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Division of Act into Parts.

2. This Act is divided into Parts, as follows:

PART I.-Preliminary.

PART II-Constitution and government of borough. PART III.—Preparations for and procedure at elections. PART IV. Corrupt practices and election petitions. PART V.-Corporate property and liabilities.

PART VI.-Charitable and other trusts and powers.

PART VII.-Borough fund: borough rate: county rate. PART VIII.—Administration of justice.

PART IX.-Police.

PART X.-Freemen.

PART XI.-Grant of charters.

PART XII.-Legal proceedings.
PART XIII.-General.

Extent.

3. This Act shall not extend to Scotland or Ireland.

Commencement.

4. This Act shall commence and have effect from and immediately after the thirty-first of December one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two.

Repeals.

5. The enactments described in the First Schedule are hereby repealed, subject to the exceptions and qualifications in this Act mentioned.

See sec. 260 (saving clause as to repealed enactments); also secs. 250 and 251 as to savings for existing corporations and local acts.

Application.

6. This Act shall apply to every city and town to which the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, applies at the commencement of this Act, and to any town, district, or place whereof the inhabitants are incorporated after the commencement of this Act, and whereto the provisions of the

Municipal Corporations Acts are under this Act extended by charter, but to no other place.

As to the date of the commencement of this Act, see sec. 4.

In the Appendix will be found a list of the several cities and towns to which the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835, applied at the date of the passing of this Act. As to the provisions with regard to the grant of new charters, see Part XI., secs. 210-218.

Interpretation and Construction.

7.-(1.) In this Act

"Borough" means, unless a contrary intention appears, a city or town to which this Act applies:

As to the cities and towns to which this Act applies, see sec. 6.

"Municipal corporation" means the body corporate constituted by the incorporation of the inhabitants of a borough:

"Municipal Corporations Act, 1835," means the recited Act of King William the Fourth, the date of the passing whereof is the ninth of September one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five:

"Municipal Corporations Acts" means this Act and any Act to be passed amending this Act:

"Burgess" includes citizen:

"Corporate seal" means the common seal of a municipal corporation :

"Corporate office" means the office of mayor, alderman, councillor, elective auditor, or revising assessor:

"Corporate land" means land belonging to or held in trust for a municipal corporation :

"Municipal election" means an election to a corporate office :

“Parliamentary borough" means any borough, city, county of a city, county of a town, place, or combination of places, returning a member to serve in Parliament, and not being a county at large, or a riding, parts, or division of a county at large :

"Parliamentary election" means an election of a member to serve in Parliament :

"Parish" means any place for which a separate poor rate is or can be made :

"Overseers" means overseers of the poor of a parish, township, or place, and includes all persons who execute the duties of overseers:

It will be observed from sub-section 3 of this section, that words in the Act referring to a panst are to be construed, unless a contrary intention appears, as referrin every parish situate wholly or in part in a borough.

The churchwardeds of a parith require no specific appointment by the justos, in order to give them the authority of overseers of the parish; for, under the 43 Elz, they are overseers in virtue of their office of churchwarden. When, however, a parish has been divided into townships under the Act 14 Charles II, c. 12, the chapelwarden of a township, although called a churchwarden, is not an overseer of the township; neither, in such case, are the churchwardens of the parish at large overseers of the township (R. v. Nantwich, 16 East, 228; R. v. justices of Yorkshire, 6 A. & E. 863). The same person may jointly hold the offices of churchwarden and overseer (29 & 30 Vict., c. 113. s. 121.

Every matter by the Municipal Corporations Acts directed to be done by overseers may be lawfully done by the major part of them; and any notice by these Acts required to be given to overseers may be delivered to any one of them, or left at his place of abode, or at his office for transacting parochial business (sec. 238).

"County" does not include a county of a city or county of a town, but includes a riding, parts, division, or liberty of a county:

"Trustees" means trustees, commissioners, or directors, or the persons charged with the execution of a trust or public duty, however designated :

"Person" includes a body of persons corporate or unincorporate :

"Treasury" means the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury:

"The Secretary of State" means one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State :

"High Court" means Her Majesty's High Court of Justice:

"Justice" means one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace:

'Borough civil court" means an inferior court of record for the trial of civil actions which by charter, custom, or otherwise, is or ought to be holden in a borough, but does not include a county court:

"Bank of England" means the Governor and Company of the Bank of England :

"Schedule" means schedule to this Act, and "Part" means Part of this Act:

"Writing" includes print, and "written " includes printed. (2.) Words in this Act referring to a borough, municipal corporation, authority, officer, or office, shall be construed distributively as referring to each borough, corporation, authority, officer, or office to which or to whom the provision is applicable.

(3.) Words in this Act referring to a parish shall be construed, unless a contrary intention appears, as referring to every parish situate wholly or in part in a borough.

(4) The schedules shall be read and have effect as if they were part of this Act.

PART II.

CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT OF
BOROUGH.

CORPORATE NAME.

Name of Municipal Corporation.

8. The municipal corporation of a borough shall bear the name of the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough, or, in the case of a city, the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of the city.

As to the corporation having perpetual succession and a common seal, and the saving of rights, powers, privileges, estates, property, &c., of municipal corporations existing at the commencement of the Act, see sec. 250.

The provision as to the name of the municipal corporation of a city is in accordance with the decision in Att.-Gen. v. Worcester, 15 L. J., Ch. 398.

BURGESSES.

Qualification of Burgess.

9. (1.) A person shall not be deemed a burgess for any purpose of this Act unless he is enrolled as a burgess.1 (2.) A person shall not be entitled to be enrolled as a burgess unless he is qualified as follows:

(a.) Is of full age; and

(b.) Is on the fifteenth of July in any year, and has been during the whole of the then last preceding twelve months, in occupation, joint or several, of any house, warehouse, counting-house, shop, or other building (in this Act referred to as qualifying property) in the borough ;2 and

(c) Has during the whole of those twelve months resided in the borough, or within seven miles thereof;3 and (d.) Has been rated in respect of the qualifying property to all poor rates made during those twelve months for the parish wherein the property is situate; and

(e.) Has on or before the twentieth of the same July paid all such rates, including borough rates (if any), as have become payable by him in respect of the qualifying property up to the then last preceding fifth of January."

(3.) Every person so qualified shall be entitled to be enrolled as a burgess, unless he—

(a.) Is an alien;" or

(b) Has within the twelve months aforesaid received union or parochial relief or other alms; or

(c.) Is disentitled under any Act of Parliament.

1 Every person enrolled in the burgess roll is to be deemed to be "enrolled as a burgess," and every person not enrolled in the burgess roll is to be deemed to be not enrolled as a burgess (sec. 45, (8) ).

By sec. 63, it is provided that for "all purposes connected with, and having reference to the right to vote at municipal elections, words in this Act importing the masculine gender include women." As to married women, see note on that section.

2 In the memorandum, which prefaced the bill as brought in, it was stated that the clause, "as regard the words 'joint or several' is framed with reference to R. v. (Mayor) Exeter L. R., 4 Q. B. 114.” In that case D. had carried on the business of a house decorator for twelve years in a house of his own in P. Street, in the borough of E., where he also resided. In June 1866, he went to reside at E., about ten miles from the borough, but retained a furnished bedroom and sitting-room, in his house in P. Street, and these he continued to Occupy. He was in the borough each day except Sundays attending to his business. He usually returned to E. in the evening. It was contended that a joint occupation was not sufficient to entitle a person to be placed upon the burgess list, but the court intimated that they had no doubt that a joint occupation was sufficient.

A person is not entitled to be enrolled a citizen of the city of Oxford, or a burgess of the borough of Cambridge, by reason of his occupation of any rooms, chambers, or premises in any college or hall of either of the universities, sec. 257, (3.)

With respect to the term "other building," when used in connection with "house, warehouse, counting-house and shop," it was held with reference to sec. 27 of the Reform Act, 2 Wm. 4, c. 45, in Powell v. Boraston, 34 L. J., C. P. 73, that a shed of a temporary nature which was erected on a farm by an electioneering agent, the shed being made entirely of wood, having boarded sides and a boarded roof and being supported by four posts let into the ground three feet, was not a "building" within the meaning of the section. Erle, C. J., in that case, after referring to the difficulty of defining clearly what is included in the class described by the words 'other building," said "We are of opinion that the intention of the legislature would be defeated, and the words indicating the class of buildings which qualified, would be without any effect if anything which could be called a "building" was held sufficient. It ought to be in some degree adapted to be used by man, either for residence or for the industry to which the statute relates, and also to have the degree of durability which is included in the idea of a building."

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In Whitmore v. Town Clerk of Wenlock, 5 M. & G. 9; 13 L. J., C. P. 55, a cow-house or stable substantially built of brick or stone, with a tiled roof having a door with a lock and key, and suitable for the purpose for which it was erected and used, was held to be a building within the meaning of sec. 27, of the 2 Wm., 4, c. 45.

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