In places having known and (h) defined boundaries, not being corporate boroughs, or towns under the jurisdiction of such improvement commissioners as are hereinbefore mentioned (i), by the churchwardens or one of them, or if there are no churchwardens, the overseers or one of them, or if there is none of the officers respectively above enumerated, or if such officer in any case neglects, is unable, or refuses to perform the duties hereby imposed on him, by any person appointed by one of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state (j);

meeting.

(2.) In such places as last aforesaid the sum- Notice of moning officer shall, upon such requisition (k), fix a time and place for holding such meeting, and shall forthwith give notice thereof By advertisement in some one or more of the newspapers circulated in the place; By causing such notice to be affixed to the principal doors of every church and chapel in the place to which notices are usually fixed (1):

(h) Here it will be observed that the conjunction and is used, whereas in the last section the disjunctive or is used. However the variance will make no difference in the interpretation.

(i) In sect. 12.

(j) To obtain this appointment there must be a communication to the secretary of state, who must be satisfied of the inability or refusal of the proper officer to perform the duties. (k) This officer must satisfy himself of the sufficiency and legality of the requisition.

(2) The church and chapel referred to in the text must mean, according to the interpretation of similar words in 1 Vict. c. 45, church and chapel of the established church. See note (c) on 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63, s. 9, ante, p. 40.

choose chairman.

Meeting to (3.) The meeting, on its assembling together, shall choose one of its number as chairman (y), who may, with the consent of a majority of persons present (z), adjourn the same from day to day:

passing of resolutions

the

Rules as to (4.) The chairman shall propose to the meeting the resolution for the adoption of the Act, and the meeting shall decide for or against such adoption:

of owners and ratepayers.

Provided, that if any owner or ratepayer (a) shall demand that such question be decided by a poll of the owners and ratepayers, such poll shall be taken by voting papers in the Form (A.) given in the schedule to this Act, in the same way, and with the same conditions as to notice of voting (b), delivery, filling up, collection, examination, declaration of the result, custody of voting papers, penalty for neglect or refusal to comply with the provisions of the Act, scale of votes, and in all other respects whatsoever as is provided in the Public Health Act, 1848, in respect of the election of local boards of health;

And if no poll is demanded, or if the demand

(y) Hence the summoning officer will not necessarily be the chairman, neither will the common law rule, which regulates the precedence in all meetings of vestries, govern in this case. (2) Upon these words refer to the note (f) on sect. 12,

ante.

(a) See note (o) on sect. 12, ante.

(b) See sect. 23, ante, p. 66, as to the notice; sect. 24, p. 67, as to the delivery; sect. 25, p. 69, as to the filling up; sect. 26, p. 70, as to the collection; sect. 27, p. 73, as to the examination, declaration (or, as it is there termed, certificate) and custody of the voting papers; sect. 28, p. 75, as to the penalty for neglect; and sect. 29, p. 75, as to the scale of votes. As to the custody of the voting papers, the provisions will not be applicable if the proposal be rejected.

for a poll is withdrawn by the parties making
the same, a declaration by the chairman shall
in the absence of proof to the contrary (c), be
sufficient evidence of the decision of such
meeting (d):

forging, &c.,

papers.

(5.) If any person (e) fabricates, in whole or Penalty for in part, alters, defaces, destroys, abstracts, or of voting purloins any voting paper, or personates any person entitled to vote in pursuance of the Public Health Act, 1848, or this Act, or falsely assumes to act in the name or on the behalf of any person so entitled to vote, or interrupts the distribution of any voting papers, or distributes the same under a false pretence of being lawfully authorized so to do, he shall for every such offence be liable, on conviction before two justices (f), to be imprisoned in the common gaol or house of correction for any period not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour.

to less place

XIV. In cases where any place hereby autho- Provision as rized to adopt this Act includes within its limits any included less place which, if it were not so included, would limits of a

(c) It will not, however, be conclusive in itself. (d) There is no provision for the costs of these proceedings, whatever be the result.

(e) This clause is taken from 14 & 15 Vict. c. 105, s. 3, with reference to the election of guardians, though the language is slightly altered. It is well to state that several prosecutions have taken place upon that clause, and persons have been convicted of offences under it. At the last spring assizes for Yorkshire, three persons were convicted before Byles, J., of a common law offence for conspiring to defeat the due election of guardians, by causing forged proxy appointments to be issued and acted upon at such election, and sentenced to imprisonment. Q. v. Beckwith and others.

(f) See 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63, s. 2, ante, p. 31.

within the

greater.

Power for partial adop

of itself be authorized to adopt this Act, such less place shall not be entitled to adopt this Act unless the greater place within the limits of which it is included has refused to adopt the same, or unless it has been determined by one of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, in manner hereinafter mentioned (g), that such less place ought, as respects the adoption of this Act, to be excluded from the limits of such greater place.

XV. Any corporation or body of commissioners tion of Act. exercising powers for sanitary regulations (h) under the provisions of any local Act may adopt any part or parts of this Act by resolution of the council or commissioners (i), and such resolution shall in every case be passed and forwarded to one of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, as provided in this Act for the adoption thereof (k), and thereupon the part or parts of this Act named in such resolution shall be in force within the district comprised in such local Act as fully and effectually as if such part or parts of this Act had been enacted in such local Act:

(g) See sect. 17, post. Hence, if a city comprising several parishes be formed into a district, no parish therein can adopt the Act unless it had been excluded from the district under that section.

(h) There is no legal definition of what is a sanitary regu lation, and much difficulty will exist in applying the words of the text. It is presumed that these latter words are connected with the corporation as well as the commissioners, which corporation, by the use of the word council, refers to a municipal corporation.

() No previous requisition from the ratepayers or owners is necessary in this case; and it will be seen that the commissioners are not limited to such as are elected by the ratepayers of any place. Neither is the consent of the secretary of state, nor any Act of parliament, required to complete the proceeding, except in the cases specially provided for. (k) See sect. 19, post.

Provided always, that when the parts of this Act thus adopted confer any power of borrowing money, such power shall be exercised subject to the provisions of this Act with respect to borrowing ().

ADOPTION OF ACT BY PLACE NOT HAVING

A KNOWN OR DEFINED BOUNDARY.

to settling boundaries

XVI. (1.) Any place (m) not having a known Provision as or (n) defined boundary may petition one of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state to settle on petition. its boundary for the purposes of this Act: (2.) The petition shall state the proposed bound- Rules as to aries of the place, shall be signed by one- settlement tenth of the ratepayers (0) resident within such of bounda boundaries, and shall be supported by such evidence as the said secretary of state may

require :

(3.) Upon the receipt of such petition the secretary

(1) See ss. 57, 78.

(m) This word has no legal nor peculiar popular meaning. It is altogether indefinite and unlimited. But the phraseology of the clause is not very happily chosen. The inhabitants of a place may petition, or a petition may be presented from a place, but the place itself is not competent to present a petition.

(n) Note, that the disjunctive copulate is here used, nevertheless it is difficult to see why the two words are introduced: every defined boundary must be a known boundary, though every known boundary is not necessarily a defined one, if that word signifies one which has been delineated or described in a map or in words. At the close of the section the conjunctive copulate is used. See note (h) or sect. 13, ante.

(0) The owners are not introduced into this clause, which applies to the residents, and as owners are not necessarily residents, they are probably omitted on this ground, though it certainly would seem reasonable that if non-resident owners may apply for the rejection of the Act, as they may, according to the next section, they should also have a voice for the settlement of the boundaries.

petitions for

ries.