may adopt

of state may direct inquiry (a) to be made as to the genuineness of the petition, and as to the propriety of the proposed boundaries; and (4.) Fourteen days' notice of the time, place, and subject of such inquiry shall be given (b) in the place to which it refers:

(5.) The said secretary of state may, upon consideration of the matter, either dismiss the petition altogether (c), or make order (d) as to the boundaries of the place:

He may also make order as to the costs of the proceedings under this section and the parties by whom such costs are to be borne (e) : Any place (6.) Any place the boundaries of which have been settled in pursuance of the foregoing provisions i shall thenceforth, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a place with a known and defined boundary, and may adopt this Act accordingly (f);

this Act

when boun

dary settled.

(a) See sect. 80, post, as to the power of the officer making the inquiry.

No

(b) It is not stated who is to give this notice, but the officer who will make the inquiry is the proper person to do so. precise kind of notice is prescribed; therefore he can exercise his own judgment in the matter, and doubtless will be careful to give ample notice according to the practice of the place.

(c) It thus appears that the local government to be esta blished by the Act cannot be acquired absolutely in all places. In the non-corporate districts, described in the text, the secretary of state may refuse to sanction the adoption, by refusing to settle the boundaries.

(d) This order will be conclusive. See sect. 78.

(e) Though the secretary of state may make the order, it does not appear how this order is to be enforced, if the parties decline to obey it, since the courts of law do not recognize the order of a secretary of state like an order of justices. If indeed this petition be considered as an appeal made to the secretary of state, then sect. 81, post, provides for the due enforcement of his order, but it is not what is usually understood as an appeal.

(f) As to when it shall come into operation, see sect. 19.

And for the purpose of enabling it so to do a summoning officer shall be appointed by the order settling the boundaries, whose duty it shall be forthwith (g) to take all such steps as may be necessary for convening a meeting of the ratepayers (h) to decide as to the adoption. of this Act;

And if such officer dies, becomes incapable, neglects or refuses to perform his duties, the said secretary of state may, on the application of any four ratepayers, appoint another officer in his room.

APPEAL AGAINST ADOPTION OF ACT.

appeal, by

lution to

XVII. (1.) In cases where a resolution adopting Power to this Act has been passed in any place, if any petition, number, being not less than one-twentieth of against resothe owners and (i) ratepayers of such place (k), adopt this such twentieth to be one-twentieth in number of the owners and (i) ratepayers of the place,

(g) This word is interpreted to mean with all convenient speed.

(h) The owners are omitted here, but doubtless it is not intended that they shall not be summoned. By sect. 13 they are empowered to vote thereat.

(i) The owners and ratepayers must join in the petition, and if the reference be made to the objectors numerically, there must be one-twentieth of the owners and ratepayers taken together. In many places it will be almost impossible to determine this in any reasonable time. It is easy to ascertain the ratepayers, but in populous places it is very difficult to discover all the owners, and, unless they are all discovered, the proper numerical proportion cannot be determined. The difficulty will not be so great in reference to the property, as that can be ascertained from the poor rate with reasonable accuracy.

(k) This applies to the whole of the proposed district; there

Act.

to be pre

sented to

secretary of state.

taken together, or the owners and ratepayers in respect of one-twentieth of the rateable (a) property in the place, are desirous that the whole or any part of such place should be excluded from the operation of this Act, they may present a petition to one of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, appealing (b) against such resolution, and praying that such exclusion may be made :

Such petition (2.) Such petition shall be presented within twentyone days from the date of the passing of the resolution appealed against, and shall, where the exclusion of part of a place only is prayed for, state,

Power to secretary of

(1.) The part of the place proposed to be excluded, accompanied with an explanatory

plan; and

(2.) The reasons for such exclusion (c):

It shall be subscribed (d) by the owners and ratepayers presenting the same:

(3.) Upon the receipt of any such petition as afore

fore if all the owners and ratepayers of any particular part of it should object, their objection will be unavailing unless they constitute one-twentieth part of the whole proposed district.

(a) This means the property rateable to the poor rate, and according to Baker v. Marsh, 24 L. J. R., Q. B. 1, will doubtless be construed to apply to the net rateable value.

(b) In this case the petition will be an appeal.

(c) The reasons for the exclusion are only required by the Act in the cases where a part of the district is sought to be excepted, but it is obviously necessary to show the grounds for the appeal in every case.

(d) The subscription must be by the parties themselves. It is very doubtful whether an agent is competent to subscribe, within the legal meaning of this section. See Toms, app., Cuming, resp., 8 Scott, N. R. 910.

said, the said secretary of state may direct state to direct
inquiry (e) in the proposed district,

As to the genuineness of the petition (ƒ);
and

inquiry to be made.

inquiry.

made by

As to the matters alleged in such petition: (4.) Fourteen days notice of the time, place, and Notice of subject of such inquiry shall be given (g); (5.) The said secretary of state shall make order Order to be with respect to the matter in question on such secretary of appeal (h), and such order shall be binding on the place in respect of which it is made, and there shall be stated in such order the time at which this Act is to come into force (i).

state.

secretary of

of alleged

XVIII. It shall be lawful for any owner or rate- Appeal to payer who disputes the validity of the vote for (k) state in case the adoption of this Act to appeal within fourteen invalidity of days from the declaration of the vote (1) to one of adoption of

(e) See, as to this, ss. 79, 80, post.

(f) This must mean not only as to the signatures, but as to the qualification of the persons signing.

(g) See note (b) on sect. 16, p. 240.

(h) Apparently, the secretary of state may order that the Act shall not be adopted in the place at all. It will be a question whether a default in any of the preliminary matters will render the order of the secretary of state void. As the inquiry is only a matter which, in his discretion, he may order, any default therein would not do so, but a defect in the petition might have this effect.

() It thus appears that the appeal will have the effect of postponing the commencement of the local board's powers. See further, sect. 20, post.

Note, that though there is no provision here in reference to the costs of this appeal, as in sect. 16, nevertheless sect. 81 will enable the secretary of state to make an order relative thereto, which can be enforced as this on appeal.

(k) No appeal is given from the vote rejecting the adoption of the Act. This is unnecessary, because the proceedings may be renewed at any time.

(1) Quare, what is meant by the declaration of the vote?

M

vote for

this Act.

Notice as to adoption of Act to be given to

Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, setting forth the grounds on which he disputes the validity of such vote, and it shall be lawful for any of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, on such appeal, to direct inquiry (j) by any officer employed by him in the execution of this Act into the circumstances of the case, and to issue such order thereon as he may deem requisite to determine the questions (k) arising on such appeal, and as to the validity or invalidity of such vote (1).

GENERAL PROVISIONS IN RELATION TO ADOPTION.

XIX. Whenever a resolution adopting this Act has been passed in any place, notice thereof shall be secretary of given to one of Her Majesty's principal secretaries of state by the following persons; that is

state.

to say,

In corporate boroughs, by the mayor:

In other places under the jurisdiction of such improvement commissioners as aforesaid, by the chairman of the board of commissioners: In other places, by the summoning officer Probably it should have been the declaration of the decision, as in sect. 13, No. (4), ante, p. 237.

(j) See ss. 79, 80, post.

:

(k) It will be seen that the order will dispose of two sets of questions. 1st. Those arising on the appeal. 2nd. Those on the validity of the vote. The first will relate to the qualification of the appellant, the due promptitude of the appeal, or the sufficiency of the statement, or something else of a like character. The second will involve all the inquiries arising out of the conduct of the election itself.

(7) A provision somewhat similar exists in 5 & 6 Vict. c. 57, s. 8, in regard to questions arising on the election of guardians. By sect. 81, post, this order of the secretary of state is declared to be binding and conclusive. Nevertheless, if there have been some defect in the original proceedings so as to prevent the jurisdiction of the secretary of state, the order may, it is presumed, as in the cases of orders of justices, be impeached on such ground.