject to the provisions in the schedule, the council may from time to time make standing orders for the regulation of their proceedings and business, and vary or revoke the same.

2 In the case of a committee upon whom powers had been conferred by a board constituted under the Land Drainage Acts, 1861, 1873, it was held that the powers so conferred should be exercised by the committee acting in concert, and that the committee could not apportion among themselves the duties delegated to them. Cook v. Ward, L. R., 2 C. P. D. 255; 46 L. J., Q. B. 554.

3 With reference to this clause, see sec. 12 (2), and notes on sec. 12 (1) (c).

A town council passed a resolution purporting to declare that the office of H., as an alderman, was vacant by reason of his having acted, voted, or taken part in the discussion with regard to matters in which certain companies of which the alderman was a shareholder, were interested. The resolution further purported to remove H. from his office of alderman. The town council having received notice from H. of his intention to apply for a mandamus to compel them to restore him to office, it was admitted that the motion was invalid, and they rescinded their resolution. A mandamus to the corporation to restore H. was applied for, on the ground that he might be liable to proceedings if he continued to act merely upon the rescinding of the resolution. The mandamus was refused, as there was no wrong which the mandamus would remedy. H. was improperly sentenced to removal by the council; but they had rescinded their resolution and revoked their sentence. The first proceeding was of itself invalid, and if not the rescission would have rendered it of no effect. Mayor of Ryde, 28 L. T., N.S. 628.

R. v.

The acts and proceedings of a person in possession of the office of mayor, alderman, or councillor, and acting therein, are, notwithstanding his disqualification or want of qualification, as valid and effectual as if he had been qualified. See sec. 42 (1). See also sec. 102, which provides that where a candidate who has been elected to a corporate office is, by a certificate of an election court, or a decision of the High Court declared not to have been duly elected, acts done by him in the execution of the office before the time when the certificate or decision is certified to the town clerk, shall not be invalidated by reason of that declaration.

5 In R. v. Town Clerk of Evesham, 8 A & E. 271; 3 N. & P. 351; 2 Jur., 819, it was held that the minutes of proceedings of the council should be drawn up at the time of the meeting, and signed at that time. As regards the signing of the minutes it is now sufficient if they are signed at the same or the next ensuing meeting.

The minutes of the proceedings of the council are to be open to the inspection of a burgess on payment of a fee of one shilling, and a burgess may make a copy thereof or take an extract therefrom (sec. 233). For penalty for obstructing inspection, see sec. 233.

If a person forges the signature subscribed to any minute of proceedings of the council, or tenders in evidence any such document with a false or counterfeit signature, knowing it to be false, or counterfeit, he is liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years. (Sec. 235).

BYELAWS.

Power of Council to make Byelaws.

23. (1.) The council may, from time to time, make such byelaws as to them seem meet for the good rule and government of the borough, and for prevention and suppression of nuisances not already punishable in a summary manner by virtue of any Act in force throughout the borough, and may thereby appoint such fines, not exceeding in any case five pounds, as they deem necessary for the prevention and suppression of offences against the same.1

(2.) Such a byelaw shall not be made unless at least two-thirds of the whole number of the council are present.? (3.) Such a byelaw shall not come into force until the expiration of forty days after a copy thereof has been fixed on the town hall.3

(4.) Such a byelaw shall not come into force until the expiration of forty days after a copy thereof, sealed with the corporate seal, has been sent to the Secretary of State; and if within those forty days the Queen, with the advice of Her Privy Council, disallows the byelaw or part thereof, the byelaw or part disallowed shall not come into force; but it shall be lawful for the Queen, at any time within those forty days, to enlarge the time within which the byelaw shall not come into force, and in that case the byelaw shall not come into force until after the expiration of that enlarged time.

(5.) Any offence against such a byelaw may be prosecuted summarily.

(6.) Nothing in this section shall interfere with the operation of section one hundred and eighty-seven of the Public Health Act, 1875; and that section shall have effect as if this section were therein referred to, instead of section ninety of the Municipal Corporations Act, 18354 but nothing in the Public Health Act, 1875, shall be construed as having restricted the meaning or scope of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, or as restricting the meaning or scope of this section, with respect to prevention or suppression of nuisances.

1 By sec. 247 it is provided that, notwithstanding any byelaw, every person in any borough may keep any shop for the sale of all lawful wares and merchandises by wholesale or retail, and use every lawful trade, occupation, mystery, and handicraft for hire, gain, sale, or otherwise within any borough.

A byelaw under the 4 & 5 Wm. 4, c. 76, s. 90, provided that if any butcher or dealer in meat, or any fishmonger, poulterer, or other person, shall expose or offer for sale in or upon his shop, stall, &c., or have in his possession, with intent to sell or expose for sale, the flesh of any diseased animal, or any unsound, putrid, or unwholesome meat, fish, poultry, or other victuals or provisions unfit for the food of man, or which would be deleterious to the health of persons who might feed thereon (the unfitness or deleteriousness whereof shall be in the decision of the justices adjudicating on the complaint thereof) the person so offending shall for each offence forfeit the sum of 205. A grocer who exposed for sale on his premises cheese, which the justices held was unfit for food, was convicted under the byelaw. The conviction was affirmed. Blackburn, J. R. v. Stevenson (3 F. & F. 106) shows that it is an offence at common law, knowingly to send to market for human food meat which is unfit for human food. Shillito v. Thompson, L. R., 1 Q. B. D. 12; 45 L. J., M. C. 18; 33 L. T., N.S. 506; 24 W. R., 57.

Byelaws in force at the commencement of this Act, continue in force, notwithstanding the passing of this Act. (Sec. 260.)

2 Byelaws can only be made at a meeting, when two-thirds at least of the whole number of the council are present. Subject to this it is not necessary that two-thirds of the whole number of the council should vote on the question; the question as to the making of the byelaws, will be determined by the majority of such members of the council as are present, and vote. See second

schedule, Rule 10.

3 As to the fixing on the town hall, see sec. 232.

With regard to the computation of the period of forty days, see sec. 230.
As to forging of seal or signature to byelaws, see sec. 235.

4 Section 187 of the Public Health Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict., c. 55), provides as follows:

66

Byelaws made by the council of any borough under the provisions of sec. 90 of the Act of the sixth year of King William the Fourth, chapter seventysix, for the prevention and suppression of certain nuisances, shall not be required to be sent to a Secretary of State, nor shall they be subject to the disallowance in that section mentioned; but all the provisions of this Act, relating to byelaws shall apply to the byelaws so made as if they were made under this Act."

The provisions of the Public Health Act as to byelaws, referred to in the section quoted are as follows:-

Authentication and Alteration of Byelaws.

All byelaws made by a local authority under and for the purposes of this Act shall be under their common seal; and any such byelaw may be altered or repealed by a subsequent byelaw made pursuant to the provisions of this Act: Provided that no byelaw made under this Act by a local authority shall be of any effect if repugnant to the laws of England or to the provisions of this Act. (Sec. 182.)

Power to impose Penalties on Breach of Byelaws.

Any local authority may, by any byelaws made by them under this Act, impose on offenders against the same such reasonable penalties as they think fit, not exceeding the sum of five pounds for each offence, and in the case of a continuing offence a further penalty not exceeding forty shillings for each day after written notice of the offence from the local authority; but all such bye laws imposing any penalty shall be so framed as to allow of the recovery of any sum less than the full amount of the penalty. Nothing in the provisions of any Act incorporated herewith shall authorize the imposition or recovery under any byelaws made in pursuance of such provisions of any greater penalty than the penalties in this section specified. (Sec. 183).